I walked into the dark corridor, ready to leave.

"Would you miss them?" The little girl shouted.

I didn't look back. I knew her expectant face must be trembling, like rows of flickering fires on the altar. Because I haven't forgotten my own doubts and vacillations at the time. Over the years, Hakim has asked me similar questions. My heart - and him, will I miss it? I touched the Hex crystal device on my chest, allowing the smooth vibrations to soothe myself. Right next to the Philos family crest with its horns, I felt a small inscription in smooth handwriting. It was the seal of Hakim Nedri.

"Nope." I lied to her.

Avoye was ready to get her hands dirty, her blonde hair looking like a halo under the streetlights. Five men surrounded her, like sharks on the docks, various augmentations outlining several craggy outlines.

"Give us that beautiful thing, and maybe you'll die a happy death." The smallest creature stared at her whip and yelled loudly. The day's distractions were a mess, first Stivan's reproaches, then the uninvited ones, and speculation that Hakim had returned. I felt a long-pent-up energy that crackled down my spine, desperate to find an exit. A villain who doesn't know the height of the sky, and his tattered men—came at the right time.

"You say, please." I said aloud.

The guy with the big mouth, his nose twitching, looked up. "Hey, brothers, don't worry. It seems that the harvest of going out for a trip is not small. ”

"Please, ma'am." Afuye said.

"That's right, we're planning to celebrate Evolution Day a little." Said one of the big guys with a red copper reinforcement. The brother who was older than him wore a pair of glasses filled with liquid. He vigorously pulled open the dirty wooden lid on it, and said with a sneer, "This lord." ”

My presence distracted them, and the encirclement squeezed to the side, revealing a small opening.

Totally enough.

Speed and courage are two of my closest comrades-in-arms. I sprinted forward, a long sweep that scraped the shoulders of a tall, lanky man. The blade sliced through the dirty tweed cloth, and a dark red line instantly leaked out of his clothes. This was followed by a blue arc of light from a Hex crystal, knocking him unconscious.

A fat man, along with the guy with the sewer accent, walked towards Avoye. At the same time, the other two high ones came to me. A sinister smile appeared on my face: after thinking about it for so long, it was time to move my muscles.

My two dance partners didn't laugh. They all have strong arms, like the two big bells that ring through the iron sand exchange. They hesitate and don't know who should go first, which is tantamount to giving me a chance for nothing. I'll kill both.

I took a few steps towards the goggles-wearing boy, and at the same time lifted my hind feet and broke the coil on the other bronzed brother. He didn't expect this at all, so he scrambled to try to connect the disconnected faucet back to the splashing pump. Then there was the low crosscut, and the part below the knee in front of him was scrapped. I waited patiently for a short time for Brother Bronze to return the punch. They always felt like they could dodge my second hit.

They also always take it for granted.

"Pack up your junk and get out." I told him. At the same time, his brother was already dragging a waste leg, limping through the sludge on the ground and into the shadows.

There was a metallic thud in the alley, it was Avoye's whip. There was another sound like the breaking of iron wires, and the fat man lay on the ground and shrunk into a ball, and sparks rained down on him. His face was pressed against the pebbles on the ground, tears rolling down his mud-stained cheeks. But counting him is only four.

I looked around, and the rat-faced megalomaniac was about to run away. I saw him trying to sneak back into the assembly hall.

The hook of the halyard sank deep into the sharp stone above the entrance to the hall. I landed on the gutter rat so fast that the weight of my whole body crashed down, and the two of us rolled solidly on the ground for a few times.

When we stopped, I held him down. His breath was short, rapid, and foul-smelling.

"Do you really think you can run?" My voice was low and steady.

He shook his head in fear, but his greasy fingers pulled the sharp knife out of his belt. The Hex crystal was very close to his face, and the light pierced his eyes. I could tell he wanted to stick a knife in my thigh, as long as he could get me out of the way.

"Come on." I whispered.

His eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't make me wait too long. The tip of the knife stabbed into the black leather, but there it was there—the metal part pressed against the blade. His face changed drastically, and his hand slid to the blade of the knife with no strength, and he shaved off a piece of flesh from his palm.

Unlike a few other accomplices, he didn't hold back. Screams echoed through the wet stone alleys.

There was an echo of shouting in the assembly hall, and I looked up. The frosted glass window where the Gray Lady was located hung high above, and in the corner of the colored panels, a small face clung to it. She's watching.

I leaned forward, the blade of my leg almost kissing the undulating artery in his neck.

"Come here again to find something to eat, and I'll give you a good time." I will.

Realizing that I had picked up a life, the prey I already had in hand hurriedly got up and crawled far away with strange crab steps. It wasn't until we were quite a distance apart that he got up, took his bloody hand, and ran into some rat hole to lick his wounds.

I heard Aphye roll up a metal whip.

"I've heard people say there's no heart in those devices." Her curiosity was piqued: "Maybe the rumors are not necessarily true." ”

"Watch your manners, kid." I walked out of the alley and said to her indifferently. "Otherwise, I'll give you a good reminder."

Surrounded by countless evolutionary wonders, border markets and fairgrounds are hidden in the shadows all year round. But it wasn't until we arrived at the inn near Abino's house that night really fell. With some normal encouragement, the innkeeper generously handed over the detailed ledger, though his handwriting had much room for improvement. Nedri either lives in the basement or on the third floor. I told Avoye to go downstairs and hung myself from the open window on the third floor.

In the small forge in the corner of the room, there were some embers under a layer of ash that had not been completely extinguished. I bent down and slipped through the window and landed in the room. The room was dark, except for a small table with a lamp. The man lying in front of the stage made me stop breathing. Black curly hair, from the sun-kissed complexion of the desert...... My Hex Crystal began to tremble disobediently. Perhaps, he also separated himself from the years forever.