The director's chuckle was slight, almost imperceptible, yet it carried a weight of knowledge and experience. "They work better than a lot of movies or shows lead on. Depending on the caliber, a .50 cal round will rip through just about anything,"
he explained, the corners of his mouth turning up in a half-smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. His gaze seemed to drift, as if visualizing the ballistic might he described, then snapped back to the present.
"But generally, we rely on our own to keep the public knowledge of this stuff under wraps. However, it's only a matter of time before it bleeds into the streets."
Jade, absorbing the gravity of his words, nodded. The air around them felt charged with the unsaid, the secrets that lay just beneath the surface of the mundane world they inhabited. She ventured further, her voice a blend of curiosity and concern.
"So, you know about the other human worlds that the King of Nothing mentioned and the explanations I've been told."
The director's response was prompt, his interest piqued. "Yeah, what about them?
"Just the thought of so many people in other places in the universe dealing with the same horrors and knowing they weren't able to handle it. And even the ones still standing, I wonder how much longer they can last," Jade mused, her tone mixed with concern and a hint of resolve.
The director, with a weary gesture, replied, "Yeah, it's a damn shame, but we can only focus on what we can control."
Acknowledging this, Jade then said, "I will go ahead and take the skin and run some tests on it to see what changed in the body and hopefully find some answers. In the meantime, do you have any update on when the next person will be going through the ritual?"
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Jade, her perplexity growing, asked, "What do you mean by 'these files'?"
As the director closed the door to the cell, sealing away the sight of the person in chains with an animalistic stare, he transitioned smoothly into explaining the broader scope of their operations. "So, I'm sure you are aware of the annual check-ups for normal vaccines and stuff at the hospitals you go to growing up, all throughout the country, of course."
He paused, allowing the gravity of their earlier encounter to settle, before continuing. "Thanks to technology, we are able to screen thousands of people daily by just getting snapshots of them in time as they go to the hospital.
Usually, this is for yearly checkups, as I mentioned, but it's up to the family's discretion and the user on how to implement a system to best screen as many candidates as possible."
The director shared a bit of history to shed light on how their methods had evolved over time. "The first generation of users would simply go state to state, town to town, doing money giveaways in order to check people's potential and souls."
As they stepped into the elevator to leave the grim scene behind, Jade, digesting the information, said, "I see." Then, a thought struck her, prompting a question that seemed to have been lingering in her mind. "If that's the case, then why did Master Ash even bring me in with such a record on file with nothing spectacular?"
The director's words were blunt, almost unsettlingly so. "That's a good question. I still don't know what she saw in you when she brought you in. I thought it'd be a waste of time and we would need to make you disappear, to be honest."
Jade's reaction was immediate, her expression darkening—a mix of confusion and concern flashing across her face. "What does that mean?"