Novara Police Headquarters, Sector 7.This self-governing sector born after the Cataclysm appeared orderly on the surface, yet rotted with darkness beneath. Power-for-money trades, collusion between law and crime, and factional infighting were unspoken open secrets long ago.Kane finished his onboarding procedures and stood inside Police Director Cole’s office. His file was blank—no family ties, no military service record, only a cold, hardened aura forged amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood.Cole flipped through the documents, his eyes sharp with scrutiny and suspicion. "A blank resume, yet you scraped together enough cash to buy a police post in this sector. You must’ve gotten your hands very dirty out in the Unregulated Zones."Kane responded with a faint smile, neither defending himself nor showing weakness. "I only did whatever it took to stay alive."Cole issued a pointed warning. "Novara’s waters run deep. There are rules, factions, and patrons here. New recruits with n

Kane asked curiously for the reason. Cruz curled his lip and explained, “Field patrols carry an extremely high casualty rate. Over thirty officers have died in just half a year. He’s faint-hearted and only wants a safe, cushy desk job.”Kane was not surprised. Compared to the lawless unplanned zone, public security here was relatively stable.Cruz chided Holt, frustrated by his lack of grit. “You’ll never get ahead if you’re too scared to fight for yourself. Before Sector 7 was established, Captain Wade’s brother had nothing at all, yet he still carved out a place for himself amid the cataclysm. You spend all your time currying favour with everyone without an ounce of self-respect—how can you ever build genuine connections?”Holt hung his head and said nothing. Kane quickly steered the conversation to another topic.It was nine o’clock at night. Holt received a string of text messages and stood up to take his leave. Kane offered to walk him out, but Holt politely declined and hurried

Kane felt not an ounce of remorse. Cold by nature, he scorned currying favor or picking sides to fit into cliques. He knew the unspoken rules of this workplace all too well: yield to unfair treatment once, and you will be manipulated and squeezed harder at every turn. Deference never earns respect—it only emboldens others to push their luck.Though he cared little for what others thought of him, the stifling tension living side by side with hostile roommates wore on him. With the one-thousand-dollar bonus he’d earned from the Matsushita case, Kane resolved to move out of the dormitory and rent a place of his own. Unfamiliar with the local streets, he turned to Cruz—an easygoing, forthright man he clicked with—to help him hunt for housing. He only needed something affordable, powered with electricity, and livable. Cruz readily agreed without hesitation.Early the next morning, Kane reported to work to go through shift handover procedures when he was summoned: Captain Wade wanted to see

Five minutes later, the eight officers marched down the street in a single file, shirts stripped off, forced to hop forward like frogs. Armed thugs lined the sidewalks and buildings on both sides, watching them with cold, hostile stares, while countless residents crammed behind every window to gawk.Glass bottles and discarded cans suddenly rained down from upper floors, and vicious jeers cut through the night. At Kane’s sharp command, the men scrambled back to their patrol cars in a state of humiliation.Upstairs inside the shop, Blade stared at his subordinate getting his wounds bandaged and spoke in a low voice. “Round up all the men. Move every shipment of contraband tonight—suspend all trades for the time being.”His underling seethed with resentment. “They’re just a bunch of rookie cops. We’ve got thousands of brothers across this street who could surround them anytime. Why avoid them?”“Just do as I say.” Blade refused to elaborate. The subordinate had no choice but to trudge o

With the outside threat temporarily contained, Kane threw all his energy into the interrogation.For six straight hours, Pierce and Blade stonewalled every question, refusing to confess a single thing. Black dragged them down to the basement with no surveillance cameras and resorted to harsh tactics, yet still failed to extract any useful intelligence.With no other options left, Kane resolved to break through the two low-level underlings instead.Inside the interrogation room, Kane took a drag from his vape and pressed them impatiently. “Spit out something valuable, don’t ramble on about trivial nonsense.”The underling tensed up all over, begging desperately. “Sir, ever since we got locked up, we stashed all our supply sources and manpower away. All the old leads are useless now!”Kane’s gaze turned cold. He stood up, feigning to call Black in. “If you’re gonna be uncooperative, I’ll send Black in to deal with you.”“No! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” The underling panicked completely. He w