Chapter 9 | Smart Glass For Selene
Dexter arrived back at the bungalow at eight-thirty.
At exactly nine o’clock, a white van pulled up outside the gate. Three professional security technicians stepped out, carrying heavy toolboxes and metal bars. Dexter greeted them quietly, guiding them through the house. For the next two hours, the sound of drilling and metal clanging echoed through the bungalow.
By ten o’clock, the work was finished. Every window on the ground floor was now reinforced with thick, black iron security bars, and the front and back doors had been fitted with heavy, grade-1 steel deadbolts and a digital keypad lock.
A small, subtle alarm panel was installed beside the entrance. It wasn’t enough but at least it could inform the police if there was another break in attempt.
With the house secure, Dexter walked into the lady’s room. Mira was already awake, strangely sitting in her wheelchair. Dexter guessed Lyra might have helped her there.
While Lyra sat quietly on the sofa and Selene laying in the bed with her eyes opened.
Dexter reached into his backpack and pulled out the first pair of AI smart glasses. He walked over to Lyra, crouching down so he was at eye level with her.
As he reached out, Lyra flinched slightly, her shoulders tensing as she pulled back. Dexter stopped his movement, keeping his hands open and visible. He pulled out his notepad and wrote in large, clear letters:
`[These are smart glasses. They will translate my voice into text on the screen so you can see what I am saying. Please try them.]`
He held the note in front of her. Lyra read the words, her dark eyes moving from the paper to the sleek, white glasses in his hand.
But her expression didn’t change in the slightest.
He held them out to her.
Lyra didn’t reach for them.
Dexter waited. Then he typed another message.
[Please try them. I think they’ll help.]
She stared at the text for a long moment. Then, slowly, she raised her hand and took the glasses.
Her fingers were cold, she turned the glasses over in her hands, examining them.
Then she put them on.
The lenses flickered as the AI activated. The clerk had alredy calibrated it in advance so he didn’t need to touch anything.
Dexter nervously cleared his throat and spoke. "Can you see the text?"
The glasses translated his voice into words that appeared on Lyra’s lenses in real time.
[Can you see the text?]
Lyra’s eyes moved slightly, reading. Then she looked at Dexter.
Her expression changed.
It was so subtle that anyone without enhanced perception might have missed it. But Dexter caught it.
’That means it’s working.’
Dexter grinned and spoken again.
"If you want to speak back to me," Dexter said, pointing to the small button on the frame of the glasses, "you can type a message on your phone, and the glasses will read the text out loud using a text-to-speech feature. We can communicate now."
Lyra remained silent, completely rooted in place, staring at him through the glasses.
"Hey," Dexter said softly, leaning closer. "Are you alright?"
She did not respond. She looked down at her lap, her hands clenching into tight fists. Dexter sighed quietly, thinking he might have pushed her too fast or made her uncomfortable. He stood up, turning his attention to Selene.
Dexter walked over to Selene, holding the second pair of smart glasses. He carefully sat beside her, keeping his voice low so as not to startle her.
"Selene, I bought something for you too. These glasses have an active AI assistant. I’ve installed the house schematic to the glasses."
"Also, it constantly scans the surroundings and through the bone conducting sound, it will speak to you and inform you where you want to go or how many steps to the kitchen, and where the doors are. It will help you move around the house safely."
Selene did not respond. She laid there as still as a statue, her pale skin looking almost translucent in the morning light.
Dexter waited for a moment, then gently set the white glasses on the sofa cushion right beside her hand. "I’ll leave them here for you. You can try them whenever you feel ready."
...
Dexter walked back into the kitchen, and started making the "Five Body Nourishing Meals" he knew by heart this time.
According to the text, this broth was a rare, low-grade Enchanted Meal designed specifically to slowly coat damaged meridians, easing the constant nerve pain caused by severed pathways and restoring a tiny fraction of active mana circulation.
Dexter carefully pulled the expensive ingredients from the insulated bags. He sliced the thick, pale root of the Sun-moon fruit into thin, even discs. The root released a sharp, medicinal scent that cleared his sinuses. He then took the Juniper bark root and ground it into a fine powder using a small mortar and pestle.
As the hours passed, the kitchen filled with an incredible, rich aroma. The scent was entirely different from the simple porridge he had made the night before; it was sweet, heavy, and complex, smelling of fresh mountain air, wild honey, and warm herbs.
By one o’clock, the broth had boiled down into a thick, shimmering liquid that looked like liquid gold.
[Ding! You have succeeded in making a Grade 1 making Enchanted Meal]
[Name: Enchanted Meal]
[Type: Food]
[Grade: 1]
[Effect: Nourish the body, moisturize meridians, heal injuries and calm the mind]
Dexter ladled the hot, golden broth into three small bowls then carried them to the dining table, where his three wives were already seated.
Interestingly, none of them were wearing the smart glasses he had purchased. Lyra had left hers on the living room table, and Selene’s still sat untouched on the sofa cushion. Dexter’s brow furrowed slightly in disappointment, but he did not comment. He set the bowls down in front of them.
He sat beside her wheelchair with the bowl in one hand and the spoon in the other.
"Open," he said.
Mira turned her head to look at him. Her crimson eyes moved from his face to the bowl to the spoon. Her eyes squinted as though she recognized what it was but couldn’t believe it.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Meridian-Soothing Broth," Dexter said. "First of the Five Body Nourishing Meals."
Mira’s eyes widened slightly as she knew it was actually a Grade 1 Enchanted Meal the moment she saw it.
But if it was really a Grade 1 Enchanted Meal and Dexter made it, that would mean that Dexter was at least a Novice Food-Smith!