Yae Rin had snuck out of the hospital. Just two hours ago, at three in the morning, she had still been lying in the intensive care unit.
Although she had been planning her escape for a while, plans could never keep up with changes.
When the cool, dark, masked figure, looking as if born from the night itself, appeared at the hospital and subdued a group of professional medical racketeers with bizarre poses and abstract lines, Rin realized this might be the only chance she'd ever get.
Her sister, exhausted from looking after her for two days straight, had fallen asleep. The night-shift nurses had gone to watch the commotion. Hospital security was in a frenzy, and police sirens wailed outside...
It was the greatest chaos that could possibly erupt in a city like Sapphire. And it all stemmed from that masked figure who spouted lines about "justice" and "responsibility" as he took the law into his own hands.
Rin had never seen Alahato, but she knew the people being beaten up by this person in an Alahato costume were bad guys. She had been receiving treatment here for six months and had seen this group cause trouble at the hospital for seven different patients.
Although the police would quickly take them away each time, it wouldn't be long before they were back, raising a ruckus in the hospital and disturbing all the patients and doctors.
Rin was one of the victims. These guys specialized in coming in the middle of the night, shattering the dreams Rin had so painstakingly found and plunging her back into pain.
This had caused her condition to take a sharp downturn. The illness that the hospital had managed to slow down had become even worse than before. In just six months, her condition had deteriorated to what it should have been a year later.
When her sister heard the news, she was so distraught she grabbed her things and wanted to go fight those people. It was Rin who had talked her out of it.
Here in the Chinese mainland, hitting people was against the law. You'd be arrested by the police. Although Rin didn't know what specific law it broke, she had heard people say that once you were arrested by the police, you'd have a stain on your record for the rest of your life that could never be washed away.
But her sister was a brilliant top student. Many people wanted her to come work for them. She could manage lots and lots of people, be in the Far East today and Western Europe tomorrow.
Her sister's greatest wish, though, was to go to Future City, because she said they had "Underground Miracle Workers" there.
Rin didn't know what "Underground Miracle Workers" meant, so her sister explained that it meant they could save someone even after they'd already been buried underground.
That meant they could cure her illness, right? She was very smart. Her sister always said she'd be even smarter and more amazing than her someday.
But Rin felt she could never be as amazing as her sister. Her intelligence was a product of her sister's doting, while her sister's "stupidity" was a result of being weighed down by her.
Yes... weighed down by her.
If it weren't for taking care of her, her sister wouldn't have turned down the invitation from Future City Academy and chosen a local university in the Far East instead.
If she could take care of herself, her sister could have stayed in school to continue her studies and get a degree from Future City, instead of graduating early because the scholarship couldn't cover her medical bills.
If she hadn't gotten sick, her sister could have chosen one of those high-paying, high-status jobs, moved to Future City, and earned enough money to buy ten thousand sakura mochi in a minute, instead of working herself to the bone in the hospital while taking care of her.
If...
If it weren't for her...
Her sister would have probably been in Future City long ago, right?
This thought took root in ten-year-old Yae Rin's mind. She couldn't yet distinguish the consequences of her actions.
Rin's thinking was simple: without her, her sister wouldn't be tied down here anymore. She could soar, go wherever she wanted, do whatever she wanted.
She had heard the longing for Future City in her sister's words more than once. It was she who had held her sister back, time and time again.
She knew her sister had been lying to her all along. She wasn't smart at all.
She should have realized this long ago, instead of holding her sister back for so long.
In a child's world, there is no cruel death. Leaving is the greatest separation they know.
She hadn't considered what would happen to her if she left the hospital, but she knew that not taking her medicine would make her feel awful.
So, taking advantage of the chaos, she grabbed two bottles of medicine. With somewhat stiff movements, she climbed out of bed and carefully ran out of the room.
As she left, she didn't even spare a glance for Yae Sakura, because in her heart, this wasn't a final farewell.
In twenty years, when Sister is a big shot in Future City, she can come take care of me then. I can't be selfish. I have to let Sister have twenty years of happiness first, and then it'll be my turn.
That's what she thought. And so she left, struggling through the chaos to get outside the hospital.
By the time she reached the back door, the sirens at the front had faded. The Sapphire City police were so efficient, it was as if they respawned on the roadside, able to arrive at a scene within five minutes.
Rin hadn't exerted herself this much since she'd gotten sick. Even though she had only gone from the third floor to the first, crossed the lobby to the back door, and had even taken the elevator to skip the most tiring part—the stairs.
Even so, by the time she reached the door, Rin felt a tightness in her chest. Her limbs were sore and weak, even throbbing with a dull pain.
This was much worse than lying in bed, so bad that Rin was starting to have trouble breathing.
Leaning against the wall, Rin gasped for air, her trembling hands fumbling in her clothes for the small bottles of medicine.
Rin didn't know what these medicines were; she couldn't even recognize all the characters written on them. But her sister had said that taking them would make her feel better, more comfortable.
She was very afraid of feeling awful. In the past, whenever she felt bad, she would burrow into her sister's arms. But not now. She couldn't be so selfish anymore.
With that thought in mind, Rin gripped the bottle, trying to twist the cap off.
But her weak limbs had no strength. She could barely even control them. Rin twisted left, then switched directions and twisted right, then switched hands, but it was no use.
The pain intensified, but Rin just couldn't open the small bottle. The cap was like a great demon,凝聚ing all the suffering in the world, unmoving.
As Rin's breathing grew heavier, drowsiness began to wash over her. Her weak legs gave out, and she slumped to the ground, panting, watching the medicine bottle fall from her hand and roll into the shadows.
She raised her small, delicate hands. The dim light illuminated her reddened palms, which throbbed with a numb pain.
They had been scraped raw by the raised ridges on the cap, designed to increase friction and make it easier to open. Her palms itched and burned as if they had been scorched by fire.
Yae Rin's lip suddenly trembled. She regretted it. She wanted to go back, to burrow into her sister's arms again and watch her effortlessly twist the cap off.
At that moment, the runaway child finally understood that without the protection of her family, even the world's pre-packaged kindness could cause her harm.
But she couldn't go back. She had to be more sensible, she couldn't cause her sister any more trouble.
Her young body's self-preservation instincts were urging her to sleep, but Rin wasn't used to sleeping on the ground. She could only helplessly lean against the wall, hugging her legs tightly.
She also realized something else. The hospital had air conditioning; it was always warm and comfortable. But the world outside was cold, so cold she had to hug herself to stay warm.
The drowsiness grew stronger. Rin finally couldn't hold back the feeling of grievance in her heart and began to cry silently, hugging her legs. At that moment, she felt so useless, so stupid. How could she not even open a bottle cap, or bring an extra piece of clothing?
Although she didn't have any extra clothes to bring...
In the corner, a small figure sobbed. In the distance, police sirens wailed, perfectly masking the sorrow of a fragile life.
As her consciousness faded, Rin, struggling to keep her eyelids open, saw a figure dressed all in black appear before her.
It was a tall figure, dressed very strangely, as if he had just come from filming a movie. Not only was he wearing strange armor, but he also had a black helmet on his head. Only a hint of red light shone from where his eyes should be.
"Hm? A child? Why are you here?" Although this suddenly appearing figure looked truly terrifying, Rin's spirit had reached its limit.
She couldn't answer the man's question. She could only sway for a moment before fainting dead away.
—
The little girl's sudden collapse stunned Joachim. He had no idea why a little girl who looked like she didn't have long to live would be on his specially planned escape route.
The hospital was right there. The girl was wearing a hospital gown and had a registration number on her wrist. She had clearly run away from this hospital.
Absolutely reckless.
Joachim frowned, preparing to take off his costume, disguise himself, and take the girl back to the hospital.
But before taking off the costume, Joachim took off his gloves first, intending to check the girl's condition, lest the time he spent on his disguise worsened her health.
If the girl's condition was truly dire, he would have no choice but to force his way back in again. The risk was higher this time; all those police officers were here for him.
But the moment Joachim's ungloved hand touched the little girl, the fainted girl suddenly mumbled.
"Don't... go back..."
Joachim froze, his brow furrowing deeply.
Not an accident? This child isn't here by accident?
Joachim's mind raced with suspicion, but he still checked the girl's condition.
There was indeed a problem, but it wasn't too bad. The main reason the girl had fainted was that she was too young, it was too late, and she was just really tired.
Her vital signs were lower than normal, but stable. There would be no immediate danger.
Joachim looked down at the medical bracelet on the girl's wrist and found her name and ward number.
And the cause of her illness.
Juvenile Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Joachim drew in a sharp breath. His gaze from beneath the mask turned grave.
This was a neurodegenerative disease that received a great deal of public attention because, among all known diseases, this one was the most... cruel.
Medically, it was called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or its abbreviation, ALS. But in society, people called it "frozen person disease."
Normally, this disease affected people in middle or old age. It wasn't unheard of for young patients like this girl, but patients of this age usually had familial inheritance.
In other words—it was fate.
The world was an unequal place. Some were born in heaven while others suffered in hell. Some had their every wish fulfilled while others were plagued by misfortune. Some were born in Rome while others had to fight just to stay alive.
And this little girl, this Yae Rin, was very likely the only person in the world to suffer from this disease at such a young age.
She was so rare that she could be a research subject. Even Future City would be willing to form a special team for her.
But an experiment was still an experiment. Even a special team from Future City could only calculate the effects of drugs and provide conservative, effective treatment.
This was ultimately different from normal treatment, involving too many meaningless processes and too much suffering.
What's more, that was a special team from Future City.
Outside Future City, economic systems prevailed. Sapphire City was a prosperous city, which meant it was full of twists, turns, and conflicts of interest. A special little girl like this, dropped here, would be devoured until not even her bones were left.
So, her "don't go back" was something he had to take seriously.
Joachim silently scanned the area and soon found the small box of medicine that had fallen on the ground. He picked it up. Upon seeing the crude... the unofficial instructions, a hint of indignation flashed in Joachim's eyes.
So it's this kind of medicine. He had encountered it too late. A drug that didn't even have the official certification of the Chinese mainland was being used on such a patient, and a little girl at that. Did they have any humanity left?
Joachim suppressed his anger and carefully read the details on the medicine bottle. His fury abated slightly.
At least the ingredients in this medicine were solid. Several of the raw materials were indeed special drugs for the neurological field. But a drug without official certification, without even a responsible party listed, should never be used in a clinical setting.
Joachim looked at the fainted girl. After a long silence, he decided to take her with him for now.
This medicine could no longer be used. Joachim decided to use his connections to set up a special team for this child in Future City. He would bear the costs, and this bottle of medicine would be sent for component analysis.
...But before that, he hoped this child had seen Alahato.