[Log Mode Switch: Passive Mode]

[Log 6: Resume]

Darkness swept over all corners of my vision, blinding and muting everything in the outside world. There were only thoughts floating around, then I felt nothing at all.

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"Hello, child," a man's voice said to me. When I looked up, I spotted a dandy looking man looking at me. He was handsome, assuming any other passerbys were average looking. He wore a suit which fit him perfectly, enhancing his already charming aura.

I felt my eyes teary, so I wiped away the tears that was gathering using my dirty hands. They were small, very child-like. Some of the dirt on my hands made it into my eyes, causing my eyes to water even more.

"Here," the man, which I now noticed have a blurry face, passed me a tissue paper to wipe my eyes. I took it, not knowing how to respond other than mutter a silent 'thank you'. There was a warm feeling blooming in my chest and although this was the first time it happened, the feeling was not foreign at all.

The man said something before stretching one of his gloved-hands to me. Although I couldn't hear a word he just said, I took the hand he offered and stood up.

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I was walking with my left hand in the man's right. The entire process of walking felt more like being pulled by him rather than walking with him. We rounded a corner and entered a dark alley with only a single door attached to the side of the towering building. It was lit by a single filament bulb, with the light occasionally flickering on and off.

The man pulled me towards the door and knocked on it. There was a 'click' and the door opened a little, with its resident peeking out through the gap and asking for something. The man replied with a familiarness in his tone, as if this was just another routine he had done a lot of times.

After listening to what the man had to say, the resident retreated and closed the door, before opening it again and allowing us to enter.

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If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

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There were a lot of other kids in the room I'm in. The walls, ceiling and floor were painted white, with two white doors sitting just opposite of each other. One was located north while the other was at south of the room. The room was furnished with plastic chairs and wooden desks, while the wooden racks holding blood bags sat at four corners of the room, totaling to eight racks, twenty chairs and ten desks. Fluorescent light illuminated the white room so that no corner was unlit.

I sat with the other kids on the plastic chairs. Including me, there were ten children in the room while ten more adults sat on the plastic chairs, examining our extracted body fluids. The adults wore labcoats and I couldn't see their faces, though I was pretty sure they were blurry faced as well.

One of them called the kid next to me over, and led him out of the room. Other than the low hummings of machines on the desks, there was only silence. For some reason, I felt butterflies in my stomach. I was both excited and nervous as I sat there waiting for my results. And finally, after several dozens of minutes sitting on the plastic chair, one of the adults called for me, which I responded by standing up and running towards him, anticipating the supposedly news which I think is good news.

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"Ngh!" I felt like I was being burned alive, though the never ending pain that surged through me never stopped even for a moment. My limbs felt like melting and freezing at the same time while my head felt like both imploding and exploding, paradoxically creating pain that wasn't even supposed to exist. Even though I felt like I reached my limit, I still held in my scream and resisted the urge to break. The only thing that supported the idea was the endless source of determination, which was powered by some unknown force.

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"Well done," the same man who led me out of the room gave me a piece of candy as he finished up his work.

Although my mind felt extremely exhausted, it was another matter for my physical body. For some reason, my body felt energetic. In fact, my body was so energetic that I felt desynchronised since it didn't correspond with my brain's fatigue. I continued laying on the metal rack that held my body up from the ground. It felt cold and smooth, just like all the other feelings I've had for the rest of my life. That is, until the man came.

I tried looking around, but my neck did not obey. Instead, my head was locked in place by a leather belt. It gave just enough leniency to raise my head a little, no more than that. I tried moving my hands, but the muscles did not respond. Instead, cramps suddenly occured all over my body, even my heart felt like it was being squeezed by an unknown force.

I heard the beeping of the heart rate monitor go crazy as my heart felt more and more stress. My entire body stung like electricity coursing through me as the homeostatic system tried to restore order while the doctor, who only noticed me now due to my current condition, injected me with vials of transparent liquid. The liquid that flowed into my veins felt cooling, and the effects of it soothed my muscles. As the vials are emptied and the liquid they held flowed into my heart's chambers, the load on my chest gradually relieved. My heart felt as if it was released from the unknown force's grip and slowly but surely, calmed down as a result. After that. the only evidence of the unknown force having ever acted on me was the beads of sweat on my forehead, flowing profusely out of their pores with hopes of restoring the body's internal equilibrium back to its normal state. The doctor relaxed after seeing my condition stabilse.

"How're you feeling?" the doctor shone a torchlight into one of my pupils to make sure everything really was alright.

"Drowsy.." I muttered as my eye lids tried to close themselves. I struggled to keep them open, but eventually, the drowsiness won the battle.

"Hey.. Kid.." The doctor's muffled voice resounded in my head.

"Hey.. Citrix.." a flat voice was calling out this time, it resembled the doctor's, but not entirely.

"Citrix.." It sounded a little urgent.

"Citrix.. Citrix.. Citrix!" now that it was a little clearer, I could make out that the voice belonged to a female.

[{Ego factor: I} Unlocked]

[Log 6: End]

[Log Mode Switch: Active Mode]

[System Adaptation: Engaged]