Chapter 9
Back in the laboratory, Souta lay restrained on the bed, but his mind was no longer focused on the cold metal cuffs around his wrists. His thoughts were fixed on one thing only.
Super Strength.
The ability still felt unreal. It had appeared at the exact moment he needed it most. That timing bothered him more than it excited him.
"This doesn't feel like luck," he thought. "It feels planned."
The system had rolled the abilities too perfectly, as if it knew what was coming before he did. That thought stayed in his head, quiet but unsettling.
Suddenly, alarms began to sound.
The scientists in the room froze for a moment before reacting. One of them quickly pressed a button on the wall. The doors slid shut with a loud mechanical sound and locked tightly. Another scientist grabbed a communicator and shouted orders.
"Call the guards now," one of them said. "Lock the entire sector."
Souta watched them with calm eyes.
They still thought he was helpless.
Slowly, he tested his strength. He pulled his arm slightly.
The metal cuff bent.
His eyes widened.
"...What," he muttered.
He pulled again, this time a little harder. The cuff snapped open as if it were made of weak plastic. He stared at his free hand, then quickly removed the other cuffs with ease.
"Woah," Souta said quietly. "This is crazy."
He stood up and faced the door. It was thick and reinforced, clearly meant to hold people like him inside.
He clenched his fist and punched it.
The door dented inward.
Souta took a step back, surprised.
He punched it again.
This time, a hole formed in the metal, but pain shot through his hand. He winced and shook his fist.
"Damn," he hissed. "I've got super strength, but no durability."
His knuckles throbbed. The pain was sharp and real.
He took a deep breath.
"I don't have a choice," he said to himself.
Ignoring the pain, he gathered all his strength and punched the door as hard as he could.
The metal tore open with a loud crash, and the door swung inward.
Souta stumbled forward, holding his aching hand.
"Ouch," he muttered, flexing his fingers.
He stepped into the hallway. A camera on the ceiling turned toward him, its red light blinking.
Souta looked straight at it and raised his middle finger.
"Yeah," he said. "Watch this."
He ran.
His body moved faster than he expected. His footsteps echoed through the hall as he searched for an exit. Voices and footsteps grew louder behind him.
He reached a crossing hallway and saw guards approaching from the left.
"Nope," he said and turned right, running as fast as he could.
As he ran, he passed by a large glass tank filled with water. Inside were children.
His body froze.
"What the hell is this," he whispered.
The children floated quietly, connected to tubes and machines. Their eyes were closed. They were alive.
Rage and confusion filled him.
Before he could react, guards shouted from behind.
"There," someone yelled.
Souta turned and ran again, his heart pounding. He pushed himself harder, turning corners without knowing where he was going.
Soon, he hit a dead end.
Walls. No doors. Footsteps closing in.
He turned around, breathing heavily.
"I'm trapped," he thought.
Then he heard a voice.
"This way, Souta. Faster."
He looked to the side and saw a man waving him over from a narrow opening. He had no time to think. Guards were already turning the corner.
Souta ran.
The man pulled him into a hidden space behind a wall panel. The opening closed just as guards rushed past.
Souta leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
"Who are you," Souta whispered. "Why did you help me?"
The man looked at him calmly.
"My name is Alfred," he said.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of broken eyeglasses. One lens was cracked, and the frame was bent.
"Your father left this," Alfred said, handing it to Souta.
Souta stared at it.
"Did you work with my father," Souta asked.
"I did," Alfred replied. "But there is no time to talk now."
He pointed upward.
"There is a vent above us. It leads outside. You need to escape now."
Souta clenched the glasses tightly.
"Thank you," he said.
Alfred nodded. "We will talk again. I promise."
Souta climbed into the vent. As he crawled through, he heard guards shouting below, calling his name, searching every hallway.
Minutes later, he dropped down outside the facility.
He did not stop running.
He ran until his lungs burned, until his legs felt heavy. He kept moving through unfamiliar terrain until the buildings disappeared behind him.
Eventually, trees surrounded him.
"Where the hell am I," he said, slowing down.
The forest was quiet.
"If I go near the road," he thought, "they'll find me."
So he stayed inside the woods.
Hours passed.
The sun rose, bright and warm. Souta walked slowly, exhausted and thirsty.
Then he saw a road.
Near it was a car that looked completely burned. The metal was black and twisted, covered in ash.
Souta stared at it for a moment.
"...I'm close," he said.
He followed a narrow path. After several more minutes, he reached a river. On the other side, he could see his house in the distance.
Relief washed over him.
Finally.
But then reality hit.
"They're probably still there," he said quietly. "I can't go home yet."
He turned away.
Instead, he headed toward his friend Ryou's house.
After some time, he reached it. He knocked on the door.
The door opened.
"SOUTA," Ryou shouted. "What happened to you? You look like you just ran out of a forest."
Souta laughed weakly. "Yeah. I did. I need water. Right now."
Ryou quickly pulled him inside.
After drinking, Souta told him everything. The system. The lab. The soldiers. The abilities.
"And I can choose an ability once per day," Souta finished.
Ryou stared at him in silence.
"...You're not serious," Ryou said. "You've been through a lot since your dad died."
"You need to rest," Ryou added. "Go home later. Clear your head."
Souta sat up slowly and rubbed his face with both hands, the exhaustion from the night before still weighing heavily on his body as he looked toward Ryou, who was standing near the doorway half awake.
"Ryou," Souta said quietly after a moment of hesitation, his voice low and careful, "can I borrow your phone for a bit?"
Ryou tilted his head slightly and looked at him with mild confusion. "Why do you need it?"
"I want to try contacting my mom and my brother," Souta replied, his fingers curling together as unease settled in his chest.
Without asking anything else, Ryou reached into his pocket and handed over his phone, watching closely as Souta unlocked it and immediately dialed his mother's number, his heart pounding with every ring that echoed through the speaker.
The call rang several times before stopping, unanswered.
Souta tried again, holding his breath as he waited, but once more the call failed to connect, leaving only silence behind.
His chest tightened as he quickly dialed his brother's number next, his eyes fixed on the screen as if staring harder would somehow force it to ring.
Nothing.
He tried again, switching back and forth between both numbers, refusing to give up even as worry crept deeper into his thoughts, until finally he lowered the phone with shaking hands.
"They're not answering," he said quietly, his voice strained. "Neither of them."
Ryou's expression darkened as he stepped closer. "Then call the police," he said, his tone firm as if the answer were obvious.
Souta shook his head immediately, his grip tightening around the phone. "I do not know if the police can actually help, and if I call them, they could trace the signal. If that happens, the people who captured me before will definitely use it to find me."
Ryou crossed his arms and exhaled slowly. "Then go to your house and check on them yourself."
Souta hesitated, his gaze dropping to the floor.
"Even if you go there," Ryou continued, raising his hands and forming quotation marks with his fingers, "as you said, there are guys already inside your house. You are just one boy claiming to have powers, and even if that part is true, that kind of strength is useless against twenty armed men with guns and endless bullets."
Souta clenched his fists as the words sank in, knowing deep down that Ryou was not wrong.
After a long moment of silence, he finally spoke again. "Can I stay here for a week," he asked carefully, his voice carrying both hesitation and desperation, "I will repay you somehow, I promise."
Ryou let out a tired sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I do not really have a choice," he said. "Fine, but make sure nothing crazy happens. Just rest for now, and I am sure your parents are fine."
He turned toward his room and added, "I am going to sleep. You can eat something from the fridge if you are hungry."
"Thank you," Souta said sincerely as Ryou walked away.
Left alone, Souta lay down on the sofa and stared at the ceiling, his mind racing through every possible outcome, every fear stacking on top of another until his chest felt tight.
Going back there now would be suicide, he thought, and even if his family was still alive, charging in alone would make his escape completely meaningless.
He needed reinforcement, someone who could stand beside him instead of behind him.
Then a name surfaced in his mind.
Hikari.
His family was involved in a gang, and if anyone could help him face armed men, it would be someone like that, yet doubt immediately followed as he wondered what he could possibly offer in return.
The thoughts continued to spiral until exhaustion finally dragged him into sleep.
Morning came with Ryou shaking his shoulder.
"Souta, wake up."
Souta sat up suddenly and looked straight ahead. "Ryou, watch this," he said. "System online."
A transparent screen appeared before his eyes, glowing softly in his field of vision.
"Do you see it," Souta asked, turning toward Ryou. "It is right here."
Ryou stared at him blankly for a moment before frowning. "Let us just eat," he said slowly. "I have no idea what you are talking about."
Souta realized then that only he could see the system.
"Roll," he said under his breath.
The screen changed instantly.
1 in 7 physical conditioning.
1 in 110 emotion reading.
1 in 28 adrenal boost.
Souta studied the options carefully, knowing none of them were ideal, yet understanding that his body needed to grow stronger if he was going to survive what came next.
"Physical conditioning," he said firmly. "Apply."
Warmth spread through his muscles, deep and steady, as if his body itself was being reinforced from within.
Ryou sighed. "Seriously, Souta, let us eat."
They ate quietly, the tension hanging between them even as food filled the silence.
Afterward, Souta stood and looked at Ryou. "Do you know where Hikari lives," he asked.
Ryou shrugged. "I do not know exactly. Somewhere south maybe. I have seen him around the school. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing," Souta replied.
"I need to go out for a bit," he added before leaving.
Near the school, Souta spotted Hikari almost immediately, his presence just as intimidating as he remembered, standing with a sharp gaze that made people instinctively avoid him.
"Hikari," Souta called out, approaching him carefully. "I need your help."
Hikari turned and looked him over slowly. "You look like someone being chased," he said. "Your body looks weak and dirty. What happened to you?"
"It is a long story," Souta replied. "My mother and my brother are being held hostage in my house."
Hikari scoffed. "Then call the police."
"I cannot."
"Why not."
"I just cannot," Souta said. "They are after me."
"Whatever," Hikari replied coldly, turning away. "That is not my problem."
"Hikari," Souta shouted.
Hikari stopped.
"I have power."
Hikari turned back slowly. "What did you say?"
"I have power."
Hikari smirked. "Then punch me."
Souta hesitated, fear and doubt flashing through his mind.
Hikari laughed. "What, scared now?"
Souta clenched his fist and threw a punch.
The impact sent Hikari flying backward, his body crashing to the ground as his jaw nearly dislocated from the force.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then Hikari pushed himself up, blood at the corner of his mouth, and started laughing.
"What the hell," he said, eyes shining with excitement. "You are serious."
Despite the pain, he was smiling.
"Alright," Hikari said. "I will help you, Souta, but first, I want you to meet my family."
Souta nodded without hesitation.
This was where everything truly began.
To be continued...