Playboy Cultivator in the Apocalypse

A pulse of anxiety swept through the skycruiser's cabin.

Jake announced that he'd throw the troublemakers out of the skycruisers from 20 feet up.

No trial.

He gave the order to the pilot to lower the skycruiser to a survivable height.

Then he'd throw people over the side.

No mercy.

Jacob Hays represented Immortal Skye, the people teaching, feeding, and housing them the day before.

He was supposed to be a teacher.

A director of the organization.

Their leader.

Yet even he, who hadn't lived the apocalypse, was about to join in on the barbarity.

Between the sounds of screaming, sights below, and the fear of being thrown off the skycruiser, most realize they weren't descending.

The pressure was far too high.

"Do you want to jump or have me help you?" Jake asked apathetically.

"AghhhhhhhhHHH!"

A man jumped from their seat, running at him to check him out of the skycruiser.

Veronica watched in horror, seeing Jake standing in front of the hatch door at the edge.

Her heart pulsed, and she tried jumping up to pull the man back but seized from the sight before her, hypnotized.

Jake effortlessly stepped out of the way as if he were courteously letting the man pass.

The world slowed to a crawl, everyone's horror switching to the man running straight out of the skycruiser to their death.

There was nothing for him to hold onto.

His momentum was too high.

The man tried stopping, but his momentum was too high, and there was nothing for him to hold onto.

As a result, he stumbled forward, ensuring that touching the ceiling was impossible.

Everyone was watching someone run to their death.

The sight was traumatic.

However—

"AghhhhhhhhhHHHHHH! Please help me! Wait, what? T-Thank god! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please!"

Veronica blinked twice, processing the scene before her.

Jake caught the man by the back of his neck and casually held him out the hatch door a hundred feet from the ground. "You're sorry? You just tried to kill me."

"W-Wait! I-It wasn't what it looked like! I just—aghhhhhhhHH! Please!"

The regent released his hand off the man's neck, letting him fall six inches before catching him and lifting him back up.

"Did you feel that?" He asked coldly, "That's the consequence of lying to me.

So I suggest you choose your words carefully and stop sidestepping the obvious."

"Y-Yes! Yes! I-I promise! Now please…."

The man lost hope when he saw the regent turn to everyone else without pulling him back in the skycruiser.

"Tell me, everyone." Jake requested chillingly, "Is there [anything] about Kaze Lexicon or Immortal Skye you should complain about?"

Veronica felt an icy chill crawl down her spine.

Reality had finally caught up to her.

Kaze warned her that Jake would soon have responsibilities over the lives of everyone present.

She treated the man like a serial killer and her crush like a puppy.

Now Jake had responsibilities over the lives of everyone present, and she was a puppy.

It finally made sense to her why Kaze treated him well.

No matter what the emperor asked him to do, he did it without question and pulled it off somehow.

Kaze gave him a technique, and he practiced and grew stronger.

After she approached him with sex, he pushed past his anxieties to fulfill the emperor's directives.

To that day, Jake wasn't getting paid to follow his orders.

For some reason, following Kaze's directives felt instinctual.

Loyalty felt preordained.

Proof of that was right before her eyes.

"N-No, there's nothing wrong with Immortal Skye."

"Not at all! We're grateful to be there."

"We're just confused, Director Hays! Please forgive us."

The world sped up again when the people around her answered his question. He still hadn't brought the man back into the skycruiser and was casual as ever.

"I-I'm… sorry. I-I'm so-s-sorry!"

Jake looked at the man he held in the air, sobbing uncontrollably.

To everyone's shock, he casually swung the man in his hand and threw him into the cabin, crashing to the ground.

"Agh! A-Am I… I-I… I'm alive." The man stuttered in shock, looking at his hands.

"For now." Jake clarified coldly, ignoring him further.

Everyone turned to the regent with disbelief in their eyes, confused and anxious about his words.

"Let's try this again." He said assertively, "There are three ground rules at Immortal Skye.

First, you will [not] ask us to make decisions on your behalf unless we ask you to.

Second, you will stay orderly and not spread panic.

Lastly, you will not cause trouble, fight people, try assaulting people, disrespect me, or accuse Immortal Skye of misconduct."

The faction members trembled, hearing him reiterate his words nearly verbatim.

"These aren't rules for this trip—they're permanent." Jake proclaimed decisively.

"If you break them again, you will be expelled from Immortal Skye."

Veronica shuddered with mixed emotions.

The black-haired pixie was no longer afraid—she awestruck.

He hadn't turned into a callous murderer overnight.

Now that the man was in the cabin again, she could see his heart pulsing, fingers trembling, and hear his sharp breaths.

"I won't!" The man cried, sobbing on the ground on his knees.

"Me either!"

"We didn't understand."

"I won't cause you trouble anymore."

Gratitude waved through the faction members like falling dominoes.

Veronica also played her part, matching his gaze with a complex expression.

"I'm glad you are listening." Jake scoffed authoritatively, "You now only have 25 Skye for the month unless you do extra paid tasks.

Since you cannot afford rent, we will move you to a tent encampment on the west side of the campus.

You will then pay your 25 Skye to us if you want daily meals.

It won't be nearly as good as what you've been getting, but it will keep you going.

Let me ask you, everyone. What's worse? Living in tents on a military base, learning cultivation with daily meals and free water, or what you've seen?"

"T-The tents!"

"I'm grateful for the food."

"Y-Yes, anything is better than that."

"So everyone wants to go back to Immortal Skye, is that right?" He asked.

Everyone hurriedly confirmed that they wanted to leave.

Jake panned their faces with a steely expression. "Your parents and siblings are dead, just like mine are—and Emperor Kaze and General Skye's are.

Does anyone wish to change their mind after facing that harsh reality?"

Dead silence washed over the cabin. Many were stuck on hearing Kaze and Evalyn's families were also deceased.

However, one after the other, everyone shook their heads.

"Remember your answer when we go back to campus." He ordered, "Everyone here broke the rules at some point. You're on thin ice as is.

So we expect absolute compliance from you.

If I hear you complain about their living situation, social treatment, parents, or anything else, I'll expel you on the spot."

The faction members nodded in assent, showcasing their obedience.

"Excellent." Jake chuckled bitterly, hitting the button to close the hatch door.

Everyone sighed breaths of relief when it closed, and they could no longer hear the rioting below them.

The regent touched the mic on his ear. "No one has decided to leave. Head back to Immortal Skye."

"Roger." The pilot replied, retinting the floor glass and shutting the windows.

Despite moving back to Immortal Skye, no one except Veronica could relax again.

They felt like the skycruiser would abruptly reverse course and head back to Meridian City.

Jake's demonstration and threats scarred subordination into their minds.

No one cared about cultivation anymore.

Learning.

Partying.

Swimming pools.

Everyone became fixated on survival, which meant absolute obedience.

Breaking one rule meant death.

Complaining once meant death.

Arguing once meant death.

It was traumatizing to a surreal degree.

Jacob Hays created a subsegment of the Immortal Skye population that would sing the emperor's praises without fail and expose gratitude when met with adversity.

They were a critical counterbalance necessary to move forward.

Veronica pulled a pen and small memo pad from her black jeans pockets and wrote something down.

She then pulled out a black tape recorder with headphones and put them on.

When people saw headphones, they immediately became suspicious. However, it didn't last long.

Veronica bobbed her head to the [beat] for a while until tears welled in her eyes, and she began crying, letting teardrops hit the note on her lap.

Jake watched the sight in confusion, and those interested turned away, worrying about themselves.

After a few more minutes, she took out the headphones, stood up, and walked over to the regent.

"This is an old-fashioned tap player." Veronica said, handing it to Jake, who was visibly confused, "It only has old music, but it's allowed on campus."

No one mistook his reaction for acting; he looked bewildered.

"You've saved our lives." She choked slightly, tears rolling down her eyes, "This is all I have to give you, so please take it along with my thank you note."

"L-Look, I'm just doing my job and trying to keep everyone alive." He replied, his eyes filled with panic, "I don't need gifts or your precious items. I can't accept this."

Veronica shook her head. "Please, let me give you something.

I won't be able to sleep otherwise. If you don't want it, put a Skye price tag on it later, and I'll buy it as soon as possible."

Jake panned everyone's gaze in confusion and panic, not wanting to interact with her more than necessary.

However, no one gave him suspicious gazes, just awaiting judgment.

"I see…." He said hesitantly, grabbing the note and recorder.

The second it left her hand, she burst into tears again, drawing everyone's pitying gaze as she sat down. Her performance was remarkable.

Jake unfolded the note she gave him and read it.

—

I was wrong to distrust Kaze and stupid to doubt your skill and fortitude. I'm an idiot.

Despite that, I'm giving you this anyway. I'm not hiding secrets: good or bad.

- V

—

Jake reread the message once, made eye contact with the crying woman, and nodded.

The recorder sat in his lap for over an hour, making people forget about it.

Once most were sleeping or passive, he put the headphones into his ears and hit play.

—

Jake's eyes trembled when he finished the video, and he summoned all the willpower he had not to look at her.

After listening, he found that he couldn't blame either of them.

They both agreed it was best because both wanted to protect his life.

To denounce her actions would solidify Kaze's test was also a betrayal.

However, they weren't betrayals, and he now understood that.

What touched him was that she released the information knowing that he might interpret it as an attack against Kaze.

She took that risk to not hide anything from him. It was another potentially destructive action.

Jake smiled lightly, knowing that his budding romance with her wasn't meaningless or contrived.

Veronica made the right decision and proved her feelings for him were genuine.