Tom stood frozen.
The amount of disbelief flooding his mind was unbearable.
He looked around the tiny room once more.
Eighty-one years...
The old woman had spent eighty-one years writing the same sentence.
Every single year...
She erased the number.
Then wrote the next one.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Tom slowly picked up one of the papers.
"So..."
"She really started this..."
"...eighty-one years ago."
His hands trembled.
"What kind of life did she live?"
"What kind of punishment was she carrying?"
"Why would someone devote their entire life to something like this?"
He couldn't understand.
Slowly...
He unfolded the one paper that was different from all the others.
It read—
"Find someone who can save this city."
"Free it from the cruel and illegal work hidden beneath it."
"Open the eyes of the people."
"Make this city Chinatown once again..."
"...instead of Deviltown."
Tom frowned.
"Deviltown?"
"But..."
"This city is called Chinatown."
He continued reading.
"Everyone inside and outside believes this place is called Chinatown."
"But among the Upper Wares..."
"...it is known as Deviltown."
"Because of the land."
"Because of what it secretly produces."
"This city manufactures illegal drugs."
"That is why they call it Devil Ware."
Tom's expression changed.
He kept reading.
"Please..."
"Save this city."
"Beginning from the eighty-first anniversary..."
"...and lasting for one month..."
"Poisonous gases from a special drug..."
"...Ferrous Sulphate..."
"...will slowly spread across the land."
"When that happens..."
"This city..."
"...will disappear forever."
Tom slowly lowered the paper.
For the first time...
He felt an unbearable weight settle onto his shoulders.
He knew...
He could simply leave.
Within a month...
He would already be somewhere else.
This city...
Would become someone else's problem.
But then...
One face appeared in his mind.
Dasha.
He smiled softly.
"What if..."
"I just take Dasha with me?"
"We could leave this place."
"Start over somewhere else."
"It'd be better for both of us."
Helping an entire city...
Was impossible.
Helping one person...
Wasn't.
Tom looked toward the cemetery where the old woman had been buried.
"I'm sorry..."
He whispered.
"What you're asking from me..."
"...is far beyond what I can do."
He quietly left.
Then sat down outside Dasha's house.
Waiting for her to wake up.
Eventually...
Sleep overtook him.
Morning arrived.
Tom was still sleeping outside her front door.
Like a loyal dog waiting for its owner.
The door suddenly opened.
Still half asleep...
Dasha stepped outside to grab the morning newspaper.
Without looking down...
She accidentally stepped right onto Tom.
"Ah!"
She lost her balance.
And both of them fell together.
For a few seconds...
Neither of them moved.
Dasha's messy hair completely covered Tom's face.
Their bodies were pressed against each other.
The atmosphere suddenly became...
Very awkward.
Tom quickly wrapped an arm around her waist...
Lifted her up as if she weighed nothing...
And gently placed her back on her feet.
Only then did Dasha finally wake up properly.
She rubbed her eyes.
"Oh..."
"Tom..."
"Come on..."
"My birthday party's still going on."
She giggled sleepily.
"And..."
"Thank you..."
"For the doll."
"It was..."
"My first birthday gift."
Tom smiled.
"You're welcome."
"But..."
"Your birthday was yesterday."
Dasha blinked.
"Oh..."
"Right."
Tom laughed.
He took her inside.
Made her sit on the couch.
Then walked into the kitchen.
A few minutes later...
He returned with two cups of coffee.
He placed one in front of her.
"Dasha..."
"I need to tell you something important."
She nodded.
Tom took a deep breath.
"It's about the old woman."
Dasha's smile slowly faded.
"I always felt sorry for her."
"I hated how everyone made fun of her."
"She wasn't born with the same abilities we have."
"But that wasn't her fault."
"I even asked her to live with me once..."
"But she refused."
Tom nodded.
"I know."
"But listen first."
He explained everything.
The papers.
The message.
Deviltown.
The drugs.
The countdown.
Everything.
When he finished...
Dasha stared at him.
Then burst into laughter.
"Seriously?"
"You searched the whole city just to tell me this joke?"
"I thought you were better than that."
Without saying another word...
Tom grabbed her hand.
And led her back to the old woman's house.
The moment Dasha stepped inside...
Her smile disappeared.
The endless mountain of papers covered every corner of the room.
She slowly picked one up.
Then another.
Then another.
Her hands began to shake.
"This..."
"This is real..."
She whispered.
After reading everything...
She immediately looked at Tom.
"We have to tell everyone."
"We need help."
Tom slowly shook his head.
"No."
"If more people find out..."
"The information could reach the wrong people."
"I have another idea."
He looked straight into her eyes.
"Come with me."
"We'll leave this city."
"We'll start over somewhere else."
"We could go to Southware."
"It'll be safer."
"For both of us."
For a brief moment...
Dasha smiled.
Because for the first time in her life...
Someone was choosing her.
Not out of pity.
Not because they had to.
But because they genuinely cared.
Then...
Her smile disappeared.
She gently let go of Tom's hand.
"This..."
"...is my hometown."
"I can't abandon everyone."
"If you can't help me protect these people..."
"...then that's okay."
She turned toward the door.
"I'll protect them myself."
And with those words...
She walked away.
Leaving Tom standing there...
Unsure whether he had just lost the city...
Or the girl he wanted to save.