?Nick entered the Inner City after coming to a decision.
He knew that the longer he waited with his visit, the harder it would become and the more doubt would appear in his mind.
'I can't afford to doubt myself now,' Nick thought. 'I have made my decision, and I have to walk it to the end.'
'If I die on the way, I will have made the wrong decision and doomed many innocent people.'
'But if I manage to reach it, I will have made the right decision.'
'The correctness of my choice is connected to my success.'
'That means I have to try my absolute hardest to achieve success!'
'I no longer have the luxury of choice.'
Nick looked for a Shweeb rail and jumped onto it from a distance.
As a Veteran, jumping a distance of a couple hundred meters wasn't difficult.
He didn't even need his ability for that.
After landing on the rail, Nick ran on top of it.
If the rail became too steep, he simply grabbed the side and pulled himself upward.
The relation between his strength and his weight was so unbalanced that Nick felt like there was almost no gravity.
The inherent power of Zephyx was ridiculous and couldn't be compared to anything.
After a minute, Nick reached the layer where the big Manufacturers were.
Some seconds later, Nick reached the layer where Kugelblitz was.
He threw a glance at the entrance but continued upward.
Julian had told Nick where Albert lived.
Albert lived in an older house on the upper layer of the city.
For the first time, Nick would enter the upper layer of the city.
Usually, Nick would feel a bit excited, but it was impossible for him to feel these kinds of emotions right now.
Nick felt so much pressure that any other emotion barely registered.
All the guilt that Nick had felt for his past actions was replaced with pressure to succeed.
If he didn't succeed, everything would be for nothing, and he would count as one of the greatest monsters humanity had ever seen.
His actions had resulted in over a thousand innocent people dying, and he had done nothing good in return.
Because of that, he had to succeed.
Nothing was more important than improving the lives of the common people.
He had to do it!
There was literally nothing that was more important!
Ironically, the more horrible things Nick did and the guiltier he felt, the more his own survival and power mattered to him.
Nick was no longer living for himself.
His life belonged to humanity.
His life belonged to the world.
Feeling excitement for seeing something new was incomparably unimpactful and irrelevant.
It didn't matter.
And since it didn't matter, Nick couldn't feel it.
Nick continued ascending, and a couple of seconds later, he saw the rails making a curve and entering several garages.
He jumped down from the rail and landed on the floor, which was made of incredibly powerful and durable black metal.
The sunlight shone through the windows behind Nick.
He was incredibly high up.
After stopping for just a second, Nick walked towards the single person standing beside a small door.
Almost everything in front of Nick was taken up by a solid and massive black wall.
The only thing that looked different was the small door made of wood, which contrasted with the cold feeling of the wall.
When Nick saw the person standing beside the door, he couldn't help taking a deep breath out of shock.
The person was a woman with silver hair who calmly looked at Nick.
She was wearing the uniform of an Extractor who worked exclusively for the city.
These kinds of Extractors were quite rare, and they were tasked with the most important matters since they didn't have any vested interests in any of the Manufacturers.
But the thing that Nick was shocked by was the emblem on her chest.
She was a Specialist.
A level five Extractor that exclusively worked for the city.
Nick didn't even know that the city had someone like that.
However, the most prominent feelings Nick had after his shock passed were anger and disgust.
A Specialist!
A Specialist was so powerful and could do so much for the city!
Yet, the Specialist's job was to guard a door!
The reason for all of this was clear.
The richest people in the city demanded absolute security for themselves!
Even if their desire for absolute security put many others in danger.
After all, they had the most money, and as people who had the most money, they deserved the best things.
Nick didn't have an issue with some luxury, but as soon as someone took so much that it negatively impacted a great number of people, he got angry.
"I don't know you," the woman said casually.
She was neither rude nor friendly.
"My name is Nick Nick, and I'm the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream," he said.
When the Specialist heard that, her eyebrows rose in positive surprise. "Oh, you're Julian's friend?" she asked.
Nick nodded. "Yes."
"How are things going for him in Dark Dream? I haven't seen him in a while," she asked with interest.
"He just took over Dark Dream, and he is currently getting familiar with it," Nick answered neutrally. "He seems to be doing quite well."
The Specialist smiled. "That's great to hear. Anyway, you want to enter the upper layer?" she asked.
Nick nodded. "I'm here to visit an old friend I haven't seen in a long while."
"Who?" she asked.
"Albert," Nick answered. "I don't know his last name."
"It's okay," the Specialist said. "I know everyone that lives in the upper layer, and there's only one Albert."
"You don't have the wealth or power required to live in the upper layer, but it's enough for a visit. I can let you through, but keep in mind that you must leave again within the next twelve hours, or you will forcefully be thrown out, and you will also have to pay a hefty fine."
Nick nodded. "That's fine."
The Specialist also nodded, and a small needle suddenly appeared in her hand.
"I must test your blood to see if you are human."
