What's… that feeling?

Adam lost consciousness for a moment. This wasn't the first time he'd fallen from a great height. This wasn't the first time his body had made violent contact with a car, either—the feeling should have been somewhat familiar by now.

It feels… oddly soft? I don't think I've felt this before… this something cut my cheek?

But instead, there was a warmth completely foreign to him. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the darkening sky of Dallas. Then, with the slight turn of his eyes, he saw Sylvie's golden hair and her forehead hovering above him.

The Duelist of Rose? Did she… follow me down? Wait, the noise… it's…?

He heard a wet, squelching noise, and quickly realized what she was doing.

"What are you doing…?" Adam whispered, pulling his head away. He first saw the trance in Sylvie's eyes. Blank, but not distant at all—not distant, because she was looking right at his cheek.

But that wasn't all… her tongue was out.

"What—"

Sylvie reached for his head again before he could speak, but this time, Adam gently slapped her hand away.

"Huh?!" And this woke Sylvie from her trance.

"What did I—Oh, no…" she gasped, her eyes widening when she realized what she'd just done. She touched her lips, her head trembling as she felt the blood on them.

But that wasn't all—she could taste it inside her mouth too, that metallic taste.

She quickly looked at Adam, who was already slowly backing away from her. His eyes which felt like they were judging her entire being, not leaving her for even a single moment.

She watched him get off the car and pull something from his bag, a stack of cash, then throw it inside the car through the shattered window. And the entire time, he didn't look away from her at all.

Then he slowly backed away again… and just ran without a word.

"Wait, Sir—" She started to chase after him, but the crowd gathered around her, phones snapping photos and recording videos.

She finally realized that everyone had seen what she'd just done. They started bombarding her with questions.

"Who was that young man?"

"Were you two fighting?"

"Is he a Hero?"

"Is he your secret boyfriend?"

"Why were you licking his face?"

"What's your relationship with him?"

While she couldn't slip past through her fans, Adam ran without pause. He made sure to stick to crowded places, removing his cap and lowering his head so the cameras wouldn't be able to identify him quickly.

Unfortunately for Adam, Dallas' sidewalks were wide and the crowd couldn't hide him properly. He looked around the street and chose to stand behind pedestrians waiting to cross.

This is what you get for going back to the city, Adam. You are the dregs of society—you don't belong with people.

When the light went green, he slipped ahead into the middle of the crowd and swiftly removed his coat, grabbing another jacket from his backpack and putting up a hoodie.

Just like that, Adam looked completely different from the waist up.

The crowd started to split, and Adam stuck with a group of friends, making sure to walk just a couple feet behind them. Not so far that the cameras might pick him up alone, and not so close that the group would be suspicious of him.

Once again, Adam continued walking to nowhere. He'd truly thought he could get away from the Hospital—but now they knew he was alive. This was a completely different matter altogether.

Surveillance had improved over the past twenty years, and now they had a target. Adam sighed, thinking this would be the last time he'd visit a large city. There were all sorts of elements that seemed curious about him.

And what was with that Duelist of Rose? Was she or wasn't she working with the Hospital? And why was she licking his cheek? She didn't seem… weird like that back in the Game.

Oh… my bike.

Adam sighed again as his thoughts went to his electric bicycle. He wanted to retrieve it, but there was a chance the Hospital was already waiting for him—and if they weren't, the chances were high they'd already put a tracker on it.

Once again, Adam had lost another bike. Soon, the group of friends he was following went inside a café, and he had to join another group. He'd been walking for several blocks now, slowly gaining distance from where Dr. Aniston and the others were.

He continued following the new group, thinking of ways to escape. If he rode the bus, there was a chance the Hospital had already checked the routes. If he took a taxi, they might've already contacted the drivers.

The reach of the Hospital was vast. They had their hands everywhere—and the only choice Adam had was to separate himself from civilization again, like when he'd worked as a scavenger.

Interacting with no one. Going to a home with nothing in it. No friends. Just a single path back and forth. But… was that really living? Was that life really any better than the Hospital?

Another sigh escaped Adam's lips.

"Hm…?" But then, his thoughts stopped as he realized the group in front of him had stopped walking. He also stopped, grabbing a phone from his backpack to pretend he was checking it while turning away from them.

He waited for them to move again, but then realized something—aside from the group he was following, there was no one else on the street. No, it wasn't just the street he was on. Even the opposite sidewalk was empty.

Most importantly, there weren't any cars at all.

"Shit…" Adam muttered. He'd been too busy with his thoughts to notice. He looked back at the group he was following, and they were all staring at him now, their hands already at their waists.

Adam chose to go inside the store beside them, but the door opened to reveal only men in suits inside.

Just how many people does the government have? And why are they spending so much money on him?

Soon, several SUVs started pulling up, quickly covering the entire street in less than five seconds. Adam watched them come, lowering his hands to his side as he sighed.

As the first figure stepped out of an SUV, Adam suddenly grabbed the man blocking the store and threw him at the group of fake pedestrians. But before Adam could step inside, he felt a sharp prick on his calf, followed by a massive jolt.

"Grah!" He screamed, several veins showing on his face as it became flushed.

But he didn't drop down, however, even with the taser electrifying him. He just crouched and pulled the line out.

Adam forced himself to step forward, but he couldn't get in before he felt another prick, this time on his neck. He pulled it out and looked at it—a tranquilizer dart, its needle gleaming under the streetlights.

Adam threw the dart away, raised his backpack to cover his neck, and moved inside. The men inside blocked his path, but he just rammed through them, shoulder-checking one into a display case while shoving another against the wall.

He felt another prick at the back of his arm, and this time, he ignored it. Without hesitation, he jumped through the window on the other side, glass exploding outward as he crashed past the blockade of SUVs.

He rolled several times on the concrete, but managed to stand up and run. He shook his head as his vision became hazy, even slapping himself to stay awake.

But once again, another prick bit him—this time on his cheek.

Not even a moment later, another dart stuck to his arm. Finally, his legs went limp and he dropped face first on the sidewalk, his face being cut by the broken glass scattered across the pavement.

Still, even with that, he remained awake. He was able to move his hand, to try and crawl away—but someone already blocked his path.

He looked up through blood-streaked vision, and it was Dr. Aniston.

"You… again?"

"You really are too dangerous to be left alone, Zero." She crouched down beside him. "It already takes this much effort to stop you while you're just a veteran creep… I can't imagine what it would be like if you became a Hero."

"W-why…?" Adam weakly whispered, coughing up blood. "I just… I just want to live… like the rest of you."

Dr. Aniston shook her head and sighed.

"You're not like the rest of us, Zero. The secrets you hide inside you must be kept just that—secrets. For everyone's sake."

"I never... I never asked for this..."

"I know. And… I'm sorry."

Adam could feel his consciousness slip away, his vision darkening first. He could hear Dr. Aniston speaking to her team, but soon… he heard her scream. No, he could hear several screams echoing through the street.

Adam couldn't hear clearly anymore, but even with the gunshots exploding everywhere and the sound of metal clashing, there were words that he could make out through the chaos. One phrase, in particular, made him sigh in relief.

"It's the Duelist of Rose! Stop her!"

"Oh…" he managed to utter. "...Nice."

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