Chapter 5

"Bro... wake up, bro... why are you sleeping on the couch?"

"Huh."

Axel opened his eyes, blinking several times. He saw the ceiling of his own apartment living room. He turned to see his sister Janet's beautiful face from behind the couch where he was lying. "Syuuut," Axel immediately sat up. He blinked again, looking around to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Huh... how... am I at home?" Axel asked.

"Huh? Are you dreaming, bro? When I came in, you were already here. You didn't go to the test? I thought the test was still going on. My friend Rieke's brother is still at school," Janet asked.

"Huh... I went... but why am I home now? I went to the test. I-I was at the school..." Axel said. He took out his smartphone and looked at the time on the screen. "What? It's already 7 p.m.? Axel said. He looked at Janet, who was still in her school uniform and carrying her bag. "Did you... just get home from work?" Axel asked.

"Yeah. That's why I'm confused to see you at home, sleeping. You didn't take the test at school? I thought it was mandatory," Janet replied, confused.

"I went... and then I came home," Axel replied. "The last thing I remember is being in the classroom after talking to Ms. Miyuki... and then I don't remember anything else," Axel thought to himself.

"Dling," a message came into the class email group. Axel immediately checked it. It was a list of students who had been recruited to be Chasers. Out of 63 students, only eight were accepted as Chasers, and the rest were allowed to apply to be Miners if they wanted. "Krrrk," Axel gripped his smartphone tightly as he read the name at the very top: Abigail Marlow, SS-rank. Second and third were Greyson White and Sergei Rostova, both S-rank. The remaining five were two A-ranks and three B-ranks, including Jacob and Lilian.

Janet walked behind Axel and tiptoed to see his phone screen. Her eyes immediately widened as she read the name at the top.

"Wow... Abby is an SS-rank. That's so cool. Even Theo, who's so amazing, is only an S-rank," Janet muttered.

Hearing Janet's words, Axel immediately turned and stared at his sister so seriously that Janet looked back at him, confused.

"You know Theo is an S-rank?" Axel asked.

"Of course I do. Didn't you read the patient's data on his bed? It says Theo is an S-rank, and I even confirmed it with the association. It's true," Janet replied.

"Oh... that's right. I haven't visited him at the hospital in a long time," Axel replied.

"Alright, bro, let's eat first. I already bought some food. After that, I want to shower and do my homework," Janet said, pointing to the plastic bag on the dining table.

"Okay," Axel replied.

They both walked toward the dining table, but Axel glanced at the coffee table and froze. All that was on it was a TV remote. He turned to the sofa, grabbed his bag, opened it, and kneeled down to check under the sofa and the coffee table. Janet, seeing Axel frantically looking for something, asked,

"What are you looking for, bro?" Janet asked, curious.

"Have you seen a thick, leather-bound book?" Axel asked.

"Huh? A book? Do we even have a book like that?" Janet asked, confused.

"Uh... never mind," Axel said. Suddenly, he remembered the incident in the classroom, the voice in his head, and then passing out. "Oh no, I left the book at school. I have to go get it now, or it'll be gone by tomorrow, especially since I didn't leave it in my own classroom," Axel said, walking toward the door.

"What? You don't want to eat first, bro?" Janet asked, confused.

"Later. That book is important. I'll go get it first. You go ahead and eat. And if you want to go to your room, just lock the door. I have my keys," Axel said, putting on his black coat.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'm going now," Axel said, leaving.

Axel immediately ran out of the apartment building gate and walked quickly toward his school, which was only about 1000 meters away. When he arrived at the school gate, he saw that the lights in the school building were still on, and many people and several association cars were still in the back gym. It seemed they were still conducting tests there. Axel immediately ran inside the building toward his target classroom.

But when he got there and reached for the doorknob, he suddenly heard voices inside.

"Hey, babe, do you think that fatty knows we're actually dating?" a man asked.

"Haha... there's no way he knows. He thinks I'm his loyal childhood friend who's never far from him. We almost got caught earlier, though. I told you to stop bothering him, so why do you keep doing it?" a woman's voice asked.

"Haha... sorry, I just couldn't stand seeing that one guy in front of me in line. But he's kind of cute, isn't he? When you got in the tube earlier, he looked so worried," the man's voice replied.

"He's so sweet, isn't he? Just leave him alone as long as he's not a bother. Besides, we don't have to pretend anymore. We don't have to go to school and we can be together," the woman replied.

"You're right, babe," a kissing sound could be heard. "But... do you think he knows why his brother is in a coma?" the man asked.

"Huh... no, he's an idiot. I even texted him earlier to tell him not to become a Chaser. But I guess it's his destiny not to be a Chaser after all," the woman replied.

Axel's hand clenched as he listened to the conversation inside, which was now mentioning his brother, and he could figure out who was in the classroom. "Grek," Axel opened the classroom door slightly and peered inside. His eyes widened as he saw Abigail lying on the desk, naked, with Grey on top of her, thrusting. They were having sex in the classroom.

Seeing Abigail like this and the expression on her face that he had never seen before, a tear fell down Axel's cheek. His fist clenched even tighter, his knuckles turning white. He shook his head and covered his mouth. Slowly, he closed the door and continued to listen to their conversation.

"Ugh... your brother... he's an SS-rank, too, right?" Abigail asked.

"Yep... just a month ago. That's why he left that fatty's brother in the dungeon, all messed up. It's too bad my brother and his team couldn't defeat the boss, so the dungeon didn't disappear," Grey answered.

"Hmm... is that so? But don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him at the hospital. Remember, I'm still his childhood friend, so as soon as he wakes up, I'll make my move, hehe... aah... that feels good," Abigail groaned.

"Nice. Thanks, babe. Do you have a grudge against that fatty's brother?" Grey asked.

"Yeah... he never returned my love and always treated me like a kid. Plus, he made my dad disappear when they went into the dungeon together. Now I can enter the dungeon by myself and find where my dad is," Abigail answered.

"Sreeeeg," the door suddenly flew open. Abigail and Grey immediately looked over at the door. They both smirked and continued what they were doing, seeing Axel standing in the doorway with a furious face, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"So you're the ones who hurt Theo!" Axel yelled.

"Whoaaah... take it easy, fatty," Grey said, getting off Abigail and turning to face Axel as he pulled up his pants. "You heard our conversation, didn't you?" Grey asked with a sneer.

"Everything! You're the one who did it, and... " Axel said, looking at Abigail. "I thought you were my only friend. I guess I was wrong," Axel yelled.

"Haha... about the friend thing, you're not wrong. I am your friend, but I just hate your brother. Sorry about that," Abigail said casually, pulling on her underwear without a care in the world.

"So what are you gonna do now, fatty? You know our ranks, right? The list is out," Grey said, walking toward Axel.

"Just you wait, you bastard. I'll get revenge on your brother, and I'll leave him in the dungeon, just like he left Theo in the dungeon!" Axel yelled, pointing at Grey.

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