Sudden

Inside room 503 of the Leighton Hotel.

The dim yellow sunlight outside was blocked by thick yellow curtains. Only a single yellow beam of light shot vertically into the room, illuminating the slight dust motes floating within.

This made the rest of the room appear very dark.

The room held a stuffy atmosphere from the twilight. In a shadowy corner, Alex sat hunched. The lenses of his glasses reflected the vertical beam of twilight. He gently removed his glasses and put them in his pocket.

Alex was hidden in the darkness, sitting in a corner. His posture was upright, his spine straight, his face expressionless, his breathing light and steady, blending with the environment as he breathed with the airflow.

His hands rested lightly on his thighs. He closed his eyes, adjusting his breathing and the overall coordination of his body, aiming for a single, fatal blow.

The room was dimly lit, obscuring Alex's exceptionally handsome face.

In the darkness, he was like a ferocious beast, lurking, hidden.

The twilight grew dimmer. The moon, as large as a dinner plate, had risen in another part of the sky. Once the sun fully set, it would cast its gentle glow.

Today.

There were no dark clouds, the sky was filled with rosy clouds, and a cool breeze blew, stirring the fallen leaves of autumn.

The surrounding streets had gradually become less crowded. After all, this was the lower city, and even the safer areas within the lower city were cause for concern.

The streets began to quiet down, with only the sound of Danton Black's footsteps.

He walked, heading towards the Leighton Hotel.

Danton Black tightened the hands tucked into the pockets of his brown trench coat, pulling them closer to his body. He lightly clenched his fists inside his coat, his eyes occasionally glancing towards his room.

The curtains remained as they were, and the gap between them was also unchanged, giving the appearance that 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 in his heart, yet also worried.

His mood was conflicted and anxious, the psychology of someone who had done something wrong and feared being discovered.

This was the first time he had undertaken something so significant. Stolen goods worth around thirty million US dollars, money he could never have obtained in a lifetime, all of it made his adrenaline surge and left him in fear of police pursuit.

He even had a desire to escape, thinking that if he abandoned the stolen goods at the hotel, even if they were discovered, he wouldn't be sentenced too harshly by the law.

In his heart, he was constantly fearful and wavering regarding the laws of current society, yet he also craved more, believing he had begun to rise above others.

Even though he had walked this path many times, he still occasionally looked up at his curtains. He longed to remain undiscovered, yet he worried, and he also wanted to immediately spend money lavishly, to become a 'rich person' who didn't have to worry about money.

However, he then remembered that he possessed extraordinary abilities, superpowers. This ability gave him confidence, igniting his inner desires, constantly making him feel superior to ordinary humans.

Thinking of this, his weathered face and beard seemed a little more confident.

"I should move to a five-star hotel, wear designer clothes, custom-made. I should fix my appearance. I'm handsome, I shouldn't be afraid like a rat right now..."

Danton Black thought to himself, he should have more, live better than ordinary people! He was a superhuman with superpowers, he deserved better.

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

Suddenly.

Boom...

A black Ford Mercury, a specially designed, ostentatious, reinforced, and robust car, sped by at a speed of 180 kilometers per hour. Its black tires crushed the autumn leaves on the road, and the engine's rapid roar and acceleration, like bayonets piercing the dim road lights, all urgently proved how anxious the owner was.

Danton Black's heart tightened. The beautiful fantasies in his mind vanished in an instant. His hands, tucked into his trench coat pockets, clenched tightly. He stiffly turned his head to look at the approaching vehicle.

Listening to the car's rumbling approach from a distance, it rounded a bend, its tires emitting an unpleasant "screech..." against the ground. As Danton Black's heart grew increasingly anxious, he turned his head and squinted, seeing a man with flaxen-blonde hair inside the black Ford. The driver's face was calm and stern, his hawk-like eyes fixed on him like a predator, sending a chill down Danton Black's spine.

"I've been discovered!"

Danton Black felt a chill. Even though he rarely dealt with police, he knew that the owner of this car, with his solemn demeanor and imposing presence, couldn't be ordinary. Especially those eyes, staring at him, must mean it was him, putting immense pressure on him.

He stood there as if stunned, his gaze following the Ford. His eyes met Al Swan's. The Ford, under Al Swan's control, drove towards Danton Black. As it approached his feet, Danton Black, fearing he would be hit, almost used his clones to escape.

The vehicle suddenly drifted and spun at Danton Black's feet. The headlights cut through Danton Black's mind like knives. The tires scraped the street, leaving a circle of black tire marks and kicking up a large swirl of autumn leaves. The cold light from the front of the car shone directly on him, illuminating him completely, leaving him nowhere to hide.

Al Swan, driving the car, quickly got out, pushed open the door, pulled out an M9 pistol from his waist, flicked off the safety, and used the car door as cover, staring intently at Danton Black.

"Danton Black, hands up,"

Al Swan commanded sharply.

He hadn't expected his luck to be so good. After intercepting Alex's query in the information department, his unusual acuity immediately confirmed that Alex was investigating Danton Black, who was part of the Multiplicity. He then rushed over by car.

It was just after the evening rush hour, and the route was slightly congested. He took a few more secluded roads, arriving a little later than Alex, but just in time.

Upon arriving, he directly intercepted Danton Black here. This first major success was almost guaranteed to be his. Perhaps he could even bring down the newly promoted Inspector and take his place.

At this thought, Al Swan's sharp gaze fell on Danton Black, and he couldn't help but show a hint of joy.

Facing Al Swan's sharp gaze, Danton Black's body trembled. His previous anxious fantasies of a beautiful future, his fear of the law and the police, all vanished in that moment, in front of Al Swan.

Originally, he thought he would be very scared, like a broken-backed dog, living in constant fear, like a stray dog, hunted by the police, chased away.

But he found that he wasn't as scared as he had imagined.

His heart suddenly felt a wave of relief.

From the state of crime—fear of capture—anxiety, he had, with Al Swan's shout, completely transitioned to—I am the criminal!

With newfound certainty, Danton Black felt a significant ease wash over him. He withdrew his hands from his trench coat, spread them wide, and a relaxed smile played on his lips.

"Officer, you've caught me!"

Danton Black grinned, his arms outstretched in a wild, uninhibited gesture. Starting from his face, his entire body, even his clothes, began to blur and vibrate.

Al Swan's heart tightened. Without a moment's hesitation, he fired.

Bang!

The gunshot echoed through the quiet street. The sun had truly set, and the moon now shone with a gentle glow.

Al Swan's aim was precise, hitting Danton Black directly in the face. Yet, a sense of dread filled Al Swan's heart.

Danton Black's form remained blurred. One Danton Black collapsed before Al Swan, dissolving into acid, wisps of smoke rising.

Simultaneously, countless Danton Blacks appeared from his original position, rapidly multiplying.

In the time it took to fire a single shot, Danton Black had already split into dozens.

Thirty to forty pairs of eyes fixed on Al Swan. Danton Blacks filled the street, dozens of them sneering with smiles, "Officer, thank you!"

"Hahaha..."

Accompanied by his flamboyant laughter, Danton Black blinked and conjured another seventy to eighty copies of himself. With wild laughter, they turned and darted into different alleyways.

Al Swan's expression turned terrifyingly grim.

At that moment, in a dark room, Alex's eyes snapped open, a sharp light piercing the darkness.