Chapter 9: Evolution

Leon and Layla were walking in the dark and lonely street.

The area they lived in was an undeveloped and slum area that was discarded by the city government.

Layla hugged herself as she walked and said, "It's so cold outside."

Leon and Laya were both only wearing hoodies. Leon was wearing a tattered brief, but Layla was naked from the lower body part. However, the hoodie was covering up her thighs, but it still made her feel cold.

Layla glanced at Leon from the corner of her eyes, but Leon looked as though he was in deep thought.

"Leon?" Layla called out to him.

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Uhh… yes?" Leon replied.

Layla moved her hand to Leon's face and rubbed her thumb on his cheek.

Confused, Leon grabbed Layla's hand and asked, "What are you doing?"

"You look a little different, so I was making sure you are okay," Layla answered and held Leon's hand tightly.

"Your eyes… or rather, your pupils have changed," Layla stated.

Leon shrugged and uttered, "Maybe you just see things because it's dark."

"Let me have a closer look, then."

Layla grabbed Leon's face and brought her face closer to his. Their faces were so close to each other that Leon could feel Layla's breath hitting his face.

"Are you done?" Leon asked.

"Mmm." Layla nodded her head and said, "I was right. Your pupil has indeed changed."

"I saw it on the television that it gets big in the dark, so our eyes can capture more light," Leon asserted with a confident smile on his face.

Leon had an enhanced memory because of Ryan's experiments on him. Due to that, Leon gained the ability to remember any and everything he heard or saw once.

"I am not talking about the size," Layla remarked. "I am talking about the shape. It looks similar to a cat's eyes."

Leon rolled his eyes and scoffed: "You need sleep."

Layla puffed her cheeks and jumped on Leon before saying, "Carry me."

Leon carried Layla on his back and began walking in the dark street.

After a few minutes, Layla whispered in Leon's ears: "Am I heavy?"

"You know I can't feel anything," Leon replied.

Layla puckered her lips and hugged Leon tightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

After walking for more than half-hour, they still couldn't see any buildings or houses. They didn't even know where they were headed. They just kept walking and walking without looking back.

Suddenly, a light came from behind and brimmed on Leon and Layla. Leon tapped on Layla's leg and asked her to get off him.

Leon turned around only to see multiple motorbikes coming their way. The lights were headlights, and the sound was coming from the tweaked bike engine.

The engine noise sounded intimidating on the silent street.

Layla couldn't see anything because the lights were coming directly on her face, but Leon could see everything clearly even though he was in the same situation as Layla.

Six motorbikes surrounded Leon and Layla and started circling them.

The drivers weren't wearing helmets, and Leon knew at first glance that they were thugs from the nearby neighborhood.

One man stopped his bike and got off it. He was a tall, masculine man with a sturdy build. He looked at Layla with a mischievous smile on his face and uttered, "You have got a nice pair of legs, miss."

Layla tried to cover her legs, but the hoodie was too small for it, so she hid behind Leon. However, the other men focused their headlights on Layla and exposed her body.

"What are you two doing here late at night?" the other man asked. "Don't you know this neighborhood is dangerous?"

"I have heard that the girls have been sexually assaulted in this area." the third man said.

Then, the man who first got off his bike grabbed Layla's hand and said, "Come with us. We will take you to your destination."

Leon slapped the man's hand and said, "Don't touch her."

"Hah?!" The man grabbed Leon's face and said, "Who the hell are you?"

"Stop it!" Layla tried to help Leon, but two men came from behind and grabbed Layla.

"You are coming with us."

They placed Layla on the motorbike and drove away.

"No! Leon! Leon!" Layla called for help, but it was too late.

The other two men turned on their bikes and drove away after them.

Leon struggled to break free from the man's grip, but he eventually managed to kick the man.

"What are you doing, jacky?!" the other man quipped. "Just kill this bastard!"

The man smirked at Leon and said, "Let me have some fun with him."

The other man turned on his bike and said, "Don't yell at us when you don't get to enjoy the girl when she is fresh."

After that, he drove away.

The man watched the other man leave and gritted his teeth in anger.

"You bastards! Don't you dare lay your finger on her until I say so." the man shouted.

Leon punched the man in the chest, but the man didn't even budge.

"Heh!" he sneered. "Your punch is weaker than girls."

He took out a knife from his pocket and stabbed Leon in the stomach. Then, he pulled out the knife and stabbed it again.

"Don't take this personally, kid," the man uttered. "People die every day, and you are just one of them."

The man raised Leon's body with his hands and threw him on the street with the knife still in his stomach.

"If you are not dead yet, then enjoy it slowly," the man commented and drove away on his bike.

Leon's body laid lifeless on the street with his eyes still open. The blood came out from the wound and dyed his body red.

His breath slowly faded away as he lost his sense of thinking.

'People die every day, and you are just one of them.'

'People die every day, and you are just one of them.'

The man's words kept ringing in Leon's ears.

'If I am going to die, then I would do something and die rather than just sit and wait for my death.'

'Leon! Leon!'

'People die every day, and you are just one of them.'

—

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Leon stood up straight, his eyes opening wide before narrowing into dragon-like slits as a transparent brightness illuminated the dark.

Then, he let out a screeching noise from his mouth while looking up to the sky.