Suddenly

Inside Room 503 of the Leighton Hotel.

The dim sunlight outside was blocked by the dark yellow curtains, leaving only a single yellow beam shooting vertically into the room, illuminating faint motes of dust drifting through the air.

This made the rest of the room appear particularly dark.

The room carried some of the stifling air of dusk. In a shadowy corner, Alex sat quietly, the reflection on his lenses catching the vertical beam of twilight. He gently removed his glasses and slipped them into his pocket.

Alex disappeared into the darkness, seated upright in the corner with his spine straight, his face expressionless and his breathing soft and steady. He blended into the surroundings, breathing with the flow of the air.

His hands rested lightly on his thighs. With his eyes closed, he adjusted his breathing and coordinated his entire body, seeking to kill with a single blow.

The dim darkness of the room concealed Alex's exceptionally handsome face.

In the darkness, he seemed like a ferocious beast, lurking in hiding.

Dusk grew darker still. A moon as large as a face had risen in another part of the sky. Once the sun had completely fallen, it would softly radiate its own light.

Today.

There were no dark clouds. Rosy clouds filled the sky, and a cool breeze stirred the fallen autumn leaves.

The surrounding streets had gradually emptied of people. After all, this was the Lower City. Even in one of its relatively safe areas, people could not help feeling uneasy.

The streets began to grow quiet, leaving only Danton Black's footsteps.

He walked toward the Leighton Hotel.

Danton Black's hands, tucked into the pockets of his brown trench coat, tightened again against his body. Inside his coat, his hands lightly clenched into fists as his eyes occasionally turned toward his room.

The curtains were unchanged. The gap between them was unchanged too. It really looked as though no one was there.

If he saw someone in the room, he would be afraid.

If he saw no one in the room, he would feel relieved, yet worried at the same time.

His feelings were conflicted and uneasy—the mindset of someone who had done something bad and feared being discovered.

This was the first time he had done something so major. Stolen goods worth around thirty million dollars, money he could never have obtained in a lifetime—it all sent his adrenaline surging while filling him with fear of a police search.

He even felt like running away. He thought that if he left the stolen goods at the hotel, then even if they were discovered, he would not receive too severe a sentence under the law.

In his heart, he had always feared and wandered helplessly before the laws of modern society, yet he also craved more, believing that he had become superior to others.

Though he had walked this road many times, he still occasionally looked up at his curtains. He hoped not to be discovered, yet worried, while also wanting to immediately spend money like water and become a "rich man" who never had to worry about money again.

But then he remembered that he possessed abilities beyond ordinary people—superpowers. Those abilities gave him confidence, stoking the desires in his heart until they burned hot and making him feel above humanity at every moment.

At that thought, even his weathered face and beard seemed a little more confident.

"I should move to a five-star hotel. My clothes should be designer brands, specially tailored. I should clean up my face. I'm handsome—I shouldn't be cowering like a rat right now..."

Danton Black silently thought of many things. He should have more and live better than ordinary people! He was a superhuman with superpowers; naturally, he deserved better.

He also needed to get a few models, stay in a five-star hotel, hire a private butler—an English woman—and then...

Suddenly.

Vrooom...

A black Ford Mercury, a specially designed, ostentatious black sedan, reinforced and broad-bodied, came roaring down the road at 180 kilometers per hour. Its black wheels crushed the autumn leaves on the street, and the engine's rapidly accelerating roar, along with headlights piercing the dim road like bayonets, desperately proclaimed just how urgent its owner was.

Danton Black's heart clenched. The beautiful fantasies in his mind vanished in an instant. His hand tightened inside his trench coat pocket as he stiffly turned his neck toward the car.

He listened as the sedan roared around a distant bend, turning the corner with the tires screeching harshly against the ground. As Danton Black's heart gradually tightened, he turned and narrowed his eyes, only to see a flaxen-haired man in the black Ford. The man in the driver's seat wore a stern, imposing expression, his hawkish eyes fixed on him like a predator watching prey, sending a chill through Danton Black's heart.

I've been discovered!

Danton Black's heart went cold. Though he rarely dealt with police, he knew that this stern and imposing driver was no ordinary person. Especially those eyes—fixed on him, undoubtedly on him—placed immense pressure on him.

He stood there as if stunned, his gaze following the Ford as it crossed with Al Swan's. Under Al Swan's control, the Ford drove toward Danton Black. When it came close to his feet, Danton Black was so frightened that he thought he was about to be hit and nearly used his duplication ability to flee.

The car suddenly drifted beside Danton Black's feet and spun around. Its headlights sliced into Danton Black's heart like blades. The wheels scraped against the street, leaving a ring of black tire marks and sending a great spray of autumn leaves flying. The cold light from the front of the car shone directly at him, illuminating him completely and leaving him nowhere to hide.

Al Swan swiftly got out from the driver's seat, pushed open the door, drew an M9 pistol from behind his waist, flicked off the safety with his finger, and used the car door as cover as he stared intently at Danton Black.

"Danton Black, put your hands up!"

Al Swan's sharp eyes narrowed as he barked the order.

He had not expected his luck to be so good. He had intercepted Alex's inquiry in the Information Department. With his extraordinary instincts, he immediately concluded that the Danton Black Alex was investigating was The Multiplicity, and had rushed over himself.

It was just after the evening rush hour, and the route had been slightly congested. He had taken several relatively deserted roads and arrived a little later than Alex, but he had made it just in time.

And the moment he arrived, he had Danton Black cornered here. This great merit was practically already in his grasp. Perhaps he could even pull down the newly promoted inspector and take his place.

At that thought, Al Swan's sharp gaze fell on Danton Black, and he could not help revealing a trace of delight.

Faced with Al Swan's piercing gaze, Danton Black's body trembled. He had been anxiously imagining a wonderful future, fearing the law and the police, but at this moment, facing Al Swan, all of that fear vanished.

Originally, he had thought he would be terrified—like a dog with a broken spine, living in panic every day, like a stray dog hunted down by the police and driven to run.

But he realized that he was not as afraid as he had imagined.

His heart suddenly felt completely at ease.

From committing a crime—fearing capture—being anxious and uneasy, Al Swan's shout had completely transformed him into one thing: I am the criminal!

Having resolutely acknowledged it in his heart, Danton Black suddenly felt much lighter. He pulled his hands from his trench coat, spread them open, and wore a relaxed smile.

"Officer, you caught me!"

Danton Black smiled, his hands spread wide in wild arrogance. Starting from his face, his entire body and clothes began to blur and tremble.

Al Swan's heart tightened. Without the slightest hesitation, he fired.

Bang!

The gunshot rang through the quiet street. At that moment, the sun truly sank below the horizon, and the moon glimmered with light.

Al Swan's aim was extremely accurate. He hit Danton Black directly in the face, yet Al Swan's heart sank.

Danton Black's figure remained blurred. One Danton Black collapsed to his knees before Al Swan, turning into acidic water as wisps of smoke rose from it.

And countless Danton Blacks began appearing from his original position, rapidly multiplying.

In the time it took to fire one shot, Danton Black had already created dozens of duplicates.

Thirty or forty pairs of eyes stared at Al Swan. Danton Black filled the street, dozens of him sneering with smiles on their faces. "Officer, thank you!"

"Hahaha..."

Accompanied by wild laughter, Danton Black created another seventy or eighty copies of himself in the blink of an eye. Laughing arrogantly, they turned and darted into different alleys.

Al Swan's expression became terrifyingly ugly.

At that moment, Alex abruptly opened his eyes in the dark room, a cold glint flashing from them as it pierced the darkness.