Inside the room stood an elderly man with neatly combed silver hair. He wore a crisp white lab coat and a pair of gold-rimd glasses perched on his nose—definitely the scholarly type. His face radiated a kind, gentle deanor.
This was Dr. Morgan, the head of the lab and a leading expert in extraterrestrial teorite research.
"You are…?" Dr. Morgan looked up as Mia approached, curiosity flickering in his eyes. Clearly, he didn't recognize her.
"I'm Mia, Awakener Unit 001 from Los Angeles," she introduced herself. "I've got a friend who's really into teorites—especially the ones from space. He's got a few questions and was hoping to pick your brain."
"Oh! Of course, of course!" Dr. Morgan nodded enthusiastically, a warm smile spreading across his face. He seed genuinely pleased that young people were taking an interest in his field.
"Ask away. If it's sothing I know, I'll tell you everything I can."
"Well, my friend recently found sothing that looked like a square stone tablet—said it was a teorite. It had these strange markings on it. Has anything like that ever shown up before?" Mia asked.
"A square tablet-shaped teorite?" Dr. Morgan's brows lifted in surprise. That was clearly a first for him.
"teorites are usually round or irregular in shape. A square one is extrely rare. And with strange markings? That doesn't sound natural at all. Are you sure your friend isn't pulling your leg?"
"No way. He really found it—I saw it with my own eyes," Mia said firmly.
Dr. Morgan's curiosity was clearly piqued. "Where is your friend now? Do you think I could take a look at this teorite?"
"No can do. He's kind of... possessive. Doesn't want anyone else touching it."
"Ah… I see." Dr. Morgan looked a bit deflated, baffled that soone could be so protective over a rock. Still, he couldn't hide his intrigue.
Mia, on the other hand, felt a twinge of disappointnt. It seed like Ethan's so-called "Star Map" tablet wasn't sothing that had ever been docunted before.
She pressed on. "Dr. Morgan, is there anywhere recently that's had a lot of teorite activity? Or maybe a place where sothing like that tablet might show up?"
"Well, I can't say where sothing like that would appear—never seen anything like it myself. But if you're asking about teorite hotspots, then definitely Albuquerque, New xico," he said, slipping into lecture mode. "Our satellite data shows a teor shower hit there not long ago—over two thousand fragnts fell, and the energy readings were off the charts."
Mia fell silent, thinking. Even with that many teorites, there was no guarantee Ethan's puzzle piece would be among them. It really was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Still… that's how teorite hunting worked. No shortcuts. She figured she'd just pass the info along to Ethan and let him take it from there.
She'd done her part.
Dr. Morgan continued, "These days, teorites aren't like the ones from before the apocalypse. So of them emit high levels of radiation—enough to mutate living organisms into terrifying monsters."
"And the area around Albuquerque? It's all desert, badlands, and mountains. After the world went to hell, it turned into a no-man's-land. Now it's crawling with mutated creatures. If your friend's planning to go there, well… let's just say the odds of coming back aren't great."
"That's fine. He's not the type to worry about danger. He just really loves teorites. He'll go, no matter what," Mia said.
Dr. Morgan looked genuinely stunned. Soone willing to risk their life for a rock? That kind of obsession was rare—and admirable.
"If he ever went into scientific research, I bet he'd make so serious breakthroughs," he mused. Then, glancing at Mia, he asked, "Young lady, do you think I could et your friend soti?"
"Uh… probably not. He's still in L.A., and that's a bit of a hike from here," Mia replied.
"Ah, I see. That's a sha," Dr. Morgan said, clearly disappointed. Still, he made a ntal note—if he ever found himself in Los Angeles, maybe he'd try to track this guy down.
With the conversation winding down, Mia gave a polite nod. "Well, thanks for your ti, Dr. Morgan. I'll get going now."
"Oh, no trouble at all, no trouble," he said, waving his hand. But as Mia turned to leave, he suddenly called out, "Wait—young lady, hold on a second…"
She turned back. "Yeah? Sothing else?"
Dr. Morgan hesitated, then asked with a half-smile, "You… really have a friend like that?"
Mia froze for a beat, then sighed, exasperated. "Seriously?"
She could practically feel the giant question mark hanging over his head—clearly, he thought she'd made the whole thing up.
…
At that mont, Ethan was still lounging at ho.
With most of his crew out on various missions, the area around his high-rise was unusually quiet.
Golden sunlight stread through the windows, casting a warm, lazy glow across the room. It was the perfect afternoon for doing absolutely nothing—and Ethan was soaking it in.
But deep down, he knew this peace wouldn't last. It was the calm before the storm.
Out on the horizon, a streak of silver light cut across the sky—a sleek aircraft descending fast toward the city center.
"Well, well… they're back. Guess giving them a little push actually worked," Ethan muttered with a smirk.
In the blink of an eye, his body vanished from the couch. A second later, he reappeared downstairs.
The aircraft had already touched down smoothly.
With a sharp click, the hatch opened.
Mia and Sean stepped out.
"Ethan! We're back from Mount Elbert," Sean called out cheerfully. "Brought you so red berries—oh wait, that's right, you don't eat fruit. So I figured I'd just eat them myself." He grinned, happily munching away on a handful of berries.
Ethan gave him a sidelong glance. This kid clearly had no intention of sharing from the start—but whatever. No point arguing with a fool.
Mia stepped forward. "Here's your aircraft back."
"Oh? And did you ask about the stone tablet?" Ethan asked.
"Of course I did," Mia replied, hand on her hip. "We're practically family, right? Ride-or-die. Your business is my business. Of course I asked."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. Okay, he had to admit—she was pretty solid.
"So? What'd you find out?"
"Dr. Morgan, the guy who studies celestial objects at the Mount Elbert shelter, said there was a massive teor shower near Albuquerque, New xico. Over two thousand fragnts fell. If you're looking for sothing, that's your best shot."
"Wait, hold up…"
Ethan frowned. That many teorites, scattered over who knows how wide an area? That sounded like a nightmare. He'd be searching forever.
"This kinda feels like you're brushing off."
"What? No way. Why would I do that?" Mia said, feigning innocence. "Look, when it cos to teorites, there's no shortcut. This is the only lead we've got. I did my part."
"No, you didn't," Ethan said, shaking his head. "If you really did your part, you'd be helping look."
Mia rolled her eyes. Of course he wasn't gonna let it go. She should've known he'd rope her into this.
Ethan kept going. "I an, co on—if I go all the way out there and sothing happens to , who's gonna have my back? You gotta co protect , right?"
"..." Mia stared at him, deadpan. One thought popped into her head: scheming bastard.
Still… the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
That conversation with Dr. Morgan had revealed sothing interesting—so of those teorites might contain rare elents with serious scientific value.
If they could haul a few back, maybe she could even forge a new high-powered weapon or sothing...
"Hmph. Fine. I'll go. What's the big deal anyway?"
...
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