The Zetta Sonic
Inner Garden

Alex moves around in the blanket only to realize it's a holiday. He sighed as the thought crossed his mind. The school is getting visits from city officials or something. Alex did not notice when the announcement was broadcast over a loudspeaker last Friday.

“Sial,” whisper slowly.

His hand moved out of the blanket, picking up the phone he had placed on a wooden nightstand just below the wall lamp. He didn't see a single private message from his friend, just a few messages in the group. Some of his classmates were showing off to each other on the holiday.

If only Alex could tell me what activities he could do with the ICPA, the boys would be guaranteed to be super jealous of him. Too bad, everything Zetta Sonic has to remain secret. Alex can at least mention a series of reasons and Nadira can make a complete list. In essence, it's a common good, especially considering that Alex's father is a top brass on the continent next door.

Alex sighed longer as he pulled himself up. The rover barked from the next room, from the lounge next door. Shortly after, the dog entered while carrying a blue rubber ball in its mouth. Alex frowning. He doesn't remember that the Rottweiler had a toy like that.

The rover took the ball to the side of the bed. He looked at the master closely and then sat quietly there. Alex grunts amusedly. He took the ball from Rover's mouth and threw it into the closet. There's nothing the Rover can tamper with there. It was just one corner of the wall covered in a row of large cabinets and a bathroom door. The ball bounces after hitting the door. The rover caught it easily.

On his way back to Alex, the dog suddenly lost his intention to play. The ball was dropped to the ground. The rover dashed towards the large window while barking ferociously.

Alex knows the cause. The Dragon Blood within him told what was wrong. From behind the curtain slit on the large window, Alex saw three figures dressed in all black were passing by. They are definitely not workers there. Behind the row of people, Alex saw the silhouettes of the guard dogs.

Half-run, Alex comes to the window. He lifted the curtains to see better. The three men were wearing all-black clothes ranging from shoes, clothes, to headgear.

Alex also nodded. “Again?”

This is the third one in that month. The third time there were robbers who tried to break into his house. None of it worked. The first time successfully thwarted by the house guards. The second time thwarted the guard dogs and the servants with their air rifles. This time, Alex is pretty sure Preston can take care of it.

Having the mother of a famous actress and the father of a businessman gave her abundant facilities and many opportunities that no one else could get. Call it like a luxury manor and the best education. Unfortunately, there are many things Alex would want to trade if he had a choice.

What does it mean to be able to eat good food without being accompanied by a favorite?

I don't know how long he's been staring out there. He had witnessed how one of the guards had managed to shoot one of the robbers in the leg. They pushed him to the ground. Two other colleagues also chose to give up.

Alex knew the manor he lived in would never concede to such amateur robbers. His father's job as a businessman was nothing more than a cover. His father was the head of the Regis branch of ICPA. Until now, he had not had the opportunity to ask how his father could be the leader of an organization on another continent. Wouldn't it be more practical if he became the leader of the ICPA in the continent he lived in?

The rover barked again, breaking Alex's daydream. Among the bark, he heard the sound of knocking on the door. No need to answer, the door was open. Only two people dared to go in there without an answer. One, Preston, the butler. Two, Mrs. Bellsey, the supervisor. Since it's still early morning and he's not in school, it's definitely Preston.

Note, Mrs. Bellsey knew Alex's school schedule more than herself.

“Good work, Preston!” alex said as he walked towards the door.

“I assume you're not waking up because of the commotion outside.” The butler entered while circulating his gaze. He does his job, making sure Alex is safe from all sorts of dangers.

He has had a variety of experiences. Start confronting lowly men, run between bullet shots, fight killer robots, and - most recently - hunted bazooka shots. If there's anything more exciting than watching the robbers catch outside the window, then it's doing it yourself.

“Morning meal is ready in the dining room, Alex. Would you like to bring it here?”

“Mrs. Bellsey always nags when I have breakfast in the room.”

“He's not here. You'll come after lunch. You're off, ‘kan?”

Alex nodded. The new semester has come and Alex has managed to reduce all sorts of courses. Includes piano course. It was not that he did not like it, he just had to split the time. He needs a lot of rest if all night dealing with criminals. Somehow those people are almost always in action at night instead of office hours. After all, Alex would rather spend his time at ICPA headquarters than at home right now.

Unless he's on an appointment with Leta.

The phone in his hand was shaking. Alex saw the girl's name on the screen. She had just uploaded a photo of breakfast next to the pool with her two brothers. Alex smiled to himself. The girl looked charming even though in a bath coat instead of a swimsuit. Some friends responded, taking them swimming together.

Alex loved the idea. Unfortunately, it would expose some of his latest injuries. Unknowingly, he felt part of his stomach. The wound he got when fighting a killer robot to save the abductees. Most of the wounds are gone, thanks to the amazingly potent ICPA drugs. For a big wound, Alex still had to rely on time to remove it.

“Do your stomach hurt, Alex?” ask Preston again.

“Ya,” replied Alex, lying. “I thought I'd go to the bathroom first.”

“Then, I will wait for you below.”

“Ya, yes.”

Preston turned to the door. The old man stopped there, turned to the master who was glued to his cell phone again. “There's one more thing, Alex.”

“What is it?”

“Master called.”

“Dad? She said what?”

“He wants to know if you like horses or not. He wants you to send him the answer immediately by message, not phone because he will have a meeting after this.”

“Sorry. Whahuh? Horse?”