Mr Love: Dream Date Chap 12 Salvation of Wind

Chapter 12 unlocks at level 53 which I was able to unlock faster than expected, thanks to a time limited offer of 1,200 stamina for $1.48. The game developers sure have a knack to entice you with these small packages at the most appropriate time. Chapter 12 is rather heavy on lore and less on romance so be ready for lots of explanation.

Spoiler alert!

This chapter probably starts the day after Victor fetched you home. You contemplated the new information that Victor had shared with you specifically about Black Swan. Up to this point, you only knew of their existence at the hackers summit and then with the HBS incident. Victor told you that Black Swan had appeared in Loveland City 17 years ago. At that time, you had showed up at the orphanage and lost your memory, which was also the same time your dad had reported on an orphanage human trafficking incident. The incident created a huge stir and all the relevant people were arrested and the orphanage abandoned.

Two years ago around the time of your dad’s death, Black Swan became active in Loveland City again. While going through his notes, you learnt that prior to his death, he was investigating an unsolved missing persons case where a family of four had disappeared without a trace in the northern district near a waterfall 17 years ago. A few days before his death, he seemed certain of their whereabouts. His notes ended with the symbol of a little ‘s’ with its tail sticking up. Could your dad’s death be related to this case? Your dad also wrote about meeting up with Key but the meeting never came to pass. Back in chapter 8, we learnt that Key had been escorted away by some people and that was the last Kiro had seen of him.

You received a call from Gavin and felt slightly awkward having not spoken to him for a long while. You asked him how he has been. He told you he had been out on a mission but it was over now. You asked Gavin if he had managed to gather more information about Black Swan as you are now even more certain that they had everything to do with what happened 17 years ago, your father’s death and even the threats against your life now. Gavin agreed to share what he knows. Like finally!

While waiting for Gavin to pick you up, you received a call from Lucien. He apologised he wasn’t able to pick you up from the hospital. Later he asked you what you have been up to and you told him that you’ve been trying to unravel all the mysteries around what has been happening and are beginning to wonder if you have been living a lie. Lucien explains philosophically that lies are a subset of the truth and that you shouldn’t discount them entirely. He told you to take your time to seek the truth and that he would be there with you. He only hoped that you would not push him away once you learnt it. Gosh, the suspense is killing me! Who on earth are you Lucien?!

Gavin arrived at your apartment with his bike. He looked thinner than before and you surmised he must have gone through a lot recently. As you got on his bike, you noticed fresh wounds on his neck. Not wanting to pry too much you asked if Gavin had gotten into trouble lately. He wanted to know why you thought so and you replied that it’s because he appeared thinner. In response he pulled you closer and asked you to hang on tighter. Real smooth, Gavin. I noticed that the writers tend to describe Gavin as this cool hunky dude who never fails to sweep you off your feet whenever you see him. Even the BGM changes when he enters the scene.

You soon arrived at the suburbs in an unfamiliar location. The barren landscape was only marked by high grey walls. You recalled this area had remained inhabitable due to unprecedented levels of radiation. Gavin rode towards the wall which opened up into a steel tunnel with blue lights flashing as you passed through, just like out of a sci-fi movie. He told you that you have arrived at the operations base of the Special Task Force, where he worked. Gavin explained that the STF was independent of the military tasked with the responsibility of investigating superpower crimes and arresting super criminals. All the agents are Evolvers like him.

As he entered a central room, he was required to go through a Evol Fluctuation Scan. Gavin explained that under certain circumstances, one’s Evol could fluctuate out of control and cause mutation, hence it is important to keep the levels under control. Before he can speak further, he was summoned to bring you to meet with the STF commander. Because of the earlier interaction we already had with Commander Leto, I cannot help but feel something sinister about him.

Commander Leto explained that STF would be starting an operation against Black Swan. Though uncertain of their real intent, Leto was sure that you were the most crucial element in their overall scheme and thus sought your cooperation in any matters they may require. You are unsure of how to respond and he told you to take some time to think this through. He gave Gavin and you clearance to enter the archives to find the information you are looking for.

In the archives, you learnt that the Black Swan Collective started as an underground research group made up of scientists and businessmen. After much restructuring, it has become an international crime organisation hiding behind a gene research institute. The BSC had thousands of members around the world led by the Twelve whom the STF had yet to gain any information on. Members of BSC tended to be people of considerable influence in the society. BSC’s primary focus was on Evol gene activation, implantation and recreation, in other words, turning normal people into Evolvers. You asked if Evolvers could be modified to which Gavin replied there has only been one successful experiment but nothing was known of this person.

Gavin told you that the two bullets that were aimed for you were from Black Swan and specially constructed. They weren’t lethal but meant to inject a hallucinogen into your body. This sent chills down your spine, wondering what would have happened if you had been hit by the bullet. Gavin held your hand assuring you that he would be by your side to protect you.

Something about how they described Black Swan Collective triggered a sudden revelation. People of considerable influence would certainly include Victor. All along I had suspected that Lucien was party to this organisation, but having seen the interaction between Victor and Lucien, I have my suspicions that perhaps Victor is also a member of BSC. That would certainly blow my mind! I’m also reminded of the scene back in chapter 6 when Lucien brought you to the abandoned orphanage after the successful broadcast of your documentary. Gavin had appeared to protect you from the bullet, but could Lucien have lured you there to have you shot? That wouldn’t really go down well with me.

As Gavin guided you around the base, you puzzled over why BSC would set up an elaborate scheme with the hackers summit and film set when they could just approach you directly. Gavin conjectured this could be related to something that you currently do not have. You were interrupted by a young officer calling for Gavin’s help in the interrogation of a suspect. Gavin brought you to a reception room and asked you to wait for him there. While waiting, one of Gavin’s buddy, Eli, came by to speak to you. During your chat, you learnt that Gavin had dropped out of a recent mission out of the blue and took off without a word. He was not seen for more than two weeks and when he finally returned, he had multiple injuries. Eli also shared about Gavin’s earlier days as a rookie and how they were the sole survivors of a mission together. You also learnt that Gavin seemed to have a weakness for fire.

Eli then told you the his real reason for approaching you. Gavin was leading the current interrogation with Jay, the person who had abducted you on the roof, and it was going nowhere. He had hoped to seek your cooperation in trying to break the suspect to give up information about his key contact in the BSC. You agreed. As you listened in on the interrogation, you learnt that Jay’s sister Josie would be able to come back if you died. He shared that his sister had disappeared in the northern district, bringing up memories of the notes you had read about the missing family case.

Jay spotted you and he went hysterical when he realised that you were still alive. Gavin quickly stood in front of you to shield you from his line of sight. He told Jay that he had been used and the bullet was never intended to kill you. He reprimanded Jay for making a decision to destroy his life through crime, no matter the reason. You were drawn by Gavin’s powerful rhetoric and realised that despite how much he had gone through all these years, his resolution for justice and righteousness remained. Jay proclaimed that he has no regrets over his action and he had only ever wanted to keep his sister safe. He started to convulse unnaturally and before you can witness further, Gavin covered your eyes to prevent you from seeing him die a horrible death, blood streaming out of his orifices and pooling around him on the floor.

Gavin brought you out of the room and told you in a no nonsense voice that he was bringing you home. Before you could say anything, a loud alarm went off. Gavin rushed forward to investigate. Apparently one of the newer cadets had gone out control and was rampaging in the hall. Gavin quickly took control of the situation using the wind to swing a heavy table thrown by the cadet away from others. When the cadet tried to rush at you, Gavin instinctively threw his jacket over your head and pushed you to safety in a corner. You heard Gavin grunt in pain. Removing his jacket, you saw him clutch his chest before swiftly heaving the tall cadet to the ground and pinning him down. The other officers arrived and took him away. With the situation under control, Gavin told you that the cadet’s Evol had fluctuated outside its normal range hence he had gone wild.

After the cadet was taken away, Leto appeared and asked both of you to follow him. He shared that the lab had found a nano-bomb embedded into Jay’s carotid artery which was set to go off if he said a key word. The bomb had the unmistakable symbol of a ‘s’ with its tail up, the same one as in your dad’s notes. Leto said this was undeniably the symbol for Black Swan. You told Leto that you had seen this symbol in your dad’s notes related to the missing family case from 17 years ago.

Regarding this case, Leto told you that the whole investigation team, save for himself, had gone missing or died. What they did uncover though was that the waterfall concealed the entrance to a portal to other dimensions called the Black Cabin. Those who wandered into the space would be trapped forever in an orderless dimension. He also revealed that the names of the missing children were Jay and Josie as well. While highly likely, he couldn’t conclude if the present day Jay and Josie were indeed the missing children from 17 years ago. In which case, finding Josie would be the utmost importance in cracking the case. Leto shared that she had been spotted around Greenwood Hotel lately to which Gavin requested to personally look into the case. As you left the base, no one noticed that Gavin’s Evol signature was flashing red.

After Gavin dropped you off at home, he told you firmly not to leave your apartment. As if to shake off his own apprehension, Gavin caressed the gingko bracelet on your wrist. You noticed a new scar on his wrist and asked to examine it further. Upon closer examination, you realised that Gavin’s arm is full of scars both faded and fresh. Seeing your concern, he promised you that he would not get hurt before scooting off.

At this point of the story, I feel like there are several holes in the story. If the STF knew there was a wormhole of sorts in the waterfall, why aren’t they barring people from going there? If they knew where Josie was hanging out, then why didn’t they bring her in and reunite her with her brother? Jay didn’t need to die so horribly trying to save his sister when she wasn’t in any danger. Why did he think you needed to die in order to save her? Tracing back to chapter 7, didn’t the student say that Josie had gone missing three days ago, how did it become a 17 years ago case? The story plot is really getting quite convoluted. Each time I think that one piece is finally explained, 3 more new mysteries surface.

The next morning, while going through your dad’s notes, you came across a newspaper clipping about a big fire that broke out in Loveland City many years ago, injuring many and killing one. You tried to make out the date but in touching the clipping, you suddenly had a vision of Gavin trapped under a wooden beam, his uniform on fire and lying motionlessly on the floor. You looked around the vision and realised that this is a room 404 in Greenwood Hotel and the clock showed 3pm. You let go of the clipping and your vision shifted back to reality. You broke out in cold sweat not knowing if this was a premonition of a future event. It was now 2.15pm so this hadn’t happened. You tried to call Gavin to warn him but he didn’t pick up the phone. Not wanting to risk it, you rushed out of your house and made your way to the hotel.

The hotel receptionist told you there was no room 404 in the hotel and refused to tell you if there was a Josie staying here. Not wanting to waste anymore time, you asked to be given a room on the 4^th floor. While in the elevator, you finally managed to get through to Gavin and told him to avoid room 404 and wait for you at the entrance. However you weren’t able to get a response before you heard static and the phone hung up. The time was 2.30pm. As you hunted around level 4, your eyes fell upon the room number plate 404 even though the receptionist told you it was non-existent. You entered the empty room tentatively. You heard a hair raising laugh and the door behind you bolted shut.

The young petite girl in the room looked exactly like the photo of Josie. She was surprised that you had come instead of Gavin as she wanted to exact revenge on him for her brother’s death. You tried to explain the suspicious circumstances around his death but she would hear none of it. Apparently she had been too long a victim of bullying and thinks that people are just out to get rid of those who are different. She opened her mouth releasing a shrill voice that pierced your ears and sent shockwaves slashing into your nerves. You desperately tried to fight off Josie’s attack.

Suddenly the room caught fire. The electric clock fell to the floor registering 2.55pm. Even in this seemingly last moment of your life, you were glad that you managed to save Gavin. In the midst of your stupor, you heard Josie retort that the Queen really had nothing more to her. I knew it! You are the Queen that the BSC was trying to awaken, the final piece to their grand scheme to revolutionise mankind. In the weirdest turn of events, you got a call from Gavin. He sounded worried over the phone. Having received your message, he asked you to pick up your phone. To be honest, this call actually creeped me out. I really thought it was a bug in the game.

Meanwhile Gavin was still searching the hotel for Josie when he received a call from you at 2.50pm. It was all broken up and he couldn’t quite get what you were telling him except to avoid room 404. Suddenly, there was a huge commotion and Gavin rushed to the lobby to find out what was happening. He learnt that a fire had broken out at the 5^th floor of the hotel (is this a typo?) but thankfully everyone had been evacuated. The receptionist however recalled that you had just recently checked in but was nowhere to be seen. When Gavin heard that a certain reporter had come to the hotel, his blood froze and he dashed into the foray.

Despite his own misgivings about fire, he knocked down the door to room 404. He saw you trapped within the flames and the image overlaid with memories of his past – his inability to save his mother from the fire as a child and being branded as a failure all his life. The wind around him swirled and he tried to blow the fire away from you. Picking the girl up from the floor, he was surprised when she addressed him as ‘officer’. Noticing that the girl in her arms was not wearing the gingko bracelet, he pushed her aside and she vanished together with the fire. In that moment, he realised that this was all an illusion. The space beneath him gave way and he fell into darkness.

Josie continued to torment you with her soundwaves. As the fire surged and its heat overwhelmed you, you felt despair and hopeless. Just as it felt like your life was ebbing away, there was a sudden crash and brilliant light above you. You see Gavin descending from above. (There the writers go again, portraying Gavin as a cliché textbook hero.) Josie was shocked to see him, surprised that he managed to escape from the trap she had set for him. Swiftly, he motioned the air current to push Josie crashing into the wall. Finally the tortuous soundwaves stopped. Gavin ran towards you to shield you from the flames with a wind vortex to put some distance between you and the fiery tongues of fire. You held onto Gavin’s hand and smiled at him, assured that you were now safe as you faded into unconsciousness.

When you opened your eyes later, you found yourself in a white room that was completely empty. Gavin chided you fiercely for coming here. Noticing fresh wounds on Gavin, you realised he had gotten injured again rescuing you. You broke down and told him that you saw him in danger and you couldn’t not do anything about it. He calmed down upon hearing that and gently wiped the tears from your face. Later he told you that Josie had looked like she didn’t know what was going on. Terrified, she disappeared together with the flames, leaving both of you in the empty room. I’m seeing three different powers at work here – soundwaves, hallucinations and a special dimension. Could Josie be so powerful to have all these skills or were there others behind this?

You looked out of the window of the empty room and realised that you are perched high above the sea as the waves crashed below you. In a moment the scenery changed into towering cliffs. Putting all the information together, Gavin conjectured that both of you are trapped in a space that interfaced with many different worlds. It would be too dangerous to leave the room as you might risk getting trapped forever in an unknown dimension. You recalled Uncle Chuck’s special dimension and Leto’s words about Black Cabin. Awhile later the scenery outside had morphed into a waterfall. Your intuition tells you that this could be the waterfall in the northern district where Jay and Josie had gone missing all these years. You suggested that both of you leave the room right now. Gavin was afraid that a mistake would trap both of you forever but you entrusted your life to him. Holding you tight, he summoned up a black cyclone to envelope the two of you and jumped out of the window. The lights flashed around you as if you were travelling through some portal. Not too long after, your feet found ground again amidst familiar sights.

You celebrated the escape but it was cut short when Gavin suddenly collapsed. His face turned pale. He clutched his chest in pain as if trying to stop something from bursting out. You tried to approach him but the winds around him continued to swirl violently pushing and lashing at you. Finally he managed to stand up, covering his face and eyes that had turned scarlet, he told you desperately to stay away from him. You didn’t understand what was happening but was prevented from going near him by the wind. As the gale wrapped around Gavin, you watched helplessly as he was lifted further and further away until you couldn’t see him anymore.

Meanwhile, we see Kiro searching for some files on a computer and came across a folder called Solomon. As he left the room he was in, he saw a man in white robe approaching. Kiro recognised him as he walked past. The man called Ares entered the meeting room. Inside the room, Ares/Lucien was given the command to open the box.

There we have it. Finally the big reveal behind who Lucien really is. I’m assuming he’s an agent working in the BSC with the role of awakening the queen, i.e. you. I’m surprised though to see Kiro in the same place as well. Unless Kiro is also a member of the BSC?! Is anyone not a member of the BSC then? All through the chapter, we were led to believe that there was something wrong with Gavin though the way he had disappeared caught me off guard. Gavin had been under a lot of stress in a short span of time, almost like an elaborate plot to trigger his Evol mutation for whatever reason. From a romance angle, this chapter gave me nothing which was really fine. Gavin is a hero and I guess some girls dig that. For me, my head is swelling with so many questions, it’s about to burst too!

P/s I recently opened a job posting to fill a position in my team and I was mildly amused that of the four applicants, two of them were called Gavin and Victor. What are the odds!