(I think we're safe... at least for now)

Ryan said to the man who was sitting behind a dumpster in an alley. Luckily, they had managed to escape successfully. After walking for a few minutes, they both reached a residential area where they stopped to decide what to do next.

"You're right... but could you warn me before doing something as crazy as jumping into the middle of the sea?"

The man sighed, still trying to catch his breath. He really thought he would have a heart attack when his body suddenly moved to the edge and jumped into the open sea. It's worth noting that this was the first time he had swum such a long distance.

(I'm sorry for that, but I only did what the situation demanded. After all, if you die, I die too. I doubt you want to go back inside a cell again, and I'm the same, so I guess we're even)

The man couldn't really refute Ryan's words; he was right. So he decided to let it go.

"But now what? What will we do? I'm sure they'll come after us"

The man said as he discreetly peeked out of the alley. If someone was following them, they both needed to get out of there as quickly as possible.

(If we split up, I'm sure they'll prioritize capturing me. I appreciate you bringing me this far, but I think it's time for us to part ways)

After hearing that, something inside the man stirred. Then, the goo that had entered him detached from his body, heading towards the dumpster. The sudden action made the man fall to the ground, momentarily confused by the situation.

"I really hate this feeling"

The man muttered as he slowly began to get up. A strange sensation still lingered in his body; although he used to be able to do amazing things thanks to the goo, he clearly felt better after it had left his body.

Putting these thoughts aside, he focused his gaze on the dumpster. He had seen the goo enter that place, but so far, nothing had happened. While pondering this, suddenly, a rat jumped out of the trash.

"Goo... and you?"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Hearing the man's words, Ryan, now in symbiosis with a rat, looked at him closely.

(My name isn't goo, so stop calling me that)

Hearing the creature's words, the man was visibly surprised, as apparently, that entity had a name. However, he found it quite strange that a goo had its own name.

"What is your name? To be honest, you haven't told me yet, so I don't know how to refer to you"

Listening to the man's question, Ryan fell into contemplation. Initially, he thought about introducing himself as Ryan, but for some reason, he found it better not to do so. For starters, he clearly wasn't Ryan anymore but rather a slime surviving at the expense of other living creatures. Therefore, he decided to rename himself. After a short moment of consideration, Ryan had a new name he had chosen for himself.

"Prime... you can call me Prime"

Hearing the slime's words, the man, who discovered his name was Prime, nodded his head as a small smile appeared on his face.

"I understand. My name is Isaac, although not for much longer. Thank you for the help, Prime. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead by now"

Listening to Isaac's words, Prime, still in the form of a rat, jumped out of the dumpster and began to walk out of the alley. Prime didn't find it necessary to say anything else to Isaac, knowing that they probably wouldn't meet again. If they did, only fate would know what awaited them.

SOMEWHERE RELATIVELY CLOSE TO WHERE PRIME WAS...

A sixteen-year-old girl walked the streets of New York. Her face was marked with bruises, and her coat was dirty, but she walked with determination. Her white hair was tied in a ponytail, and her hands remained tucked in her coat pockets.

Despite attracting curious and strange looks, the girl didn't seem to care. In fact, she really didn't care. She had too many concerns to be affected by how others saw her.

"That bastard really hit me hard"

The girl said while gently touching the bruises on her face. Her name is Sara Connor. She lives in an orphanage in New York, but she never really fit in there. Moreover, the fact that Sara had a foul mouth and misbehaved never helped her either.

Because of all this, Sara spent more time on the streets than in the orphanage. She ran away so often that the caregivers simply began to ignore her. Truth be told, Sara never liked that place. Sara preferred the streets for that reason. Besides, soon she would definitely leave that place for good. Whenever she ran away, Sara found odd jobs around the city and managed to save some money.

Currently, she had enough to pay a month's rent for a small apartment in Queens. Although it was a bit far from the orphanage, Sara really didn't care about that, since she didn't intend to go back in the first place. The money Sara had managed to save was also the reason why she got beaten up, but at least she managed to get back at them. At least that's what she thought.

"Hey, whitey, did you really think you could get away with our money?"

Hearing the voice behind her, Sara closed her eyes tightly as she bemoaned her bad luck. Turning slowly, Sara faced three boys, probably a little older than her, around eighteen years old. Like Sara, the three of them were orphans too. Moreover, the smiles on their faces were far from friendly.

"Why is my luck so bad?"

Sara murmured as a wistful smile appeared on her lips.