"Come in!" Neo said.
It really was Neo—Kid could confirm it now. Some things didn't need to be spoken to be understood. He was young, but his body was clearly frail, like he might collapse at any moment.
Kid stepped inside, closed the door, and went straight into the room where Neo kept his computers. At first, Kid had planned to give Neo a serious beating, but seeing him like this, it was obvious the guy wouldn't survive a single punch.
The computer screens were filled with comments about the Kaitou. "Didn't expect my reputation to tank this badly in just a few days? Heh." Kid let out a self-mocking laugh. He didn't care much about it. Being a public figure meant getting used to both praise and curses.
Neo wheeled himself into the room too, almost like he was the guest here. He kept studying Kid, and now that they were face-to-face, he could feel the man's overwhelming presence. This was someone from the real world. After listening to Kid, Neo finally spoke. "I know who you are." It was the same man who had been sending Liu A'dou those constant messages.
Kid raised an eyebrow. "You're not the first. Plenty of people know my real name is Liu A'dou. You're just the first to figure it out from such a small amount of information." Neo's skill was undeniable. Back in Gotham City, their fight had felt like Kid was going up against the entire city itself—every device in Gotham had turned into a hidden assassin, impossible to guard against.
"No, I know who you are."
"?" Liu A'dou frowned. "I'm Liu A'dou, and I'm Kaitou Kid. You already know that. No need to gloat." Kid thought Neo was just bragging about his abilities.
But the truth was—they weren't even talking about the same thing.
Kid pulled Neo's business card from his pocket. "Even if you're unbeatable on a computer, your skills in the art of crime clearly aren't on the same level as your hacking. Maybe you should read a few more detective novels."
But Neo said, "If I didn't leave a clue, how would you have found me?"
"So you're saying… you left me this card on purpose?" Liu A'dou asked, his tone noncommittal.
"To be precise, I left you the fingerprints on the card. From those prints, you'd find another hacker, and then I'd use that person's equipment to start our next round of battle. But you turned out to be smarter than I thought. I never expected the card itself would end up being the key to closing the gap between us." Neo truly hadn't planned for that.
Kid realized he'd completely forgotten to check the fingerprints. Whatever, it didn't matter now—he'd found Neo anyway. "Neo, you've got nowhere left to run."
"I've had nowhere to run for a long time, Kid. Please, take me with you. Take me to the real world." Neo's voice was dead serious. "If you could find me this quickly, it's all God's will. God sent you here for me, Kid. I'm begging you."
Kid almost choked on his own saliva. What the hell? This sounded like a line from some runaway elopement scene. Weird and uncomfortable.
"What do you mean, take you away? Take you to the real world?" Kid said. "I'm not taking you anywhere. I'm sending you to court."
The moment Neo realized Kid wouldn't agree, he got agitated. "I already know who you are! I know! Why are you still hiding? And I've already shown you how vicious and rotten this fake world is! Why are you still pretending not to see it?!"
Liu A'dou was completely lost now. The more Neo spoke, the less sense it made—it was like they weren't even from the same timeline.
Seeing Neo so suddenly worked up, Kid stayed silent. He needed to sort this out. It seemed Neo had mistaken him for someone else—or maybe he was delusional. He clearly wanted Kid to hate this world and take him to some so-called real world. That was the logic. But Kid had no clue what "real world" Neo was talking about. Sure, he was a transmigrator, but in this universe, that wasn't exactly rare.
"Why come after me?" Kid wondered. Am I really that high-profile?
Neo really had been drawn in by Kid's high-profile stunts. That was what made him start digging, and eventually he reasoned out that Kid might be a transmigrator. From there, the rest was all in Neo's head—imagining that Kid came from some "real world," and that this universe was nothing more than a computer program. If that were true, then he could escape this fake world, leave behind his frail body, and be free from the damned wheelchair.
"Because you're a transmigrator from the real world." Neo had completely taken his fantasy as fact.
"…" Kid's chest tightened. He still needed to decide whether his status as a transmigrator had actually been exposed. "So what do you want from me? You just expect me to take you to some so-called real world? You think you know what it's like, and you want to go there?"
"…" Neo was quiet for a moment before speaking. "The world we're in now is just a massive computer program. The real world is like heaven. There… there, I wouldn't be useless. I could run freely on my own two legs."
That's it? Kid let out a silent breath of relief. It seemed Neo didn't actually know how he'd crossed over. And clearly, Neo was wrong—this world was already real. It wasn't some computer simulation. This wasn't The Matrix—this was a superhero world.
Still, Kid now understood just how much Neo hated what he'd become. That was why he'd gone to such lengths. Picking Kid as his target was only because he'd picked up a few vague clues that the Kaitou might be a transmigrator. He couldn't even be sure—it was all speculation.
"You should be glad your traps didn't hurt anyone," Kid said. "And for the record, I'm not from any real world you're imagining, and this universe isn't a computer program." Kid's gaze locked on Neo. "It's harsh, but you're wrong. I can't take you to any other world."
"No… I know who you are…" Neo sounded almost possessed, repeating the words like a mantra. He ignored Kid entirely, clinging to his own imagined truth.
Thud!
In his agitation, Neo toppled out of his wheelchair, but even on the floor, his mouth didn't stop.
Crawling at Kid's feet, he kept repeating the same words, over and over, as if saying them enough times would make them real.
"He has ALS. Any time now, he could be fully paralyzed."
While Kid had been speaking with Neo, Batman had arrived. After Kid left the Batcave, Batman had gone back to work, pausing for only half an hour—like a man made of iron. He had retraced Kid's route, but along the way he had already investigated who owned this apartment and uncovered Neo's medical records.
A terminal illness. Kid suddenly felt a flicker of pity. Neo had extraordinary talent, yet was trapped in a dying body. No wonder he had done all of this. But now—what was Kid supposed to do with him?
Batman stepped up beside Neo, and for a moment, he and Kid looked like the black-and-white spirits of death come to claim a soul.