Endless Evolution: Last Star

Yeah, outside the Citadel monsters were raging, and in Dead Lands, there was nothing but devastation, but that didn't mean millions of people had to live in eternal grief and despair.

If the Citadel intended to survive, it simply needed to keep the people, the departmental staff and the Phantoms actively working, each on their own task. That required an appropriate level of morale. The fairs were perfect for that.

However... It didn't always work as intended. Or rather, sometimes, some distorted the original purpose of an event.

"Hmm? Why are these people dressed like that?" Trici tilted her head, looking around. Today was the first day she'd gone to Frist Circle, but all her attention was focused on the fair.

Skyscrapers and elaborate infrastructure were not as impressive and interesting to a child as cotton candy and stuffed toys as gifts.

Adam and Trici chose light, comfortable clothes, nothing flashy or strict. However, some people dressed in such a way to show their wealth and influence with all their might: expensive suits, watches, rare purses expensive necklaces, and much more.

"Well... They figured the fair was a good place to show off." Adam shrugged, stepping forward.

"Maybe we should have dressed like that too? I can feel their strange looks..." Trici muttered puzzled. She didn't yet understand arrogance and the attempts of others to elevate themselves through money and status. Unfortunately, it was something she only realized as an adult.

Adam waved his hand nonchalantly.

"There's no need. After all, I have something much better."

Then, Adam tugged at his sleeve, revealing his wrist and NEP.

At the same moment, the people got awkward expressions across their faces and abruptly turned away. Arguing with Phantom was the last thing they wanted to do.

After all, regardless of the hidden reasons, people came to the fair for one purpose - entertainment!

"Brother! I want to try this! My girlfriends said it's really delicious!" Trici exclaimed vigorously, pointing to the taco food truck.

"Oh, interesting." Adam muttered with mild curiosity.

He usually ate what Silvana cooked, and she tried to combine his favorite ingredients into the meals, keeping the dish wholesome. Fast food was not in his diet, except for sodas and burgers.

Crackle.

Adam and Trici were simultaneously trying a popular and familiar food to others, but new to themselves.

If anyone would have seen them then, they would have thought they hadn't eaten in days, for there was too much pleasure on their faces from the ordinary, albeit delicious, taco.

Rarely did anyone from the slums manage to make their way into the inner zone of the Citadel, especially in the First Ring. More often than not, it was due to finding Spark and becoming a Phantom.

Such people needed time to get used to a life full of opportunities and something new.

"This is so good! This is incredible!" Trici exclaimed happily with eyes shining with delight.

Adam silently finished his meal before ordering a few more. Considering he was a Phantom, he could eat several dozen and not feel too satiated. His body stored and absorbed energy at a much higher volume than ordinary humans.

"I hope Mom and Dad try this too! I'll have to ask Mom to make something like this!" Trici said, licking her fingers with a slightly goofy look.

Adam smiled, stroking Trici's hair.

"I'm sure they'll even find something more interesting! However, you and I aren't going to fall behind, are we?" Adam looked in the direction where there were many food trucks and cafes.

Trici knew right away that this was their main focus at the Scarlet Light Fair, at least the first of many!

Leona and Gary also came to Scarlet Light Fair, in fact, there were four of them, but after going through the main entrances they decided to split up.

Sure, Trici wanted them to continue on together, like any child, but Adam realized that this was the best option.

Trici was always at home, very rarely going out with her new friends. There was nothing wrong with that, especially considering her hobbies in VR games, where she got a lot of information about both the world and her future profession.

However... Leona and Gary were adults, husband and wife, who finally had some free time on their hands. They didn't have to worry about money, and Trici was now grown up enough to entertain herself.

So they could spend that time with each other, both at night and at the fair, living like normal people.

...

An hour later, Adam and Trici had tasted everything they could. Despite being a Phantom, Adam felt full - not physically, but mentally.

Burgers, hot dogs, tacos, burritos, sushi, fried chicken, and more - greasy, unhealthy, but dangerously delicious food in the right environment left them no chance.

"Hmm... What's going on like that?" Trici tilted her head thoughtfully, touching her lips.

Adam didn't answer anything, he held his stomach and stared at the sky with a blank stare. Nothing interested him then.

"Brother!" Trici pushed him with puffed-up cheeks.

"Agh! What's wrong!" Adam exclaimed, and Trici finally got him to turn around.

There was a crowd not far away, next to a cafe with an interesting card house design with mixed board games. However, they weren't standing in a row in front of the entrance, but around something.

"Khm." Adam hesitated, rubbing his chin, "Well... Maybe there really is something interesting in there. Let's take a look."

Adam mustered all his strength to get up while Trici, easily overtook him with sparkling eyes.

'Damn... I have many abilities, but every kid has almost limitless energy, that's for sure.' Adam shook his head, trying to keep up with Trici.

Trici couldn't make it through the dense crowd, but once Adam arrived, they had no trouble getting further ahead. He just had to swing his arm to push the man away, making way for himself.

Sometimes, the Phantom's power could be useful for something simple and trivial, not just killing monsters.

As they made their way to the front row, they could finally see what was going on there. Four people were playing dominoes, under the gaze of the crowd.

Strangely enough, Adam knew each of the players, for it was Jena, Louis, Silvana, and Hazel - the captain of Zera's squad, Adam had gone with them on the Cluster Mission to hunt for artifacts.

Silvana had a serious face and a sharp look, Hazel was calm, occasionally looking at the dominoes and pondering her next move, Jena was more nervous than the rest, and Louis... well, he looked like he had already won.

"Brother, what is this?" Trici asked with a puzzled look.

Adam scratched the back of his head, "It's dominoes." Then, he quickly explained the rules to her.

Dominoes wasn't the most complicated game, but it couldn't be called simple. To not lose, you had to think about your next moves, because if you made a mistake and didn't have the right tile, you would fall behind the other players.

Obviously, Jena did it worse than the others, she clearly wanted to win, but she didn't have enough skills to do so. However, one couldn't really blame her. When she sat at the same table with Silvana and Louis, her chances of winning became 0%.

Tap.

Silvana bet her last tile, thus becoming the first to get rid of all the tiles. Then, there was Hazel and Louis, who beat Jena by just one step. It seemed that if she had a little luck, she might even be able to beat Louis! At least she thought so...

"Alright! Mrs. Jena has been eliminated, after a short break, we will move on to the next game!" The male host of this little show exclaimed energetically, trying to keep the crowd enticed in the proceedings.

"No... I wanted to win..." Jena muttered frustratedly, leaning back in her chair.

Hazel cast a glance at her.

"Don't be upset. Everyone is strong in their own area. If we were taking a human body knowledge test, there's no way you'd lose." Hazel tried to cheer her up, in a rather odd manner.

Jena frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's my job, not everyone is a doctor, but everyone can play board games! It's different." Jena snorted as she glanced at the crowd until she stopped at Adam...

He only smiled slightly and waved his hand in greeting.

This made Jena blush, for now, she was even more sorry for losing when Adam glared at her.

"Hey, looks like you're expected." Louis smirked, "Let's go. It's about time you got a shot of moral support. You need to make room so we can move on to the next game."

Jena rolled her eyes, stood up, and walked away. She'd lost, so she had nothing more to do at the table.

Louis was right, Jena wanted some support, and Adam could definitely give it to her. After all, they had opportunities to get to know each other a little better.

Soon, the show host returned with a deck of cards and a sly smile. Everything was ready for the next game, after which only two contestants out of three would remain!

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Hi, this is the author. Sorry for the delay, I had some IRL problems to solve and they took a lot of time and effort. Another chapter will be up in a few hours!

I hope you like this story!