To Live Again, For the First Time!

Just as Elijah was going to make himself comfortable on his seat, his assistant, Liam, informed him that he had more work to deal with.

The background noise from the helicopter they were on was disrupting their ability to communicate, but it didn't prevent Assistant Liam from pointing at the files he had in his hands. ​​

Elijah, who was already exhausted from his day's work still took the files.

He opened the folder and skimmed through it before tipping them off. In other words, throwing the papers out of the helicopter.

"My hands slipped. Next time don't use paper." Elijah spoke into the microphone that he was provided which transmitted his message straight to Assistant Liam's headphones.

They were currently flying over the ocean, so Elijah didn't have to worry about others finding some of the confidential information in the papers.

Plus, he had skimmed the papers just in case there was something that was really important, that would put them at risk if someone found it.

As for his assistant, he was thinking the same thing he thought of every time this happened.

'I'm only printing these so that you don't keep throwing the computers into the ocean. I don't want to pollute the oceans.'

'But you're the Boss.'

Well, actually, Elijah's subordinates had gone to get back that computer, but it took a whole scuba team to get the work done.

Just to make sure none of the files were leaked.

Since then, they made sure that they would start using paper, and then later biodegradable paper.

Elijah closed his eyes to think about his day and his future plans.

'Those hackers seem like a bust. How should I find M? I can't keep going at this cat and mouse game, I need something more foolproof.'

He long knew that the zoo was a no go, but he left them there as bait as he formed new plans.

Yes, he called the hackers the zoo.

He wasn't purposefully being rude. When he was talking to Assistant Liam with other people around, if he needed to call specific groups he would use their code names.

It would go something like this:

'Go call the zoo.' Or 'zookeeper' if he were talking about that man in the black suit, whom he gave a second chance to.

Unable to sleep, Elijah rested his eyes the whole journey.

The more he thought of the strategies he could use and the routes he could take, the blurrier his future path seemed.

M's identity was hidden behind a thick haze. Gender, age, ethnicity, nothing was known for certain.

All of his plans would take a certain amount of time to fester. He had people planted in the International Medical Association, but not even the higher-ups knew information on M.

As for Xander, the only connection to X that the Medical Association had. He was both very wilful and incredibly loyal.

The investigations that had been done had shown that he was never one to budge when it came to M's demands. He also used 'his' name to get nearly everything he wanted. It was unknown if this was according to M's will, but even if it wasn't M was already giving 'his' silent consent by allowing it.

Elijah wasn't going to get any information from him, at least not without violence, but that wasn't his worry. If he wasn't going to get any information anyways, he didn't want to be put on M's radar or get on 'his' bad side just yet.

If desperate times came, he would definitely have to use desperate measures. Kidnapping Xander was surely an option, but with an unclear view of just how much power M had behind him, it was just an all-around terrible choice.

Elijah thought about how this one person brought him so many headaches and smirked.

The small grin that had appeared on his face, was so minute that even his observant assistant hadn't noticed.

'I guess grandma was right, this is a great challenge. If just finding this one person gets me stumped like this, how could I ever be prepared?'

If anyone who knew Elijah's identity heard of his thoughts, they would most definitely be shocked at how self-deprecating yet thoroughly amused he sounded.

'How did this world leader end up like this, just who was this monster he was facing.'

It wasn't his fault though. Due to the circumstances surrounding his case, he had severely overestimated M's disposable forces, which is also what had delayed him in his conquests for so many years.

If he had just gone for the win a couple of years ago, he would never have been stuck in the predicament he was in today.

But it wasn't entirely his fault. This was what Emilin had been aiming for. An identity so mysterious and secretive, that one would have no choice but to be wary.

It was perfect for her circumstances.

Her brother Theo's and her hacking prowess were perfect for masking their lacking of manpower when they were younger.

We could just resume all of that as: They were playing them!

***

Back to the person who was now on her vacation.

Emilin POV:

I went back to my hotel room wearing my sweaty clothes. The weather in Malalakan was a little too hot and humid.

All the time.

The first order of business was to take a shower.

I opened the luggage that I had just previously just placed on my bed.

After coming out of the bathroom, I already changed into my tank top paired with a sports bra and denim shorts.

I would really love to tie my hair into a bun without drying it, which would normally be my go-to option. Mostly in my mind. But I would never be able to do that because my hair would hate me afterward.

I dried my hair until it was semi-dry so that I could brush it. If I didn't brush it then, in two hours, when it dried by itself, the tangles would be no joke.

At that point, both my hair and my brush would have to go through some serious physical abuse.

By the time I was done with everything, it was already around 9 PM. It took a whole hour and a half to take a quick shower and deal with my hair. Well, as short as a shower could get, so like a half an hour shower.

Any longer and my stomach would start protesting.

The street foods were calling out for me, I couldn't just ignore their pleading calls.

After doing a once over of myself on the full body mirror in the bathroom, I took my hotel key card, wallet, and phone and took off.

*

*

*

The streetlights were incredibly vibrant in the streets of the capital of Malalakan, Malalaka. Yes. These people were not very original. The capital of Malalakan was named Malalaka.

Just imagine the number of people who have misspelled something by mistake. Imagine the number of people who got confused. And now, finally, imagine the number of people who didn't read this paragraph, and then, when they read Malalaka, they would think the dumb author got the name wrong or misspelled it.

In order to ensure everyone has no excuses, I must make it clear.

COUNTRY: MALALAKAN

CAPITAL OF THIS COUNTRY: MALALAKA

Yes, the two words are different, just in case you weren't sure.

Now that that is over and done with, we can move on to the more important things, like my food.

[By the way, your welcome stupid author, I wasted the time in which I could have been eating, just to make sure your readers wouldn't get confused. That should be your job.]

I called over a local cycle rickshaw, the same way you would call a taxi to get to the street markets.

Cars were actually less commonly used here due to the high prices for gas and the cycle rickshaw became part of the culture for short distance traveling. Even when electrical cars were created, they weren't popular in most cities in Malalakan because of the structures of the roads.

Of course, the further you were from a city and the closer you were to a highway, the fewer cycle rickshaws you would see. For long-distance traveling, a car was still necessary.

This was all information that was obtained during my quick search at the airport.

I paid the cyclist with the money I had exchanged for when I was in the airport and got off at my stop.

Finally reaching the market.