Novels by Bliss

Geng’s screams faded as the mob dragged him into the dark mouth of the alley. I stood alone in the center of the courtyard. The heat from the trash fire licked at my skin, but I felt like ice.Suddenly, my vision stuttered. A translucent map of the city exploded across the air. It was a sea of dead grey, a sprawling grid of debt and decay. Then, a single square pulse—our tenement block. It ignited. A blinding, predatory gold light flooded the map, burning away the shadows.[System Notification: Territory Established.][Level 2 Unlocked: Talent Recruitment.]"Talent Recruitment?" I muttered. "I thought this was about liquidation."[Sovereigns do not work alone, Han Sen,] the cold voice echoed. [An Auditor needs blades. An Auditor needs brains.]I scanned the courtyard. The tenants were retreating to their rooms, clutching their phones like holy relics. But one man didn't move. He sat in the corner, slumped against a stack of rotting pallets. Old Lu.He was the neighborhood drunk. A

The air in the tenement district tasted like soot and desperation. I walked down the narrow alleyway, my blood-stained shirt sticking to my back. Nova-Tech was a mountain of glass and steel, but this place was a gutter. My "home."A thick plume of black smoke rose from the central courtyard. I rounded the corner and stopped.Old Man Geng was there. He was a squat, greasy man with a yellowed undershirt and a face that looked like a crumpled paper bag. He held a shovel in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Behind him stood three thugs—local muscle with cheap tattoos and dull eyes.They were standing around a rusted oil drum. A trash fire roared inside it."Careful with that one, boys," Geng cackled, pointing at a stack of worn textbooks. "Medical science is highly flammable."He kicked a box. My sister’s books—the ones I’d worked three jobs to buy her, spilled into the dirt. A thug grabbed a handful and tossed them into the flames."Stop," I said. My voice was quiet, but it carrie

"You can’t foreclose on me!" Zhao’s scream was raw, tearing through the penthouse. "My father owns this city! He owns the banks! He owns the air you breathe!"I didn't answer. I didn't have to.Zhao’s phone, lying on the mahogany desk, began to vibrate uncontrollably. It danced across the wood, buzzing like a trapped hornet.Ping. Ping. Ping.Zhao snatched it up. His face went from a bruised purple to a sickly, translucent white. "No. No, that’s a glitch. It’s a hack!""What is it, Zhao?" I asked. My voice was a low crawl."Transaction declined," he whispered, staring at the screen. "Declined. Declined. Declined. My Amex... my Swiss reserve... they’re all greyed out.""The system doesn't make mistakes," I said. "It only settles debts."Before he could speak, my own phone rang. The caller ID made my heart thump against my bruised ribs. St. Jude’s Private Wing.I swiped. "Yue?""Han?" Her voice hit me like a physical shock. It wasn't the weak rasp from the rain. It was clear. Vibrant.

"You’re alive?" The words fell out of Zhao’s mouth like lead. His hand jerked. The crystal glass of 1945 Romanée-Conti slipped from his fingers, hitting the marble floor with a sharp, crystalline explosion. Red wine splattered across his white designer shoes, the color of fresh arterial spray. I didn't blink. I just kept walking.Lin Xiao scrambled backward, her heels clicking frantically against the floor. She ducked behind Zhao, using him as a human shield. Her eyes were wide, darting from the mud on my collar to the cold, dead look in my eyes. I saw the disgust there. I also saw a flickering, strange fear."Han Sen?" She whispered. "What are you... why do you look like that?""I look like the man you left in the rain," I said. My voice was a flat line.Zhao snapped out of his shock, his face contorting into a mask of pure, ugly arrogance. "I don't care how you got past the lobby, you cockroach. You think a black card makes you a king? It just makes you a target." He reached into

Wei was still howling on the floor, clutching his ruined wrist. The lobby was frozen. Captain Conall and his team weren't looking at the screaming man, they were staring at the Black Centurion Card in my hand.It wasn't just metal anymore. It was vibrating, emitting a low-frequency hum that rattled the windows. A pulse of liquid gold light throbbed from the chip, casting fractured shadows across the marble."Captain!" Wei shrieked, his face slick with sweat. "Why are you standing there? Kill him! He’s a criminal!"Suddenly, every smartphone in the lobby chimed at once. A synchronized, shrill emergency tone.Conall pulled out his tablet. His eyes nearly fell out of his head. "What the...?""What is it?" one of the guards hissed."Red-Level Alert," Conall whispered. "From the Bank of International Settlements. It’s an immediate asset freeze. Subject: Manager Wei. All accounts and pension funds. Under 'Sovereign Audit'."Wei froze. He forgot to scream. "My accounts? That’s impossible!"

The revolving glass doors of Nova-Tech didn't make a sound as I pushed through.The lobby was bustling. It was 8:58 AM. Corporate elites strutted in with $10 coffees and fake smiles. I didn't have a coffee. I didn't have a smile. I had the same suit from last night—torn, stained with dried mud, and stiff with my own crusty blood.I looked like a ghost that had crawled out of a shallow grave. The receptionist looked up. Her jaw dropped. "Han Sen? Is that... is that blood?"I didn't answer. I kept walking. My shoes made a wet, heavy thud on the polished marble."Hey! You! Stop right there!" A shrill, nasal voice pierced the air. Manager Wei.He was standing near the elevators, looking like the mid-level tyrant he was. He saw me. His face turned a violent purple."Han Sen?" Wei barked, storming toward me. "What the hell is this? You look like a goddamn vagrant!"I stopped five feet from him. I didn't say a word. I just watched him."I asked you a question, you piece of trash!" Wei screa