Kaizer pulled out his residence card from one of the pockets in his jacket. Then he handed it over.
He saw that the name tag, Kolin, was pinned to the old man's chest.
The edge of this residence card was really sharp; it cut the old man's fingers. Left some scratches. He did not pay much attention and looked at the residence card instead.
Name: Kaizer Novus
Age: 18 years old
Status: Evolve human
Residence of Earth Sector 20
Father's name: Lucian Novus
Mother's name: Aria Novus
Kaizer watched the old man's face really carefully, but he did not see anything out of the ordinary. The man's facial expressions seemed normal. However, Kaizer's mind was racing with thoughts
'Is the man really a human traitor?'
Kolin gave it back, the residence card, and also handed over the key to room 20.
"That will be 20 star credits." Kolin sounded a little more cheerful, like he was trying to be friendly but still professional. He put the scanner in front, and Kaizer tapped the smartwatch. His balance went down with every beep sound.
As the Kaizer walked away, Kolin narrowed his eyes and felt a little uneasy in his heart because he saw two words: "evolve human." These were earned after producing a special genome in the heart, also known as the parent genome. It was the first step for the human evolution path.
As Kaizer passed the staircase and reached the second floor. There was dim light in the hallway with flickering bulbs.
When he entered his room, he saw a quite ordinary room; it had a double bed, a worn-out sofa, a small TV, and a single bathroom. From its appearance, anybody could tell that it hasn't received proper maintenance in years.
On the small table, there was a food menu. There was another sentence in large bold letters: Meals are not included in the room fee.
"Which motel doesn't provide food?" Kaizer thought with a hint of amusement.
He threw his backpack on the sofa and took out his residence card from his jacket pocket, then threw it into the nearest dustbin. Then he peeled off a thin glove that looked like human skin from his hand and threw it away with his jacket. It looked like he wanted to throw away everything that had come into contact with his residence card.
He looked at his smartwatch and murmured
"There is still some time left; let's get some rest for a while."
Without bothering to change, he jumped onto the bed.
In Street 10, a couple strolled, their footsteps light against the pavement. Lucian was holding a sleeping child on his shoulder who looked completely exhausted.
"Cassian is truly worn out," Cyra said with a warm smile as she glanced at her husband.
Lucian didn't reply but looked at his son sleeping soundly, leaning against him. The more he looked at his son, his heart became unsettled as old memories flashed in front of him. Another child who had long left also once rested against him in the same way. He shook his head, trying to push the painful memories away, knowing that lingering in the past only brought sorrow.
After a few minutes' walk, they reached the spiral tower. This was their home; its exterior design looked like a serpent wrapping a long stick, with a glass window from top to bottom reflecting the surrounding environment.
As they entered the building, a familiar voice rang out.
"Brother-in-law! Sister! You're home early today!" A young girl's voice came like a melody. She looked barely twenty and quite energetic, with a bright light in her eyes.
"Cassian got tired early, so we came back sooner," Cyra replied in a low voice, afraid of waking her son.
The young girl, Isla, opened her arms.
"Brother-in-law, hand him to me. I'll take him to bed," she said, looking tenderly at the boy.
Lucian, with a light smile, carefully passed the sleeping Cassian. Isla took him with ease, gently cradling him. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Isla suddenly exclaimed as she shifted Cassian slightly. "Someone was looking for you earlier, brother-in-law. His name was... Kzer? No, that's not quite right... Kizer? No, wait..."
The name hit Lucian like a bolt of lightning. "Kaizer?" he asked, his voice trembling as he gripped a nearby chair handle for support, as if his leg suddenly couldn't handle the body weight, and his face paled, and his eyes widened as he spoke the name that had hidden in his heart, which he tried to forget every time.
"Yes, Kaizer, how could I forget so soon?"" Isla playfully tapped her head with a grin, unaware of Lucian's current feelings.
Lucian took long breaths many times to calm down. His legs moved toward the security room, his heart pounding like a drum, suffocating him. Every corner of this home was covered by surveillance, so he needed to see the footage—he needed proof.
"If this is a joke, someone will pay dearly." He said with a trembling voice, his fingers over the console as he pulled up every piece of footage as fast as he could.
Lucian filtered the footage every hour from when they left the house until their return. And then, his heart nearly jumped. There, at the entrance to their home, was a boy. His posture looked quite similar; the way he stood and looked, and amongst them, his face had identical features, though older now. Lucian staggered back from the screen, his voice a hoarse whisper.
"My son... my son is alive. Then Aria must be too."
At that moment, Cyra and Isla also entered the security room, concerned about the current situation. They found Lucian staring at the screen, speaking to himself.
Cyra took a step closer. "Lucian... what's happening?" she asked with a curious glance.
Lucian turned his head, his eyes locking onto Isla. In a sudden, almost manic motion, he grabbed her shoulders. "Do you know where he went? Did he leave any message? Did he say anything about me?" The desperation in his voice and pressing in his shoulder made Isla feel pain. "Brother-in-law... you're hurting me."
Lucian snapped back, suddenly realizing he was wrong. He quickly let go, stepping back with a pale expression. "I'm... I'm sorry, Isla. Please... just tell me anything you remember."
Isla rubbed her shoulders, uncertain what was going on.
She then recalled a short conversation with the guest. "He didn't say much. He only asked about you... And then he left. That's all."
Lucian didn't waste any time and rushed out of the room, slamming the door, leaving Cyra and Isla behind.
As the door slammed shut, Cyra's eyes ran over the screen. The image of the boy—Kaizer—froze her in place.
"How... how is this possible?" She screamed with disbelief.
"Is everyone going crazy today?" Isla said unhappily and crossed her arms. But when she saw her sister's face, she knew something was not right.