Chen was shaking. He looked at the sky, then back at me. I was lying in the mud, looking pathetic.
"You... you freak," Chen whispered. He backed away. "You're bad luck. My summon just... popped. It must be because your connection is so trash it infected me."
He didn't want to admit he was scared. He kicked mud at me, but there was no force behind it.
"I'm telling the Guild rep you owe me a new wolf," he muttered, turning around. He jogged away, splashing through the puddles, desperate to get away from the weirdness.
I waited until he was gone.
Slowly, I sat up. I wiped the mud from my face. I checked my hand. There was a faint, black vein pulsing under the skin of my palm, fading away after a few seconds.
I had survived. I was back.
I stood up, feeling the new strength coursing through my pathetic, malnourished body. I looked up at the towering skyscrapers of the Upper Districts, piercing the clouds where the sun actually shone. Somewhere up there, Viper was sipping wine, thinking I was dead.
I cracked my neck. A grim smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
" Joke's on you, Viper," I whispered to the rain. "I'm not playing by the rules this time."
A chime sounded in my ear. A private message, visible only to me.
[SYSTEM ALERT]24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rklvNqq1j
[The System Eye has flagged your location as suspicious.]24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGJMWMAcHk
[Investigator Dispatch: CONFIRMED.]24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2qkO4pskB
[Arrival Time: 24 Hours.]
My smile faded. Of course. The System wasn't stupid. It missed me, but it knew something smelled wrong in District 9.
I had twenty-four hours before a hunter came to sniff me out.
"Fine," I said, closing the window. "Let them come. I'm still hungry."
ns216.73.216.10da2
and then Add to home screen.