THE OMEGA RECRUIT

The sound of Scott's alarm jolted him awake. He opened his eyes, turned to the window, and saw that it was still dark — the cool shade of evening, just as he liked it.

Although he had a few hours of sleep, for some reason, he felt stronger than ever.

After taking his bath, he put on his running clothes, looked at his watch and said:

"Goal of the day: 20km."

He began his run, covering 1km in 5 minutes, but behind him was a silhouette that followed closely— it was John.

John followed Scott like a shadow, turning when he turned, stopping when he stopped, and moving just like one. In complete silence.

Scott stopped, pulled out a vial. He looked left and right and slipped into a corner

"Huh, is he using drugs?" John thought.

He followed Scott closely, watching his steps carefully, and trying his best not to make a sound.

He backed behind the building, and peeped, trying to see what Scott was doing.

Then—

BAM!

Scott landed a vicious Right hook on his jaw.

Disoriented, John tried to fight back as he lunged forward, throwing a wild hook.

Scott took a step back and easily dodged the punch.

BAM!

Scott landed a vicious body shot to John's liver. Pain as fast and as sharp as lightning ran through his body, and his knees gave up as he collapsed to the floor.

"AHH!!"

John screamed.

"Who are you?! Why are you following me!?"

Scott raised both arms, tightening his stance, and prepared to launch another punch.

"Ergh!. It's me — John, John Torino."

"John?"

He remembered, John Torino was the guy who placed a huge amount on him to win.

Scott lowered his guard a little and continued.

"And so? Thanks for believing me and all, but I won, right? You got your money and have no reason to follow me."

"Agurh!"

John began to breathe heavily, trying to catch his breath.

"—I-I was just trying to talk to you..."

"There are approximately 1,256 ways to talk to me that don't involve stalking," he said, dropping his hands from a guard position into a more relaxed stance.

John sat on the floor, resting his back against the wall. "I was trying to pinpoint the route you'd take and.."

"And do what? " Scott asked fiercely

"And... you know.., pretend"

"Pretend?" Scott asked, confused.

"What do you mean by pretend?" he added.

"Pretend like.. oh my!, I never knew you jogged past there, you know.. and introduced myself, like... my name is John Torino, that kind of thing"

Scott's face changed from anger to confusion in the blink of an eye.

Scott removed his stance completely and placed both his hands on his waist.

"So you are telling me.. You followed me from my dorm, just to make a fake coincidence or meeting, so that you could introduce yourself and be my friend?"

"Ye—Yeah... hehe, ouch!"

"Ha!"

Scott scoffed and smiled softly for the first time in a long time. He gave John a hand to help him stand.

"Ergh!" John groaned as he stood up, still holding his ribs, but did not breathe as heavily as before

"Let's now have a proper introduction."

Scott extended his hand for a handshake.

"Scott McKnight."

John looked at Scott's hand for a brief second, then reciprocated.

"John Torino."

They both had a firm handshake that lasted for a second

"Ok, we'll talk later."

Scott said, turning around to continue his jog.

"Wha— you're still gonna do that?"

John asked perplexed

"Well, my boy body won't work it self, will it?"

Scott answered.

"And I'm not the guy that got punched in the guts," he continued.

"Okay, I see.."

John replied, grinning as he nodded his head.

"I'm gonna go on this run and beat you."

John replied, pointing at Scott.

"Ha, it's a jog and well...let's see about that," Scott said, laughing, welcoming the challenge

They both started the run with one gaining on the other and falling behind, and the other overtaking and also falling behind.

Reaching the end of the run, they both ran at the same pace and began a conversation.

"So how'd you do it?"

John said.

"Do what?"

Scott replied.

"When I saw you, the first day you came to protocol, you were a thin as a broom."

He continued.

"Even when Rick put you to the test, your form was that of a complete amateur."

He then looked at Scott head to toe and continued, "But now.., you look amazing."

Scott smiled, "With the right training, food supplements and genetics, you can do anything."

"Bullshit." John replied, "You went from a complete amateur to pro in a month! How do you learn that?"

"Instincts," Scott replied.

"Instincts? At this point, you're just messing with me."

John shook his head, half-laughing, half-annoyed. But before he could press further.

"Where here?" Scott said abruptly, stopping the conversation.

John looked up and realized they'd already arrived at Scott's dorm.

"Tell you what," Scott continued, putting his hands on his waist, "come to my dorm tomorrow morning and I'll show you how I do it."

John's eyes lit up.

"Really!"

"Yeah.., I'm even planning on beating the taekwondo simulation."

"Shut up," John replied jokingly.

"Yeah," Scott replied smugly.

He looked at his watch. "8:30 It's late already…," Scott muttered.

Pressing his palm to the biometric scanner. The door opened with a quiet hiss.

"Alright, Scott. Good night."

"Night, John," Scott replied.

The next day at the crack of dawn, even before his alarm woke him, Scott heard a ring on his door.

"Who the hell would come to my dorm this early?" Scott wondered.

He glanced at the door camera — John standing there smiling.

"I know I told him to come in the morning, but not this morning..."

Scott thought.

He opened the door hesitantly.

"Hey! it's morning."

John said, waving at him.

Scott looks at him dead-eyed.

"Oh, was I too early?" he replied, rubbing his hand on his head

"Come in," he said, signaling John to enter.

"It's a little bit early...., but let's begin."

John observed Scott's training regimen and training style. He was shocked by how impressive it was.

"This guy's the real deal," John said to himself as he observed Scott, and just as Scott had said, in a month, he mastered Taekwondo.

It was the first of the new month, and just as he had done the last time, Scott had already prepared to challenge the simulation room again.

During this time, John and Scott's relationship deepened, and they became very close; Anywhere you see Scott, you'll see John and anywere you see John you'll see Scott.

The moment Scott and John walked into the training grounds, the cadets grew rowdy.

"It's Scott?"

"And that bastard John with him."

"What is he going to do this time?"

"I think he's gonna do it again."

The cadets mumbled among themselves.

Scott walked into the simulation room and began to select his fighter.

"Okay, guys!" John said to the crowd, "Who's ready to gamble?" John said with a huge smile on his face.

A lot of cadets began to grumble.

"He's gonna cheat us again."

"I'm not interested."

"No way!"

John smiled; he already expected that the cadets wouldn't be interested.

He raised both his hands and said, "Come on! Guys.. Even if I put up... "

The rowdy crowd stopped waiting to hear how much John was gonna stake.

"10 million velrin.."

The crowd hesitated; most were not moved by his offer.

He smiled. He had expected this. he continued

"Ok, guys. , 20 million velrin!!."

The cadet's eyes widened; they did not expect that huge an amount.

The training ground erupted, different cadets screaming, "Send me the link, Send the details."

"Calm down, calm down," John said to the cadets, settling their enthusiasm.

Some other cadets still refused, scared that they were going to lose their money just like before.

The simulation finished loading, and the fight began

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Ding.

FIGHT!.