C H A P T E R
F I F T Y - N I N E
When we arrived inside the city, everything seemed to have turned more silent.Ten's motorbike swept pass in alleys and wide streets, and as we forwarded even deeper to the city's core, I took the opportunity to survey our surroundings.
The energetic noise of random billboard advertisements and commercial cyborgs were no longer evident. The open arena which was originally occupied by teenagers who ride skateboards or play with their electric freesbies were gone as well. Then a sign that was hanging on the net that barricaded the gaming field came past my vision.
O F F
L I M I T STime allocated until re-opening
05:23:16:03"Due to the death of the Capital Rulers, the city needs to make big adjustments to show their respect. A lot of establishments are closed," Ten explained.
I blinked. "How many days have passed since their death?" I lost count of the time, to be honest, after moping in my room pointlessly.
Ten's hand tightened around the handle as he maneuvered the bike sideways, entering the road to the right.
"Twelve," he answered. "Twelve days."
That sent shivers down my spine. I gulped and looked around the view once again, wondering if this sort of solitude could lead to isolation. Wondering if this city would ever be the same without its existing simulation that was the Capital.
The city that I thought never sleeps, was now having a deep slumber.
________
The outside may be gloomy, but inside Ten's headquarters hid all the enthusiasm and merry that the city was missing.
Taeil and I shared an embrace when we saw each other. He was warm, nothing like what the winter was offering. Taeil also mentioned that my new hair cut looked good on me, so I thanked him with a smile. Come to think of it, he and I shared the closest age amongst my friends. We're the eldest.
Magenta and Raven, two of Ten's most well-developed cyborgs, never failed to amaze me with their incomparable hospitability. They even prepared a warm bath for me, and there's no sugarcoating in it when I said it looked like a spa. There were purple flower petals floating on the water, and the bath had a lovely, lavender scent into it. I only needed to use half of the shampoo that I was usually using, since the length of my hair only needed less amount.
I also changed my clothes. I decided to wear a comfy one, white t-shirt and black jeans.
Sometimes, during breaks, I would contact the DRMs to see how they were doing. It was a hard goodbye, but both sides accepted it. They're not little kids anymore, and I wasn't the past me either too.
It's not just the city that was changing, but also us.
Also, before I departed the hideout, Jeno confronted me. I liked all of the DRM kids, but every other person would have a favorite and mine so happened to be him. We had been through a lot. His face was structured with maturity ever since the day I first saw him. He was no longer the naive orphan boy that I met at a funeral, crying over his sister's loss. This time, he was brave and smart and amazing.
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FanfictionBook Two of Neo City Trilogy HIGHEST RANKINGS #1 in DYSTOPIA #1 in NCT #2 in AU #29 in ACTION Little Red Riding Hood met the Big Bad Wolf. He came to devour her heart; she came to conquer his soul. Disclaimer: This story might make you cry pt2 ;-; "...