An hour passed.
The only sound in the back room of the pawn shop was the rhythmic click-clack of Leo typing on a holographic keyboard and the hum of a cooling fan.
Kai sat on a crate in the corner, cleaning the dried blood off his new Alloy Chestplate. Leo had pounded out the dent and polished it. It looked almost new.
"Got it," Leo muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead.
He spun the Hunter's Smart Watch around on the counter. The screen was no longer locked. It displayed a green "ACCESS GRANTED" banner.
"The encryption was standard Viper Guild protocol," Leo explained, lighting a cigarette. "Sloppy. I scrubbed the GPS tracker, but the local data is still there. Messages, logs, bank transfers."
Kai walked over and picked up the watch.
He didn't care about the bank transfers. He tapped the [Messages] icon.
A list of chats appeared. Most were junk—gambling debts, bar tabs, booty calls.
But pinned at the top was a conversation with a user named "Lady Elena".
Kai opened it.
[Yesterday, 22:14]
Jack: Team is assembled. Taking the rookies to Goblin Cave tomorrow.
Elena: Is the Porter with you?
Jack: Yes. That F-Rank trash, Kai. He needed money for his sister, so he took the bait.
Elena: Good. He saw the shipment logs last week during the unloading job. We can't have loose ends.
Elena: Make sure he doesn't come back, Jack. Make it look like a dungeon accident.
Kai's finger hovered over the screen. His expression didn't change, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop.
So it wasn't just bullying.
It wasn't just Jack being an asshole.
It was a hit job.
Because he had seen some "shipment logs" while working as a dock loader for the Guild? He didn't even remember what he saw. He was just moving boxes to pay bills.
But to the Viper Guild, a Porter's life was cheaper than the risk of a leak.
"You seeing something ugly?" Leo asked, blowing smoke at the ceiling.
"Confirmation," Kai said coldly. "Jack was just the knife. Elena is the hand."
BZZT.
The watch suddenly vibrated in Kai's hand. The screen flashed red.
A New Message had just arrived.
[Incoming Message: Lady Elena]
"Jack? Why did your bio-monitor signal vanish? Answer me."
Leo cursed and lunged for the watch. "Turn it off! She's pinging it!"
Kai didn't panic. He watched the text appear, letter by letter.
[Incoming Message: Lady Elena]
"If you messed this up, don't bother coming back. I'm sending The Butcher to check the entrance."
The Butcher.
A C-Rank Tank. Notorious for skinning his victims.
Kai calmly pressed the power button, holding it down until the screen went black. Then he crushed the watch in his grip, cracking the glass and bending the internal circuits.
He tossed the broken device into Leo's trash can.
"She knows something is wrong," Leo said, looking nervous. "If she sends The Butcher... he'll tear the Slums apart looking for answers."
"Let him come," Kai said.
He picked up the Alloy Chestplate and strapped it on. It felt heavy, reassuring.
He pulled his hoodie over the armor.
"Thanks for the intel, Leo."
"Where are you going?" Leo asked. "You should lay low."
"I have $4,800 left," Kai said, walking to the door. "That's not enough for a C-Rank funeral. I need to level up."
"You're going back into a dungeon? Now?"
Kai paused at the door, half-turned. His eyes, now hidden in the shadow of his hood, glowed faintly.
"The Butcher is coming," Kai said. "I need to prepare a welcome party."