Chapter 49 - Walk
Jin wanted to blurt out a few things starting with "What kind of bastard..." but, thinking that it might upset the elderly man, he swallowed the words that had risen to his throat along with the skewer.
Instead, he muttered, slightly awkwardly, "Do you want me to help find him?"
"What?"
"What's the name of the son you said ran away? Are you sure he's in Downtown?"
The old man's face became somewhat strange, perhaps not expecting such a question.
Jin, on the other hand, was completely calm.
He had genuinely asked.
He wouldn't have asked if it wasn't genuine.
Plus, Jin was somewhat of a half-jobless person at the moment.
He had a bit of free time before receiving any new tasks.
He'd been resting for the past few days.
And for some reason, helping this elderly man, who reminded him of his grandfather, seemed like a no-brainer.
It wasn't hard.
After all, what kind of elderly man was out there looking for their child in Downtown at his age?
And not even a single basic implant?
Jin thought, It's the purists who ruin things like this.
Despite having met very few purists, Jin couldn't help but pass judgment on them, thinking to himself.
He had made up his mind at some point.
He then turned to the elderly man, raised his palm, and said, "Wait a moment."
He built a quick mental wall and stood up, heading toward the shopkeeper.
The mechanical arms in the shop were hard at work, but the shopkeeper himself was half-asleep, dozing off in a corner.
Jin stretched out his arm and snapped his fingers in front of the shopkeeper's face.
The sharp sound startled the man, and he gulped before looking up.
"What... what's going on?"
"Just the bill. And his too."
"Oh. Alright, let me check... wait, what?"
The shopkeeper froze upon seeing the towering stack of plates.
No wonder the mechanical arms had been working full-force; someone had been handling the full rotation alone.
"Haha. I might just close up shop for the day."
The shopkeeper scanned the plates happily while Jin raised an eyebrow at him.
After finishing the payment, he walked over to him.
"Let's go outside."
"Who says you can pay for me?"
"You ate, so now you need to digest," Jin said, grinning.
The elderly man, slightly flustered, got up and followed Jin out of the shop.
Jin asked again, "So, what's your son's name?"
"Just saying the name will help you find him? Who do you think you are?"
"I'm not anything special. Let's just look for him together."
The elderly man grumbled and tilted his head, his wrinkled eyes forming a soft curve.
But that didn't last long.
He straightened his face and said, "Let's walk for a bit."
Without waiting for an answer, the old man turned and walked off, hands behind his back.
Jin looked on in confusion.
What's going on?
A walk, now?
The elderly man confidently strolled into a narrow alley, and Jin hesitated for a moment.
He had said they'd help, so he couldn't just let the man wander off alone.
"Seriously."
Jin widened his stride, catching up with the old man.
As they walked together, they stepped over various bits of trash on the street: hardened gum stuck to the ground, cigarette butts scattered like coal ash, and flyers for missing persons.
Then came the voice of the old man.
"Are you alone?"
Jin chuckled. "You're really curious. I'm offering to help find your son, and yet you keep asking questions. Do you have an unmarried daughter by any chance?"
And, not wanting to lose face, he added, "What's wrong with being single?"
"I was just curious."
"Hmm?"
It was a peculiar walk.
Of course, calling it a walk was a stretch—mostly, they meandered through alleys filled with bars and restaurants, engaging in meaningless chatter.
But still, it felt like a walk.
As Jin thought about it, he suddenly turned his head to the side.
His eyes met with a man eating a hot dog at a street vendor.
The brief eye contact broke naturally, and then the old man spoke.
"Why do you suddenly want to help me find my son?"
"Hmm."
Jin hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say.
Would it be too much to say that I can kind of understand how a parent feels when their child goes missing?
Honestly, Jin felt a bit envious of the son.
At least the old man could still wander around Downtown, even though it was dangerous.
Some parents might not even have the chance to do that, unable to even take a step without helplessly pacing back and forth.
How do you find a child who's gone missing after a game, for example?
Damn, damn, damn.
Ah, damn...
The last "damn" was different from the others.
Suddenly, his breath caught in his throat, and he subconsciously pulled the trigger on something deep inside.
The sound of crashing waves made the back of his neck shiver, and without thinking, he closed his eyes, trying to focus his mind.
Hwaruk—
A spark slowly began to ignite.
The warmth that started in his chest pushed away the lingering gloom in his bones.
It was precarious, but he was doing his best.
Then, Jin took a deep breath.
"Phew—"
It felt like he had been holding his breath for ten years.
The stale breath he released was as if the weight of the past had finally been let go.
The elderly man looked at him and asked with a slight frown.
"Why are you sighing so deeply?"
"Huh? Oh... you're right, huh..."
It was like discovering fire for the first time by primitive man.
Jin's mouth opened wide.
If this were a comic, the word 'ding!' would've appeared above his head in giant letters.
The fire he had thought was useless turned out to be a tool to fight panic?
Well, it wasn't a perfect cure.
The sadness still clung to him like a damp rag squeezed out one too many times—heavy and suffocating—but it wasn't as bad as before.
He didn't feel like he was drowning in the darkness anymore, and he had avoided the overwhelming fear of suffocating.
Without thinking, Jin placed his hand on his left chest and felt his heart pounding.
Thump, thump, thump.
At that moment—
"Ahem."
"Huh?"
The old man's annoyed cough broke Jin's train of thought.
His vision, which had narrowed, gradually returned to normal.
Before he knew it, the elderly man was right in front of him, staring intently.
Jin gave an awkward smile.
"Oh, what were you saying?"
"It's fine."
With that, the old man turned and walked ahead, and Jin couldn't help but wonder, Did he get upset?
But it didn't matter.
With Jin's long strides, it was no trouble to catch up in just two steps.
"Elder, wait up."
He reached out and gave the old man's shoulder a light squeeze.
Normally, Jin wouldn't have done this, but he was in a good mood today.
It was the first time he'd defeated his panic, and the old man's back reminded him of his late grandfather.
So he thought, Why not?
A little gesture of kindness wouldn't hurt.
And it worked.
"Ahem. So why do you want to find your son?"
"Ah... I don't know. It just... it's been on my mind."
"Sounds like you're the soft type."
The old man's tone was still gruff, but it had softened.
Jin didn't think much of it, though he did wonder why he was going along with this.
As they continued walking, the streets they passed began to feel oddly familiar.
Eventually, they found themselves back at the skewered food shop where they had started.
Neither of them said anything as they reached the front. Finally, the old man spoke.
"My son doesn't have a name. He left home and discarded his name. He's a nameless one now, and that's how it will be from now on."
"Then why do you want to find him?"
"Because I'm his father."
The old man spoke plainly, looking directly at Jin.
"That's enough. I'm going now, and you should go your way."
Jin didn't respond immediately.
He wasn't the type to badger someone who had already said they were fine, and he had already sensed something during their walk.
So he nodded and said simply,
"Take care of yourself. Stay healthy."
The old man smiled a little, his wrinkled lips curling upwards, and then turned around, hands behind his back.
As the old man walked away, Jin's senses picked up something unusual.
It was a slight abnormality—something out of place.
Amid the irregularly moving crowd, there were figures quietly walking in the same direction, slowly trailing the old man and Jin.
To anyone else, they wouldn't have noticed.
But Jin, with his superhuman senses, could perceive the subtle movement.
Something was off.
Jin glanced around.
The man who had been nibbling on a hot dog at the street vendor was no longer in sight.
"...A lot of bodyguards, huh?"
He shrugged nonchalantly and was about to head toward where his Manticore was parked.
But then, unexpectedly, he stopped.
Without warning, he sprinted toward a different direction.
"Five hot dogs, please. All the varieties."
His stomach still wasn't full enough.
***
The old man walked slowly, his pace neither too fast nor too slow—just ordinary.
His appearance was also plain, and he exuded an unremarkable presence.
He looked like someone you could find anywhere.
Someone people might ignore.
Perhaps that was why, on this day, even the punks who usually bothered anyone passing by, regardless of age or gender, paid no attention to him.
They didn't even register his presence as he walked by.
It was as though he was just part of the background—a scenery people barely noticed, offering no reason to look twice.
The old man kept walking, and as he moved, shadows began to gather behind him.
They were passersby, the man who had been snacking at the vendor, a woman ignoring the flirtatious men, and even the middle-aged man on a nearby rooftop closing the eyes of a corpse.
Like water flowing, these figures naturally joined the procession.
The shadow of the old man grew longer.
And, as though gathering a massive weight, the group of followers began to take shape.
It was as if the old man was becoming a giant.
Step.
At some point, someone approached the old man's side.
A large, muscular man with a strong jawline.
He was the same man who had made eye contact with Jin at the hot dog stand.
He bowed deeply, paying his respects, then spoke with his lips barely moving.
"Jin Evernight, a solo linked with the Anekdote agency. He hasn't been active for long, but he's grown at an extraordinary pace..."
"Bloodline?"
The old man's sharp question cut through the air, and the man responded.
"I couldn't find information on his family or lineage. I'm also unsure if 'Evernight' is his real surname."
"...A distant branch, then."
The old man muttered softly, then suddenly smiled faintly, causing those trailing behind him to flinch in surprise.
Some of them almost lost their composure, not accustomed to seeing their usually composed leader let slip such an expression.
"It's all the same to me. In today's world, even the direct descendants are struggling. But look at the stray dogs from the slums; they've managed to create a spectacle. They're bound to learn something from this. As I followed my son's trail, I stumbled upon an unexpected treasure."
The old man's laugh grew deeper.
In that moment, his presence seemed to melt into nature itself.
The earth seemed to respond.
CRACK—
A massive lightning bolt tore across the sky above Downtown, leaving a jagged scar that stretched from North Downtown to South Downtown.
It wasn't manmade—it was nature's raw fury.
"Whoa! What the hell was that?"
"Shit! What the hell?!"
The crowd around them jumped in alarm, the sudden flash causing a stir.
The man who had been following the old man's steps just behind him spoke up, his voice hushed.
"Do we need to take him to the family?"
"No need. He's a flower that bloomed in the mud. His nature is much like Lokan's. If you try to oppress him, he'll break. It's better to leave him free for now. It's not time yet."
"I understand."
The man bowed and stepped back, and the old man looked up to the sky, murmuring softly.
"I'm curious. Let's see how far he can grow."
There were countless urban legends in Lost City.
One of them was about how the head of the Zahad family, after excommunicating his successor, would occasionally show himself outside the family to find a worthy successor.
The 29th head of the Zahad family: Wanlei—Gavellus Zahad.
He had found a gem that could replace his runaway son, and with a satisfied smile, he disappeared into the shadows of Downtown.
***
Jin also saw the lightning.
And, like everyone else, he was startled.
"Holy shit! What was that?!"
With his startled exclamation, a piece of hot dog flew from his mouth.
His heart raced as the chaotic energy within him seemed to crackle in time with the flash.
"...Is it going to rain? Nah, it's not."
Calming his startled heart, Jin opened his mouth again, ready to take another bite of his hot dog when—
ZZZIIINNN—
"Ugh!"
The loud vibration hitting his chest made him jump.
Quickly pulling out his device, he started tapping on the screen with his thumbs.
A short message appeared on the screen:
[Guess it's time to get to work. Solo King?]
It was Khalifa.