"She's been forbidden from freezing time by the doctor, for about this entire month."And at that moment, Dim-Dim realized that Amma had been pushing herself and was no longer being transparent with Dim-Dim.*****"Hey, are you awake?" Clarinassa asked gently, as Amma blinked her eyes. The girl had been laid down by Dim-Dim on the bed in Damian's guest room."I—where's Dim-Dim?" she asked."I'm here," Dim-Dim said, who was actually reading a book on the floor while leaning against the bed.Amma looked nervous when she saw him. "I think I dozed off," she said, trying to sound casual, but Dim-Dim and Clarinassa could both hear the guilt in her tone."I think it was more like fainting than dozing off," Clarinassa said.Amma grimaced, then looked at Dim-Dim. Only Dim-Dim's reaction mattered right now."I'll go see how the kitchen is right now," Clarinassa said, then she left."What's wrong with the kitchen?" Amma asked, and Dim-Dim chuckled."Damian, Oriyan, and Charlotte are learning how
That same evening, Dim-Dim packed his clothes, laptop, and any other items he might need during his time in New York City, and then they—himself, Amma, and Pedro—set off for New York City. They went through the Holland Tunnel as usual, and after a quite long journey, their car drove across the Brooklyn Bridge, heading to Amma's apartment in Brooklyn. Dim-Dim had passed this route so many times that he already knew the way to Amma's house by heart.*****"I hope you feel comfortable staying here," Amma said cheerfully, while arranging Dim-Dim's stack of clothes next to hers in the wardrobe. Dim-Dim actually hoped he could sleep in Pedro's room, but it turned out Pedro was very private about his room—and Amma didn't mind sharing her bedroom with Dim-Dim. After all, they were lovers."So," Amma said as she walked towards Dim-Dim and sat on the bed beside him, "tell me about the outline of your research.""In general, I'll just be researching how type A monsters can mutate and regenerate
"Hey, you came back right on time!" exclaimed Amma cheerfully as Dim-Dim had just entered Amma's apartment at seven in the evening. "We're going to order food. There's really delicious Thai food nearby, but I'm craving chicken katsu from a restaurant that's a bit far from here. So, we'll vote."Pedro snorted from behind the sofa. "Listen, Dim-Dim. When Amma says 'chicken' katsu, it's not really chicken, but some kind of flour concoction made to taste and feel like chicken. Don't be fooled by vegetarian tricks," Pedro said.Dim-Dim laughed. "I vote for chicken katsu, then." He squatted to take off his shoes and then put on slippers, joining Amma and Pedro who were sitting on the sofa in front of the TV."So, Dim-Dim and I choose chicken katsu," said Amma, grinning. "2-1. You're in the minority, Pedro. You've lost the vote, so go ahead and buy dinner for us.""Aaarrgh, this isn't fair, Dim-Dim is your boyfriend," Pedro said, pretending to be upset. But his face brightened as he dialed t
That creature, unlike ordinary ants, doesn't die from the special insect poison used by the hospital. It just chooses to avoid it.After thoroughly observing the creature, measuring, and typing down notes on his phone, Dim-Dim then smashed it with a stone. It felt like crushing gravel with a stone; the creature's skin was so tough that it was very difficult to smash. But Dim-Dim, who was trained well, was used to facing creatures with skin as hard as concrete, so he was accustomed to exerting force..."Do you want to kill that creature?" a voice suddenly asked, and Dim-Dim immediately turned. Tara was watching him from the hospital yard. They were separated by a tall fence.Dim-Dim decided to smash the creature with extra force, ending it life quickly, then turned to face Tara."I'm doing research," he replied.Tara didn't seem satisfied with his answer."Killing a creature with a stone is self-harm," she finally said. "You need something very sharp, so you—""I know what I'm doing,"
The laboratory where Amma works is located in the center of Manhattan, not far from the Lincoln Center, which is quite far from the hospital in Brooklyn. Dim-Dim decided to transform into an eagle and fly there.When he arrived at the white building with architecture that reminded him of waffle stacks bitten here and there, he saw that Amma and her friends were already gathered in the cafeteria on the ground floor of the building, gossiping while drinking coffee. They were all wearing white lab coats."Hi, guys, sorry I'm a bit late," he said, dragging a chair from another table and sitting next to Amma.Amma smiled widely at him as she handed him a untouched and still warm cup of coffee, along with two small sachets of sugar and cream. "Guys, this is Dim-Dim, my boyfriend," Amma said, and her friends immediately cheered excitedly."Wow, I didn't know you liked younger guys," said one of her colleagues, making a gesture with his hand that Dim-Dim found lewd.Amma just laughed. "But he
Dim-Dim felt a surge of adrenaline as he flew over New York City without knowing where to go. He thought about Amma and the perfect Malcolm.Of course, from the beginning, he knew it would end up like this if one day Amma found a man who shared her interests but could be boasted about in front of her parents. And if Malcolm's parents were friends with Amma's parents, then they were undoubtedly wealthy. Dim-Dim was nothing.Tired of flying, Dim-Dim decided to stop at a park, which he had destroyed during a mission a few years ago. Now the playground had been repaired and even looked much better than in previous years.He was watching young children playing ball when suddenly his ears caught a scream from behind the bushes, and he immediately got up. Everyone turned to look in one direction, but only for a few seconds before deciding to continue playing.But Dim-Dim never ignored a scream. He leaped over the park bench and then searched through the bushes. And after a terrifying minute,
"Go ahead and try to take her from me, Malcolm."Dim-Dim's hatred towards Malcolm reached its peak. He was furious, he was angry, he wanted Malcolm gone from his sight right now. However, he wouldn't show it to Malcolm: showing emotions meant weakness."You're not worthy of her," Malcolm said, his face showing disgust. "Girls always end up with the wrong guys."And at that moment, Dim-Dim didn't realize when his fist was already on Malcolm's face. In a satisfying second, he felt Malcolm's nose bone break under his clenched fist, and Malcolm's head jerked backwards. Then one hand of the man cupped his bleeding nose, and only then did Dim-Dim realize what he had done."You don't know what I've endured and held back to be with Amma right now," Dim-Dim said with hatred, before he turned into a husky and ran away.*****For this time, Dim-Dim flew to his apartment in Safe City, New Jersey.Dim-Dim knew he shouldn't have just run away like that. But New York City was suffocating him. Amma w
The next morning, Dim-Dim woke up feeling dizzy. The motel he stayed in was indeed very cheap, and the room was not soundproof. All night he heard someone watching monstraflix from the next room, and basically, the soap opera watched by that person was just about worthless couple quarrels, screams, and cries. And what annoyed him was not just the unclear storyline, but Dim-Dim could imagine that the movie script must have been typed in all-caps letters, entirely, without exception. Ugh, Dim-Dim needed another place to stay. If only there was a motel cheaper than this $30 per night motel. Trying not to complain too much, he went to the bathroom, rinsed himself from the sweat and mess of the night before, then put on a flannel shirt, long pants, and a coat. After that, he flew to the back of the hospital where he did his research yesterday. Dim-Dim was kicking through the bushes, searching for ant-sized Type A monsters, or perhaps the burrows they created, but found none. He combed t