This morning.
Ry-Two visited the fast-food restaurant from yesterday and left the place with a huge bundle of food.
He couldn't wait to wander around, hoping to see the small figure of that little girl again.
Thinking about her, he subconsciously glanced at the building he'd pointed her to yesterday—the one with the beautiful flower bed.
Surprisingly, he spotted some policemen working in that direction.
A bad feeling crept over his heart.
"What's going on?" he asked bluntly as he approached.
The policemen were annoyed by his attitude at first, but when they saw the identity card he had just pulled out of his pocket—
Their attitude instantly changed. 'Hiss, this brat is actually a Rank B Superhero! We mustn't offend these Ability Users.'
"Hello, it's like this..." The policemen politely explained the situation.
The more they talked, the grimmer Ry-Two's expression became.
Then, as a final push, Ry-Two spotted the basket lying next to the flower bed.
Cracked.
Something broke inside him, yet his emotion was awfully calm—deadly calm.
"Where is she now?" he asked coldly.
The policemen broke out in cold sweat and hurriedly gave him the location of the hospital where the victim had been taken for emergency rescue.
Based on their tone, the wounds on that little child's body were terrible.
It wasn't hard to spot the big pool of dried blood on the ground.
Ry-Two didn't know what was going on with him anymore.
He ran.
He just ran, as fast as he could.
He climbed buildings, dashed across rooftops, and then vanished from the policemen's vision.
"Hiss, these Superheroes are indeed not normal. That building should be twelve floors high!" one of them exclaimed.
As for the officer who had direct contact with Ry-Two just now, he finally managed to breathe—then collapsed to the ground.
His legs had gone limp.
"Damn, that br—man was so scary!" His back was already drenched with sweat from the overwhelming pressure the young man had exerted.
His colleague hurried over to help him up.
...
At the hospital.
With the fastest speed possible, Ry-Two had already arrived at the hospital where the little girl had been taken.
As he entered the building, his presence alone made the entire place freeze.
The nurse behind the counter was so scared that she pressed the emergency button as he approached.
"Rank B Hero. I want to see the little girl brought in early this morning." Ry-Two cut to the chase, directly showed his card, and stated his purpose.
His voice was cold and left no room for refusal.
The nurse hurriedly led him toward a certain room, and as they walked, she explained the situation, "...It was too late to save her legs, but besides that, the little girl is stable now and has regained consciousness..."
Ry-Two only listened to the important part and ignored everything else.
He expected the little girl to still be alive, after all—with such advanced technology, and even doctors with healing-type abilities, saving lives these days was easier than in the past.
"It's this room," they arrived at their destination.
The nurse pointed to a certain door before hurriedly retreating. She couldn't stand being near this man any longer.
"..."
Ry-Two suddenly didn't dare to enter.
He hesitated for a moment before deciding to sneak a glance through the window.
His heart instantly ached for her.
Sitting on the bed, the once-upbeat little girl now stared blankly at her legs—everything below the knees was already gone, her eyes void of emotion.
"?" As if sensing something, the little girl unconsciously glanced toward the window.
"Uncle!" Her smile instantly bloomed.
Ry-Two was confused.
'How?'
'Why?'
'How can she still smile at me so happily, after everything I did to her?'
He questioned himself; he already deemed himself a terrible person—trash, an unworthy father.
'Why did I give her such stupid guidance?'
'I should've stopped her, even if I had to scold her!'
'What have I done...?'
...
The little girl was so happy.
She had just been wondering whether she would see that good Uncle again—now that she had already lost her legs.
Who knew, the Uncle actually came over to visit her!
She was so happy!
"Uncle! Come inside!" She waved at him, asking him to enter the room.
The Uncle looked sad and confused for some reason—maybe because he felt bad for her—but it was fine.
Wasn't she still alive?
After her long persistence, the Uncle finally entered the room.
"Hello, Uncle!" the little girl greeted him.
"Hey..." The Uncle awkwardly replied, then spaced out again, freezing in place.
His gaze focused on her thighs—everything before the knees was already gone.
"Uncle, I'm fine!" the little girl reassured him with her smile.
Then he reached out and gently touched her thighs.
"Does it... hurt?" the Uncle asked, his voice so pained that the little girl worried for him.
So she tried again to reassure him, "I'm fine! The social...? Um... sister, yes, the sister told me she can take me in and I don't have to live on my own anymore."
"She said there will be other children like me. I'm so happy!" She smiled.
...
How could Ry-Two not realize it was somewhat forced?
As for that sister, she must be one of those social workers. Only after the kid got into an accident did they finally show up.
How terrible!
'No... I just denied, refused to take responsibility...'
'It was my fault, all my fault...'
Ry-Two was honest with himself, trying to face the consequences of his mistake.
Subconsciously, he remembered the original Henry's words from last night—
("...")
("Ry-Two, compared to regular people, we're rich. Filthy rich.")
("...")
("Then why don't you just help her?")
("...")
As he traced back through his memories, he found the answer.
'That's right. Just like that middle-aged Uncle had to pay compensation for demolishing my building, I also have to pay the price for my foolish advice, right?'
The Clone thought, and finally dared to face the consequences of his actions.
"Uncle's sorry..." he said, slowly reaching out and kissing the little girl's forehead.
"!!!" The little girl was taken by surprise, but she soon smiled foolishly.
"Yay! Uncle kissed me! I'm so happy!"
The little girl was thrilled—her small arms waving around in joy; there wasn't even a hint of blame on her face.
She had already accepted reality and moved on.
So why would Ry-Two still hesitate?
Making up his mind, the Clone finally asked, "Do you want to come live with me?"
He decided to take responsibility.
The little girl's eyes widened; she didn't expect such a thing could be real, so she rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up.
"Uncle, is it real?"
"Are you sure?"
She confirmed.
You know, she was still a child after all; she longed for affection, and because of that, she stayed over and listened to Ry-Two's nonsense with pleasure.
She was just craving an adult's attention.
The little girl wanted protection, safety—and most importantly, a family.
It'd be better if she could go home with this Uncle. Would he adopt her?
Could she call him "father" from now on?
Her body unconsciously leaned toward Ry-Two; she propped herself up with her two little hands, trying to get closer so she could hear his answer more clearly.
Before the expectant eyes of this little girl, Ry-Two nodded, holding her shoulders as he announced, "Yes, from now on, you will be my daughter."
"Are you willing?" he asked.
"!!!" The little girl felt like she was dreaming.
The best dream ever.
She wanted to jump around, dance, and sing—she was so happy that she forgot all the hardship she'd been through.
'Oh no, I have to give Uncle my answer first!' Realizing she had spaced out, the little girl hurried back to her senses and replied.
"Yes! Yes! I'm so happy to have Uncle as my father!"
"Father!"
"Dad!"
"Papa!"
She called out joyfully—these were words she had come up with over the years, imagining herself sitting at a dining table with her father and mother.
"How should I call Uncle from now?" she asked.
Those calls just now were all names she'd imagined on her own.
Ry-Two caressed her head and gently replied, "You can call me whatever you like. As long as it's a word from my daughter, Dad will gladly hear them."
'Dad!' The little girl screamed in her heart—her dream had finally half-come true.
She was no longer an orphan!
She didn't have to work for those bad Uncles again!
She had her own family now!
"Then, Daddy! I like it the most!" She decided.
In the following conversations, Ry-Two just dotingly nodded to everything his adopted daughter said and also told her about her new family.
Her other father, her mother, and her two sisters.
The little girl was so happy that she conveniently ignored the fact that she'd have two fathers!
Then suddenly—
"There he is! Inside this room!" the alarmed voice of the previous nurse sounded, then the next moment, five men kicked the door flying and barged inside.
It wasn't locked, by the way.
"Rank B Hero here—stop your crime and obediently— Eh?"
When the Hero entered the room with his team, what welcomed them was a scene of a father hugging his daughter, who was laughing so happily while hugging him back.
"Did we... come to the wrong room?" the Hero asked.
The atmosphere was awkward.
...
After that small incident, Ry-Two managed to explain all the misunderstandings before contacting the social worker.
He expressed his willingness to adopt the little girl.
His words were sincere, but the identity card in his hand and the threatening smile on his face said otherwise.
He wasn't asking; he simply stated his intention.
Seeing that the little girl was willing and didn't seem to be forced—she was, in fact, smiling brightly and seemed very happy—the social worker finally agreed.
She promised to help finish the necessary documents, but Ry-Two would still need to let her check on the little girl from time to time.
That was the social worker's bottom line, and Ry-Two happily accepted.
Since everything else was already arranged, the Clone went through some procedures to discharge his adopted daughter from the hospital.
With advanced technology and Ability Users, most people could leave the hospital right after treatment.
As long as they made it alive to the hospital, they were basically saved.
...
At night.
"Daddy... will everyone accept me?"
Contrary to her cheerful attitude on the road, the moment Ry-Two brought the little girl to the door, she suddenly hesitated.
Her chest was beating fast.
Ry-Two reassured her for a few minutes before opening the door.
"Welcome back!"
It was, again, Rio, who welcomed him home.
"—EH!?"
Her eyes shifted from Ry-Two to the little girl in his arms—then back again.
Only now did the Clone realize he had forgotten to tell his family about the little girl's situation—and his decision to adopt her.
As for how they reacted to her arrival in the family, the Clone could only hope for the best.
'They won't treat my little girl badly, right?'