Chapter 91: The Second Half - Jake vs. Alex (1/2)

An hour after the meeting in the med bay, Jaya and Sierra walked back to the stadium.

They kept silent and enjoyed their stroll while thinking about what happened back in the room.

Following the clues left on the corpse, the group had linked it up with Jake. They had reasoned that Jake, the killer of the corpse, knew what he was doing when he killed Ray, the owner of the corpse.

This would also mean that he was aware of the hidden side of Ray, and that was why he opted to kill both the human side and zombie side of Ray in one stroke.

This hypothesis made them question how he knew of this knowledge.

Was he in league with Ray?

Were they both zombified?

If not, then how? How did he know?

Given the lack of direction, the king and his brother had decided to monitor Jake and not take any drastic decision yet.

Apart from the case of the killer, they were also left with many other questions concerning Ray. Questions like if Ray voluntarily took the item that changed him?

The previously clear situation became muddy once again. This only further aggravated the king, who left with his brother to discuss the matter with other high-rank personnel. However, before he left, he warned the three females to not spread the matter to anyone.

Jaya reflected on the meeting and realized she was not safe.

She didn't know how to tackle this situation that seems to be spiraling beneath them. She looked up in the sky and saw flocks of black crows.

Jaya let out a soft breath, 'Hah, another foreboding of the turbulent days to come.'

”What is it? You are worried?” asked Sierra after she noticed the distress on her friend's face.

”I'm just trying to process, never mind me. What about you? I could tell that you have a strained relationship with your father?”

This time, it was Sierra that kept quiet. Jaya could tell from her expression that she was not comfortable with the topic.

However, she needed to say what was on her mind, ”I do not mean to intrude, but it would be better if you salvage your relationship with him. In the end, a present father is better than a missing one or a dead one.”

Jaya's eyes became distant the further she talked.

She began to recollect her time before she awoke in the Dark Forest. The times she spent with her father, together with Lola and Nico.

Those times were now forgotten. Each passing day wiped at the image of her father in her mind. Give it a few more years and she would no longer remember.

Jaya shook her head and tried not to think of the matter anymore. It wouldn't do good for her upcoming matches.

”Oh sh*t, the competition,” exclaimed Jaya.

Her words shocked Sierra, who had also forgotten about the competition.

Together, they picked up their pace and ran to the stadium.

Being closer to the stadium, they could already hear the referee's voice coming from it.

The two concentrated on the voice and sighed as they realized that the referee was just re-introducing the second half.

”Let's pick up our pace,” Jaya told her friend.

Moments later, the both of them could be seen dashing into the stadium.

........

*Thum!*

Jake opened his eyes at the first word of the referee.

He had taken a quick nap after the conclusion of the first half.

Sleeping was not necessary for cultivators, but a good sleep helps to rest the mind, not the body. The body was expendable to cultivators. It could be destroyed and restored back to shape, but the mind was different, any little damage to it could prove very costly. That was also the reason why Jake decided not to activate his special eye until the situation called for it.

'Hmmm....it seems I am first again,' hummed Jake.

Listening to the referee, he heard the announcement of the first match of the second half. It was him vs. Alex Grant, a very interesting match, indeed.

Jake slowly walked to the stage and waited for his opponent to come. It took him a while for him to rouse himself up from sleep.

If asked to mention one of his habits, sleeping would be one of them. This could be seen from how Jake deviated from the methodic cultivators, who cultivate day and night, non-stop, without sleeping. Jake found it barbaric and opted to create his own sleeping schedule.