The bright white light from the ceiling illuminated the interrogation room, illuminating the young man's face and revealing beads of sweat clinging to his hairline. Jacob sat motionless in the cold metal chair, before him stood three investigators who stared as if trying to see into his thoughts.Another officer brought in a device and attached a harness to the upper arm for a lie detector test.
"Start from the beginning of the day, what do you do when you wake up? Who do you meet?... Give me all the details," one of the officers said, his eyes scrutinizing.
Jacob pursed his lips, his mind racing for a way out. He had to tell as much truth as possible to fool the lie detector, but he had to hide the fact that there was a woman in the capsule.
"Yesterday… it was a normal morning," Jacob began, his voice hoarse. "I woke up in my apartment on the 75th floor, ate mushroom pie with my mother… and then dropped her off at the bus station early in the morning."
In Jacob's mind, a peaceful memory flashed... the image of his mother sipping coffee, watching the news about the Mars Jewel Council announcing Princess Joanbella's birthday celebration; the vast, endless bus station lobby, the blue neon lights, and his mother's back as she disappeared into a tunnel of light, saying goodbye, "See you in five days, my son..."
Life in the tower seemed comfortable but monotonous. Jacob's routine involved waking up early to go to work as a scooter "driver" for the nymph hunting team—a routine job that wasn't boring for the 14-year-old who had been practicing driving scooters for this purpose since childhood.
In Jacob's mind, a peaceful memory flashed... the image of his mother sipping coffee, watching the news about the Mars Gem Council announcing Princess Joanbella's birthday celebration; the vast, endless bus station lobby, the blue neon lights, and his mother's back as she disappeared into a tunnel of light, saying goodbye, "See you in five days, my son..."
"And then what?" The officer tapped the desk, bringing the young man back to the cold, tense interrogation room.
Jacob took a deep breath. "Mom went to work at the center. After dropping her off at the airport... I rode my scooter to the Nyms hunting base to work with Uncle Breeze."
The image of the portly Uncle Breeze emerging from under the oil-covered spacecraft, affectionately wiping his face with a rag, flashed through Jacob's mind, along with the thought, "Old things don't mean they're worthless... They'll stay with us until the day we die, just like you and me." Jacob unconsciously clenched his fist as he recalled that smile.
As his vision faded, Jacob returned to meet the gaze of the three beautiful officers, his expression steady.
"Then Uncle announced that he had approved the hunting expedition..."
In his head, he heard the echoing 'click' of the safety cable lock... the image of Uncle Breeze's back as he leaped onto the bullet-shaped scooter, taking his position with the harpoon gun... followed by the roaring engine as it surged into the Bledizzico forest, a forest where death lurked in every square inch.
"So… we managed to hunt down one female," Jacob began, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible. "But the other nymph was pretty strong… We shot it with a harpoon, but the tranquilizer didn't work, probably because it was so big… Uncle Breeze shot it with another tranquilizer, followed by a net harpoon, but the harpoon wouldn't budge. It wouldn't unlock. That nymph started climbing a tree, using a cable to restrain it to our scooter… It was almost reaching the back of the scooter."
The officers couldn't contain their laughter and burst into laughter.
"Giant nymphs can't climb trees, can they??" He was right. According to textbooks, nymphs only walk on the ground, they can't climb. But that wasn't what Jacob encountered. The real thing wasn't funny.
From the blue monitor at the hunting station… a signal is being sent.
"Alright, just one more…" Hal's voice came through the communication speaker.
On the radar screen, a huge red dot flashed. Uncle Breeze's eyes widened as he saw a holographic simulation of it. It was a colossal male nymph, with glossy black fur and bulging muscles, looking far more powerful than the female nymphs dangling languishing at the rear of the ship.
"My God... look at its size! This one's a king!" Uncle Breeze shouted excitedly, his hunter instincts surging, making him forget about safety.
"Uncle! Our ship can't handle this!" Jacob shouted, his voice barely audible over the wind. "Just one is enough to make the engines screech and explode!"
"Shut up, Jacob! I'm not letting this money slip through my fingers. This ship is tougher than you think!" Breeze ignored the protests, aiming his harpoon gun at the beast below, which was sprinting through the woods.
"Hal! Help Uncle!" Jacob cried for help.
"Uncle Breeze, the overload warning signal is blazing red! Let's deliver the first one first!" Hal tried to warn him over the radio.
But it was too late. Breeze's finger had already pulled the trigger.
scorching!
A steel harpoon whizzed through the air and plunged accurately into the giant nymph's back. But unlike every other time, the beast didn't fall. It roared through the forest in pain and rage before yanking itself away and fleeing for dear life.
*Creak!*
The entire scooter jerked violently, almost throwing Jacob out of his seat. The metallic creaking sound was jarring. The first nymph hanging from the deck swung back and forth, causing the vehicle to lose balance. Jacob gritted his teeth, desperately trying to keep the controls steady.
"Speed" The fighting machine! Pull it up!" Breeze yelled.
"The engine can't match its power! It's too strong!" Jacob yelled. The engine screeched to a scream,
Suddenly, there was a loud crack, and the throttle in Jacob's hand snapped!
"Oh no!"
With no resistance from the ship, the giant nymph didn't flee. Instead, it stopped and looked up at its enemy above it with blazing red eyes. It knew their position.
And then the most terrifying thing happened... It jumped onto the giant pine tree and began climbing up with incredible speed!
"Who said it couldn't climb a tree!" Jacob yelled, terrified, as he watched the deadly claws scratch at the bark, getting closer and closer.
Yes…Jacob isn't lying. The vital signs on the lie detector say so.