Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 51  First Ring (Part 2)

”Well, well, my boy is going to be an adult today, isnʼt he?” Leona smirked, wiggling her foot and looking intently at Adam.

Adam scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He hadnʼt told his parents about this, but it had taken his mother a few minutes to realize from the glint in his eyes and the dreamy look on his face. However, Leona was wrong about something.

The main reason for Adamʼs excitement wasnʼt the date with Jena, although that was a big part of it, but the fact that tonight heʼd be at the First Ring. It was a place he had wanted to go to for a long time, because the wealthiest and most powerful people lived there, as well as many Phantoms.

In fact, if he wanted to, Adam could already afford to live in First Ring, if he didnʼt have to take care of his family financially. However, Adam had no regrets, he knew that if one day he reached Damienʼs level, money would no longer matter.

...

At the same time, in another house, a similar conversation was going on between two girls. One of them looked like she was sending her daughter off to get married, even though they were a similar age.

”Fine, thatʼs not bad. If Adam was honest about his preferences, heʼll appreciate your butt.” Silvana said confidently, looking at Jena, getting ready for her date. Hours later, she finally picked out a suitable outfit, there was a whole mountain of different clothes around.

”Are you sure...? Donʼt you think itʼs too casual?” Jena muttered, looking around herself.

She was wearing evening clothes, a black blouse with long sleeves and open shoulders, neat sapphire earrings, and skinny jeans that emphasized her curves.

Silvana shook her head.

”Donʼt worry. Adam wonʼt be in a suit, Iʼve taken care of that. One of you Phantom, so you donʼt need to try and impress the public, you need to seduce Adam, isnʼt that what you want?” Silvana narrowed her eyes, her sharp gaze making Jena flinch.

”Of course I want to! Damn! When I saw his fight against Brass Puppet I almost exploded with excitement... Agh... When he ripped his heart out... it was incredible.” Jena muttered as her cheeks flushed, and a slightly crazy smile appeared. Silvana nodded, walked over to Jena, and pulled something out of her pocket.

It was a palm-sized rectangular package, completely black, with only - 0.01 written on it. Jenaʼs eyes went wide as her face turned tomato red.

”Donʼt ask unnecessary questions. You know what it is, what itʼs for, and how to use it so it wonʼt be your first and last date, donʼt you?” Silvana whispered.

A stunned Jena only nodded slightly with a gulp. ...

Adam and Jena didnʼt meet in the Third Ring, they took the trains at the stations and made it to the First Ring in less than half an hour. The trains traveled along the magnetic rails at an incredible speed of 600 km/h.

”Holy shit...” Adam muttered, getting out of the subway station and looking around.

Bulky buildings with different designs and shapes, skyscrapers reaching for the heavens, overhead roads and tunnels, as well as thousands of people and hundreds of cars were all around him, and thatʼs just what he managed to notice in the first few seconds.

”Damn, I wish I could stay here for a while longer, but... that wouldnʼt be good at all, would it?” Adam smiled bitterly, glanced at his NEP, and headed towards Amber Ocean.

It was his first time in First Ring, so getting to the restaurant was only possible with a map. Adam was dressed in simple clothes partially combined with desert clothes for the missions since that had become his most comfortable kit. In general, he looked fluent and aesthetically pleasing as a traveler, no one would call it tasteless.

Adam didnʼt notice it, but at the sight of him, some people turned around with puzzled faces. But, soon enough, surprise was replaced by puzzlement, some even had a look of delight. They definitely realized who had run past them. Not everyone who lived in the Citadel was connected to the Phantoms or the departments, someone had to grow food, sew clothes, create entertainment, develop new technologies, and so on.

Most people didnʼt have access to the Dead Lands or the work of the departments and the military. However, that didnʼt mean that people didnʼt know what was going on in the Citadel, on the contrary, they kept a close eye on the progress of the Phantoms and the departments, because their future depended on it.

The Military Department and the Missions Department posted on their websites records of the Phantomsʼ battles, as well as detailed reports on each mission.

Naturally, no one was interested in the reports, but the records quickly got to various sites specialized for the Phantoms, and some of them became popular. Most of all, people liked bloody and brutal battles, necessarily ending with the victory of the Phantom.

Oddly enough, Adam was one of the most popular Phantom rookies, as he already had two fights that fit that criteria.

”Hey! Youʼre Adam, right?” Some man exclaimed, turning in Adamʼs direction.

However, Adam didnʼt stop, he thought it was addressed to someone else. After all, he didnʼt even realize that someone could actually recognize him on the street.

After a while, Adam stopped next to a jewelry store, but not to choose a ring for himself but to choose one of the two paths offered by the map.

The door opened, as out stepped a middle-aged woman, some of her hair was gray and her face was covered with wrinkles.

”See you later, I hope Iʼll be back soon...” The woman muttered as she said goodbye to the salesman and looked sadly at the ground, not noticing anyone.

Bam.

She crashed into Adam, and if it was a light jolt for him, the woman fell to the ground as if she had collided with an iron wall.

”Oh, Iʼm sorry! I didnʼt see you there!” Adam quickly responded by extending his hand.

However, the woman was in no hurry to get up. As soon as she saw Adam her eyes went wide, filled with bitterness, and began to water as if in anticipation of crying.

”You... It was you...” The woman muttered, ”You got my daughter killed!”

Adam threw a shiver. He had expected anything but a murder accusation from a mere woman.

”Wait, there must be some mistake!”

Before, Adam could say anything, the woman showed some pictures of the girl on her phone. It took Adam a few seconds to realize who it was - Pamela, she and her squad were on a mission when Adam was fighting Brass Puppet. All members of the squad, including Pamela were killed by Brass Puppet.

At the same moment, Adamʼs look changed, but it wasnʼt remorse or guilt. His eyes grew colder, and Adam withdrew his hand, no longer offering the woman help.

”You can think what you want, but they were given a command to get out of there. That they stayed there is entirely their fault and their decision. Dead Lands is a dangerous place, Iʼm not crazy to specifically attack other Phantoms. There are more than enough monsters to kill us.” Adam said coldly, confidently heading towards Amber Ocean.

Silvana had given him all the information about the squad as well as their conversations. Adam didnʼt blame them for being overconfident, it was their decision, but that was why no one had the right to blame him for their deaths.

The woman didnʼt know how to react, she didnʼt know what reaction she expected, but surely not that Adam would reprimand her.

She ended up just crying, for another time these past few days. She hardly had any tears left to shed for her grief.