As the man and Ran were about to leave the building, Ainsley stopped them.

  "Were you able to come to an agreement?" asked the woman.

  "Yes, we did," said the man thoughtfully. "But I have a question for you. Like you said, they don't look like a professional team - they seem like an inexperienced, eager group of young people."

  "That's exactly what they are," said Ainsley with a slight laugh.

  "Then why did you recommend them?"

  "Rex is my nephew. They need to get started in the business sooner or later. I couldn't see a better opportunity than you."

  The man sighed and shook his head. "We need a place to rest tonight. Do you know somewhere?" he asked, approaching the bar.

  "You gave my nephew and his friends their first real job. Many people have come before, seen they were rookies, and left. If you'd like, you can use the apartment on the floor above them. There's not much furniture inside, just a bed."

  "That's enough to get through the night. Thank you."

  The woman handed him a key. "It was nice working with you."

  He took the key. "I haven't forgotten that I'll pay for the beera I drank when the job's done."

  "I haven't forgotten you owe me either. But this one's on me. Don't expect anything else free."

  Smiling, he left the bar and went to Ran's side.

  "I managed to find us a place to stay. If you're hungry..." he couldn't finish his sentence. He remembered he had given all the money in his chip to Rex. He had no money for food.

  "I have money, sir, don't worry. Would you like something to eat?"

  It was a sincere and polite offer, but the man wasn't in any condition to eat. He couldn't look at Ran for more than five seconds; unwanted images kept coming to his mind every time.

  "Thank you Ran, I'm full. You eat, I need some fresh air."

  Ran nodded.

  "I won't be long, I'll be right back. Have your meal, then go up to the room I arranged," he said, describing the apartment's location. As he headed outside, he looked at Ainsley and pointed to Ran. Ainsley must have understood as she nodded. At least this woman seemed trustworthy, as long as she was paid.

  When he stepped outside, the sharp cold of the night air bit his face and hands. He drew a deep breath, filling his lungs, and released it slowly and deliberately through his nose. When he lifted his head to look at the dark sky, he saw the massive purple planet hanging there and locked his eyes onto it. The planet's pale light filtered through the city's foggy atmosphere, painting everything in a slight purple tinge.

  "Can we do this, Geminga?"

  "Yes."

  "I don't want to die again - I can't bear to experience that again. I have to trust you to survive, I have no other choice. I believe you'll help me with this."

  "Of course."

  "Why did you want me to go outside alone?"

  "You need to practice."

  "Practice what?"

  "Fighting, what else? You don't know how to fight."

  "You're right... Zeta said I could defend myself but... Zeta says a lot of nonsensical things."

  "Remember that empty lot we saw on our way here? Let's go there."

  The man walked through the cold, foggy, and dark streets with his hand in his coat pocket. The area was fairly crowded but didn't look at all reassuring. After a ten-minute walk, he reached the empty lot.

  This place looked more like a junkyard than an empty lot. There were vehicle wrecks everywhere and sandy ground.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "What do we do now?"

  "I don't know, throw a punch or something."

  The man threw a punch. The surrounding fog rippled slightly.

  "That's not right... You need to do something else. Punch one of those vehicles."

  Without questioning Geminga's instruction, he approached one of the vehicles, tensed up, and threw his punch. His hand hurt badly.

  "Wrong... Wrong! You're doing it wrong. Hit it again."

  This time the man closed his eyes and focused. After waiting for a few seconds, he threw his punch but stopped before hitting the vehicle.

  "Why did you stop? Hit it!"

  He slowly extended his fist and touched the hard metal.

  "Geminga! This is metal. I can't punch metal."

  "Remember, you fought with a group before, didn't you? Despite them attacking you with metal rods, the rods got bent, and you didn't feel anything. Act like you did then."

  "I don't remember how I did it... I just acted on instinct. I imagined my fist being hard."

  "That's it! Imagine! I don't know, think about your power flowing into your fists or something."

  The man closed his eyes and raised his hands. He took a punching stance.

  "Hard fists... Hard fists... Hard fists..." he repeated internally. After the sixth repetition, he felt a tingling in his fists and instinctively threw a punch. His eyes were closed, but he felt his fist hit something. When he opened his eyes, he saw a small dent in the vehicle wreck with his fist inside it. His fist hurt.

  "That's it! That's how you should do it. Nobody could stay standing after taking a punch like that. Keep going! Hit it repeatedly!"

  The man was repeatedly punching the vehicle's body in the dark lot. He waited about ten seconds between each punch. Only one out of every three punches was successful.

  He opened his eyes and looked at his fists. They appeared swollen, but this wasn't swelling - it was actual growth. His fists had visibly increased in size and looked larger than a normal human hand. Curiously, he raised his fist to eye level and began examining it closely. Under the skin, as if there was a powerful projector behind his hand, a small white light flickered and shone from within. This light, like the glimmer of a star seen from afar, seemed both mysterious and impressive to him.

  He closed his eyes again and continued training. With each punch, the pain decreased, and the dent in the vehicle grew larger. Along with the dent, his hand size also increased.

  "Geminga... Is my hand actually growing, or am I seeing things?"

  "There's definitely growth happening. But I'm curious about something else. Take off your jacket and t-shirt."

  "Why?"

  "If you want to achieve anything, you need to start questioning my instructions less."

  The man took off his jacket and t-shirt. His body looked completely normal.

  "Keep punching. But focus on your body while you do. Something seems to be shifting around."

  "What do you mean?"

  "It feels like your skin is lifting up and moving somewhere else... Don't you feel it?"

  "Can you feel physical things in my body?"

  "When I focus my entire being on your body, I can feel it as if it were my own body. But I have no control. This sensation is quite superficial and faint - almost non-existent - and it doesn't affect me. Only your emotions and thoughts have some effect on me. We seem to be connected in this way. Anyway... Do as I say and focus on your body."

  Following Geminga's instructions, he continued punching. After several hits, a strange sensation began to develop in his back. At first, it felt like a slight tingling, then it became more pronounced - like a sensation of tiny insects dancing under the skin. Reflexively, he brought his hand to his back, probed the skin with his fingertips, but felt no abnormality when touching it. As his curiosity grew, he tried to check his back in the side mirror of a nearby wreck. In the glass's reflection, he noticed a strange brightness in the middle of his spine - a faint white glow seeping from under the skin. This sight seemed familiar to him; it reminded him of those strange moments before Aleah gave him his new body.

  "What is this?"

  "This must be why your hand is growing. The nanomachines in your body can move to areas where they're needed. Right now, the nanomachines in your back are slowly moving toward your hands. During this process, each group of nanomachines leaving your back increases both the size and durability of your hands. The more nanomachines leave your back, the bigger and harder your hands will become. At least that's my theory based on my observations... Come on, keep hitting and let's test this theory."

  The man continued hitting, each punch stronger and more determined than the last. He no longer needed to close his eyes because he could feel the power within him. Each strike left a deep dent in the vehicle, the metal body taking shape as if it were soft dough. His hands had continued to grow, reaching almost twice their normal size. The energy in his fists was fluctuating, growing stronger with each strike. As he tensed up for one final hit, an indescribable rage began to rise from the depths of his body. This rage felt as if it had been suppressed for years and was now breaking free from its chains. The energy within him was rising in an uncontrollable and destructive way, like a volcanic eruption.

  "DIE YOU SON OF A BITCH!" roared the man inside him.

  Along with the man inside him, he also shouted in rage, focused all his power into his fist, and made one final strike at the vehicle. With the impact, the entire vehicle lifted into the air, was thrown back several meters, and came to a stop with a violent crash against another wreck. The impact sent dust and small metal pieces flying into the air.

  "This man... Every time he speaks, anger rises within me. There's an uncontrollable rage in him and honestly, it worries me."

  "I believe we'll be able to calm him down when the time comes. He may be angry and foul-mouthed, but the power he possesses is quite dangerous. This power will serve our purpose."

  The man looked at his hand and slowly opened and closed his fingers. The white light inside his hand was now more visible, as if a small star was shining under his skin. Still, this light was very weak and could only be noticed when looking closely and carefully. The skin around the light was slightly vibrating, revealing the presence of energy within.