"I am a classified doctor," Rick snapped. He used an angry, arrogant tone. He acted like a man who was very important and very busy. "Now, are you going to let me do my job, or are you going to let your Commanders rot from the inside out? If they die, I will tell the High Saint it was your fault."The Enforcers looked at each other. Machines of order did not know how to handle an angry, arrogant human who had the right passwords.The giant Enforcer stepped aside. "Proceed, Doctor Gray. The Head Administrator is waiting in the central wing."The heavy glass doors slid open.Rick walked inside. He let out a tiny, hidden breath of relief. The mask of mercy was working.The inside of the Elite Pavilion was massive. There were beautiful fountains of perfectly clear water. There were soft white chairs and large glass windows looking out over the perfect, silent city below.A tall, thin woman in a sharp white suit walked quickly up to Rick. She had a clipboard made of clear glass. Her eyes w

"I did," Rick said, stepping into the dark room."Aris is an idiot," Zark said softly. He turned his head to look at Rick. Zark's chest was glowing. Under his white shirt, a massive web of thick, blue veins covered his heart. It looked like a glowing blue spider was hugging his chest."My condition is worse," Zark said. "The Cure Rejection has reached my heart. The blue light is trying to stop my heart because my mind refuses to be quiet. Can you fix a failing heart, Doctor Gray?"Rick walked over. He looked at the glowing blue web.This was bad. Very bad.To fix Aris's arm, Rick only needed to block the veins. But to fix a heart, Rick had to reach deep inside the organ. He had to perform a highly complex, ancient Qi massage. It was a technique known only to the greatest masters.It was called the Nine Rivers Tap.Rick knew that if he used the Nine Rivers Tap, an intelligent man like Zark might recognize it. It was the signature move of the Physician. And Rick was the Physician's only

Luna glared at him. She hated him. She hated what he had done to the world."I am not a little girl anymore, Yuren," Luna said. Her voice was shaking, but she forced it to be loud. "And you are not my master. You are a monster."Yuren smiled. It was the empty, perfect smile of the Heaven's Cure. "A monster? No, my dear. I am a savior. I am the only one who truly cares about humanity. I am taking away their pain. I am giving them perfect peace.""You are starving them to death!" Luna shouted. "You are erasing their minds! You turn them into smiling dolls!"Yuren sighed. He took a step forward. His foot did not break the surface of the black water. He glided smoothly toward her."Pain is a disease, Luna," Yuren said softly. "Love is a disease. Sorrow, anger, fear... they are all sicknesses of the mind. They make humans do terrible things. They make humans kill each other. They make humans cry. If you cut out the disease, the body can finally rest."He stopped a few feet away from her. T

"Yes," Yuren whispered, standing right behind her ear. "Your arm is a beacon. A transmitter. Every time it glows, it sends a massive signal straight to the giant blue tower. It sends your exact location. It sends your heart rate. It even sends the magical signature of the people standing next to you."Luna felt sick. She felt like she was going to throw up.She was the spy.She had led Yuren right to the Hollow Clinic. Her light had told him exactly where the sick, hiding outcasts were. When she healed Rick, her arm told Yuren exactly how weak Rick was.She had betrayed the man she loved, and she had betrayed the people she swore to protect. And she didn't even know it."No," Luna sobbed. She backed away from Yuren. "No, you are lying! It is my arm!""It is my network," Yuren stated coldly.Suddenly, a System window appeared in the air right in front of Luna's face.It was not a normal blue box. It was the glitching, red-and-purple box of the corrupted System.[System Alert: Node Conn

The Enforcers dragged Rick down the bright white hallways. They pushed him into a massive elevator made entirely of clear glass. Yuren stepped in beside him.The glass elevator shot upward. It moved incredibly fast.Rick looked out the glass walls. He could see the entire city of Salt Lake below. Millions of people in identical light blue clothes were walking in perfect lines on the black metal streets. They looked like tiny blue ants. They were totally silent."Look at them, Rick," Yuren said, staring out the glass. "No crime. No hunger. No war. No broken hearts. I have achieved absolute peace.""You built a giant graveyard," Rick spat back. His wrists burned where the metal cuffs held him. "You just haven't buried the bodies yet."The elevator slowed down. It reached the very top of the central tower.Ding.The glass doors opened.They stepped into the Apex Room.It was the most massive room Rick had ever seen. The floor was made of polished white marble. The walls and the ceiling w