Jay and Lokesh entered the elevator along with Noel and Udhay. As the guards moved to enter, Udhay halted them with a wave of his hand.
Udhay ordered.
The armed guards exchanged helpless looks, their expressions visible even through the masks they wore.
The squad leader, an older man with a grey beard and brooding eyes, stepped forward and voiced his concern,
Udhay, visibly annoyed, replied,
Seeing that the guards still weren't budging, Udhay sighed with irritation,
Reluctantly, the squad leader agreed. He waved at one of his subordinates, a young man who looked barely older than Jay and Lokesh, to follow and ordered the remaining guards to secure the perimeter.
Both armed guards entered the elevator, removing their masks. The contrast between them was stark: the squad leader looked every bit the seasoned veteran, while the younger guard seemed out of place, almost too fresh-faced for the job.
Noel, noticing the disparity, was about to comment when Udhay preemptively explained,
Udhay leaned in and said,
Noel looked puzzled.
The young guard gave Noel a look of gratitude. Udhay let out a couple of fake coughs and pointed at the print on his oversized T-shirt.
Noel laughed awkwardly, realizing he had indirectly insulted the overbearing bigshot. Seeing that Udhay wasn't offended, Noel sighed in relief.
He then shifted his attention back to the guards.
Udhay shook his head.
Noel still looked confused. Udhay sighed,
He then turned his attention to Jay and Lokesh.
Jay remained silent, but Lokesh quickly responded,
Udhay smirked,
For a moment, Lokesh froze, realizing his act had been blown. The tension in the elevator grew awkward until Jay broke the silence with a single word,
Udhay looked at Jay and smiled pleasantly. He clapped satisfactorily.
Jay knew the character because his sister liked that very much and named their cat after it. During Halloween, Qew even used to add a prosthetic dress that has tails to it making it look like the monster in the anime she watched since childhood. From her rambles, he caught on to one or two things about it.
As Udhay continued to praise Jay, the elevator doors opened, revealing two elderly couples waiting to enter. Their eyes widened in shock at the sight of the armed guards. They quickly stepped aside, deciding not to enter.
Once the doors closed, Udhay gestured with his hands and rolled his eyes.
The guards complied, racking their weapons into the slings on their backs. Silence filled the elevator once more as they passed by several floors. No one else dared to enter the elevator with two armed guards inside.
Lokesh broke the silence, trying to strike up a conversation.
The man in the grey suit smiled warmly.
Udhay brushed off the praise.
Noel smiled wryly.
Udhay waved his hand dismissively.
Even Jay and Lokesh, who had grown up in a moderately wealthy lifestyle, were shocked by Udhay's magnanimity. Noel sighed, already having tried multiple times to convince Udhay to take back his extravagant gift.
As Lokesh processed the conversation, an idea formed in his mind. He addressed Udhay,
Udhay replied nonchalantly,
Just then, the elevator doors opened, and Jay forcefully pulled Lokesh out, limping as he did. Jay murmured to Lokesh,
Holding his cousin tightly, Jay turned to Noel and Udhay as the elevator doors began to close.
As soon as the doors shut, Just then, the radio of the armed guard code-named 10 Tails buzzed,
The voice was loud enough for both Noel and Udhay to hear, and the news left them wide-eyed with shock. Even a seasoned veteran like 10 Tails struggled to maintain his composure. Noel and Udhay exchanged incredulous glances, their minds racing to comprehend what they had just heard.
10 Tails, despite his initial surprise, quickly regained his professional demeanor and responded,
His subordinates scanned the area, taking a moment before confirming,
10 Tails ordered with a firm, authoritative tone. The urgency in his voice was unmistakable.
The radio buzzed off, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. Among the group, one particular individual in an oversized T-shirt, Udhay, had stars tingling in his eyes.
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I'm thrilled to share that I'm taking a big leap forward! Alongside
I've launched the first sub-book for EAP.
The book is now available, and I'll be releasing new chapters at a rate of 3 per week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday). Do check it out!
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The first ten to comment for new chapter releases will get '1 ADVANCED CHAPTER' for free on Earth Alpha Prime's Discord server.
In the discord server, I opened a private channel for those Top 10 candidates, where I posted the respective Advanced Chapter.
Discord Link for 'Earth's Alpha Prime' :
https://discord.gg/maQC7xDBYZ
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