The air inside the iron drainage pipe was stagnant, cold, and impossibly heavy. Basra crawled on his stomach, his knees and elbows grinding against the riveted metal floor.He pulled Levi behind him with a grip of absolute desperation. The unconscious man's arms bounced against the curved walls with sickening regularity.Sweat poured down Basra’s forehead, stinging his eyes and mixing with the oily grime of the tunnel. Every inch forward felt like dragging an anchor through liquid lead.The damp metal hummed with a low-frequency vibration that seemed to bypass Basra's ears entirely. It resonated directly inside his skull, rattling his teeth and blurring his vision.A sudden flash of blinding white light seared across his retinas. The darkness of the pipe vanished, replaced by an artificial, blinding glare.[Memory fragment injected: Sector 4 - Barracks Courtyard.]Basra gasped, choking on the foul-tasting air of the tunnel. His hands lost their grip on the cold iron floor for a terrif

The apothecary was a tomb of forgotten elixirs and shattered glass. Shadows clung to the corners, twisting into ominous shapes under the faint moonlight filtering through the cracked skylight.Basra staggered toward a shelf laden with dusty ceramic jars. His fingers trembled as he scanned the handwritten labels pasted onto the earthenware."If there isn't something here to stop this screaming in my head, I'm going to tear my own ears off," Basra muttered, knocking over a small vial of dried valerian root.The glass shattered on the floor with a sharp, brittle crack. The sound echoed loudly through the silent, abandoned shop.A sudden movement from the back corner made Basra freeze. A narrow door creaked open, revealing a gaunt figure clutching a rusted meat cleaver."Who goes there?" a raspy voice demanded.A man stepped into the faint moonlight. He wore a stained linen apron over a threadbare tunic, his wild gray hair sticking out in every direction.His eyes darted frantically betwe

Vane berjalan perlahan menuju sudut yang gelap. Sepatu bot kulitnya yang berat berderak di atas pecahan kaca yang berserakan di lantai batu.Ia berlutut di samping tubuh Levi yang lemas. Apoteker tua itu mengulurkan tangan yang gemetar dan menekan dua jarinya ke leher prajurit itu."Denyut nadinya berdebar kencang seperti genderang," bisik Vane. "Dia terbakar hidup-hidup dari dalam."Basra bersandar pada meja kayu, berusaha menstabilkan anggota tubuhnya yang gemetar. Teks kesalahan berwarna merah di layar komputernya hampir membutakannya sekarang."Bisakah kau menyembuhkannya?" tanya Basra, suaranya bergetar karena kelelahan. "Atau dia sudah tidak bisa diselamatkan lagi?"Vane berdiri dan menyeka tangannya pada celemeknya yang bernoda. Dia membalikkan badan dan berjalan menuju rak yang penuh dengan stoples kaca."Dia belum mati," gumam Vane sambil menoleh ke belakang. "Meskipun seharusnya, dia sudah mati."Pria tua itu mengambil sebuah kendi tanah liat yang berat dan sebuah sendok per

The silence in the apothecary was deafening. The air tasted of old dust, dried herbs, and rising panic.Basra froze against the counter. His bruised ribs throbbed with every shallow, terrified breath he took.Across the room, Levi surged forward with shocking speed. The soldier's heavy hand clamped around Basra's throat like a vice made of iron.A heavy army knife flashed in the dim light. The razor-sharp blade pressed directly against Basra's jugular vein."Identify your unit and clearance code," Levi demanded. His voice was a flat, mechanical monotone devoid of all emotion.Basra choked for air against the crushing grip. Spots danced in his vision, replacing the white error text with absolute darkness."Levi... stop," Basra croaked, his fingers clawing uselessly at the forearm holding him up. "It's me. It's Basra."The soldier's vacant eyes stared right through him. The military programming running deep in his neural network recognized only an unidentified variable."Target is non-r

The morning air outside the apothecary carried the bitter scent of wet soot and decaying mortar. A thin, miserable drizzle had begun to fall over the lower districts.The water slicked the ancient cobblestones of the alleyway, turning the grey streets into mirrors of dull lead. Basra pulled his damp cloak tighter around his shoulders.His muscles screamed in protest with every single step he took. The systemic errors in his nervous system had subsided, but physical exhaustion had rushed in to take their place.Beside him, Levi moved with a heavy, mechanical rhythm. The soldier's face was pale, his skin pulled taut across sharp cheekbones."How much further to the outer wall access point?" Basra asked, his voice cracking from thirst and strain."Too far," Levi replied quietly, not breaking his steady pace."We need to pick up the speed if we want to beat the mid-morning guard rotation." The soldier's tactical mind was working again, calculating angles and exposure times.Basra swallowe