Turns out, thieves and killers weren’t exactly known for their loyalty.The moment Michael issued his warning, the harbor erupted in chaos. Which was not at all different from what he had expected in the first place.Before the first bullet was even fired, Foresight kicked in. He pivoted, using his hostage as a human shield, and charged forward with his gun raised and his attention locking onto the gangsters who had firearms in the group.Three clean shots and three men went down.The clatter of dropped weapons filled the air, but Michael wasn’t done. Without suppression fire, the melee fighters came next: knives, clubs, brass knuckles. But these guys were just simple street fighters with no form whatsoever. Against someone who could effectively predict their movements, they were less than amateurs.Michael blitzed through them, his actions fluid and punishing. Every strike was efficient, every takedown calculated. His fists cracked ribs. His knees shattered jaws, and his elbows dropp

Michael stared at the screen in his mind, the numbers cold and merciless.[Security Droid][Level 13][Strength: 22 | Agility: 20 | Endurance: 30 | Control: 25 | Intelligence: 25]Outclassed didn’t even begin to cover it.The droid stood motionless, a silent judge draped in synthetic flesh and armor that mimicked a human shape. Its eyes, hidden behind dark lenses, reflected none of the overhead fluorescent light. Just still, calculating death.“Unauthorized presence detected,” it said in a smooth, toneless voice. “Terminating intruder.”Michael had just enough time to draw his gun before the thing moved.It didn’t dash or sprint. It simply appeared in front of him, its motion so sudden and fluid that Michael’s eyes almost couldn’t follow. The swipe from its blade-arm was a blur of silver light aimed at his neck.Michael ducked as the last second and the weapon carved the air above him and sliced into the thick metal of a lab station like it was cardboard. Sparks exploded behind him. H

The pressure in Michael’s head surged, a tidal wave behind his left eye threatening to split his skull apart. It felt like a searing needle driving deep into the folds of his mind, burrowing, digging, unearthing something buried. He stumbled back from the advancing android, clutching his face as a low growl escaped from his throat. Every nerve in his body screamed, his vision fracturing into shards of black and red.The drone above him shifted, recalibrating, its sensors flaring brighter as it registered the anomaly blooming in its target’s vitals. "Warning: Unstable energy fluctuation detected. Hostile reaction imminent."Michael barely heard the voice. The pain intensified until, with a jolt that knocked him onto one knee, his left eye snapped open, and it was no longer his.A pitch-black iris pulsed at the center of an unnatural sclera, shaped like the ancient Yin symbol, revolving slowly like an orbiting moon. A corona of faint, dark wisps curled from the corners of his eye, licki

By the time Michael returned to the quiet fringes of his sector, the sky was already stained with early hues of dawn. He moved through the alleyways like a shadow, unnoticed and unheard, the Risax container nestled deep within his jacket like it was a stolen heart. His steps were steady, but each muscle in his body trembled with the fatigue he had held at bay until now. The aftermath of the battle lingered in every breath, in the bruises and gashes layered across his body.He didn’t head home right away. Instead, he found himself in the abandoned trainyard behind an old maintenance station, half-swallowed by rust and vines. It was one of the few places left in the city where no signal towers reached and none of the local gangs had claimed as their turf. He slipped into the shadow of a broken cargo crate and finally allowed his body to collapse.The moment he exhaled and leaned his back against the crate’s warped steel, the pain surged.Not the pain from the fight. This was different.

The night air at the southern harbor was thick with the scent of sea salt and rusted iron, the concrete still damp from a passing drizzle. The vast maze of abandoned shipping containers stood like forgotten giants under the glow of flickering floodlights, casting warped shadows over the cracked pavement. Somewhere deeper inside, faint voices murmured beneath the hum of exposed generators, and the occasional glint of a cigarette sparked like fireflies in the dark.Michael moved with quiet purpose, his footsteps deliberate but unhurried. His boots pressed softly into the damp gravel as he passed groups of lingering gangsters. A few of them turned to glare at him. Clearly they were still sore after what had happened the last time he had been here.When he reached the heart of the compound, the large warehouse doors creaked open to reveal the familiar interior where he'd nearly died just days before. The bullet holes in the walls and the broken crates were like a reminder of the weak and