1-STAR TRASH: Bad Review System

4. Threat Level Red

White spotlights slammed into Dane’s face. Rust smell from the underground station mixed with ozone from Reputation Police plasma weapons. Ahead, Liora stood calm. Score 4.9 on her chest glowed like a tiny star.

“Hands up, Dane Mercer,” she said. Voice flat. No emotion. “You’ve violated 12 codes. Reputation Terrorism. Mass Incitement. Institution Score Reduction. You can’t run anymore.”

Behind Liora, ten officers raised weapons. Red lasers aimed at Dane’s chest.

[BAD REVIEW SYSTEM]

[Level: 14. Hate EXP: 2,536 / 4,000 --> Level 15. Shield: Mass Hate Conversion Active – 12%]

Dane didn’t raise his hands. He smiled instead.

“You know what, Liora?” he said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

He opened his arms wide.

“Hate me. Now.”

[+5 EXP]

[+5 EXP]

[+10 EXP]

Three officers behind Liora cursed instantly. “Die!” “1-Star!” “Traitor!”

The red shield around Dane thickened. Lasers deflected, bounced off walls, sparked fire.

Liora frowned. “You think that’ll hold me?”

She raised her hand. Hologram cuffs on her wrist weren’t standard model. This was 5-Star model. Glowing gold.

“I’m not Kade,” Liora said. “I don’t need you crying. I just need you silent.”

She moved.

Her speed was inhuman. One second she was 5 meters from Dane, the next second her fist had already pierced Dane’s shield.

[WARNING: Shield Breach 34%]

Dane slammed into a concrete wall. Spine cracked. Blood sprayed.

“Damn,” Dane muttered through coughs. “4.9 really is different.”

Liora walked toward him slowly. “You know why my score is 4.9? Because I never lose. I never show mercy. And I never”

She stopped.

Because Dane laughed.

“You’ve never been liked by anyone, have you?” Dane said.

Liora’s expression changed for 0.1 seconds. Only 0.1 seconds. But enough.

[+20 EXP: Target shows emotional crack]

“What did you say?” Liora hissed.

“I said,” Dane continued while standing up, “you’re 4.9 because you’re perfect. And people hate perfect. You have no friends. No family. You only have your score.”

[+30 EXP: Accurate personal insult detected]

Red waves burst from Dane’s chest. This time not at Liora. At the officers behind her.

Two officers dropped to their knees, clutching their heads. “It hurts! It hurts!”

Liora glanced back for a second. And that was her mistake.

Dane leapt.

He didn’t have skills to beat 4.9 head-on. But he had one thing Liora didn’t: he wasn’t afraid of being destroyed.

Dane’s fist landed on Liora’s jaw. Didn’t damage her. But enough to make her take one step back.

That one step was enough.

Dane ran toward dead train tracks. At the end of the corridor, an emergency exit.

“CHASE HIM!” Liora shouted.

Lasers, screams, footsteps. Everything chased Dane.

[+100 EXP: Mass pursuit detected]

[Total EXP: 2,641 / 4,000]

Dane reached the emergency door. Kicked it open. Out to the upper street.

Neo-Jakarta night air slapped his face. Ahead, Sector 9 overpass bridge. Below, levitation train traffic.

Dane didn’t stop. He ran to the middle of the bridge.

Liora appeared behind him. Breathing still steady. “Stop, Dane. You can’t!”

“What’s this bridge pillar’s score?” Dane cut her off.

Liora stopped.

“What?”

“This pillar,” Dane said, pointing at the steel pillar beside them. “What’s its Adoration score? 4.0? 4.5?”

Liora didn’t answer.

“I’ll tell you,” Dane said. “This pillar is 2.1. Because Sector 9 citizens hate this bridge. They say it’s only for 4-Star people. 1-Star trash like me has to detour 2 kilometers.”

He stomped the pillar.

[Mass hate conversion: active]

Dane’s red shield connected to the pillar. Red energy flowed from the pillar into Dane’s body.

“Sector 9 citizens hate this bridge,” Dane said. “And I can use that hate.”

The pillar trembled.

Cracked.

[WARNING: Structural Damage Detected]

Liora’s eyes widened. “You’re insane! If this bridge collapses—”

“Yeah, many people die,” Dane cut her off. “Including me. But I don’t have a choice.”

He kicked the pillar.

KRAAK.

Steel pillar cracked halfway. Bridge tilted 5 degrees.

Levitation train below braked instantly. Horns screamed. People shouted.

Liora didn’t think twice. She jumped in front of Dane, hands holding the pillar to stop it from collapsing.

“You want to die? Die alone!” she screamed.

But her strength wasn’t enough. Score 4.9 was strong, but not enough to hold 10,000 tons of steel + hate from 200,000 Sector 9 citizens.

The pillar tilted more.

And at that moment, notification popped on Dane’s hologram.

[Critical warning: Genuine Adoration Detected]

[SOURCE: Liora Veyne]

[CONTENT: “Don’t die, idiot.”]

[EFFECT: -70% POWER]

Dane froze.

Liora just said “don’t die”. Genuine. No hate.

Dane’s shield shattered instantly.

Red energy drained out. Knees gave out. Dane collapsed on the tilting bridge.

“What ...”

Liora was shocked too. She didn’t mean to say it. But when she saw Dane about to die under the collapsing bridge, the words came out.

“Damn it,” Liora muttered.

No time to think. She leapt, caught Dane’s limp body, then jumped back to the sidewalk just before the pillar collapsed.

BRAK.

Half the bridge collapsed downward. Levitation train managed to brake 2 meters from the edge. People survived. But traffic jammed completely.

Dane lay on the sidewalk, breathing ragged. His level dropped from 14 to 11. Tier 3 skill locked again.

Liora stood over him. Gold cuffs in hand.

“You lost,” she said quietly.

Dane laughed. Weak. “You did too.”

Liora frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You just saved me,” Dane said. “A 4.9 doesn’t save her enemy. Unless…”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence.

Liora’s face turned pale.

Because in the corner of her vision, her personal Adoration panel flickered.

[Adoration Score: 4.9 --> 4.8]

Dropped 0.1. Because she saved a 1-Star.

Other officers arrived. “Commander, capture him!”

Liora stared at Dane. Long.

Then she raised the cuffs.

“Capture him,” she said to the officers. Voice flat again.

Cuffs snapped on Dane’s wrists.

But as Liora passed him, she whispered quietly, only Dane could hear:

“That bridge really is trash. I hate it too.”

Then she walked away.

Dane was loaded into a Reputation Police vehicle.

Inside, he opened the hologram. Checked news.

Breaking news: “Sector 9 Bridge Collapses. No Casualties Thanks to Quick Action by 4.8 Officer.”

Photo of Liora in front of bridge ruins. Score on chest: 4.8.

Dane smiled.

“So that’s how,” he whispered. “How to beat 4.9.”

Vehicle drove off. Destination: Reputation Prison Sector 1.

In the seat beside him, an officer whispered into radio: “Target secured. But Commander Liora… her score dropped.”

In the distance, from the darkness, someone watched the vehicle leave.

Woman. Short hair. Black jacket. On her chest, small badge: Reputation Police.

She raised her phone. Recorded Dane’s vehicle.

Then sent a message to an unknown number: “Target in custody. Phase 2 can begin.”

Contact name on phone: RaraStream.