A technomancer's journey in an apocalyptic world

Xuelong had a frown on her face since Ryan gained his consciousness.

For a while, both Ylerias and her were very ill, but Ryan had lost consciousness, and from then, everything went downhill.

Ryan had a fever, and then his temperature climbed so high that he began to smoke, and then he began to bleed.

For a moment, Xuelong thought that Ryan would die, but then a miracle happened, and he survived, and never in her life she had felt so relieved.

But then the harsh reality struck them, as Ryan was not only spacing out now and then, but he was acting like a fool, and thus they all concluded that Ryan had suffered brain injuries.

Xuelong balled her fist hard as she spoke with a growl, "I do not know who but someone is responsible for this, and when I find the person, I am going to skin that person alive."

Michalina helped Ryan drink some water, who then spoke with a grown, "ugh, the water tastes so bitter, yuck."

"Water is tasteless, brother."

Ryan frowned as he spoke, "No, you are right, but why?"

Michalina grabbed Ryan's face as she spoke, "Ryan, we will get out of here, and then you will be safe."

Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "Something is wrong in this place, and the pain I felt was so real, my nightmare it was so real."

Ylerias frowned at Ryan's words as she spoke, "Ryan, can you recall what you saw in your nightmare?"

Ryan took a moment to compose himself before he began to speak.

Siora had left her group to scout ahead, and even without her mana, she was incredibly agile and skilled as she moved from one treetop to another without making any sound.

And as she neared the hideout, she heard Xuelong speak with a groan, "Damn it, he is spacing out again."

As Siora walked into the room, Ryan spoke with a loopy grin on his face, "Captain, I will take a three-quarter bottle of pizza."

Siora gained a flabbergasted look on her face, while Michalina once again stroked Ryan's cheek as he became lucid once more.

Ryan blinked as he looked towards Siora as he spoke with a frown, "Siora, did you find anything?"

Siora quickly composed herself as she spoke, "The explosion has destroyed the aircraft while killing those who were snooping around that place, though currently the place is swarmed with many guards."

"I also made my way towards the town that we have spotted and stumbled upon a decrepit village."

Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "What about the villagers?"

"They are living in poor conditions, deseased, starving and are in rags, though from what I have seen, the town is exactly the opposite."

"I was unable to get a closer look, but from what I have seen, it looked well maintained."

Ryan frowned as he spoke, "We have to gather more intel, as well as prepare for a hideout, as currently, we are deep within enemy territory with no means of escape, we need time to study, our enemies."

Xuelong nodded in consent as she spoke, "Siora, do you think that those guards will come near our location?"

Siora nodded as she spoke, "They definitely will, Your Holiness, as they are searching for survivors with the help of their guard dogs."

Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "Then we have to move from here."

Ryan stood up as he spoke, "Yes, definitely before I begin to act strange again, damn that person."

Xuelong's brow furrowed as she spoke, "Who is 'that person'?"

Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Towards the end of my nightmare, I ended up in a room with a severed hand floating at the centre."

"Then, that person appeared, at first he tore the ceiling apart, and then screamed at me, while I felt my ears bursting, my eyes melting and my whole body was in fire, it was agonizing."

Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "Can you identify the person?"

Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "I remember the person's glowing eyes, and then screaming out, 'Apostle', which caused me to loose my conscious."

Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "Then we should lay low for a while."

Siora nodded as she spoke, "I have stumbled upon a place that would make a nice hideout for us, and it is close by."

Xuelong stood up as she spoke, "Then what are we waiting for?"

It took them almost half an hour to reach the foot of a waterfall, as Ylerias spoke with a curious look on her face, "So, how did you find this place?"

Siora blushed as she spoke, "I kind of slipped and fell down here."

Her words earned a chuckle from others while Michalina spoke with a frown, "Siora, will Ryan be able to move?"

"Even if he is not, we can easily carry His Holiness to otherside without much problem."

Ryan looked down at the foot of the waterfall before he spoke with a smirk, "Only one way to find out."

With that, he jumped down, making both Xuelong and Michalina scream after him.

Even though the water was a bit murky, it did not prevent Ryan from spotting the tunnel entrance.

Ryan did not have to wait for too long as others soon appeared after him.

Michalina growled as she stepped out of a small pool of water, and upon spotting Ryan, she let out a growl.

"Ryan, what the hell was that?"

Ryan turned towards her before he spoke, "It is computer time? I will take my bath in the computer after I have finished painting my math."

Michalina wanted to cry upon hearing his answer while Ryan moved towards the cave wall, and even after bumping against the wall, he did not stop walking.

Xuelong gained a pained look on her face before she spoke, "Shakidra, Ryan needs his rest, put him to sleep."

With a quick bow towards Xuelong, Shakidra moved towards Ryan as she spoke, "Please, forgive my rudeness."

Shakidra pinched the side of Ryan's neck, knocking him unconscious before gently laying him down on the ground.

Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "We will be setting our camp here and may be try to explore the cave a bit as well."

Philip let out a groan as his stomach growled loudly, as he dug out bugs from a tree trunk.

A smile formed on his face as he took hold of one as he whispered loudly with barely concealed glee, "The fattest one till date."

He quickly gobbled up the bug before letting out a satisfied sigh as he spoke again, "At least, I will not starve too much."

Philip's smile disappeared as a sour look settled on his face, 'I wonder if my parents are doing well, they must be worried sick for me, and if only I could see them once more.'

Tears pooled in his eyes as he let out a sob of anguish at the thought of his parents.

"I regret my choice of joining the merchant navy, then at least I could be with them."

Philip's ship was a bulk carrier, and he was just a twenty-year-old cadet, set on his first voyage when the tragedy struck.

The sudden loss of power and electronics onboard has left the ship stranded amid the vast ocean.

Without electricity, their stored food began to rot, and then like a blessing of God, a vessel came to their rescue, or so they thought.

Their vessel had drifted near the island, and the island owner had sent people to investigate the ship.

Philip still remembered the joy in his comrade's faces upon being rescued, only to turn into a nightmare.

They were drugged and injected with something strange, and then their captors put collars on them, and from then on, they were at mercy to the whims of their so-called masters.

Philip touched his collar as he let out a growl as he swore inwardly, 'If it were not for this, I would have slaughtered them all.'

Philip's thoughts came to a halt as a hand clasped over his mouth while a female voice came to his ears, "If you make a squeak, I will carve you from crotch to throat."

Philip was blindfolded, and then he was tied up and carried away.

Intense fear had replaced Philip's thoughts of slaughtering his captors, as he had seen their cruelty.

A few minutes later, Philip's kidnapper placed him on the ground, and then the most enticing and beautiful smell entered his nose.

Philip's stomach roared like a lion upon smelling the delicious food, but he was deathly afraid to move.

'Am I going to be tortured to death?'

As that thought passed through Philip's head, he began to imagine the various ways his kidnappers would torture him for their sick and twisted fun.

But, his thoughts came to a halt as another female voice came to his ears, "Rai, you should not treat him like that, look at him."

The one who kidnapped him scoffed as she spoke, "He should be grateful for being touched by me."

"Please, stop it, Rai, just look at the poor starving man."

The person sighed as she continued to speak, "Here, let me help you."

The friendly voice removed Philip's bindings before helping him to sit up, although he was still blindfolded.

"Do you want to eat something?"

Michalina tried to hide her smile as she watched Ylerias and Siora interrogating their captive.

'What an effective means of interrogation? Though I am worried about the state of the villagers, they seem to have given up on living.'

'I cannot blame them, as if it were not for Ryan's powers, we might have suffered a smiliar fate.'