The particle of air spirally spun around Jody's five fingers. She looked at them proudly, couldn't help but thinking what her friend's reactions will be once they've returned from the mission.

“......”

She then canceled the ability, the spinning air disappeared, instead, it's replaced with the blue auras Jody released.

What will it be if she, after receiving the enhancement, use ‘The Swapping Technique’ now?

Since being experimented with many tests, it was obvious that Jody loses much lesser stamina on each movement. Also, her ability becomes deadlier and as dangerous as Syd so much that the scientists and guards are forced to put on the oxygen masks whenever Jody is on the experimenting.

As she's considering trying the Swapping technique while gazing at the blue aura flowing around her hand, She remembered her instructor's words.

{ Never do that alone when I'm not around. It may drain out your energy in just a second.}

She's being too excited about the Gargantuan cells and herself being one of the Elementalist that she forgot to ask him whether she could be allowed to practice the swapping technique on her own.

Doesn't matter how much she wanted to pull it off, a rule is a rule.

The blue aura disappeared.

( I wonder how they'll be doing right now...)

Being left behind wasn't a matter for Jody because it's necessary, but not being with them made her felt uncomfortable here.

Jody rolled over the bed, picking up the phone next to the bed. Repeating the agent's files she got.

Several things are outstanding. But the number one in her head was the name “Cadence&Cascade”.

“.....”

(... I'm dehydrated...)

Jody raised from the bed and left the room.

Walking out of the room, Jody headed to the middle conference hall where they used to have an assembly. There is a water dispenser and many drinks over there she could get.

*Doors automatically opened*

Usually, Jody had memorized all the familiar faces she saw 2-3 days ago or since her first arrival. But right now she spotted the unfamiliar people resting on the public seats, talking.

One was a black teenage man with a cool black haircut, another was an Asian teenage girl with short white hair with black labeled.

However, Jody continued on her business.

“......”

She picked the paper cup and pressed on the dispenser, it then released the water down to the cup and so on...

With eyes gazing at them, somehow, the man raised and left on the doors behind them like he had some business to attend to, leaving only Jody and the Asian girl together in the big canteen.

“......”

While Jody was drinking, the Asian girl somehow spotted her too. Maybe because Jody wasn't Thrak's people from the first place. That made this girl noticed.

“ Hey. You. You there. The blonde who's drinking water over there.”

Cannot be more obvious, she called Jody.

(........)

The American then gazed her eyes at her.

“ You're new? ”

“? ”

“ You're a new agent? Never see you before.”

“ What made you assume that I am an agent? ”

Jody asked back.

“ Most of the teenagers here are agents.”

Replied the Asian girl.

(... I see, so there are other teenagers like us working for Thrak as well...)

“ Yes... Yes, I'm new.”

Because she didn't know if she could tell them who she is or not, Jody chose to blend in with the answer. That's the best way she could do.

“ What's your code name? ”

Asked the girl.

(...Code name? Oh right...)

Under Jody's deadpan face, her brain was running.

Reluctantly, Jody didn't sure if she's allowed to tell this woman. Jody didn't know who she was or if she was allowed to know about Jody.

But If Jody told her a code name, she could check if she knew about ‘The Air’ or not.

“ Air Born.”

“.... Air Born? ”

“ Yes.”

“ A-I-R B-O-R-N? Spell like that? ”

“ Yes.”

“ Huh... *Scratches chin*... Never heard it before...”

“ Because I just said I was new. Yours?”

(... A good opportunity to ask for hers either.)

Jody thought.

“ ‘BreakThrough’ ”

Said the Asian girl.

Jody thought it was going to end at that. But No. She's wrong.

This Asian girl seemed to suspect in Jody, she wouldn't stop.

“ How did you get sign-up? Who's your partner?”

“.....”

A sudden change was shown on Jody's face. It was an obvious sign Jody intended to show that she did not prefer to talk to this Asian girl for any minute longer.

“ Is it necessary for you to know who's my colleague? Is that in the training?”

“ Well. I don't familiar with your face at all and I mean it. I've been walking in and out of this place for 3 years. I have yet to meet a caucasian blonde. So...”

(... 3 years? ....)

To cut the crap. With a short answer.

“ Syd.”

!!!!!!?????

As that name slipped out of Jody's mouth. A face paled reaction with eyes widened opened and jaws dropped were shown on the Asian girl.

“ SYD??? Wait... You mean... Syd Barrett? ”

“.......”

Hearing the change in the voice also made Jody began to feel anxious. But her face remained calm and expressionless.

“ Yes.”

“ Syd Barrett??? The one with red eyes, brown hair. And likes wearing Red?”

“ Yes.”

Big gasp.

“ What? ”

Asked Jody, but no response from the girl.

“ WHA-?? Really?? You... Your partner is Syd Barrett??? ”

“ What's so special? ”

Not like it's the first time Jody encountered something like this but cannot help herself to get curious.

“ Only a few people can pair up with that guy.”

“ Who? ”

“ Not so much. I think up to 3 or 4.”

(... 3 or 4...)

If not counting the team, it means there's one left unknown.

“ Compatible with few people, but if it results in good work then it's no problem. What's wrong with that? I've heard everyone talking like this when it comes to Syd. What's up with him? Is he quite a celebrity in here?”

Jody asked her back.

“ Not a pleasant one.”

The Asian girl replied.

“ How? Is he a bad person or something?”

“ No. Not like that. He's just... unpleasant. Too straight forward and never cares about others. And rude... And cocky.”

Jody felt that by recalling the first day she met him.

“ So a lot of you agents dislike him? ”

Asked Jody.

“ Not like that. Lower than that. Just don't want to work with. But otherwise, his mouth is as good as his skills. I dislike his personality but not his works. Truthfully, he's one of the best agents here. Can't complain.”

“ How did you get through the training without hearing about Syd Barrett? That's unbelievable.”

“ Sorry to disappoint, then.”

Replied Jody.

“ No one told you not even Jade?”

“.....”

“ What does that suppose to mean? ”

“ Syd hasn't paired up with anyone for years.”

(... That's understandable...)

Jody thought.

“ He refused?”

Asked Jody.

“ Yes. He refused to work with anyone who's not his kind of favor.”

“ Who's his kind of favor then? ”

“ Well... A popular one would be his sister Roxxy... Mickey the pretty boy and Toshi the macker--”

Suddenly, Jody cuts in between.

“ All of them are also celebrities like him?”

“ Yes. But in different ways.”

The Asian girl answered.

“ So... Except for his pals, no agents have ever paired up with him?”

“ There's one. But it's like 3 years ago.”

“ Who? ”

“ I don't know. I don't have any idea. The only thing I know was that she's a woman. That's all.”

“ ...Why do you know so much about Syd?”

“ Because one of his so calls “Homies” is my partner.”

!?

That's surprising.

(.... There is another? )

“ Who? ”

“ ‘Denji’ ”

When the girl mentioned ‘Denji’ suddenly, it recalls a name in Jody's head.

[ Syd Barrett: be compatible with: … “Deadman Denji” … ]

She started to catch a glimpse and connections.

“ Denji? Deadman Denji? ”

“ Deadman comes in when we refer to his codename. Usually, it's Denji. You know him? ”

Asked The girl.

“ No. It's a name that crossed my eyes while I was reading the document. Who is him? ”

Replied Jody.

“ Remember the man who had just left? a minute ago? ”

!?

“ That's Denji? ”

“ Yes, he is. But he's on an appointment now. Guess he would return, surely, not now.”

(... Unfortunately...)

Jody thought.

The girl looked at the wristwatch,

“ We're on a transferring mission. What a shame but we will not spend our time at this place for long. But if you are here, Syd Barrett should be here too, right?”

Jody shook her head.

“ No. He's on a mission with the team.”

“ The team mission? How many?”

“ five.”

“ Five?!... Must be an important one, does it?”

“ Probably.”

“ Why they left you here?”

Suddenly the doors opened, appearing a middle-aged woman walking in.

Both Jody and the Asian girl turned to her.

It's Jade. She walked in and said something to the girl.

“ You should go now. The mission has been officially established.”

“ Oh. Really? Ok.”

The Asian girl raised and about to left.

“ Oh hey.”

She turned back,

“ What's your name? ”

“......”

Jody gazed her eyes at Jade, the woman nodded. Jody then gazed back.

“ Jody.”

“ Liu.”

“ Are you from Chinese?”

Asked Jody.

“Korean.”

“ Oh...”

Waving her hand, she left Jody felt a bit guilty.

“ Just how many teenagers you've recruited? That girl is almost the same age as me.”

Jade smirked,

“ That's classified. But I assure you, there're many ranges of ages.”

“....”

As if Jade can read her mind, no need to ask. She started to say,

“ Liu's partner is Denji. And Denji is a person that has been together with Syd Barrett since he's been recruited. Along with Mickey Mannix.”

“ So those three. Know each other from the first day? ”

“ Not really. Anyway,”

Jade sent something to Jody's phone.

Ding!

“ This is the updated information of you and your ability that'll be sent into the database. And we may have to collect your gargantuan cells for more. The appointment is in the next 20 minutes.”

“ Okay...”

“ And we'll have you meet with Kat and more things you need to know about yourself.”

“ Interesting...” Said Jody.

“ You know, You are very chill. Maybe the chillest from any agents I've in charge with.”

“ I'll take that as a compliment.”

The girl replied before she had thought of something.

“ Oh, Jade.”

“? ”

“ I am a little bit curious about someone. Can you allow me to access the information about them? ”

“ Who? ”

“ The code name is ‘Cadence’ and ‘Cascade’. ”

After that name came out of her mouth, the atmosphere in the room began to drop into complete silence.

“ Why do you want to know? ”

“ Is it prohibited?”

Asked Jody.

“......”

It seemed like the matter she's brought up was something complicated or uncomfortable to talk about.

(... Jackpot...)

Jody thought.

“ It is information about a person who is already dead. What's up with that?”

“ That person's information is restricted due to the request. No one can access that information, not even me.”

“ The request of who? ”

“ I don't know.” Jade shook her head,

“ It's out of my authority.”

“ Is this person an important person or something?”

Asked Jody.

“ No. But it is requested by the important person to lock it from the people outside.”

“.....”

“ I see... Okay then...”

.

.

.

.

.

.

Back into the room, Jody was deeply frustrated. However, she had made a list of the clues she and Sera had gained on the phone.

> The fire accident.

> Heart surgery.

> Cadence and Cascade [ Highly suspicious ]

> The promise with someone a long time ago.

Scratching her head, There's a high possibility that a “Person” Roxxy had mentioned will be this one with a code name ‘Cadence&Cascade’.

But that's just an assumption.

It doesn't need to be the same person.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Her phone rang because the timer has passed out. It's the time she had an appointment with Jade and Vega.

.

.

.

.

.

.

* Tornado noise *

Bang!

* high pitch sound of metal bouncing*

Bang!

* sound of a concrete wall being hit*

Bang!

“ 3,150 ft/s ....”

Vega's checking up on the shooting chronograph, reading the number on its screen.

“ How much is that in SI? ”

Jody asked him, she took off the oxygen mask and hung it around his neck.

“ I thought you'd prefer the American unit.”

“ Yeah but I've been studying in London for years.”

“ around 960 m/s, compare with the previous speed before you received the cells, it's 3.2 times greater.”

“ So...if the previous speed of my air bullet was the same as the handgun...after I received the cell... it increases to... ”

“ A rifle. Sniper rifle.”

“... Woah.”

Jody was quite impressed with the result.

But the destruction range is still not very far due to the science of aerodynamics. The air she has summoned, when being shot, still expands out and molds back to the surrounded air in a quick time.

“ The most effective range to shoot somebody would be around 10 meters at most.”

“ Hey, Vega.”

“?”

“ Do you guys collect the bullet shells?”

Vega took a time considering, suddenly he quickly understood what the girl was thinking.

“ Are you thinking of adding a metallic object like a bullet on the tip of your finger so that you can use the compressed air you created to fire it? Like a captive bolt gun? ”

“ Am I not allowed to try out?”

“ I don't think it will work though but... We can give it a shot.”

Said the Indian scientist.

Not for long, Jody got what she requested. But not just the bullet shell, she got many small yet sharp-shaped objects waiting for her to try out.

Bang!

“ Damn it.”

It's a lot harder than she thought. Because the bullet shell does not follow her finger like the spinning air. She needs to put it in a proper straight line along with her finger to accurately hit the target, and with just small vibration of her aiming, it results missing. She can't just do it with one hand, she needs to hold it with both hands and it looks very hilarious and uncomfortable to do.

This doesn't count the fact that the air pressure from the spinning air she generated had unintentionally crushed down every .45 bullet shells, coins, small magnets, and more when shot off, making its shape got destroyed which leads to a speed loss and created a spin, thus, made it missed the target.

“ I gave up. It's too hard. Pure air is enough, I think.”

Jody picked up a sniper bullet shell,

“ Unless I would be crazy enough carrying this thing around...”

Bang!

It did hit the target, but Jody wasn't pleased with that.

She tried mocking the captive bolt pistol as much as possible, turns out not only it made things harder and heavier, it doesn't work. Moreover, the object tends to get crushed before it even shot off.

“ Jade, Can you do me a favor?”

Asked Jody.

“ What?”

“ I want some textbooks. Can you find me one? ”

“ Textbooks? Yes, you can. What kind?”

.

.

.

As she realized herself again, it's almost 8 P.M. and she was resting on the bench near a shooting range. Looking at the staff cleaning up the place.

(...I need to go to the bathroom...)

“.......”

.

.

.

The water had been released from the bathroom sink in the woman's restroom.

Jody splashed it on the face, it felt very fresh after a long day of using her energy. Then she wiped it off with the towel before leaving.

*Doors automatically opened*

As she arrived at the middle public hall. Her eyes met with Jade waiting for her on the table, in hand carrying up to three thick textbooks.

No doubt, Jody's request had been granted.

“ Here are the textbooks you've requested.”

Jade started picking it up one by one, facing them to Jody to make sure every book was on the list.

• Fundamentals of Aerodynamics

• Fundamentals of Fluid mechanics

• An introduction to Atmospheric physics

“ Thanks.”

“ Haven't you studied this before?”

“ Not deep enough.”

They're a bit heavier than it looks, Jody carried them in the hands.

“ Anything you want more?”

“ I can't think of it yet.”

“ Then this is it. Today is the end of our experiment. See you tomorrow.”

“ ... Hey, Jade.”

“ Yeah? ”

“ First I thought you were an info provider...but you're more like a custodian. What exactly is your job? ”

“.....”

Jade smiled,

“ If you want to know, I can tell you that after you become Thrak's agent.”

* Doors automatically opened *

Jade walks out.

Jody smirks, “ Good grief...”

Before she turned around and headed back to her room.