After hours of walking, Zero finally stopped.
The unfamiliar streets twisted around him like a maze, swallowing every sense of direction.
His vision swayed.
Not dizziness.
Something else.
"Where the hell am I…?" he muttered.
He rubbed the back of his neck and exhaled slowly. "Right. I left without saying anything."
A pause.
"Maybe I should call my sister."
He didn't. Instead, he kept walking.
Another hour passed before he found himself near a small convenience store. He stepped inside, bought a bottle of water, and returned to the sidewalk.
As he twisted off the cap, his gaze drifted past the main road… toward the mouth of a narrow alley.
At the very end stood a door.
Plain. Unmarked.
Two men stood in front of it. Shiny jackets. Arms folded. Watching nothing… and everything.
Zero took a sip.
{Interesting…}
He capped the bottle and walked toward the door.
The moment he stepped inside, the air changed.
It was thick. Heavy. Sweat. Smoke. Cheap perfume. Desperation. Almost suffocating.
Dim yellow lights above worn poker tables. Chips clicked in uneven rhythms. Cards snapped against felt. Someone laughed too loudly. Someone else cursed under their breath.
Zero's eyes adjusted slowly.
In the corner, two girls leaned over a table, cheering.
A middle-aged man sat facing off against another guy, completely locked in; they were playing an underground variant of rock-paper-scissors. No smiles. No blinking. The table between them felt like a battlefield.
It was almost laughable… but the tension was real.
Zero sighed and checked the time. "Finally."
He glanced down at his shiny jacket and smirked faintly. {Fitting, I guess.}
The middle-aged man slammed his hand down.
Victory.
The girls cheered. He stood up slowly, rolling his shoulders as if finishing a workout.
Then he noticed Zero. Their eyes met.
"Hey, kid!" the man called out. "Are you here to gamble… or just gawk?"
Zero tilted his head slightly. 'Me?"
"Yeah, you. Don't think I've seen you around. New?"
{Direct approach… so he wants to take advantage.} Zero schemed.
"Yeah," Zero replied casually. "Anyone here worth my time?"
The girls fell quiet. {Aw… the guy's brave and so cute. But he already set his foot to the trap.}
The man's smile didn't disappear. But his fingers stopped tapping the table, just for a second.
{Some sort of provocation?}
"How about you play me, newbie?" he said lightly.
Zero glanced at the table.
"That?" He shrugged. "Looks like something you'd learn in elementary school."
A faint scrape echoed as someone shifted in their chair. The girls are trying not to laugh.
The man didn't react immediately; the smile remained, only his jaw tightened.
"I'm the best on this floor," he said in a calm tone. "Name's Josh."
He leaned closer. "Should be easy for someone confident enough to talk like that."
Zero let out a quiet chuckle. "Sure."
{So, he wants to gain and protect his reputation through dominance and public wins.}
Josh nodded once.
"Simple rules. We each pick a partner. They shuffle and draw two cards for us. We choose one. And of course… no cheating; if you get caught… game over."
Zero didn't answer immediately. {Partners choose the cards… meaning influence matters more than luck. So that's your angle, ha.}
He smiled faintly. "Alright. But let's make it three rounds."
A slight pause rippled through the nearby tables. "We switch partners every round."
Silence.
"More interesting that way… don't you think?"
Josh's expression didn't change. But he didn't answer either.
Zero watched him. Not his face, but his breathing.
Zero narrowed his eyes slightly. {He'll hesitate for a second… look at the girls… then agree so he doesn't look scared.}
Josh's gaze shifted sideways.
The two girls were watching.
A few nearby players had turned their heads. Someone muttered, "Switching partners?"
"…Fine," he said. "Three rounds." His confidence returned.
Zero's expression changed. Menacing.
The girls didn't cheer this time. A dealer at another table glanced over.
Even the background noise seemed too thin… not gone, just distant.
Josh stared at Zero. {He predicted that. Didn't he?}
Josh narrowed his eyes. {No. Doesn't matter. I'll crush him.}
The game hadn't started. And yet… it already had.
From the second floor, a man in grey rested his hands on the railing.
Unlike the others, he wasn't smiling.
He hadn't blinked once. His eyes narrowed slightly. Focusing at Zero. {He walked in less than ten minutes ago… and he's already provoking Josh.}