Chapter 82: “Robbing” a crystal shop

For the next few hours, the three people plundered the hospital. Ember took anything she could find that might have neuro-silver. It didn’t matter how large or how small. She was always the last to leave the building.

Amara had not signed a contract of fellowship. Ember had no reason to let her know she had a space. Especially since they had no idea what she actually did for a living. At the very least, they were sure she was useful.

They made sure to only take out bits and pieces that could easily be carried before placing the entire machine in the space when Amara left.

Whenever they encountered zombies, she would lend a hand. She also didn’t try to threaten Aiden or her. If she did, Aiden would not hesitate to strike her down.

Entering the last office in the hospital, Ember noticed a small glowing crystal on the desk. Squinting, Ember tried to remember if she had ever seen a crystal like this before.

CE, do you know what this is?

[This is a psycho reactive crystal]

A sound of surprise escaped Ember. She hadn’t expected it would be so easy to find one. Before they left, they talked about it. The search for any of the materials was deemed difficult. But now, she found a crystal just sitting here.

Don’t you think this is too convenient, CE? I want the crystal, and I found the crystal.

[Psycho-reactive crystals are relatively easy to find. Currently, there are multiple psycho reactive crystal approximately an hour away from your destination.]

A map interface appeared in Ember’s mind. When did you learn to do this?

[Picked up a few skills.]

The playful tone of the CE made her remember the Lust System. It was lively and vivacious. Going to the rather monotone CE was unpleasant. But Ember could feel the lively little thing coming back to life. Not the Lust System, but the personality.

Ember was looking forward to it.

Dr Thorne and the others were nowhere to be seen when they were leaving the hospital. Ember did not dwell on where they might have gone. When they attacked her, there was no hope of them ever becoming partners.

“Stay with Amara, I’ll go get the car,” Ember said, walking away.

As per her habit, the car was placed in the space. Taking the risk of having it stolen was not something they could afford to do. It had almost become second nature for Ember to put it in the space after they got out.

“Where are we going now?” Aiden asked.

Amara was in the passenger seat. Ember was in the driver’s seat, and Aiden was in the back. Amara was not put in the backseat because they were not certain whether she would try to attack them. Bringing Amara with them did not mean they trusted her. It only meant she had potential.

“A crystal shop,” Ember responded. Her eyes stayed on the road, ensuring their safety.

“Why?”

“One of the things we need is in the crystal shop. If I’m not wrong, there’s going to be a lot there.” Ember shook her head slightly.

Aiden immediately understood what she was referring to. Raising his eyes to the heavens, his mind drifted. Why do I feel like I’m being led by the nose?

This was a momentary thought of Aiden’s. One that coincided with Ember’s.

As they drove, they tried making conversation with Amara.

“So, have you always wanted to be an art teacher?” Ember asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

Amara looked over at her, “Not really. I wanted to be an astronaut.”

“How do you go from wanting to be an astronaut to being an art teacher?” Aiden asked.

Amara glanced at Aiden, who was sitting leisurely in the back.

“Things happen.” That was all the response they received.

After that, Amara refused to say anything. In the end, Ember and Aiden decided to use their consort link to talk to each other. Most of the time, they do not use it. The people around them already know most of the same things they do. Speaking secretly makes no sense.

With Amara around, there would be more use for this kind of thing now.

“What do you think she does? Mercenary?” Ember asked.

“Not sure, but most likely. I am actually curious why she was with that Dr Thorne. The way that doctor talked to her, it’s obvious she had been pretending for a long time. I just don’t know why.” Aiden answered.

“Undercover?” Ember shook her head. “No, there isn’t a reason to be undercover when the world already ended. So why still pretend?”

Aiden thought for a moment. “Fitting in is better than standing out. If she showed her true personality, they would try to guilt her and send her out because she’s the ’strong one’.”

Ember scoffed. “Ahh. The human heart. Always so ugly. But I still think there’s more to it than that.”

“Whatever it is. She won’t say. When we get back, if she’s still with us. Let’s see if we can get her to sign a contract.”

Surprisingly, the drive didn’t take long. They arrived just as the sun was setting. The store was intact. There was no sign of entry, forced or otherwise. Maybe because it’s a crystal shop? It is possible that people don’t view the crystals as special.

But glowing crystals should mean something to someone. She didn’t believe no one wanted to take a look. The only reason it would be intact is if there was something dangerous inside or closeby.

This was a lesson they learned from the Ghost Protocol. Ember once again felt grateful for the Ghost Protocol.

Finding a small stone on the ground, Aiden threw it towards the shop. He, like Ember, expected there to be danger. It made no sense for a store like this, which might have cash, to not be broken into during the first few days of doomsday.

Throwing the stone was a test.

Both found increasingly larger things to throw towards the store.

“What are you doing?” Amara asked. She was clearly confused as to why they kept throwing things.

“Question: Do you have experience with the animals or plants since doomsday happened?” Ember queried.

Amara shook her head.

“That explains it. If you had, you would be more cautious than we are.” Ember said. “There are some things you have to see to believe.”

After trying a few more items and not getting a response. Aiden and Ember cautiously walked towards the store. Aiden tried the handle, gun raised. It opened smoothly. Aiden walked at the front, Amara in the middle, and Ember at the back.

Taking their time, they checked every corner of the store. They did not find any threats. What they found were crystals. They were everywhere. Different types, sizes, and shapes.

What Ember noticed was that different crystals had different colours. The same type of crystal could have two different colours. There was no specific crystal that had a unanimous colour.

“Just put them all in. We’ll deal with it when we get back home,” Aiden said, already throwing crystals in his bag.

Ember nodded and started gathering crystals. She turned to Amara, who was standing to the side, watching them. “Do you plan to do any work, or are you just standing there?”

Only when Ember asked the question did she start to move. Ember did not particularly care where Amara came from. If she was useful, then that’s good. But if she didn’t know how to play well with others, Ember would not stand for it.

Same as before, Ember was the last to leave. As she closed the door, she put everything in the store into the space.

Unable to ask the CE publicly, Ember started the car and asked the CE mentally.

Do you know what these crystals are? Why do they have so many different colours?

[There are a variety of crystals. Would you like to know the information for all the crystals?]

Ember knew nothing about crystals, but she saw the vast number of colours she took and knew better than to say yes. So she selected a few and asked the CE about them.

[Aqua quartz: A milky white core with an iridescent rainbow sheen. Creates an energy shield that disorients zombies, animals, and plants.]

[Echo crystal: A smooth dark grey crystal. Absorbs sound within a certain radius.]

Black obsidian: A pure black non-reflective crystal. Absorbs all light within a small area.]

Ember grinned, her eyes still on the road. Luckily, her concentration was strong; otherwise, she would have risked crashing. Aiden and Amara saw her grinning. Amara was, of course, confused. But Aiden knew what she was grinning at. He was peeking when Ember and the CE were talking.

Three of the various crystals they had were things they absolutely needed. When they go to Valentina’s base for a ’visit’, these things will come in handy.

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