“HONK!” A white blur shot forward from below. Baginda, who had been lying beside Raka, used his healthy leg to leap at the monster. His steel-hard beak slammed into The Nurse’s head, knocking its strike off course. The deadly bone needle missed Luna’s chest, only tearing the fabric of her black tank top at the waist, leaving a thin scratch that produced a tiny drop of blood. Luna seized the moment. She lunged forward, closing the distance completely. Ignoring the risk of being stabbed, she plunged both scalpels directly into the creature’s milky-white eyes, driving them deep into its brain. “KHHHHHH!” The creature hissed violently before its body stiffened. Purple poison spilled onto the floor. Luna ripped the scalpels out brutally. She let The Nurse&rsquo

Raka sat on the edge of the operating table. He felt a strange sensation from the metal box attached to his chest. The device vibrated subtly each time it sent a micro-shock to his damaged heart. "A very fair choice," Raka grumbled under his breath. He slowly put his shirt back on. "I didn't hear a 'yes'." Vanya's voice came from the corner of the room. The woman was busy tinkering with a small electronic device on her workbench. "Yes! Fine! I'll go!" Raka replied in resignation. "I'll get your coffee and your scrap parts. But on one condition." Vanya turned, raising an eyebrow behind her advanced glasses. "Oh? A patient who was on the brink of death now has conditions? This is interesting. Do tell." "First, give me something to fight them with," Raka said, pointing to his right shoulder, still in a sling. "I can't fight with one hand and

Down below, a dozen pairs of eyes from The Butcher Gang snapped upwards in unison. Their once-casual expressions morphed into the predatory gaze of hunters who had found a rat in their granary."UP THERE!" one of the cannibals shouted, pointing towards the ventilation grate where Raka and Baginda were hiding.‘Damn you, you stupid goose!’Raka cursed internally and yanked Baginda's neck to pull him back from the peephole."You just rang the dinner bell, and we're the main course!" Raka whispered to Baginda.[System: Situation Analysis: Position compromised. Chance of undetected escape: 0%. Suggestion: Run. Fast. Now.]Raka didn't need to be told twice. He turned around in the narrow ventilation duct, shoving Baginda roughly."Back! We have to get out of here!"But the cannibals moved faster. They didn't waste time climbing or shooting upwards.Their leader, a large man with a bald head and a thick beard, grabbed an empty beer bottle from a table.With practiced movements, he filled it

The world around Raka froze. The deafening roar of the chainsaw faded to a low hum. The thick smoke billowing from the fire in the corner of the warehouse stopped moving, its soot particles hanging motionless in the air. Big Daddy, the giant monster just steps away from Raka, was frozen in a mid-swing, ready to strike. This wasn't the caffeine-induced bullet time. This was something else. This was a System Pause. A giant, blood-red hologram screen covered Raka's entire

"Finish that clown, now!"Big Daddy's command once again echoed through the smoke-filled warehouse. More than twenty members of The Butcher Gang charged from all directions.Their grimy faces were contorted into wild grins as they brandished machetes, iron pipes, and rusty meat cleavers. They were like a pack of starving wolves surrounding a lame rabbit.Raka swallowed hard. He tightened his grip on the weathered wooden handle of his trowel. His right shoulder screamed in protest, but he forced a smile."System," Raka whispered, his tone now full of hope. "Now would be a good time to tell me that this trowel can shoot lasers."[System: Unfortunately not, Mr. Clown. The trowel is purely a melee weapon. And given their numbers, your current survival statistic is at a level that makes me want to find a new host. Run. Now.]Raka didn't need to be told twice. He turned and bolted towards the nearest aisle of steel shelves that wasn't on fire, leaving Big Daddy still kneeling in pain behind