"Open the door, Luna! I can't keep the barista waiting too long! The service here is very exclusive, you know?" Raka shouted. His hands thrashed, trying to unbuckle the seatbelt that, in his eyes, felt like a constricting snake. The Toxic Goose had just come to a hard stop after crashing into a row of two-meter-high thorny bushes. The truck's front was dented, and its iron bars were covered in withered black leaves. But in Raka's purple-spore-contaminated eyes, they had just landed smoothly in the valet parking of a luxury building. "Raka! Don't you dare get out without a mask!" Vanya's shrill voice came from the rear cargo intercom. "The toxin level at this point has entered the neuro-destructive phase! You're staring at death, not a cafe!" Luna tried to grab Raka's left arm, but the machine in Raka's chest gave him an unexpected boost of strength. Raka yanked his hand free, man

"One flat white, not too hot on the milk, and please, no fake smile. I'm in a hurry," said a man in a neat suit to Raka.Raka blinked his stinging eyes. He was standing behind the very familiar mahogany bar. The shiny La Marzocco espresso machine hissed softly behind him, releasing a hot steam that smelled of sweet milk.The warm yellow light of the hanging lamps illuminated the cozy coffee shop, a stark contrast to the darkness of the highway he had just left."Of course, sir. Please wait a moment," Raka replied automatically.His hands moved with practiced agility, grabbing the portafilter and tamping the coffee grounds.The vibration of the machine in his palm, the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans, even the sound of raindrops on the shop's front window."Sir, here's your order," Raka offered the white ceramic cup to the customer.But as the man turned to take his cup, Raka froze. The man's face was flat. No eyes, no nose, just a smooth, pale surface of skin like melted wax."Th

"Go away! Get that thing away from me, Baginda! I don't want to sleep right now!" Raka screamed, his hand jerking forward, swatting away the silver pistol his goose had just offered him.In the purple fog that was corrupting his brain's neurons, Raka saw the tuxedo-clad figure of Baginda fly away, disintegrating into a gray dust that was blown away by the wind.Its crystal wine glass shattered in mid-air, but instead of the sound of breaking glass, what was heard was the dissonant chime of a piano.Raka panted, his chest rising and falling wildly. He felt the reactor inside his chest trying to cool itself down with a painful hissing sound.Click-whirrr. Click-whirrr.9,050"Hah... hah... it was just a dream. It was just the gas," Raka whispered, trying to convince himself. "I'm still in the truck. I'm still with Vanya and... Luna."Raka turned his head to the right. There, in the dim, deepening purple light, he saw Luna. The girl was no longer sitting quietly against the wall. She was

"Vanya, why did you take off your mask?!" Raka shouted.His voice was hoarse as he watched Vanya angrily throw her military gas mask onto the metal floor of the truck bed."It's useless, Raka! This mask is garbage against this fungus's evolution!" Vanya retorted.Her hands trembled as she wiped the sweat from her neck."My sensor-glasses show that the size of these Neuro-Mutant spores has shrunk to a sub-micron level," Vanya said again. "They don't need your lungs anymore. They're seeping in through our skin pores! We're breathing and absorbing this poison through every inch of our bodies!"Luna flinched and immediately pulled her tactical jacket tighter. Her face began to look dazed. The sharp eyes of the archer were starting to lose their focus. She stared at the truck wall as if it were growing wings.Raka felt his own face. It was itchy, hot, and felt as if a million tiny ants were crawling under his skin. His mechanical heart beat wildly, sending overlapping warning signals.Clic

"System, why did the road suddenly turn into squares? And... am I hearing MIDI music?"Raka stood at the rear door of "The Toxic Goose". To his biological eyes, shielded by the System's digital filter, the terrifying purple valley had completely vanished.Instead, he saw a giant maze with glowing neon blue walls. The floor was pitch black with a green grid, and along the path, small yellow dots were floating.[System: Welcome to the bonus level, Raka! I just re-skinned your view to the 'Pac-Man Edition'. Those purple spores are slowing down your brain, so I'm using the simplest visuals to keep the reactor processor in your chest from overheating. Cute, right?]"Cute my ass!" Raka snapped. Even so, he stepped forward hesitantly. "This is so weird. Where are Luna and Vanya?"[System: They're behind you, but in these graphics, they're just two unimportant green boxes. Focus ahead, Barista! See those little yellow dots? Those are pure oxygen 'Pellets'. An emergency supply drop crate fell