Lord of the Time: I Can Reincarnate Infinitely

The interior of the room was ultra-high-tech and ultra-secure, filled with data points and images that were being displayed on different screens. Caleb and his team gathered around the large digital table.

"So, if I get that right," Caleb's voice sounded incredulous, "after we win the Elite Trial, there's no guarantee for us in the Universe Ascendancy Games? We will still be playing detective, looking for all the shadowy figures pulling strings?"

A staff member at the monitor gave a solemn nod. "Exactly. So, the Elite Trial was nothing but a beginning for them. To really belong to the UAG, we have to expose and locate the force behind the scenes."

Caleb rubbed his chin, his mind racing. "All right, let's start with what we know," and he turned his eyes to the digital table giving the faces of all the passengers from their flight. He zoomed in on the faces with a few swipes and taps, his sharp memory reminding him of the position and behavior of each passenger relative to the flight.

"One of these people is our ticket to the big game," he muttered, scanning the images.

He pointed to a middle-aged man in a business suit. "This one—always on his phone, barely flinched through the snake chaos." Then he pointed out a fidgety young woman. "And her, too jittery, keeps looking at the cargo hold door." His team was left to look in awe at the great details he remembered. He went step by step in his explanation, ruling out the passengers in regard to the face they had made while flying, the positions of the seats in the plane, and how the people seated around him had related among themselves.

After a good few minutes of peering at the screen and scrutiny, Caleb's finger stopped on a photo of a relatively unremarkable man—mid-thirties, glasses, throughout everything, a calm expression. "He," Caleb cried, "was too calm, almost bored, even when the snakes were filling up the cabin. And he sat right where the snakes were most."

The team huddled in, poring over the details of the man. "No panic, no fear," Zoey said. "Like he knew what was gonna happen." "Right. He's our link to the UAG, or at least whoever it is that's setting up these trials. This guy knows something."

One of the official's fingers flew over the keyboard as he spoke, "Alright, we've got the Gofast satellites recalibrated to pull the lizard down on Mr. Mysterious. We're going to find where the middle-aged man is hiding, or whoever he really is."

Caleb crossed his arms and glued his eyes to the screen. "Better be quick. Every second we waste, this fucker gets further away."

Then the satellite picture zoomed in on a busy city street, and as it came in closer, it came into focus with a man who seemed to fit the description of their suspect. "There he is," Zoey pointed him out. "Same suit, same build."

The man on the screen hesitated, looked around with the first signs of fear, and then only reached up to his face. He leaned close and then looked ahead before one of his hands came up to tear what looked like a mask off, baring himself with another ugly expression underneath.

"Holy shit," Ethan exclaimed, "It's a damn mask made of human skin!"

What was underneath the face of thejson was not that of a middle-aged man; it was the face of a white-haired teenager with a very wide, disturbing smile. Plain white hair was on him, contrasting purely against his skin and facial complexion. His sharp, shining blue eyes looked like they contrasted with his incredibly pale skin. The grin was so sharp and predatory, one seemed to be almost preternatural. His skin was unnaturally smooth, hinting at either very good chances of a certain type of genetic modification or possibly being a disguise. The manner in which he folded his mask and settled it inside the folds of his jacket was arrogantly confident.
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His clothes, though partly hidden by the jacket of the suit, were telling about a technology-based and some other traditional fabric mix, which suggested old-world and futuristic preferences.

Caleb's jaw clenched. "That little shit. He's not just some random thug; he's playing at a whole other level."

It was as though a light went on in the face of the official; his mouth fell open as the realization of what the Captain had just said hit him. "That explains how he was able to 'stage' that snake thing so easily," the official went on. "This guy's no rookie; he's a pro, and this is his coming-out party. Mia, her eyes never leaving the screen, added, "And that grin, it's like he's enjoying the chase, taunting us." Caleb cracked his knuckles, determination shining in his eyes. "Well, he won't be smiling for long," he said, leading them to the house. "So, brace yourselves; we are about to walk up and clean that smirk off his face. Time to show this boy we ain't ones to be messed with."

Suddenly, with a drama-like effect, the door finally swung open to reveal the President of the United States, the command center was filled with the low hum of electronic equipment and nervous anticipation. The powerful presence of the president stopped the flurry of activity.

"Before you all leave, I wanted to wish you luck," the President started, his voice firm but sincere. "I will be in Geneva for an urgent summit, the global implications of the anomalies; I chair a UN council on interstellar threats the week after."

Caleb, a man not for formalities, just nodded. "Thank you, Mr. President. We will take it from there and do some politicking."

Just then, an official stationed at a large digital map called out, "We've got a lock on the location!

When it gave a close-up, detailed look at the compound, all eyes turned to the screen. The place was a compound in a remote area of the Nevada desert, marked from details of the following.