Chapter 844 Galio Apartments

C'mon, let's go help!" Team Zephyr's temporary stay was located on 17th and East Street. Galio Apartments stood over twenty stories tall and was at the heart of New Angeles. Lee Seng and the group stepped out of the van, taking a look around. People moved through the streets, not paying any attention to the new faces.

"Can we get something to eat?" Evan asked, stomach growling. He clutched his stomach  as Olivia closed the van. The driver waved goodbye to her as she stepped away from the road. The van left the group to their own devices.

"We can get some food while the rest of us get our room situated." Manny suggested.

"I'll go with Evan." Liz raised her hand.

"Same." Olivia raised her hand.

"I guess I'll go, too. Can you three handle the apartment?" Manny looked at Lee Seng, Keng and Ritsuka.

"Leave it to us." Ritsuka nodded.

"Whoa, there's a bar right there." Evan pointed.

"Oh, there's a butcher right there." Liz pointed. "Should we go and check it out?"

"There seems to be a grocery store nearby that, too." Olivia pointed out.

"Well, we'll leave you to it, then." Manny saved as Evan, Liz and Olivia moved into the crowd. Manny turned and followed after blending into the sea of people around them.

"Well, let's go." Keng sighed.

The inside of Galio Apartments wasn't anything too fancy. The apartment was owned by Farago Guilds and was one of many apartment buildings they owned. Lee Seng and the group wanted at least three bedrooms to fit all of them comfortably. Miss Gloria had shown them many apartments and Galio Apartments had 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms that sat at the heart of the city.

"Hello!" A staff member greeted them. Lee Seng, Keng and Ritsuka stopped at the counter top and greeted the staff member.

"Hi, we're Team Zephyr. We were sent by Farago." Keng greeted the staff member first.

"Ah, yes. I think I just saw that come in. Hold on a moment please." The staff member clicked away for a while before turning around and fetching something. She came back with some cards and set them on the desk. "We'll just need the deposit and first month now."

Keng fished for his card information and gave it to the woman. They had way more than enough for a couple months advance for the place.

"Alright. Seems everything is in place. You can go online and pay for your rent there. These are the keys to your room. You can input a passcode and use that to enter. Do you have any questions for me?" The staff member explained.

"No, I think we're good." Ritsuka smiled.

"Your apartment is on the 16th floor. Thank you for choosing Galio Apartments."

1604 greeted the three young men as they opened the door. A hallway with a closet was to their left followed by a bathroom and an open living room and kitchen combo. One door to the elegy led to a bedroom while the right led down a hallway with two more rooms and a bathroom. The entire place was furnished like the recruitment lady said.

"For 180K a month, this is nice." Keng gasped. It wasn't anything like the two other men had seen before but it would have to do.

"This… will have to do." Lee Seng commented.

"Certainly better than what we were staying in before." Ritsuka added.

"This view though!" Keng looked out the patio doors. "It's like you can see the whole city from here!" Lee Seng and Ritsuka pulled their backpacks off and set it on the ground next to the couch. They took a seat on the couch, testing its comfort.

"Not bad." Ritsuka commented. "How long do you think this'll last?"  Lee Seng tilted his head and thought about it for a moment. Keng fiddled with the patio door, trying to unlock it and get out to the patio area.

"Hopefully not long?" Lee Seng answered, unsure. He stood up and unlocked the door for Keng, who ripped the glass door and started to rush into the screen door. Lee Seng flicked the screen door open with a single motion in the air before sitting back down.

"Woahhhh!" Keng's eyes sparkled as he looked around. "Can I jump?"

"No." Lee Seng sternly answered. "People will think you're suicidal."

"What if there's no other way out?" Keng asked, looking at Lee Seng and Ritsuka. "For example, the place is burning down? Or, or, or we get apprehended by bad guys and I can't get out?"

"What're all these scenarios?" Ritsuka chuckled. "If it really comes down to that, you could just portal yourself and everyone out of here."

"Bleh!" Keng stuck his tongue out and whipped back around and gazed at the city around him.

"He's like a kid." Ritsuka elbowed Lee Seng. "Doesn't he know what everything is?"

"Knowing and experiencing are two different things!" Keng shouted.

'Yo!' Manny's voice came through the comm devices. 'We're done! Meet us at the front to help us with all this stuff! I think they overdid it!'

'It's not overdoing it if we're celebrating!' Liz responded.

"I guess that's our cue." Lee Seng sighed.

"Should we call dibs on a room before they show up?" Ritsuka asked Lee Seng. The two looked at each other, nodded and quickly sprinted for the room by the kitchen.

"Dibs!" Ritsuka and Lee Seng shouted in unison, chucking their backpacks into the room.

"Hey! I wanted to sleep with Lee!" Keng shouted.

"Too late!" Lee Seng shouted, rushing back out with Ritsuka on his tail.

"Wait for me!" Keng rushed after Ritsuka and Lee Seng.

"Didn't you tell them to come?" Olivia asked Manny. She looked over to Manny, who was trying to hold the large bags of produce and meat.

"You look like a tomato." Liz told Manny. "I can hold some–"

"No…!" Manny strained. "I can do it…!"

"Are you guys waiting for someone?" The Galio staff member asked.

"Oh, our friends are coming down for us. They went up our apartment before us." Olivia pointed.

"Get off me!" Lee Seng shouted. Ritsuka giggled and Keng followed, jumping on top of Ritsuka as Lee Seng narrowly dodged the wall. "Ah, you're heavy!"

"You're so strong, broooo!" Keng laughed.

"You're just as strong as me! Get off me!" Lee Seng tried to swing the two away but they hung on for their lives.

"Wow." Evan shook his head at the sight of the three young men. "You guys are horsing around in public?"

"You should help Manny before he dies of overexertion." Olivia motioned. Keng released himself from Ritsuka, landing on the ground without a sound and waddling over to grab both of the bags with ease.

"We gotta show you the place! It's so cool!" Keng told the rest of the group. "The view is amazing, too!" Lee Seng adjusted Ritsuka on his back and turned to follow the excited Keng.

"Why's he like that?" Liz asked.

"And why are you two like that?" Manny asked, smacking Ritsuka's butt.

"Ow!" Ritsuka shouted, tightening his hold on Lee Seng.

"He jumped me when I tried to get the elevator first." Lee Seng answered. The Galio staff member smiled, watching the group shuffle into the elevator. Lee Seng complained at Ritsuka as the doors closed. The ride to the top was a smooth one. Not many people entered the elevator. Lee Seng and Ritsuka were given odd looks, but Ritsuka didn't mind it as much as Lee Seng did.

The sixteenth floor appeared and Keng shuffled out first. Lee Seng and Ritsuka motioned for everyone to follow, excusing themselves from the small group of strangers in the apartment.

"Why does he look familiar?" A stranger asked as the door closed behind Lee Seng and Ritsuka. He had dirty blonde hair and purple eyes. He was of Japanese descent and had a fair build.

"Who?" A girl asked looking up from her phone.

"The dude on that guy's back. He looks very familiar."

"Someone you slept with?" The third stranger asked, glued to his phone. The first stranger swatted the third stranger.

"Nothing like that." The first stranger shook his head. "I swear I know him."

"Maybe he's famous?" The girl asked. The elevator moved downwards, beeping on the fifteenth floor.

"Nah. It's on the tip of my tongue!" The first stranger frustratingly said.

"Have you ever seen that group before, though?" The girl asked. "They all look unrecognizable. This building is just for A-rankers, too." She looked back down on her phone as the doors opened. The three strangers stepped out of the way and let in another person.

"Dunno." The third stranger replied.

"If they're a new group, they must be good." The girl guessed. "Farago doesn't get many A-ranking newbies these days."

"We're probably gonna need them." The third stranger added. The Japanese stranger shook his head, purple eyes fading to brown.

"Maybe I'm just crazy." The Japanese stranger sighed. "Is our ride here?"

"Yeah." The third stranger answered.

"Another long day…" The girl sighed.She looked up from her phone and looked at the Japanese man. "Jordan, do you think I'll have time to get a bite on the way to work? I didn't eat earlier."

"I told you to eat earlier." Jordan sighed. "Yes, we can."

"I want some, too, please." The third stranger raised his hand.

"You've been glued to your phone! I'm not giving you anything!" Jordan grabbed the phone and wiggled it out of his teammates hand.

"Hey! I was reading something juicy!" The guy reached for his phone as Jordan kept it away from him. "That doctor's everywhere today! He's announcing something in regards to his missing son!"