**Noah opened his eyes, feeling a slight pain in his head, though it wasn't really pain, just a discomfort. He lifted his head slightly and noticed a doctor next to him with a somewhat creepy face, although for Noah, every face he saw was creepy, since he had been isoted from people for three years. Suddenly, he realized the doctor was talking to him. He had been lost in his thoughts. The doctor informed him that the surgery had been a success, the EVO-Link was now installed in his head, and in a few hours, he would start feeling all the cognitive improvements. Noah remained confused; he remembered who he was, but he didn't know what he was doing there. As he got up, the doctor said his goodbyes and left the room. Noah realized he was wearing a tight white suit, the sleeves of his shirt were long, and the pants were a bit short. While looking at his pants, he suddenly jumped in shock when he saw a number tattooed on the lower part of his leg—it was the number 87. He didn't remember getting any tattoos. He quickly tried to clean it off somehow, but then realized it was a real tattoo. Desperation started to take over him.

  While he continued trying to remember what had happened and examined the area, which seemed like a normal hospital room, he began suffering a strong headache and felt everything spinning, falling to the floor.**

  Two days earlier

  "Hmmm, this game is garbage. At first, you progress quickly, but then you hit a point where if you don't pay, it takes years to level up. The worst part is that it's so addictive to level up..."

  Noah was exasperated with the game that had kept him awake until 2 AM. While continuing to compin and py, he received a notification on his phone.

  "What is this? Xavier Musk shows the progress of EVO-Link. What is an EVO-Link?"

  Noah searched for information on this EVO-Link. Although he had always been interested in technology, he mostly just pyed mobile games (not very good ones) and wasn't very informed about technological advancements. After reading about EVO-Link, he became interested.

  A biochip that is impnted in your brain and improves your cognitive abilities and even your strength.

  Suddenly, Noah realized he had spoken quite loud, which could have made his parents hear him. He quickly became very nervous, turned off the phone, got under the bnkets, and closed his eyes. About 20 minutes ter, he realized no one had heard anything. His nerves eased, the stomach ache he had felt subsided, and he continued thinking.

  So, they're looking for candidates for the impnt. Although the risk of death is high since it's brain surgery. Well, I have nothing to lose.

  After thinking about it for a bit more, he decided to go to sleep. The next day, he woke up at 7 AM to his arm clock, though he spent half an hour trying not to get up. But he remembered he had signed up for the EVO-Link trials. He put on a simple navy blue shirt and some jeans, fixed his long bck hair a little, and, while looking at himself in the mirror, thought he could have been born more handsome. Pushing that thought aside, he left the house, and after a sprint, he arrived at a facility where, according to his phone, the surgeries were being performed.

  Upon entering, he saw that the pce was quite crowded, which made him feel uncomfortable. However, he made his way through the crowd and arrived at booth number 4, where his phone indicated he should go. After a quick scan, the door opened, and he entered a less crowded area, which made him feel more at ease. He noticed that there were a lot of older people and few young people like him, although he remembered that to be a candidate for the EVO-Link, you had to be at least 18. While waiting for his turn, he observed a few people who had just been operated on. They all looked like they were in a trance, which amused him a little; he thought it was probably the anesthesia. However, while ughing in his mind, he realized there was another young man in the waiting room who he recognized from his high school days. Seeing him made Noah start scratching his neck, trying not to be noticed. Suddenly, his stomach began to hurt. He didn't want to see him; he wanted to disappear. The situation escated so quickly that even his own mind couldn't process it. As he hid among the people, he thought about everything that could happen if that guy saw him.

  He's going to ugh at me, he's going to see what a disappointment I am when they call my name for the surgery. I don't want him to hear it. I don't want to...

  At that moment, someone approached from behind and tapped him on the shoulder unexpectedly.

  "Don't worry about the surgery, man. I assure you it won't hurt. Everyone who's had the procedure said it doesn't cause pain."

  Noah heard that voice and realized he couldn't keep looking at it that way, so he changed his expression.

  "Hahaha, dude, it's not that. It's just that I ate too much yesterday and I'm feeling a little sick."

  Noah murmured, while the other boy was about to reply, he heard his name called over the loudspeaker:

  "Noah Ryker."

  He quickly pulled away from the other boy and dashed toward the surgery area.