Chapter 122: The Fair

Words : 1138 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

Scarlet Light Fair was everything at once - there were rides as well as stores with various cafes, food trucks, and games! The fair was held in First Ring, in one of the main squares - a rare place for First Ring to have such a large open area. From time to time, there was something big happening here. Yeah, outside the Citadel monsters were raging, and in Dead Lands, there was nothing but devastation, but that didn't mean millions of people had to live in eternal grief and despair. If the Citadel intended to survive, it simply needed to keep the people, the departmental staff and the Phantoms actively working, each on their own task. That required an appropriate level of morale. The fairs were perfect for that. However... It didn't always work as intended. Or rather, sometimes, some distorted the original purpose of an event. "Hmm? Why are these people dressed like that?" Trici tilted her head, looking around. Today was the first day she'd gone to Frist Circle, but all her attention was focused on the fair. Skyscrapers and elaborate infrastructure were not as impressive and interesting to a child as cotton candy and stuffed toys as gifts. Adam and Trici chose light, comfortable clothes, nothing flashy or strict. However, some people dressed in such a way to show their wealth and influence with all their might: expensive suits, watches, rare purses expensive necklaces, and much more. "Well... They figured the fair was a good place to show off." Adam shrugged, stepping forward. "Maybe we should have dressed like that too? I can feel their strange looks..." Trici muttered puzzled. She didn't yet understand arrogance and the attempts of others to elevate themselves through money and status. Unfortunately, it was something she only realized as an adult. Adam waved his hand nonchalantly. "There's no need. After all, I have something much better." Then, Adam tugged at his sleeve, revealing his wrist and NEP. At the same moment, the people got awkward expressions across their faces and abruptly turned away. Arguing with Phantom was the last thing they wanted to do. After all, regardless of the hidden reasons, people came to the fair for one purpose - entertainment! "Brother! I want to try this! My girlfriends said it's really delicious!" Trici exclaimed vigorously, pointing to the taco food truck. "Oh, interesting." Adam muttered with mild curiosity. He usually ate what Silvana cooked, and she tried to combine his favorite ingredients into the meals, keeping the dish wholesome. Fast food was not in his diet, except for sodas and burgers. Crackle. Adam and Trici were simultaneously trying a popular and familiar food to others, but new to themselves. If anyone would have seen them then, they would have thought they hadn't eaten in days, for there was too much pleasure on their faces from the ordinary, albeit delicious, taco. Rarely did anyone from the slums manage to make their way into the inner zone of the Citadel, especially in the First Ring. More often than not, it was due to finding Spark and becoming a Phantom. Such people needed time to get used to a life full of opportunities and something new. As they made their way to the front row, they could finally see what was going on there. Four people were playing dominoes, under the gaze of the crowd. Strangely enough, Adam knew each of the players, for it was Jena, Louis, Silvana, and Hazel - the captain of Zera's squad, Adam had gone with them on the Cluster Mission to hunt for artifacts. Silvana had a serious face and a sharp look, Hazel was calm, occasionally looking at the dominoes and pondering her next move, Jena was more nervous than the rest, and Louis... well, he looked like he had already won. "Brother, what is this?" Trici asked with a puzzled look. Adam scratched the back of his head, "It's dominoes." Then, he quickly explained the rules to her. Dominoes wasn't the most complicated game, but it couldn't be called simple. To not lose, you had to think about your next moves, because if you made a mistake and didn't have the right tile, you would fall behind the other players. Obviously, Jena did it worse than the others, she clearly wanted to win, but she didn't have enough skills to do so. However, one couldn't really blame her. When she sat at the same table with Silvana and Louis, her chances of winning became 0%. Tap. Silvana bet her last tile, thus becoming the first to get rid of all the tiles. Then, there was Hazel and Louis, who beat Jena by just one step. It seemed that if she had a little luck, she might even be able to beat Louis! At least she thought so... "Alright! Mrs. Jena has been eliminated, after a short break, we will move on to the next game!" The male host of this little show exclaimed energetically, trying to keep the crowd enticed in the proceedings. "No... I wanted to win..." Jena muttered frustratedly, leaning back in her chair. Hazel cast a glance at her. "Don't be upset. Everyone is strong in their own area. If we were taking a human body knowledge test, there's no way you'd lose." Hazel tried to cheer her up, in a rather odd manner. Jena frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest. "That's my job, not everyone is a doctor, but everyone can play board games! It's different." Jena snorted as she glanced at the crowd until she stopped at Adam... He only smiled slightly and waved his hand in greeting. This made Jena blush, for now, she was even more sorry for losing when Adam glared at her. "Hey, looks like you're expected." Louis smirked, "Let's go. It's about time you got a shot of moral support. You need to make room so we can move on to the next game." Jena rolled her eyes, stood up, and walked away. She'd lost, so she had nothing more to do at the table. Louis was right, Jena wanted some support, and Adam could definitely give it to her. After all, they had opportunities to get to know each other a little better. Soon, the show host returned with a deck of cards and a sly smile. Everything was ready for the next game, after which only two contestants out of three would remain! ------------------------- Hi, this is the author. Sorry for the delay, I had some IRL problems to solve and they took a lot of time and effort. Another chapter will be up in a few hours! I hope you like this story!

Chapter 122: The Fair

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