A young man, 6 feet tall, with a slightly above-average face and well-built body, was calmly walking towards an office.
When he found himself in front of the door, he hesitated slightly, his perfect billboard smile twitching for a second before he opened the door.
"Greetings Mo Chen, come sit here."
In front of him was an office filled with gear that seemed to be a couple hundred years from the future: holographic screens, motion sensors, environment recreation devices, and so on...
In the middle of it all was a simple wooden desk with a silk sofa standing in front of it.
Behind the desk was a woman sitting on a wooden chair.
'This bitch....'
"Hello, Dr. Ling, I assume you have called me here for another mental inspection?"
"For the last time, it's not a mental 'inspection.' It's a mental status examination. You make it seem as if we will tie you up to some machine."
"The only reason you didn't already do that is because it shows nothing wrong for some reason."
The two continued to stare at each other for a couple of minutes before Mo Chen decided to sit down on the sofa.
"So? Are we starting this 'mental status examination'?"
Dr. Ling sighed before pulling out a couple of documents.
"Well, first of all, are you still having nightmares?"
"No, I mostly don't dream anymore."
"Do you still feel nothing at the sight of gore?"
"Yes, unless I see the process, no emotion is stirred within me."
"Hmmm? And if you see the process?"
"I feel disgusted."
The doctor removed her glasses and started cleaning them.
'I guess that's an improvement.' she thought, as her eye twitched.
"Have you felt any sort of positive emotion since our last session?"
"Other than the one given by my medicine, I did not feel anything."
"Have you thought of doing harm to any living being other than microscopic organisms and insects?"
"I did not think of doing any direct harm to any being of your examples."
"What about indirect?"
"I did think of killing someone from the slums that has been raping, stealing, and killing people."
"Oh? From the slums? What led you to feeling the need to kill them? Did you feel anger towards their actions, perhaps?" The doctor looked excited.
"No, I simply felt disgusted that it dared act uncivilized in my presence."
"In your presence? What were you doing in the slums?"
"I was having a walk."
"Having a wal-"
BEEEP!
Before she could say anything, a sort of warning lit up, so she could do nothing but sigh in frustration.
"Mo Chen, Second Class citizen of the inner layer of the City of Dreams, have you been honest ever since you entered this room?"
"Yes, I have not uttered a single lie ever since I entered."
"Entered the office," she said with an annoyed tone.
"Same thing."
Seeing as the lights on her screen were all green, she looked at him with a bit of reluctance before sending him out.
The moment the door closed behind him, his carefree attitude melted into a neutral one.
'That was dangerous. I should not do that again.'
A couple of days ago, while wandering the slums looking for something 'fun' to do, Mo Chen was ambushed by a group of malnourished thugs, and being annoyed from a recent problem, he just killed the 29 or so people.
Due to him not being a trained assassin, he was unable to hide every single trace of his involvement.
This wouldn't have been a problem if not for one thing.
'Those lie detectors from City B.'
So he had to spend around a week meditating to convince himself that he didn't kill anyone.
'Now I have to spend the next year fixing the gaps in memory. Great.'
Still deep in thought, Mo Chen snapped his fingers, causing a small robot to fly on top of him.
"To Residential District 3, Building 5, Teleportation Hub 8."
With any sort of warning, a blinding light enveloped him, causing him to close his eyes.
When he opened them, he found himself in front of a large alloy door.
Without giving it any thought, he opened the heavy door and entered. Afterward, he quickly found the new-looking stair and reached the 55th floor.
Then he simply walked into a wall, which opened up at his presence.
Behind the wall stood a small hallway with three rooms at the sides and one room at the end.
Walking into his bedroom, he simply laid down and slept.
Hearing the sound of the birds, Mo Chen opened his eyes and stood up. He started stretching like some sort of feline creature as the sun shone down on his naked body.
Suddenly, he froze. Whatever expression was on his face melted into confusion as he looked around.
Gone was the futuristic apartment he lived in; now, Before him stretched a vast, otherworldly forest. Mist clung to the gnarled trunks of towering trees, their bark shimmering faintly as if infused with some latent energy.
The canopy above was dense, yet shafts of golden sunlight pierced through in irregular patterns, illuminating patches of iridescent moss and strange, luminescent flowers that seemed to pulse with a quiet life of their own.
The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and wild herbs, mingling with a faint, almost imperceptible hum, as though the forest itself was alive and breathing.
Shadows moved unnaturally between the trees, hints of creatures that might or might not exist, making the place feel simultaneously serene and dangerous.
A narrow stream wound its way through the undergrowth, the water sparkling with an unnatural clarity, reflecting colors that should not exist.
Occasionally, Mo Chen thought he caught glimpses of ghostly lights flickering just beyond the trees, disappearing the moment he tried to focus.
After a couple of minutes, he calmed down and a big grin appeared on his face.
"Truly, fascinating."
A/N: this will be very much my first remotely decent novel, i will try to make the MC somewhat special but at the same time not edgy and stuff, so enjoy i guess.