The man stepped quietly out of the room.
He walked with his head down through the streets of the Lower City District in the early morning.
Wearing a shabby coat and dressed in worn-out clothes, he looked no different from any other ordinary resident of the district.
“Recently, the famous tech corporation ‘Yimir’ has been revealed to have suffered a major incident.
Sources say data from multiple new Cyberbody development projects has been leaked… Yimir Corporation claims an internal investigation is underway…”
The morning news came from an electronics shop on the street.
At the name “Yimir,” the man stiffened, then silently lowered the brim of his hat further.
The wound at the back of his neck where the chip had been extracted still throbbed with dull pain.
The man turned naturally and slipped into a side alley. Seeing no one around, he pressed a portable terminal and dialed the number.
Elegant classical music played in his ear. The man waited quietly for the owner of the number to answer.
Beep.
“Hello?”
“It’s me,” the man said in a low voice.
“How are things arranged at the port?”
“It’s all set. A cargo ship early tomorrow morning. Someone will take you out of here. I’ll text you the details.”
“Good. Text me then.”
“Understood.”
The man hung up first. Suddenly, he felt an itch on his calf.
“What?”
He almost jumped in fright. His nerves had been stretched to the breaking point from hiding these past days—he was jumping at shadows.
“Meow~”
He looked down. It was a black cat, wearing a brown collar.
Its eyes were rare heterochromatic—one blue, one yellow. Its fur was sleek and smooth. It was rubbing against his legs.
“Where did this cat come from?”
The man frowned.
A black cat was hardly a good omen. Seeing one at such a critical moment of life and death felt inauspicious.
“Shoo, shoo!”
The man resisted the urge to kick it, just waving it away impatiently.
The cat didn’t persist. It gave a single meow, then darted deeper into the alley and disappeared.
Watching where the cat had vanished, the man let out a sigh and headed back toward the main road.
He crossed the Factory District, passed over a river thick with sewage, and climbed a long mountain path before arriving at a black cubic building.
There was no sign above the entrance, but the solemn atmosphere and the people entering and exiting, holding white flowers, made clear what this place was.
Without a word, the man stepped through the gate. He slowly read the signs, weaving between rows of black cubes.
Finally, he stopped beside one cube.
The surface of the cube glowed faintly, rows of white names scrolling from top to bottom.
Each name had once been a living soul.
Now they were nothing but cold data.
The man didn’t cry or speak. He just stared at the scrolling text, watching lives fall away.
At last, he saw a familiar name appear at the top, slowly descending.
Something came to mind.
He pulled a restaurant flyer from his pocket, then his Prosthetic Arm began folding and flipping the paper with extreme precision.
Finally, he placed the finished piece in front of the cube.
It was a Four-Leaf Clover Origami.
She used to say it was a symbol of luck. But he’d been haunted by bad luck for months now.
Maybe it was because she wasn’t around anymore.
He stared blankly as her name fell down the cube’s surface, until it was swallowed by the black edge, silent.
The man stood there for a long time.
In the afternoon, he left the memorial hall and returned to the street.
It wasn’t winter, but he shivered.
He looked back. Behind him were only strangers going their own ways. But he felt like he was being watched.
He adjusted his hat and headed back.
He’d need to buy some food on the way.
The man walked down the long mountain path, through the dense factories, when a stranger’s voice called out.
“Sir?”
He turned nervously. When he saw the face of the speaker, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
It was a girl, a bit dusty and disheveled, dressed like any other Lower City District resident.
“What is it? If you’re selling something, forget it,” the man said dismissively.
“I wanted to ask you something!”
She held up a photo.
“Have you seen this cat around here?”
The man wanted to walk away, but somehow found himself stepping closer to look.
In the photo, a black cat lay on an elderly woman’s lap.
It wore a brown collar and had strange heterochromatic eyes.
Was it a lost family pet?
Now that he thought about it, that cat he’d seen earlier did look well cared for—not like a stray.
He remembered the black cat from his way here: same collar, same eyes.
“I think I’ve seen it.”
“Really?”
The girl stepped closer, barely able to contain her excitement.
He pointed in the direction he recalled.
“I saw one like it over there this morning.”
“Really? Thank you! Have a nice day.”
The girl smiled. Her face was dusty, but her eyes sparkled.
The man’s heart ached. His future probably had no room for such brightness.
He waved at the girl as she ran off, a simple farewell.
That kid runs fast.
The man returned to the building where his rental room was.
This was one of the largest communities in the Lower City District—complex layout, dense population, an excellent hiding spot.
That was why he’d been able to stay hidden for weeks.
The noodle shop downstairs caught his attention.
The pungent smell of spices stimulated his brain.
His stomach, empty since morning, protested loudly.
He went to the counter.
“One large bowl of ramen.”
“One large bowl of ramen!”
“No noodles!” came an impatient shout from the kitchen.
“Oh, sorry!”
The worker smiled without much apology.
“We’re temporarily out of noodles. New batch won’t arrive for another hour or two.”
The man frowned.
“I can’t just wait here forever.”
“Do you live nearby? I can have someone deliver it to you later?” the worker suggested, sounding reasonable.
The man hesitated, then gave a room number—one nearby that he knew. He’d seen the tenant: a guy who took drugs during the day and only got active past midnight. Claiming that address tonight wouldn’t be risky.
After all, this was his last night in this city.
The man walked through the dusty, cobweb-filled hallway and reached his door.
Bang!
Just as he opened the door, a loud crash came from the rain canopy in the corridor. He spun around instinctively and saw a black figure flash by.
It was the black cat.
The cat crouched on the canopy like a ghost, staring at him.
Its one blue and one yellow eye glowed eerily in the darkness.
The man shuddered, quickly shut the door, and locked all the chains.
After that, he let out a long breath.
This was a deeply unsettling night.