83 Grande Mall

Hayden was barreling down on the freeway, on the designated motorcycle lane, that was specifically built for intercity travel within Metro Manila when he had a bad premonition. There was someone, or something, watching him. He was sure of it.

As a safety measure, Hayden activated his Divine Perception. He observed his surroundings through his supernatural senses. There were no vehicles around him as most people used public transport these days.

Within a city, there was the handy bus-jeeps, taxis, and trams. For your intercity travel, there were tons of metro subways that wasn't as packed as it was due to the improvements on budgeting of transportation. As for interregional travel, there was your Afterimage Rail Transit that zips around an entire country at high-speed.

These five modes of travel were so handy and affordable that you won't see any vehicle on the road unless it was to transport something big, those rich people that possessed cars to flaunt their wealth, or if it was someone that had high popularity and cannot take public transport as easily.

Even then, some of these people sometimes chooses to travel in public transports as it was indeed faster than traveling on a personal car.

Except if you're someone like Hayden, who hated public transports for the same reason that he hated enormous crowds. There was not that much space to move.

At this point in time, he was regretting traveling on a motorcycle in such a time of day. The road was too desolate and eerie. It deeply unsettled him. There's also that unshakeable sensation of someone watching him intently and with killing intent.

A few minutes passed without nothing happening. Hayden reminded himself that he should be alert and prepared for anything to come. Another few minutes passed. He increased the speed of his motorcycle to the very limit of the freeway, which was 140 kilometers per hour.

That was when, in front of him, a barrier of black convertibles and a couple of monster trucks blocked the road. Standing in front of the cars were people in olden punk fashion, with wrapped up chains, Mohawks, piercings, emo clothing, and all the fad.

All of them had weapons in their hands. Some had modern AK47s. Some had modern Uzis. While some had shotguns. What was the difference between modern AK47s and Uzis from the past ones, you asked? The silencers and bullets. It's always those two.

What's more insane was that there were three mounted machine guns. Hayden cursed in his heart and with his mouth, "Holy fucking shit, what the hell did I do to deserve this?"

Suddenly, the people mounting the machine guns fired streams of bullets at Hayden and his motorcycle. Fortunately… Wait, honestly, there's nothing fortunate here at all… they all seem to be regular human beings and not wielders.

The second his feet landed, he conjured up an essence energy blockade for his motorcycle, at the same time taking out his White Fox mask, and with a flick, wore it. The sound of the ripping of his clothes rang in his ears, though that's the extent of the damage. He purposefully made the essence energy barrier behind him as thick as possible so as to not damage his motorcycle.

That motorcycle was half a million credits, if it was damaged, he'll go berserk right then and there. He dodged some of the bullets that aimed for his face in consideration for the mask he had.

All the hooligans who witnessed this were stunned. One verbalized his disbelief, "What the hell is that guy? He's not human at all!"

A sense of impending doom washed over them the more they watched. They were frightened of Hayden's inhuman toughness. Anybody would have died due to the streams of bullets. To think that anybody can withstand bullet with a puny human body was impossible! Even with tough modern robots, that feat should be impossible!

Soon, the bullets of the machine gun ran out. Akin to a god of death, Hayden shouted in his deep voice, "My turn you fucking bastards!"

Disregarding his tattered clothes, Hayden took out his two ginunting blades made of Damascus Shojin Steel and infused it with essence energy.

Fear washed over the hooligans' hearts. Consequently, they all attempted an escape, to no avail. Hayden vanished from his position, first cutting down the three people that fired the machine gun.

"What the fuck is this!?" One of the men who fired the machine gun shouted in despair. In the people's eyes, Hayden was analogous to the Devil himself who hailed from the fiery pits of hell.

Seeing a person climb up a monster truck, Hayden's figure disappeared and reappeared on top of the monster truck. He kicked the roof with just the right amount of force so that it was crushed instead of perforating a hole on the hood.

He did so as well for the rest of the vehicles. Afterwards… Well, there was no afterwards. It was a simple bloodbath as a result of Hayden's rage from being attacked out of the blue. I'd say it wasn't as 'simple' as it sounded, but Hayden was going easy, so who knows?

Anyhow, when he finished there, Hayden executed the Breathing Technique and shaped a huge ball of white flame. He chucked it at one of the monster trucks. The white flame quickly shifted color into a yellow flame when Hayden liberated his own control of it.

Prior to turning his back, he threw the corpse of that Evershifter into the fire as jet-black smoke was exhaled out of his mouth. Hayden walked towards his motorcycle.

Three steps later, a gigantic explosion arose behind him. If anybody else was there, they would describe the scene with a singular word: Epic.

The wails of pain and suffering from those that didn't die entered Hayden's ears. Hayden had no remorse for them, emotionlessly storing his ginunting back in his Space Rings. He didn't remove his mask yet in fear of being seen in cameras.

Subsequently, Hayden performed the Breathing Technique once more, repairing the bonds of the tears that the bullets that landed on his body caused. Hayden was surprised that his jacket and shirt had no visible damage after the repairing, especially since he was careful to not spill blood on it.

No one would suspect that Hayden just came from a murder of tens of people. Hayden muttered with disgust, "The fucking bastards…"

Nodding his head, Hayden sat on his motorcycle and took out water from his essentials Space Ring to wash his dirtied feet.

At that moment, from one of the distant buildings in Quezon City, Hayden heard the faint sound of a sniper shot. He recognized it. It was from a Sinukuan rifle.

Returning the water bottles back in his Space Ring, Hayden took out his own Sinukuan rifle. With the help of his Divine Perception, Hayden deduced the trajectory of the bullet aiming for him without the usage of scope.

It was all basic sniper shot calculations, such as wind resistance, where the sound came from, blah blah blah. If anybody heard these, they would, for sure, beat Hayden up with a stick. You call that fucking basic!? Some of us here can't even do basic calculus, and here you are calculating trajectories effortlessly and call it basic!? How fucking dare you?

Anyways, with all the required information at hand, Hayden didn't need to use the scope and fired a seemingly random shot with his Sinukuan. This bullet from the Sinukuan clashed with the first bullet mid-air.

That's when he looked the scope. Basing from his estimations, Hayden aimed at the building where the shot was fired from.

On that very building was a man clad in black, who was looking through a scope. Without moving, the man mumbled, "He didn't die? I think my skills are deteriorating… Should I retire…? Wait, where the hell did that guy get a sniper rifle?"

When he witnessed everything that Hayden had done, fear already crept in his heart. He chose to do a shot because no one can plausibly survive a sniper shot. Now, this fear was augmented when he saw that sniper rifle.

Despite that, when he looked for a second time, the sniper was gone in Hayden's hands already. Instead, Hayden was putting on his shoes. "Yeah, he-"

Unable to finish his words, a bullet penetrated his brain, killing him in an instant. His final thoughts were, 'How the hell did he shoot me from there…?'

"Tsk, idiot." Hayden shook his head with annoyance rather than repentance. "First, a punk parade barricade. Now, a sniper? Simultaneous as well. What the fuck universe?"

Hayden sputtered out a few more curses to the universe prior to lugging his motorcycle off the pavement and jumped from one side of the road to the other over the ruined freeway. Without letting the camera see his face, Hayden removed his mask and put on his helmet in an instant. Mounting the motorcycle, Hayden drove off.

Thankfully, Hayden didn't encounter any more trouble along the way. However, there's something that bothered him. 'Why the hell did those guys come seeking trouble?'

It didn't made sense. Regular people hunting him… 'Regular people hunting me? Holy shit… Wait… Could it be…?'

Hayden's eyes widened as he entered the parking spaces of the Grande Mall. 'Somebody put a bounty on my head!'

How did he come into this conclusion? Well, regular humans wouldn't have any business messing with him. Nobody in the underworld truly knew him. He didn't dabble in any illegal work. So why would they?

There were not enough curses in the world to express the rage and infuriation that Hayden was feeling. Ultimately, Hayden released his fury in one sentence, "I hate the world."

Afterwards, with his Divine Perception, Hayden delimited the wrath that slowly rose up in his heart. He stoically accepted reality and decided to deal with the troubles that would come along his way when it comes along his way.

With a blank countenance, Hayden waltzed inside the Grande Mall, a towering skyscraper mall that had 45 floors in total. It occupied a total land area of six square kilometers.

It had a similar shape as the Sears Tower in Chicago. From the five underground floors to the fifth floor, it was all the department stores, hardware stores, and as such. From the sixth floor to the fifteenth floor, it was all food places from all around the Philippines, with some of them being Michelin-star restaurants.

Up above there were fitness centers, full-blown medical facilities, gyms, indoor skating rinks, indoor golf course, indoor pools, sky lobbies, sky gardens, observatories, sky lounges, bars, observation decks, concert halls, exhibition halls, etc.

Disregarding all this, what's really so special about this mall was its Filipino Deluxe Section on Floors 42 to 45. This is where all the quality, high-class, and deluxe Filipino products from all around the country gathered.

In those floors, you can find genuine first-class Filipino outfits. These outfits are modern variants of the traditional Filipino clothing, Barong Tagalog, and Baro't Saya.

You can find outstanding Filipino cooking. The best of the best of the Adobong Manok, all types of Sinigang soups, Filipino-style Lechon, Sisig, Crispy Pata, and many more.

Stores that sold carefully selected Filipino paintings, old-style and the modernistic digital painting styles. 'Ancient' Filipino stores that sold Filipino traditional games of Sungka, Syato sticks, holen marbles, trumpo (Filipino-version of spinning top), the old-school Sandugo slippers that hit hard during games of Larong Tsinelas (A lesser popular variation of the game Tumbang Preso), and so on.

These games were all street games played the children of the Filipino Generation Z, Millennials, and older generations. Some may say that it was a 'trip back to memory lane' whenever they see such items, especially the Sandugo slippers that gave them brutal red hands due to brutal hand slapping.

Thankfully, with the Filipino Culture Preservation Act, all these traditional games were part of all schools' sports programs, was part of the Filipino Pride games, and is in the Intramurals under the name of 'Filipino Traditional Games.'

As for the popularity of this mall, well, malls in general, it was booming. In spite of online delivery being the better option these days, due to technological advancement that birthed delivery drones and all that, personal shopping and spending personal time with people was needed.

Anyhow, Hayden wouldn't be visiting that anytime soon as he was here on a different business. Ascending the 13th floor of the Grande Mall, Hayden easily found the Itim na Bituin, one of the fanciest coffee shop in the Philippines.

Its exterior, unlike modern coffee shops that had glass walls, was designed with murals picturing the Filipino heroes and known Filipino people in the past. The wall was unbelievably patriotic. Gazing at the mural, Hayden started to feel patriotic as well.

Uncharacteristically, the door was an automatic sliding glass door, a requirement of the mall. This out-of-place detail reduced Hayden's sense of patriotism.

Standing right outside of the doorstep of the coffee shop, Hayden waited for the seller of the land. He messaged her to inform her that he was there. Next, Hayden messaged Eun-ha and chatted with her.

As a nationwide celebrity and the 'personification of a genius,' Hayden was quickly recognized by the people passing by. Females who passed by Hayden were mind-blown of Hayden's stunning looks. More so when Hayden genuinely smiled when he was talking with Eun-ha.

The men who passed by him were likewise stunned, but for a different reason. What reason was that? Admiration and a sprinkle of jealousy. Hayden was too skilled, handsome, charming, and charismatic to the point that by simply idly standing, he already magnetized people to him.

It was not long before someone, a man of normal stature, finally had the courage to approach Hayden and ask for a picture. Hayden naturally obliged, kindly to boot.

He was and will always be grateful for his fans. Why? Without them, Hayden wouldn't have a career. It was the staff of the 'A Talk Show for Gamers' all over again.

Eventually, people flocked to him, a big crowd gathering to interact with him. It came to the point that the picture-taking became irritating. He was grateful, but that doesn't mean that he didn't want to be left alone. Irrespective of his objections, Hayden remained acting kind.

Around 8:00 PM, a dazzling, young, bespectacled woman walked over to him. Her person radiated exuberance. Her face had no blemishes at all. The blue eyes that she had was mesmerizing. Her short neck-length maroon hair color suited her very well.

She sported black high heels, a fancy burgundy blouse that complimented her light brown complexion, and this combined with her red A-line skirt was astonishing. The elegant gold dangle earrings paired well with her outfit. Her entire being screamed 'Filipina Beauty.'

This woman was the owner of the land he was endeavoring to purchase, Ayesha Chase. There were no pictures of sellers in the site he visited, thus Hayden was a little surprised of the gorgeousness of this seller.

Regardless of finding her beautiful, Hayden found her slightly lacking. After all, he was in a relationship with the woman who always placed in the top 10 of the Top 100 Most Beautiful Faces of the Year. In truth, Eun-ha placed top one two times, beating Shu-Ching by a small margin.

In addition, she lacked Eun-ha's aura of gentleness and mischievousness that perfectly coincided with each other. That was the one trait that made him fall in love with her in the first place.

Aside from that, Hayden had feelings of suspicion. The woman was definitely around his age. Why would an owner of a land be around his age? It was too fishy. He could feel there was something wrong.

The second the woman spoke to him, the crowd all held their breaths. Such a picturesque woman and a man that would irrefutably get into the Top 100 Most Handsome Faces of the Year overwhelmed them.

Some of them started to take pictures, much to the displeasure of Hayden. He didn't show them this as that would have dire consequences. Hayden wasn't annoyed to that extent, yet.

"Good evening, Mr. Hayden Emperador." Notwithstanding Ayesha's cheerful countenance, Hayden smelled the scent of sadness and fear within her. It was the mix for desperation or anxiety. "Shall we head inside the coffee shop?"

As a reply, Hayden faintly smiled and nodded. He acted gentlemanly by letting Ayesha go first. One must keep in mind that every door in the mall were sliding glass doors and had sensors, removing the need to hold the door open for people.

The crowd muttered to themselves. Hayden ignored them. He had no reason to explain his business to his fans. He was grateful to them, and he treasured them, but that doesn't mean he had to give them details of his every move.

Besides, if he informed them details of this, his whole plan would fall apart. You see, his plans rested on two types of powerful elements. The element of surprise, and the element of expectation, aka hype-building.

The totality of his song label plan relied on the two of these, and he would never spoil the surprise as that song label plan is far along. He hasn't even begun to rely on the hype-building since he hasn't revealed the plan to the public.

The inside of Itim na Bituin was scenic. The black and white walls were lined with paintings depicting all types of things. A few examples were kids playing on the streets in the past, the honorable Lawin, or the Philippine Hawk-Eagle, and kids waddling around the translucent Pasig River.

The hardwood patterned floors paired well with the white ceiling. The chairs were simplistic and was the color of wood, complementing the hardwood design of the floors. The tables were evidently made of Narra, the Philippine National Tree.

The counters were also wooden in design, albeit dark wood. The glass case showed all types of delicious confections from all over the world.

There was one thing off, which was the rectangular robotic cleaner that cleaned one of the Narra table. Kind of a mood killer if you ask Hayden.

Although that was redeemed and covered up by the archaic wooden chalkboard behind and atop the countertop that listed all the drinks in place of screens.

Plus, there was a wooden guitar that, upon closer inspection, apparently belonged to Freddie Aguilar, one of the legends in Filipino song industry.

All in all, the atmosphere amalgamated into one balanced blend of Filipino nationalism and modernism. Hayden had to applaud the designer of the place.

Needless to say, the place was bustling, full of people on all walks of life. Some were watching something on their laptop. Some were in study groups. Some were having serious conversations. Some were gossiping. Some were plainly chatting. Some were dating.

One thing was for sure, they all noticed Hayden when he entered, taking short glimpses of him. Most had gazes of admiration and adoration, a select few had jealous gazes. Hayden was used to it, hence he ignored everyone.

The two ordered their drinks. Hayden, as might be expected, ordered a chocolate-based drink. Ayesha ordered a mocha latte.

Obtaining their orders, the two sat down in a two-seater by the wall. Hayden had another grave premonition of his environment. It was weird since the ambience that the coffee shop had was cozy. Hayden could sense that.

However, there was something lingering in the air. Something dangerous. It was as if something was about to hammer him in the chest and kill him.

Accordingly, Hayden 'casual' and taciturnly scrutinized his environment. Hayden didn't find anything weird. Until a suspicious-looking man with a crooked nose and a generally ugly face entered.

This man shot him a glance and a sociopathic smile that shouted 'I'm a killer.' Though that may just be Hayden's anxiety acting up. 'No, my anxiety never troubled me to that extent…'

"Let's start negotiations, shall we?" Without a warning, Ayesha spoke with glee. Yet, Hayden found it weird that her scent was of desperation or concern. Or worse, both.