MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

When the Sun finally stretched beyond the horizon and took its place in the skies, signaling the beginning of a new morning, Adam could be seen in front of the hospital entrance with a simple shirt and the pair of pants from his previous outfit donned over his body.

The nurses had been kind enough to provide him with this shirt as his previous piece of upper clothing had been completely ruined and was deemed unusable. Well, if a hole around the chest would ever become a fashion trend then maybe he could use it on that occasion.

The doctor had repeatedly asked out of concern if he wanted to stay for more check-ups but he politely declined his requests. He knew more than anyone that there was nothing the doctors could do for him in this situation he found himself in.

Taking his phone out of his pants' pocket, he could immediately notice the surplus of messages and missed calls practically jamming all over his notification screen. It was easy to recognize that they were the concerning words and calls from his friends who wanted to learn about his circumstances.

It seemed that Taeko had talked to Sae about him being admitted to the hospital. Everyone was clearly worried about him otherwise they wouldn't have bothered to send him all these messages or calls.

He replied to them all with a single message, saying that he was alright and assuring them that he would explain everything later once they met up at the University or in a gathering if they wished.

His message to them further clarified that they need not visit him in the hospital. Since he had already been discharged there was no reason for them to come as he won't be here. He made sure to make them understand that fact and went to his other contacts he needed to reply to.

He called Shuri and informed her about his leaving the hospital. She nearly went mental after hearing those words but could do nothing but calm down after Adam repeatedly consoled her by saying that he was feeling alright and that he was big enough to not need babysitting from her.

She was worried about him. But she decided to not press Adam after the incident he got wrapped into.

Once he was done contacting his nagging aunt, he was about to call Yui and make contact with her. But just as that thought went through his mind, he received a message from her instead, almost startling him on the spot.

[I am outside…]

He looked up from his phone's screen and could immediately notice an elegant black car, probably an expensive brand he had no idea about, slowly driving inside the hospital compound and stopping right in front of him.

[Get in…]

Opening the door on the back, Adam silently entered the vehicle according to her instructions.

———

The one driving the car was none other than Mammoth and now he found himself sitting close to Yui.

This time, Yui was not wearing her usual Chinese dress, but rather a long elegant dress that highlighted her oriental beauty and pale skin to its full capacity.

"I am sorry that I wasn't able to reach you sooner yesterday, Adam."

Those were the first words Yui uttered to him after entering the car. Adam couldn't help but show a bewildered expression to her as a response. Her words made no sense.

"What do you mean?"

It would have been absolutely impossible for Yui to do anything in that situation. In fact, he more or less knew that Mammoth was the one to send him to the hospital after finding him collapsed in the middle of the street.

Yui shook her head in response, not willing to delve further into this discussion, "Forget it. What is most important is that you are alive. Now you need to rest and recuperate."

"What?"

"You're seriously asking me that question!? You can't really expect that I will let you participate after you nearly brushed past the embrace of death just yesterday night, right?"

"Yui. Do not worry, I am perfectly alright, okay? Look at me. I don't even have the slightest wound."

As Adam tried to coax his beautiful boss, he was reminded of the ordeals he received from the Book of Genesis.

[Ordeal: Respect — One emotion to rule them all

Description: Impress Yui during the opening party of her Bar.

Reward: 1 free pass]

Even though the path of ordeals, as stated by the spirit of the book, was not mandatory, there was no way he would let go of this opportunity of getting the chance to enter the Nexus once more.

He only had two choices, after all. Go after a serial killer that might be related to the supernatural side of the world or try to impress Yui.

The second ordeal, given to him by the book, might be vague and there were more possibilities of him failing since there were no strict criteria for him to meet to clear it successfully.

But, at the very least, it didn't put him in a situation that would involve life or death.

Deep in his heart, Adam still doubted whether this whole thing was him going crazy or not.

But there were so many elements to prove that he was not hallucinating all of this that he just had to accept it as his new reality. But, he still felt disgruntled about this matter.

Now, he only needed one thing. He needed to enter that library once again, talk to that woman, and verify everything with his own eyes in a sober state of mind. Then he would accept it all. He would accept this new dangerous side of the world he lived in and that he was now an integral part of this dangerous world.

"Adam…"

Yui frowned slightly, upset at Adam for not paying heed to her words of concern. But just as she was about to speak more, she was stopped by Mammoth, "Boss. It's alright. You know the boy; he ain't a braggart."

Yui pinched her brows before helplessly giving her consent.

"Now, I seem to have become the bad girl. *Sigh* Fine. You are an adult now, after all. Do as you wish. But I will keep my eyes on you."

Adam nodded and gave a sheepish smile, trying to placate her troubled mind.

"Thanks. Also, now we can drink together, right?"

"Indeed."

His words seemed to have worked wonders as Yui clapped her hands together. Seemingly, her mood had grown noticeably brighter after reminding her of that fact. This was indeed something she had hoped to do with Adam for quite a while now.

"Well… Shall we go now? I will have you spend the entire day with me, you hear?"

"Hah, also I am sorry. The suit you gave me was ruined."

"Posh! Why would you care about something like that? It just means they weren't good enough. Thankfully I have prepared a great number of them for you."

Yui sniffed and waved her hand dismissively. Clothes were just a means to an end. Not the end of the world.

The car went silent as Adam entered deep into his thoughts. He was thinking how his entire life had changed now in a way he could not fully understand it.

Clearly, the one who had the answer to his questions was his mother. Once he was ready, he planned on confronting her in order to at least obtain a few answers.

"What might be the matter?"

He asked when he felt Yui's gaze roaming all over his body.

"Hmmm. Nothing. Nothing. Tell me. How do you feel? Any headaches? Any pain when walking outside?"

Yui asked with a brilliant smile on her face before slowly taking his arm in hers. Then, in a secretive motion of her hands, she placed three of her fingers above his wrist and let them rest there as she waited for Adam to respond.

Adam did not notice her small movements and was in fact more focused on her question,

"The truth is, I believe I am still in shock. After all, I nearly died."

Yui seemed to scrutinize his answer for a short few seconds before giving a charming smile and releasing his arm.

"Indeed. This should be quite the shocking experience."

Yui mused a little about the matter. She did not go out of her way to wish Adam a happy birthday. It was hard to wish someone a happy day when you knew that their mother died on the exact same day. No matter how one wished, a day remembering their parent's death would never be happy for anyone.

This was also why he did not organize any parties on this day.

"Well, let's go. Mammoth."

"Roger boss."

Like this, they left the premise of the hospital.

———

Sitting in a car not far from the parking lot was a generic brown-colored car hidden in plain sight. The car was so ordinary and generic that one would involuntarily consider it to be beneath their notice.

In the car, was a woman Adam would easily recognize after their recent rendezvous. Detective Smith. The woman who had followed Taeko.

Looking at the slowly departing black car, Smith's expression slowly morphed into one of focus as she took pictures of the car and its number. It was most likely useless as it would lead to being fake. But she still wished to do so.

"As I thought. That boy is suspicious. Too suspicious…"

She wondered whether or not she should follow them before deciding that what she had wasn't enough to build a case against the boy.

She needed more information.

As such, the decision she had to make was clear. She had to follow the boy and glean more proof against him.

Even if he wasn't part of the current heinous cases of Serial Murders, she was sure that he was up to something shady and she would do his all to discover what.

It was with this determination that she began following their car. But, it didn't take long for her to be shaken off.

Stopping on the side of the road, Smith shook her head. She had been in too much of a hurry and clearly, the one driving the car wasn't some amateur ruffian but a truly experienced individual.

This increased her interest, in this case, more than anything else.

Not only did the Triad and Yakuza put pressure on them, but an expert came to give him a ride when he was just discharged from the hospital.

The more she was looking at this case, the more she felt like the boy named Adam had to be an important member of those organizations.

A hidden boss? The secret heir of one of the bosses?

There were so many possibilities.

"Let's do more background research on him."

She was giving up for today, but she would be back to uncover the secrets of this mysterious boy.