2024-01-10 00:21:41Earth 2175….
Mankind defined civilization as having power and attaining whatever one desired.
That definition came into existence the day 'They' arrived.
No one knew who or what they were.
The only thing they knew was that an uninvited guest had suddenly arrived upon earth.
'They' desired us!
They were, the Destitutes…
… Mankind's mortal enemy.
They viewed humans as livestock!
The government fought back, but it was useless. In the end, the earth was split in half; bearing the Destitutes on one side and Humans on another.
However, it wasn't in man's nature to give up, as Project 101 embarked.
The government's solution to gaining their beloved world back again was, to raise younger generations to be the defenders of our world.
And so, the people were filtered as they separated the useful from the useless, placing humans on a hierarchy worse than financial status.
Every human who had gone through the special training was weighed to determine who would protect, and those who would be protected.
Those with lesser importance were placed below, and those they wanted… were worshiped.
Overall, there were more than nine Division—classified with codes—and a child born into a family bore his family code and was expected to attend the Academy for special to raise their luck.
However, should they fail, they would be stuck with their division code for life!
Only a few people had been able to climb the leader, but never to the top.
It was like a curse glued to the family's lineage when the Destitutes arrived, and I was born into that curse.
Shared into nine Division, Division nine, the least of the Divisions was home to criminals, to put it short it was a prison, a place where they would throw away the worst set of people.
Murderers, frauds, and all kinds of criminals were sent here, I was born into such bloodline.
Regardless...
… I was different!
I, who was born into the lowest of all Rankings, finally fulfilled my dream.
I became an Elite student!
But…
… Never in my wildest dreams…
… Did I expect what came next?
None of us did!
*****
“Ehem!”
“As you all know, this year, things are going to be a bit different.”
Broadcasted live is the Prestigious Principal of ALAB Academy who claims to have something important that would change our lives forever, although everyone doubts that, I'm pretty hopeful about his words.
The broadcast room is overflowing with teenagers who were dragged here as per instructions and a bit of force.
The place is heavily guarded with armed men so whether everyone liked it or not, we had to listen.
“This year, for the first time ever, your Division has been granted permission to study at ALAB,” he says.
What?!
What did he just say?
His words struck hard like lightning bolt causing my attention to skyrocket.
Our Division– to study at the Prestigious academy.
Prehaps I've been couped up for too long in this place to the point where the slightest mention of freedom has me beaming brightly.
My face brightens, I'm shocked beyond words after hearing this, but it was a bit too soon to rejoice.
“But!” He suddenly cuts off our celebration, “not everyone is going to be admitted in.
We have decided to host an examination for Division 9, and only, 5 would be admitted, now 5 is a rather good start wouldn't you agree?
Now, the examination is in one week, do well to study and perhaps you might have a shot at changing your destiny. Good luck!”
The TV goes blank and everyone comes down to a terrible bone chilling silence.
Five people, just five?
I look around at the multitude who watched the broadcast with me, our numbers over a thousand.
‘How am I supposed to get in?’ I wonder.
“Alright everyone, get in the line and get out of here!”
Pulling teenagers my age and even lower by the corner, were forced to get in a single line and leave the hall, our lives, pretty much like shackled.
A single step outside and my eyes are nearly burnt by the scorching heat of the sun.
This place, my home is filled with people who are half dead.
Dirty, sicken, and skinny, the worst possible place to leave in, Division 9.
Whack!
I feel a hard blow to the head and fall to the ground when a kick to the stomach has me flying.
“Next time, don't stall, except you'd like to go in the box,” a man yells.
Pained from the impact I’m barely able to gather myself and raise my head but the next second, I'm looking away with fear.
‘Shoot!
It was the wrong call.’
“Got a problem with me boy, cause I'd like to know why you're staring at me,” he says.
He squats, grabbing my face in him palm and forcing me to look him in the eyes again.
There was no time to hesitate as I quickly apologies, “I'm sorry sir, it won't happen again.”
“Well it better not, because the one who'd be regretting it would be you and not me, you damn twig!”
Whack!
Again, I receive another kick that has me wailing in pain. Still I know better than to remain on the ground as I hurry to get on my feet and join the line.
Creak!!!
“Oh there you are,” my mother says while rushing out to the door.
She pauses, questions clearly written all over her, and when she could no longer bear it, she asks, “what did they say?”
“They… want to admit five students from Division 9 to attend ALAB,” I tell her.
Her mouth wide open with no words uttered as she chuckles with confusion.
“W-what? Five students? But that's impossible, there's too many students.”
“Yes and I'm thinking of participating.”
“What?!”
Although calm and composed, her tone obviously spoke otherwise, she did not like what she heard.
Mother reaches out to me, but I retract, upon noticing my rebellion she puts on a fake smile.
“Why– [sigh] why don't you stay here with me so you can help out with a thing or two.”
“But I don't want to.”
“Ande~”
Tch!
There she is again, she'd probably want to tell me the story of how much she hates Division 1 because of what they did to father.
“Mother please, have you taken a look outside? It's sickening, we're treated like garbage.”
“You don't understand, the world out there is very terrible and cruel and competitive–”
“It's always been terrible,” I yell, cutting into her sentence, “I mean the reason we're stuck here in the first place is because dad got caught for fraud.”
“He was framed,” she cries.
“Then let me prove it mum, let me go out there and show everyone just how great we are. Mother please.”
Ignoring my words she heads straight for the kitchen, cleaning the already dried plates all because she's trying to avoid my eyes.
“Why don't you let me have my way, just this once.”
She turns around swiftly, grabbing me by the shoulders as she shakes me.
“You don't understand, they aren't going to make things easy for you, they dispise us!!!”
Her eyes are red from silent tears, I'm left speechless not knowing how to comfort her.
With a long sigh she finally releases me, turning towards her dishes, I could hear her as she sobs.
Carefully I count my words.
“I don't need them to. Once I become an Elite, I'll finally be able to prove our innocence, isn't that what you've always wanted?”
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 138. Escaped Helpers.
"We're not your enemies. We're students, too. We escaped the school just like you." I hesitated, my grip loosening. "Prove it," I demanded. "How do we know you're telling the truth?" At last they took off the mask from their faces, they looked nothing older than eighteen at most, but I wasn't going to be fooled, definitely not by their appearance especially. We pointed the guns at them, cold sweat dripped all over my face but that wasn't enough to make me tremble, at least I wouldn't allow myself to fall victim to such trickery. “No problem, no problem, I'll prove it, I'll show you that we mean no harm I swear,” the female of the group yelled. “Please, just back off with the gun a bit, that thing's dangerous and I doubt you even know how to hold them properly which makes it more dangerous.” Was she mocking us or what? I couldn't make due with it. I took a quick look at her and her colleagues behind us. They didn't seem to have any sort of weapon on them and they didn't retali
Chapter 139. Defiance.
I could hardly believe my eyes at first, but that was the honest truth apparently, and just like that, we had finally escaped the school, but freedom felt like a distant memory as we trudged through the arid landscape. Where we would go from here, that was the next question. Amid the celebration and excitement from my classmates I looked around, something didn't feel right, not in the slightest, but what was it? Suddenly, it occurred to me to look ahead as if I surveyed the land. "Does anyone have a binocular?" I asked. "A binoculars? I think I got one while we were escaping, it was amongst the staff gadgets," someone said. At once it struck me. Why exactly would they need such in the first place? The more I puzzled about this uneasy feeling the more restless I felt. The girl handed over the device with a bothered look on her face. I grabbed hold of the device and peered through. Scanning- Scanning- The coast looked clear, crystal clear however, what was this cloud of dus
Chapter 138. Break The Illusion.
(Diego's POV)I dart through the shifting corridors of the maze, my heart pounding in my chest as I try not to lose sight of the others. The disorienting twists and turns of this twisted landscape make it difficult to keep my bearings.And I'm finding it harder and harder to keep on going.As I watch my classmates struggle to cross the swaying platforms, a seed of doubt begins to take root in my mind. Something about this whole scenario doesn't feel right. The way the walls shift and the floors move - it's almost as if it's an illusion, a trick of the mind.I take a step back, studying the maze around us more closely. The patterns on the walls seem to shimmer and distort, and the very air feels charged with an unnatural energy. Narrowing my eyes, I focus my senses, trying to pierce through the deception.Suddenly, a flicker of movement catches my eye, and I whirl around to see a shimmering figure in the distance. It's the teacher, I'm sure of it. A wild surge of anger rises within me
Chapter 137. Space Manipulation.
(Ande's POV)We wait patiently for Ethan in the game room, the few of us that are still free, trying to cross check if we have everything. It was almost….. peaceful.Alas, things were not meant to be, as the world around us suddenly shifts and distorts.I grip the railing as the building contorts before my eyes, the once familiar corridors and classrooms twisting and distorting like a kaleidoscope. The floors seem to shift beneath my feet, and I struggle to maintain my balance as the world around me turns upside down. "What's happening?" I shout, my voice laced with panic as I glance at my teammates. Ava clings to the wall, her eyes wide with terror, while Chris braces himself against a doorframe, his knuckles turning white.A sinister chuckle echoes through the disorienting space, and I feel a chill run down my spine. "Did you really think you could escape me so easily?" The teacher's voice, dripping with malice, surrounds us.I whirl around, searching for the source of the sound.
Chapter 136. Divide Map.
(Ande's POV)After washing out the blood from my clothes, I looked down with a heavy sigh of disbelief, I could not believe that this was what I had been reduced to. A monster, perhaps. "We have to go," Chris said to me, his hand upon my shoulder. Yes, there was somewhere we had to be and I refused to let anything come in the way of my freedom, not even myself. Chris and I rejoin the others. The students from the lab are gathered, their faces etched with a mixture of fear and anticipation. They couldn't possibly reject me and I knew that, I was one of them and they were just like me, we had the same substance or whatever it was that was put in me running through their veins, they couldn't possibly bail on me. "Ande," one of them says, her voice tinged with relief. "We've been trying to make sense of what happened back there."As I explain what I found in the lab and the chip I retrieved, their expressions shift from confusion to horror."So they were trying to turn us into desti
Chapter 136. Hybrid Solutions..
(Ande's POV)I shake my head, refusing to believe what they're telling me. "No, I can't have done this. There must be some mistake." I couldn't accept that in the slightest bit, how could everything turn out this way, we had come so far and yet this was supposed to be the result?No, it couldn't possibly be this way. "Ande, listen to us," Ethan says, his tone urgent however I looked away from him, the last thing I wanted on my plate was someone to interfere with how I felt but he was persistent an attribute that I had hated for quite a while now. "We all felt... different, after what happened in the lab. And now, with what's happened here... we can't risk staying any longer. For our own safety, and for yours."I want to protest, to demand answers, but the fear in their eyes gives me pause. I took a deep sigh, surely this wasn't the end of everything, I knew there had to be some sort of way but the opportunity seemed difficult to come by. "I understand but I'm sure there's a cure