Kane's grip on Neo's hand grew stronger.
Neo could pull his hand away if he was serious but….
'The city is awake.'
He could sense the people inside the buildings waiting to jump out and hold Neo down if Neo planned to leave the city.
'I'll have to massacre them if I want to leave.'
'That is exactly opposite to my goal.'
Neo wanted to sigh.
'I'm starting to feel like shit.'
He clicked his tongue.
He looked at Kane and nodded.
"Got it. I won't leave the city."
"Yes, that's what you should do. Dangerous monsters come out at night. You'll be safe only if you are within the city."
Kane smiled and let go of his hold over Neo's hand.
Neo followed him back to the temporary residence.
The city council members, police, city's awakeners, and more were waiting for the two of them.
They thanked Neo for saving them.
The city's response had been slow in taking down the statue monsters.
If not for him, there would've been major damage.
Neo and Kane were given different temporary residences.
They were given jobs in the city's mayor's office the next day.
Neo noticed something peculiar.
'The mayor's office is empty.'
'I guess the man they hanged yesterday was the mayor.'
He questioned a coworker while on the job,
"When will the new mayor be elected?"
"Elected?" The coworker thought about his words. "We don't do elections. Instead, we choose the most outstanding citizen as the mayor."
The job hours ended in the evening.
Neo took a tour of the city in his free time.
The bustling city had busy streets, towering buildings, vibrant markets, public parks, and diverse communities living amidst modern conveniences.
It was a stark contrast to the image of apocalypse.
He noticed the damage left behind by the statue monsters was repaired completely.
"…"
He massaged the bridge of his nose.
"So that's how the city looked so beautiful.
"Anomaly #33 has the ability to restore the damage to the buildings."
An idea appeared in Neo's mind.
"I might be able to find the core of Anomaly #33 when it comes to repair the damage again.
"Should I destroy something intentionally?"
Thankfully, he didn't need to do that.
Six statue monsters, stronger than the previous ones, infiltrated the city at night.
Three monsters chased Neo.
Three went after Kane.
Neo took them down with relative ease.
"No one came to help again."
He pursed his lips.
"This confirms it. The statue monsters and Anomaly #33 are independent."
The statue monsters attacked anyone who saw their face. Explore more at m|v-l-NovelFire
Anomaly #33 didn't use any citizen to fight the statue monsters, since it would end up painting a target on its own back if any citizen saw the face of the statue monsters.
After analysing the situation, Neo got to other work.
He waited near the destroyed part of the city.
He wanted to see how Anomaly #33 would repair the damage.
Hours passed.
Nothing changed—
Neo blinked, and the repair was complete.
"…Fuck."
He massaged the bridge of his nose.
"There is no way the Anomaly #33 can repair the damage instantly.
"To do that, it has to use Time Stop, Time Jump, or something else combined with the Time element.
"I should've been able to sense it with my time affinity if it used the Time element.
He threw a party on Neo's behalf.
The other coworkers congratulated Neo—
"Congrats on becoming the mayor!"
Neo's eyes snapped open.
He was on stage, receiving the medal and certificate that signified his position as mayor.
His heart thrummed against his chest.
'How am I here?'
The stage was set in the heart of the city square, illuminated by hanging lanterns and spotlights.
The gathered crowd, a sea of excited faces, cheered and clapped as their new mayor — Neo — stepped onto the wooden platform.
Neo stood at the center, wearing tailored suit.
His posture remained both, poised and tense.
'The last thing I remember is Kane telling me I became a mayor candidate.'
'Now, I'm suddenly the mayor?'
Memories surged inside Neo's mind.
They showed him what he had been doing in the past few days.
Everything was normal in those memories.
He spent his time as he usually would.
But….
'Mind control.'
'Anomaly #33 had been controlling my mind for the past few days.'
A single glance at the memories was enough for Neo to understand the situation.
His mental resistance had been breached.
'Why did I suddenly break free of mind control?'
The question arose in Neo's mind.
'From my observations, only a shock to the mind can break the mind control.'
'So how did I wake up?'
'Wait….'
Watching the smiling citizens, Neo realized.
He hadn't woken up by himself.
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