Compared to 3 weeks ago, Community G changed again.

There were more structurally sound buildings in the Waste community, and there were far less homeless people on the streets.

The transformation since the Zmer gang's demise was evident.

And just like the Freegrid Collective promised, a school was already built just beside the renovated water factory in the community.

A massive holo-signboard, the first in Community G floated in the sky above the concrete building, showcasing the school to anyone who visited this community in the Wastes.

[Free Folk Academy, Community G]

With his C-5 drone invisible and floating above the school premises, Leon was able to see inside.

The first batch of students of the learning institution sat in a large classroom as they were taught the basic geography of the world.

Their teacher was a woman that looked familiar to Leon.

His face scrunched up as he tried to remember who she was, then he gasped in surprise. 'That's the lady who Audrey interviewed!'

'She's now a teacher in the school?' Leon was visibly surprised.

Seeing her teach, he felt a faint sense of pride on behalf of the martyred reporter whose sacrifice played a big role in this.

There were both Geneforms and Synths in the classroom.

With curious and smiling expressions on their faces, the children listened attentively to their teacher though a few of the students were a bit mischievous, making the teacher reprimand them.

Others asked questions innocently when they didn't understand something, the overall atmosphere in the classroom was sweet and harmonious.

The sight of it made Leon smile.

Having wisely decided to park the Karaki CT-3X superbike outside the city when he ventured inside to avoid attracting attention, with a hood and face cap hiding his face, Leon was able to quietly stroll through the community and observe all the changes.

Despite the dark ambience overshadowing the world in a state of perpetual evening due to the distant neon storms in the sky, Community G no longer felt gloomy.

For the first time, the community looked vibrant and brimming with energy.

Seeing the changes that were exacted partially as a result of his actions filled Leon with pride and a fulfilling sense of achievement.

He felt like a herald of change.

The sight also soothed his conscience that he made the right choice when he decided to ally with the Freegrid Collective.

At the same time, comparing the positive changes and energy in this town with what he already saw outside Community G filled him with a yearning desire to tear down the Omnicore Federation even more.

…

[Gary and Mary's Restaurant]

Leon entered the familiar restaurant with a swagger in his steps.

Inside was bustling with activity.

Due to the free meal system put in place by the Freegrid Collective, the restaurant was almost filled to the brim as Synths and Geneforms brimming with positive energy enjoyed meals with smiles on their faces.

The energy inside the restaurant made Leon instinctively smile behind his hood.

He quickly noticed that the restaurant was no longer just Gary and Mary, there were other workers in the restaurant now.

Leon was surprised. 'They already have workers on payroll?'

He noticed that the workers were dressed in red and black attire with an emblem of a chef serving food with the text- [Gary and Mary's Restaurant].

He noticed a boy in red and black sitting at a corner of the restaurant with a vacuum cleaner beside him.

Leon raised his eyebrows and chuckled. 'They finally hired a permanent cleaner'.

Apart from the male cleaner, the other workers comprised 3 girls- 2 Geneforms and 1 Synth. 2 of them attended to customers, while the last one was currently standing before Gary in the counter, inquiring something of him.

Mary was nowhere to be found, maybe she was in the kitchen.

Seeing him approach the counter, the female Geneform talking with Gary turned to look at him and flashed a charming smile. "Sir, you can go sit that way, a waiter will soon approach you to get your order".

Leon looked at her with a smile without saying a word.

Noting this, Gary frowned and raised his head, thinking it was one of those mischievous customers trying to hit on his workers but the moment he raised his head, he froze. "L-Leon?"

Leon grinned. "Long time no see".

He gestured at the restaurant. "I can see the business has expanded, care to tell me about it?"

Gary stared at him, stunned, then he said. "Well, we saw each other about 3 weeks ago so it's not really a long time. That aside, when did you return?"

Leon chuckled. "Just now".

…

In the expanded inner area of the restaurant, Leon sat with the couple even as they showed their concern.

"We heard of the invasion in Leviathan Quay!" Mary said with clear concern on her face. "How was it? From what I heard, it was very bad".

"Fortunately, you survived," Gary heaved a sigh of relief. "What happened?"

Leon gave in to the couples' curiosity as he told them the story of his exciting adventure in Leviathan Quay.

By the end of his story, the couple's jaw dropped in shock and disbelief.

"You're the Thomas Riley???"

Leon chuckled. "You guys already know about Thomas Riley?"

"Who doesn't know Thomas Riley?" Mary retorted.

Gary didn't answer Leon though as instead he turned and looked at his wife with a resentful expression. "See? Living here peacefully and away from the chaos of the outside world doesn't necessarily mean we need to be cave people!" He emphasized with a bitter expression.

Mary glared at him because of his usage of the 'cave people' term but she didn't interrupt her husband as Gary continued in an exasperated manner.

"I already told you, let's get a TV that's at least connected to the psionic network. That way, we can watch TV shows and news in our leisure time".

"How do you expect me to live without any entertainment and completely cut off from the outside world?"

He sighed. "If you listened to me, we won't be like country bumpkins not knowing what the hell is going on out there".

"But we came here for peace". Mary argued.

"A single TV is not enough to take away our peace!"

Mary pouted. "Maybe you're right".

'Finally, you admit you're wrong!' Gary thought as he immediately heaved a sigh of relief and said. "Thank you".

Leon was amused by the couple's spat, he didn't interject.

After that, they served him food as Leon finally asked for a detailed account of all the changes in Leviathan Quay.

Apparently, the couple already turned into mini-celebrities in the community as the people didn't forget their contributions during the battle against the Zmer gang. And added with their philanthropy sponsored by the Freegrid Collective, everybody in the community was in love with the couple.

After discussing a few more topics, Leon refrained from telling them about his decision to challenge a Trial because experience already told him how exaggerated their reaction was going to be.

After conversing with them more, Leon finally excused himself and decisively left to the fringe of the Wastes.

Experienced now in traversing the wild, within less than 20 minutes he arrived at the familiar scrapyard where his shelter was hidden.

And then, he entered his shelter.

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