Chapter 287: searching the bunker

"How do you know about that?" Alex asked with a straight face after calming himself down. He made sure that he hid his emotions. Even if he had already slipped up.

"A while ago we could perceive and sense something incredible. When he followed its scent we unintentionally arrived in front of the library. Then Nana told us to stay away after telling us that it Midas petal that was emitting the scent. She said that you got the petal by yourself, now I know that Nana is not that trustworthy, by she's also not a liar." Xiao En replied.

"Nana did that? How comes I wasn't aware of it when it happened." Alex wondered.

"I've answered your question, now answer mine. How did someone like you get your hands on Midas petal?"

Silence filled the hall once again. Alex was contemplating if he should lie or tell Xiao En the truth.

['What do you guys think? Should I tell her or not?']

['It doesn't matter if she knows the truth or not. The chances of getting a petal without being a seed carrier all depend on Mr. Guardian.'] Xander pointed out.

"The guardian allowed me to join in on the competition or quest, whichever way you would like to see it," Alex answered.

"But why?" Xiao En found it hard to believe that and yet it was the only way possible.

"Remember that miracle fruit I got after my first mission from the academy?"

"Yeah?" Xiao En frowned upon the question, she couldn't understand why he was bringing that up now.

"It wasn't a miracle fruit, it was a Midas petal. I mistakenly stumbled upon one while running away from the berserker zombies." Alex stated. He saw that what he had said hadn't done anything to change the expression on Xiao En's face and chose to continue.

"The guardian said that fate brought me to the petal and then he let me have it. He also stated that if I do stumble upon another petal before any of the seed carriers find it, then he will let me have it." Alex finished.

"What exactly are you?" Xiao En asked.

"A human, what else?" Alex stated the obvious.

"How is your luck so good, are you really a treasure seeker? Should I kidnap you anytime I want to go out? Maybe that way I can stumble upon a treasure of my own." Xiao En thought out loud.

"No, thank you." Alex immediately refused. He unintentionally yawned. "It's been a while since I've had any sleep… now that I've answered your question, do you have anything else that you want to say to me?"

"No, not really." Xiao En answered.

Alex then turned and looked at the steward, waiting to hear if he had a question of his own for him. The steward smiled at Alex before making a short bow. "Go ahead and retire for the day young master Alex, your suite has been professionally taken care of."

Alex bobbed his head at the steward before turning. "Well then, I guess I will see the two of you later." He said as he began walking towards his suite…

['You know for someone trained as an assassin, you are losing your touch.'] Al stated.

['True, you know, I've been thinking about this for while again. I don't want to be an assassin anymore, at the moment I am much more than a kid that Kain raised and trained. Nana is my master, and… I've got friends now. I don't want to be who Kain taught me to be, I want to be me for me.

Although that doesn't mean I can discard all that he has given to me, I will use what he taught me to end his life when the time comes.'] Alex revealed.

['I'm happy that you are starting to think like this, Alex.'] Lex mentioned.

['And Al, thank you for helping me calm down.'] Alex thanked with a smile on his face.

['Huh!? What are you thanking me for!? It's only natural that I help you. Hmph! ruining my mood with your sissy-mushy words.'] Al responded, trying his best to sound displeased when deep down, he was relieved to have heard that from Alex.

It didn't take long for Alex to get to his suite, when he entered the suite, he saw the rest of his teammates sleeping peacefully in the living room. They all haven't slept in a while.

Suddenly Katherine began snoring loudly, she was sleeping on a couch that was right next to Drake on the ground. Drake removed the pillow from underneath his head and used it to hit Katherine's face, causing her loud snore to subside… only for her snore to continue a few seconds later.

This scene made Alex chuckle. ['Everyone is exhausted. I don't see Camron.'] Alex noticed.

['He's probably alright, you go and get some sleep.'] Lex uttered and Alex left for his room.

After having a goodnight's sleep, Alex woke up feeling rejuvenated and better than he had felt in weeks. He stretched and said; "Even if cultivators don't need sleep to function properly, sleep is still the best way to rest." He got and performed the necessaries.

"Now, to start from where we stopped yesterday. Where do we search for the Midas petal? Where is the most hidden and secured place in the academy?" Alex began thinking.

['We haven't really toured the academy since we arrived here.'] Lex pointed out.

"That's true, and I am starting to regret it, nonetheless we will check everywhere in the school."

['How about the underground bunker?'] Al brought this to their attention.

['That's right, the underground bunker, that's one place to start with. That door that you couldn't burn through that time, we can start with that side; don't you think so?']Lex chipped in.

"Then the underground bunker it is." Alex got dressed and left his room, expecting to see his jovial bunch still laid out on the floor sleeping, however, much to his surprise they had already left the suite.

"Where could they have gone? Did they go to class? If so then it is understandable." Alex concluded that his teammates had gone to attend class. Which wasn't compulsory for him, according to Nana.

Leaving the guest inn, Alex finds his way to the underground bunker, following the part that he took the first time when he was Gustavo. Roughly 10 minutes had gone by when he arrived at the entrance of the underground bunker.

Alex could have arrived earlier but he decided to take his time on his way here.

-Thud!

Alex landed on the floor of the bunker. "Still gives me the apocalyptic vibes that I used to get whenever I was in Mercury." He said as he recalled his way to the door that couldn't burn through the last time that he was in the bunker.

['Still has me wondering who the creator of this bunker is, the technology here makes this place feel like another world of its own.'] Alex thought.

['Who knows, but they must have been one of a kind geniuses.'] Xander stated.

"Whoa!! So this is where you've been staying for years? This place is even more awesome than Alex's suite… well in its own way." Alex heard an all too familiar voice, it was Drake's.

['Huh! What are they doing here? Shouldn't they be in class, or are they all skipping classes?']

['What do you think, rabbit?'] Al said sarcastically.

"Yeah, I stayed here underground, alone with all this space to myself. I could hide from anyone in this place. It brought peace and solitude to my mind whenever I think about the past." Gustavo answered.

Drake and the rest were just a corner away from Alex, so it didn't take long before they met.

"Alex! You are awake, and here." Drake exclaimed. "How did you know that we would be here?" He questioned.

"Fortune-telling," Alex said in all seriousness, making Drake speechless.

Emma chuckled at the sight of this. "You knew about this place too?"

"Yeah, found it when I was…" Alex paused. "When I was going for a stroll, a while ago."

['Shit! I almost slipped and said when I was trailing Gustavo. They don't need to know that I was the one that killed Hinata, the fewer people that know, the better it is.'] Alex said in his head.

"What brings you to the bunker?" Gustavo asked.

Alex sighs, "I came to make another attempt on that door again. Can't shake the feeling that there is something valuable there."

"So you want to try melting it again?"

"Yeah, my flames have gotten hotter and stronger." Alex went with the flow, knowing fully well that Lex was going to teleport to the side of the door.

"Can we join you?" Drake asked with an excited expression.

"If you want to melt like butter along with the door, then please be my guest. As I said, my flames have gotten hotter, so it will be wiser for you if you avoid it. When I'm through, I will come to look for you guys. As for now, enjoy your tour of the bunker." Alex waved and left for the door.

Gustavo watched Alex as he walked, having a gut feeling that something was up, but he couldn't place his finger on it nor ask what it was. He shook his head and decided to let it be as it is. 'This Alexander is always up to something.'