3 Pandora Box

Theo came out of old Lin's house. He went to get on the BMW when the old man yelled at him again.

"Leave that BMW there! I can get at least a hundred and fifty thousand euros if I resell it!"

And so, Theo decided to walk back to his temporary home in the city. This was a flat he had rented a few days earlier. It was a small flat, and he barely had enough to live on, with a bedroom to sleep in, a bathroom and a kitchen. Although not too luxurious, it was still much better than the pigsty in which old Lin lived.

Once inside the flat, Theo went straight to his room. He crouched down, looked under his bed, and pulled out a large black box. Like the briefcase Frank had previously given him, the box had a four-figure password.

7-2-5-3

"To confirm that you own this «pandora box» you have to perform the retina scanner and voice scanner." A robotic voice came out of the box.

A kind of flashlight connected to the box came out and pointed at Theo's right eye. His right eye, usually light blue, changed to dark black for a moment.

"Retinal scan complete, proceed with voice scanner." The robotic voice announced.

"I consume the souls my scythe takes," Theo said.

" Voice scanner completed, user recognized, proceeding to open the «pandora box» "The robotic voice, which belonged to the system that was in charge of the security of the black box, confirmed to the owner of the voice.

"User confirmed, Reaper code. Lilith welcomes the teacher. Please tell me what layer you're requesting."

"First layer, intelligence," Theo replied.

The voice coming out of the big black box was no longer robotic and genderless. Now it was a mature and feminine voice, it had the seriousness of a secretary. After confirming the layer, the black box opened.

The only thing on the first layer of the box was a small white laptop. The laptop didn't seem to have any brand, and the reason for that was because it didn't belong to any brand. It was a unique computer that old Lin had given Theo at the end of his first mission as a murderer. In fact, this laptop was not unique, as Kreios had one exactly like it. Old Lin had also given it to him at the time of his first murder.

Carefully, Theo took the laptop out of the box. He lay in bed while opening the computer. The computer turned on automatically, and another double layer of security was activated.

This time, the necessary passwords were a facial recognition and another fingerprint. A camera at the top of the screen scanned Theo's face, confirming that this was the face of the laptop owner. Theo then placed his finger on a small platform to the left of the laptop's touch panel, reconfirming his identity.

Once the respective passwords had been entered, Theo arrived at the desk. With a double click on the browser icon. As the browser opened, a woman appeared, occupying most of the screen.

The woman seemed to be about twenty-eight years old. She had a mature body with beautiful curves in the necessary places. Long silver hair was collected in a braid that fell off the front of her body. She wore a professional suit, a tuxedo, which made her look like the chief secretary of a big company.

"Can I help you with something, Master?" Lilith asked Theo.

"Yes, book me a plane ticket for tomorrow at 10."

"Where are you going to travel, teacher?"

"Sky City, China," Theo replied.

"China!? You can't go there!" Lilith exclaimed.

Theo frowned.

"I know the old man programmed you not to let me travel to China, but this is a mission the old man has sent me. You won't refuse an old man's mission, will you?"

Lilith was silent. The computer was locked, and Theo couldn't do anything. A few seconds later, Lilith let out an audible sigh, and the computer returned to normal.

"All right, I'll take care of everything. You can rest."

Theo nodded. He left his laptop on the bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower. As the water fell on his body, his mind began to wander.

"That old man... he has always forbidden me to travel to China, why is he letting me go there now?" Theo muttered.

"I remember the old man talking about hidden masters, sects, and hidden families. What did he call it? Cultivation, inner strength? If even the old man has doubts about sending me there... it looks like this mission is going to be more interesting than I thought."

Theo finished showering and went back to his room.

"Master, I've already bought the ticket for the plane. Tomorrow at 10 o'clock, the flight to Sky City leaves." Lilith informed Theo.

"Hmm," Theo nodded.

"Do you want me to wake you up?" Lilith asked.

"You don't have to."

"I see." Lilith sounded disappointed.

Theo put the laptop in the box and lay down on the bed, ready to sleep. As he looked up at the ceiling of the floor, he held one hand over his heart as he thought of the exciting mission he would have to live.

Thump Thump

Theo felt his heartbeat, looking for something in them he couldn't find.

"It's impossible, I guess I have to go to China first."

The next day, Theo woke up at 6 o'clock in the morning. He wore a black sweatshirt to go out for a round of morning sports. Theo left the house and started jogging lightly, waving on the way to some neighbors who were getting ready to go to work.

Theo hadn't been living on the floor long, but the neighbors already had an impression of him. He was a kind, warm, and nice young man who had come to make a living after dropping out of school. He was a young man who always cared about the welfare of his neighbors, even though he had nothing to do with them. A thief had broken into an older neighbor's house while she was inside the house. Everyone had heard the old woman's cries, but none dared to enter because the thief had a firearm. Neighbors could only call the police.

While everyone waited for the police, Theo entered the apartment to rescue the old woman. He knew that the police would not arrive in time, and the woman's life was in danger.

The neighbors didn't know what had happened, they just heard the sound of a gunshot, and Theo left the house next to the old woman while the thief lay unconscious on the floor. When the police arrived and asked what had happened, Theo only explained that he had taken a bullet in the leg and knocked the thief down.

The neighbors asked him why he had done such a reckless action, and he answered them with another question.

"What virtue has the younger generation if we cannot help the older generation?"

Theo returned to the floor about two hours later. It was already eight o'clock in the morning, and he had to get ready to take the plane. He entered his room to pick up the black box, which was basically his only belongings, but was surprised when he saw that it was open.

The first layer was open, and the laptop was missing!

The black box could only be opened by recognizing Theo's right eye, and it was not his normal eye, how could it be open? Old Lin had already told them that no one in the world could open the box without going through the recognitions, Theo had even tried to open it by force to fail the attempt.

Anyone who knew this would panic, but Theo felt nothing special. He simply went on alert but was unable to feel any presence. This could only be translated into two things, the opponent was not or was too strong.

If it was the first, Theo could do nothing. If it was the second, Theo could do nothing either.

Since Theo could do nothing in either case, he decided to take it easy.

Theo closed the pandora box and touched a series of buttons that were on the outside of it. The box then changed the size, shrinking, and changing shape. What remained after the transformation was a kind of bracelet.

He detached himself from his tracksuit and opened the closet that was attached to the wall of his room. Inside was a single hanger with what appeared to be a complete set of clothes.

First, he put on his shirt. This one was white, with a shirt collar and a double cuff. Next was the pants, classic style with a straight cut in cheviot, gray. Followed by a gray silk tie with a Windsor knot, and a gray vest with straight buttons. Finally, black silk socks and leather shoes, with laces and blacks without details or polish.

Theo finished dressing and looked in the mirror, checking that everything was in order. Soon he noticed that one detail was missing. He opened a drawer in the closet and took out a pair of white gloves that he put on his hands.

He took the bracelet, formerly the pandora's box, and put it on, hiding it under his left glove.

Out of respect for the owner of the flat, Theo cleaned it once. While he was making up the bed, he saw a mobile phone. It was strange, he had never had a mobile phone before.

Theo quickly linked the mobile phone to the absence of the laptop in the first layer. It was a Smartphone, so it was pretty easy to use. Once turned on, a message appeared on the phone.

[Retina scanner needed to start the phone]

Theo tried, but the scan was rejected. Obviously, Theo couldn't turn on the phone. He then thought of something, and the color of his pupil changed to dark black. This time, the scanner was successful.

"Did you miss me, master?"