[Time: 11:45 PM][Location: Naruhata District – "The Red Lantern" Food Stall]
The rain had turned into a drizzle, misting the neon-lit streets of Naruhata.
Under the tattered tarp of a street-side food stall, steam rose into the cold night air. The smell of pork broth, garlic, and grilled meat was thick enough to taste.
SLURP.
"HAAAH! That hits the spot!"
Mirko slammed an empty ramen bowl onto the wooden counter. It was her third bowl.
"Old man! Another round! And keep the gyoza coming!" she shouted, waving a chopstick at the terrified elderly cook.
Reiji sat next to her, nursing his first bowl. He was still in his hero costume, though he had removed his mask. His face was smeared with soot, and there was a bandage on his cheek where a stray stone shard had nicked him.
"You eat like a Saiyan," Reiji muttered, picking up a piece of pork.
"Metabolism, kid!" Mirko grinned, popping a dumpling into her mouth. "You burn energy, you gotta replace it. Especially after a dance like that."
She took a swig of her beer (Reiji had a cola). Her expression softened slightly as she looked at him.
"You held your own back there," she said, her voice dropping the usual shouting volume. "Most interns would have wet themselves when Rappa showed up. You... you looked excited."
Reiji paused, his chopsticks hovering over his noodles.
"Excited isn't the right word," Reiji said quietly. "Focused."
"Focused on what?"
"Survival."
Reiji took a sip of the broth. It was rich and salty.
"That guy, Rappa... he fights for the thrill. You fight for the challenge. But me?" Reiji looked at his reflection in the dark soup. "I fight because if I lose, I don't just 'lose.' I get erased."
He wasn't talking about dying in battle. He was talking about the System. About the threat of being overwritten by the "Carter" data. About the villains who knew his true name.
Mirko studied him for a long moment. Her red eyes, usually so wild, were sharp and perceptive.
"You're a heavy thinker, aren't you?" Mirko scoffed, leaning back on her stool. "That's your problem. You think too much about the consequences."
She pointed a finger at his chest.
"Let me teach you the Rabbit's Creed."
Reiji looked up. "The Rabbit's Creed?"
"Rabbits are prey animals," Mirko said, her tone serious. "Everything wants to eat us. Foxes, hawks, wolves. If we hesitate, we die. If we overthink, we die."
She clenched her fist.
"So we kick. We kick harder and faster than anyone else. We live every single second like it's our last. I don't fight to survive, Reiji. I fight so that when I do die, I'll have absolutely zero regrets."
She leaned in, her eyes burning with intensity.
"You're fighting to avoid death. That makes you cautious. Start fighting to live, and you'll be unstoppable."
Reiji stared at her.
'Fighting to avoid death... vs fighting to live.'
It sounded like semantics, but looking at Mirko—a woman who had laughed while fighting a monster like Rappa—he realized the difference.
She was free. He was shackled by his System and his knowledge of the future.
[System Notification: Mental Synchronization Increased.][New Passive Insight: The Predator's Mindset.][Effect: When Health is below 30%, Fear Immunity is granted.]
Reiji let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. A small, genuine smile touched his lips.
"Zero regrets, huh?" Reiji raised his cola can. "Sounds exhausting."
Mirko laughed, clinking her beer mug against his can. "It's the only way to be!"
BZZZT.
Reiji's pocket vibrated.
He pulled out the vial of "Trigger" he had salvaged from the warehouse. It was glowing faintly.
But it wasn't the vial vibrating. It was his phone, pressed against it.
[Incoming Message: Unknown Number]
Reiji frowned. He opened the message.
It was a picture. A grainy, low-quality photo taken from a distance.
It showed Reiji and Mirko sitting at this exact food stall, taken from a rooftop across the street.
The caption read: "Enjoy your meal, Carter. The Doctor sends his regards."
Reiji's blood ran cold. He slammed the phone onto the counter.
"Reiji?" Mirko noticed his shift in demeanor instantly. Her ears perked up. "What is it?"
Reiji stood up, scanning the rooftops in the rain.
[Map Scan: Active.][No Hostiles Detected.]
"We're being watched," Reiji whispered. "They know I have the Trigger."
Mirko didn't look scared. She didn't even look surprised. She just finished her beer in one gulp and stood up, cracking her neck.
"Of course we are," she grinned, tossing a wad of cash onto the counter for the old man. "We kicked the hornets' nest. Now the hornets are angry."
She walked out into the rain, turning back to look at him.
"Well? Are you going to worry about it? Or are you going to finish your noodles?"
Reiji looked at the unfinished bowl. Then at the dark rooftops.
He picked up the bowl and downed the rest of the soup in one go.
SLAM.
"Let's go," Reiji said, wiping his mouth. "I have a drug to analyze. And a Doctor to hunt."
Mirko punched his shoulder. "That's the spirit."
As they walked away into the night, the red glow of the Trigger vial in Reiji's pocket seemed to pulse in time with his heartbeat.
The war wasn't coming. It was already here.
End of Chapter 113.
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