Chapter 6: That Weird ‘Uncle’ (1/2)

Chapter 6: That Weird ‘Uncle’

Planet X-C100 was the equivalent to a transport hub in Sector X. The turnover between the Sectors divided by the Star Alliance mostly happened on planet X-C100. Every day, there were tens of thousands of space crafts and space ships landing and taking off within the area, and Cillin’s destination lay between Sector D to M; the Sectors categorized as the ten rapidly developing ‘free trade’ Sectors. Sector X was at best a backward Sector.

On the other hand, Sectors A to C were not easy places to gain a firm foothold in. Sector A was populated by political organizations, and the Galactic Alliance’s coalition government could be found in this area; Sector B was famed for its many academies and financial tradings; as for Sector C, most of the land fell under military reservations, and GAL’s most famous military academy – GAL Military Academy could be found right here. Sectors ABC were known by the people of GAL as ‘The Shining Three Sectors’, and they weren’t a place anyone could go. The waters ran deep, and there was no telling when one might get eliminated for some inexplicable reasons.

Sitting inside a restaurant near the space port, Cillin propped his chin and looked at the scenery outside. As compared to Brown Earth’s bustling chaos, the terminal planet X-C100 looked to be systematic and in perfect order everywhere; be it as big as a freighter or as small as the flying cars driving swiftly across the roads. The transportation hub of Sector X certainly lived up to its name.

Cillin bought a tabloid. The flashing animations and eye-catching names could always inject some freshness into people’s everyday lives. The ticket to Sector K had already been purchased, and all Cillin needed to do was wait. In the meanwhile Cillin sipped his cup of tea.

Be it his sitting, drinking or reading posture, the impression Cillin gave was that of a very cultured person. It was something he cultivated following Genya since a young age, and he did not look like someone from the poor area at all. But of course, this was just a disguise to match his current appearance. He could just as easily give the impression of a ruffian if he wanted to.

“Hey sweetie, got a free table for me?”

A young man with brown shoulder-length curls wearing a pair of sunglasses and somewhat fancy clothing walked into the lounge holding a big black briefcase. The top two buttons of his shirts were unbuttoned, revealing well defined muscles a testament to his explosive masculinity. He teased the waitress serving him; staring unabashedly at her well-formed breasts.

He was right next to a robot waiter, and yet he just had to ask for the waitress on the other side of the counter. But such flirtations were pretty common, and the waitress herself was obviously not surprised by the situation as she continued to answer him with a smile, “I’m really sorry, but we don’t have a free table at the moment. However there are empty seats, so would you like to wait or join another table…”

“Aw, man! So there aren’t any tables left! How unfortunate!”

The young man looked around the lounge through his sunglasses before finally stopping at Cillin’s table.

“That table will do. Guess I’ll just squeeze with our little buddy over there.”

“Okay. This way please.”

The waitress’ smile was a bit stiff. It was a standard six man table and there was only a person sitting there; two including him. Why would he ever need to squeeze?

Although there were several tables in the lounge that were seated with only one or two people, Dias had picked this particular table on purpose. The kid had given him a very strange feeling – one that he just could not describe – and for some reason he even looked vaguely familiar; although he couldn’t for the life of him recall where at the moment.

Placing his briefcase at a side casually, Dias sits down on the opposite side of Cillin. He had no plans to take off his sunglasses even though he was inside the lounge. He tentatively categorized this under ‘playing it cool’.

Receiving the menu from the waitress, his fingers slid repeatedly across its surface as he flicked and selected through various menu screens.

“Hmm, let’s have these orders for now.”

“Alright, please wait for a moment.”

After he finished ordering, Dias looked towards the reading Cillin and said, “Hey, little buddy. Waiting for your flight?”

Cillin lifted his head, smiled gracefully, and with an ‘I am very cultured’ look answered, “Yes, uncle.”

Un… Uncle? Did this sonuvabitch just call a handsome, charming, brilliant and attractive person like me ‘Uncle’?! If Cilin was one of his men he would’ve given him a taste of the sole of his foot already, but, hmm. Interesting.

From the moment Dias walked into the lounge, Cillin had kept an eye on him. He might know nothing about this young man, but Cillin had a feeling that this man was very powerful; more powerful than anyone he had met before. Even though the other party had called him, a seventeen years old, ‘little buddy’, Cillin did not react angrily and countered with an ‘Uncle’ instead.

Dias gave a short laugh and picked up his served drink. He drank it in one go, “Same here. I’ve already bought the ticket to Sector K. And you?”

“Me too.”