Chapter 165: Back to the City
By the time Xavier and his father got back to the village, the sun was low, bleeding into the rooftops, and the others were already awake. Lyra was chatting with some of the kids. Lilia leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching the crowd. Reva stood off to the side, hair catching the light, scanning for Xavier the second she noticed him.
As soon as he approached them, he didn’t waste time.
"We should leave now," he said.
That earned him a collective groan from the villagers.
"You just got back—stay a few more days," one of the elders said. "We owe you that much."
"Everyone here has things to do," Xavier replied, voice even. "We can’t waste more time."
They tried to argue, but he wasn’t budging. Finally, someone suggested, "Then at least have dinner before you go."
Lyra’s ears perked up instantly. "I’m voting we wait for dinner."
Xavier didn’t answer. He just turned and walked toward his house.
A few minutes later, Reva and Angel followed him inside.
Reva leaned against the doorframe. "Do you really want to leave right now?"
Xavier looked past her to Angel. "How long will it take to get back to the city?"
Angel tapped her wrist display. "With the hover car? Three hours, max."
Xavier turned back to Reva. "I’ve got a transaction I need to make before midnight. Can’t do it here—network’s trash, and I don’t even know where I’ll have to set it up yet."
"That’s not the only issue, is it?" Reva asked quietly.
He didn’t answer.
Angel cut in. "We’ll still reach the city before midnight even if we stay for dinner."
Xavier exhaled through his nose, silent for a moment, then gave the smallest nod.
"Alright then. But hey, I am not driving."
Dinner wasn’t just dinner. The villagers went all out—tables lined the square, plates stacked high, more food than they’d had the night before. Rich spices, grilled meat, steaming bread. Lyra was in heaven, stuffing her plate until it looked like a challenge. Even Lilia cracked a faint smile.
They ate until the sky turned black.
Then came the goodbyes—handshakes, hugs, quiet words from people who didn’t want to see them go. Xavier said little, but he took every farewell seriously.
When it was done, they climbed into the hover car—Xavier, Reva, Angel, Lilia, and Lyra—and left the village behind.
The hover car’s engines hummed low as Angel took the driver’s seat, guiding them out of the village.. The glow from the huts faded behind them until it was swallowed by the night. The windshield showed nothing but the stretch of dark road and the occasional flicker of rural streetlights.
Xavier leaned back in his seat, hands resting on his knees, eyes fixed on the horizon. His jaw was tight, the kind of tight that meant his head was busy running numbers and scenarios.
"You’re thinking too much," Reva said behind him, her voice soft but carrying through the cabin.
"Not enough time to think too much," Xavier muttered.
Lyra, sitting in the back with Lilia, was still chewing on something she’d pocketed from dinner. "You’re acting like we’re racing the clock for no reason."
That didn’t exactly help the mood in the car.
The hum of the engine filled the silence. Outside, the terrain shifted from scattered farmland to denser clusters of industrial lights, the outskirts of the city still far off but creeping closer.
The hover car glided into the city’s outer lanes, the skyline now towering ahead in a maze of glass, steel, and neon. Xavier leaned forward in his seat.
"Angel," he said, "drop me, Lilia, and Lyra at the Nexus Tower. Take my car with you. We’ll talk about everything tomorrow."
Angel shot him a sidelong glance. "I’m not your driver, so you’d better return this favor."
"You’ll live," Xavier muttered.
Minutes later, they pulled up to the base of Nexus Tower, its mirrored walls cutting into the night sky like a blade. Angel eased the hover car down, Reva stepping out with her. Without another word, Angel lifted off again, the car’s thrusters whining as she carried Reva away into the city lights.
Xavier, Lilia, and Lyra headed into the tower, the automatic glass doors swallowing them in. The lobby’s hum of activity was muted compared to the streets outside. They made their way to the apartment floor.
Once inside, Xavier didn’t wait—he went straight to his room.
The digital clock on his desk glowed back at him: 11:17 PM. Forty-three minutes to midnight.
"Five million credits to spend. And no clear idea where to drop it."
He rubbed his temple. Then the idea hit.
He sat at his desk, activated his holo-setup, and went live. Within seconds, his streaming panel lit up like fireworks—viewers flooding in, chat scrolling so fast the text blurred.
The comments came in a wave.
[Holy shit, Xavier’s injured!]
[What happened?!]
[Someone get the medics!]
[This better not be Ethan and Lucas again... this is attempted murder!]
[Report them to the Authority!]
Xavier could have gone with it, let the chaos spread like wildfire. But instead, he leaned back, keeping his voice steady. "Relax. I got into a car accident. That’s it."
That didn’t calm anyone.
[Bullshit. This is clearly them.]
[We should boycott their entire brand!]
[Sue the manufacturer! Shut them down!]
Xavier exhaled through his nose, a hint of a smirk tugging at his lip. "It was my fault. Nothing serious happened. I’m fine."
The storm didn’t die, but it shifted—comments turning into well-wishes, people spamming heal-up messages and digital gift drops.
"Thanks," Xavier said, glancing at the ever-ticking clock on his screen. "For worrying. For the wishes. For everything."
The clock read 11:21 PM now.
Time was still moving, and so was his plan.
The chat kept flowing, but Xavier leaned forward, elbows on the desk, and gave that lazy half-smile that always made the comment feed stutter for a second.
"You know what guys?" he said. "I feel like doing a giveaway. Who’s in?"
The chat exploded instantly.