The Bones of the Ancient God

Chapter 5: The Awakening of His Power

“Mr. Joe,” called Kaelan, who was already standing alert in front of the workshop.

Mr. Joe turned around, slightly surprised to see the child who was usually the subject of gossip at his workshop.

“Eh, aren't you that illegitimate child who moved here from the city?”

Kaelan did not care about the image people knew him by, he would change that insulting nickname as quickly as possible.

“What do you want? Want to fill your bicycle tires with air? But you don't have a bicycle. You're just a poor kid pretending to be from the city.”

Brad and his two friends only glanced at each other. Meanwhile, Kaelan remained calm. The mockery did not bother him at all.

“I indeed don't have a bicycle, Sir. That's why I didn't say I wanted to fill its tires,” Kaelan replied. “I saw that used carburetor over there. Can I buy it for a toy? Brad and I happen to need some metal pieces for a handicraft assignment.”

Mr. Joe began to wonder, and for a split second he glanced at the pile of trash and then laughed. “Oh, I thought it was something else. Just take it, consider it charity for a fatherless child. Besides, that carburetor is broken, it keeps making motorcycles run badly. But fine, just give me the money to buy iced tea. It's useful, I'm thirsty too.”

Mr. Joe immediately took the five dollars from Kaelan's hand, the man felt lucky because the trash in his workshop had turned into money.

“Thank you, Sir.”

After achieving his goal, Kaelan invited Brad to sit by the roadside drain under a shady tree not far from the workshop.

“Boss, Mr. Joe said it's really broken. Won't we lose our five dollars?” Brad complained.

“Be quiet and pay attention," Kaelan ordered.

Kaelan picked up a little leftover gasoline from a used bottle nearby, then began taking apart the carburetor. Because of his intelligence and from who knew what experience … without a screwdriver, Kaelan used a thin metal plate he found on the ground to turn the bolts. He looked very skilled, as if he had done this thousands of times.

“Brad, blow into this hole as hard as you can,” Kaelan ordered while handing him something small made of brass.

Brad obeyed, although he was confused. “Fuuuhhh!”

“Once again. Harder!”

“FUUUHHHH!”

Suddenly, a small clump of black dirt came out of the end of the needle hole.

“Okay. That's enough,” Kaelan said. He reassembled the carburetor in less than two minutes. After cleaning it with a little gasoline, the words Made in Germany engraved on the carburetor looked shiny. “This... is like new again?” Brad's eyes widened.

“Not new, but genuine. In the automotive world, genuine used goods are more valuable than new but fake goods," Kaelan explained while standing.

Right at that moment, an old man pushed his old moped into Mr. Joe's workshop while panting heavily.

“Mr. Joe, please help with my motorcycle. It broke down again. I was supposed to use it tomorrow to take passengers to the market. The motorcycle is indeed old, but hopefully it can still be repaired,” complained the old man named Mr. Thomas.

Mr. Joe checked it briefly, then shook his head. "Oh no, Mr. Thomas. The carburetor is already worn out. It has to be replaced. The regular one costs 15 dollars, the original one costs 35 dollars. I only have the original one left in stock."

Mr. Thomas's face immediately turned pale. “Oh no ... that's very expensive, Sir. I can't even afford the regular one, let alone the original. I only have these 7 dollars … is there nothing at that price, Sir? Even a very ordinary one is fine.”

Mr. Joe shrugged. “Oh dear… there is nothing under 15 dollars, Mr. Thomas. I'd lose money at 7. It's up to you, Mr. Thomas, but if you don't replace it, this thing won't run.”

“Alright then, never mind, Sir. I don't have enough money.” Mr. Thomas pushed his motorcycle away again with a disappointed face.

“Golden opportunity, it seems the universe is helping us,” Kaelan said as he watched Mr. Thomas push his old motorcycle.

“Boss, what do you mean?” Brad asked.

“You come with me, but don't let Mr. Joe see us, he might spit blood from anger. Come on, let's follow Mr. Thomas.”

When Mr. Thomas was on a quiet road, he saw Kaelan and the others stopping him. His already tired face became very cautious.

Kaelan understood Mr. Thomas's expression, he quickly smiled. “Excuse me, Sir,” Kaelan greeted politely.

“Eh, aren't you Evelyn's son? Kael. Move aside for now, Dad's having a headache."

“Sorry, Sir, I happened to overhear you at the workshop earlier. I can help you. If you want, I have an original German carburetor. It's still in very good condition. I found it in the storage room of my friend's grandfather's old house. I guarantee it's very good, Sir.”

He looked at Mr. Thomas. “You can try installing it first. If the engine starts and the sound is smooth, you only pay me fifty dollars. If it's bad, you don't have to pay. You won't lose anything, right?”

Mr. Thomas seemed to think for a moment. The offer was too tempting and he really needed his vehicle to work properly again.

“Fifty dollars?”

“Yes, Sir. Including installation.”

“Can you really install it?”

“I can, Sir. My grandfather owned a workshop. So when I was in the city, I often helped.” Kaelan lied just to convince the old man.

“Alright, let's try it.”

“But do you have the tools?” Kaelan asked while scratching his head even though it did not itch.

“Oh, I do. Wait, I'll get them from the trunk.”

After receiving the tools, Kaelan immediately installed the carburetor with very nimble hands.

It only took five minutes.

BRUMMM!!

The old motorcycle's engine immediately started. Its sound was not noisy, the idle was smooth, there was not even the slightest coughing or sputtering. It was much smoother than before.

“Wow! The acceleration feels great!” exclaimed Mr. Thomas after twisting the throttle slightly. His tired face instantly became radiant. “This is even better than when the motorcycle was new! You're amazing, Kael!”

Without saying much, Mr. Thomas immediately took out fifty dollars and gave it to Kaelan. “Thank you, Son! You're a lifesaver. I have no money and so many needs. I thought all my money would be gone, but I still have 20 dollars left. Thank God, I can buy some wheat.”

Mr. Thomas then left on his motorcycle, which was now moving quickly.

Kaelan waved the blue fifty-dollar bill in front of Brad. “How is that?” he asked with a proud face.

“Here,” Kaelan gave the fifty-dollar bill to Brad's hand.

“Boss ... this ... fifty dollars?” Brad's hand trembled. Even four days of his pocket money did not amount to that much. “All for me?”

“Take your five-dollar capital. The rest, save it as our cash fund. We will need more capital for the next plan,” Kaelan said while walking away, leaving the workshop with a cool demeanor.

Brad quickly put the money into his pocket and ran after Kaelan, his face beaming. “Boss! You're a genius! What business are we going to do tomorrow? Sell refrigerators? Sell TVs?”

Kaelan only smiled, he really enjoyed his current self.

“Small change is enough. Tomorrow, we will start going after the real money.”

They then went home.

Upon arriving home, Evelyn immediately welcomed Kaelan. “Kael, thank goodness you came home safely.”

Kaelan saw Evelyn's very worried face. “Ma, what's wrong? Why do you look so panicked?” he asked in confusion.

“Take a shower first, change your clothes, then eat. I'll tell you later,” Evelyn said.

Kaelan nodded without much protest, he immediately took a shower, then changed his clothes. After that, he sat on an old-looking wooden bench. He was not focused on the simple meal in front of him, not because he had no appetite. But he was still thinking about what his mother had said earlier.

“Ma, what's actually wrong?” Kaelan asked, as if he would not eat before knowing why Evelyn was so panicked.

“Earlier there was Mr. Mayor, he gathered all the neighborhood heads throughout the village. Several children went missing last night, and another one went missing this morning. Mama is worried about your safety.”

“Mama doesn't need to worry, Kaelan can take care of himself. Now let's eat, Ma.”

Kaelan did not let the discussion grow wider, but he also did not ignore his mother's concern.

The next morning, at around four in the morning, Evelyn said goodbye as she left for the market to buy her daily necessities.

“Kael, don't go anywhere, okay. Mama is going to the market first. It won't take long, I'll be home in two hours.”

“Yes, Ma, be careful.”

Kaelan watched Evelyn walk toward the train station. From their house, it was quite far, around 2km to the station. Usually he was not too worried, but after hearing the news about the rampant kidnappings, he was very worried about his mother.

Kaelan followed his mother, wanting to make sure she was safe until she reached the train station. However, when he tried to catch up, he heard the sound of a middle-aged woman's crying.

“This isn't the sound of a ghost, is it?” he said.

Suddenly, Kaelan's gaze became extremely sharp. At four in the morning, it was still very dark, but strangely, he could see clearly in the darkness. Kaelan saw a woman struggling and crying bitterly, her body tied to a tree. Her mouth was covered with black tape, although the sound coming from her mouth was very faint, it could be heard clearly by his ears.

Then Kaelan looked in another direction, he saw three people wearing black face coverings carrying a child around seven years old. The three people walked quickly toward the dense pine forest.

Kaelan knew that route, after the pine forest there was a river, then another pine forest. After passing through the pine forest across the river, there was an asphalt road. But that was already a different neighborhood, no longer his neighborhood.

“Are they the kidnappers everyone has been talking about?” he muttered.

Kaelan wanted to help, but he realized his body was too small. He could end up becoming prey for the three kidnappers. But when he saw a mother crying, his heart hurt, and his body began to heat up as if there was an urge to move.

Without thinking twice, Kaelan immediately moved. However, when he jumped, he was stunned for a moment. He turned around and looked at the distance of his jump. “This, this…” Kaelan himself was astonished, because his jump was more than ten meters. “My suspicion was right, no wonder my body felt so strange. It turns out my body is different from ordinary people!”

Without thinking twice, he immediately ran after the three kidnappers. His body was more agile than a leopard chasing its prey, he leaped as if the trees in front of him were not obstacles at all.