Level 20 was not a place for humans; it was a cathedral of noise.
As Kai stepped off the freight elevator, the sheer volume hit him like a physical blow. The air vibrated with the rhythmic thump-hiss of hydraulic presses, the screech of metal on metal, and the low-frequency roar of the blast furnaces. It smelled of ozone, sulfur, and the copper tang of atomized metal.
This was the Factory Level. Here, the Iron Vipers didn't just run protection rackets; they oversaw the production lines that fed the minor corporate subsidiaries of the Middle Ring.
Kai pulled his hood low, blending into the shift change. Thousands of workers in identical grime-stained jumpsuits shuffled through the wide metal corridors, their heads bowed, eyes glazed. They were barely more than organic components in the great machine.
[ LOCATION: LEVEL 20 (FACTORY DISTRICT) ][ LOCAL NETWORK: HEAVILY ENCRYPTED ][ THREAT LEVEL: HIGH ][ AMBIENT TEMPERATURE: 38°C ]
The heat was stifling. Steam vented from overhead pipes, creating a perpetual, oily fog.
< LOOK AT THEM. > Cipher sneered in Kai's mind. < THEY HAVE NEURAL PORTS, BUT THEY USE THEM TO RECEIVE WORK ORDERS, NOT TO THINK. SLAVES TO THE ALGORITHM. >
Kai ignored the commentary, his eyes scanning the environment. The Entropy Sutra filtered the visual chaos, highlighting power conduits, security cameras, and patrol routes in glowing red wireframes.
[ OBJECT: SECURITY CAMERA (MODEL S-5) ][ STATUS: ACTIVE ][ BLIND SPOT: 3.2 SECONDS INTERVAL ]
Kai moved. He timed his steps with the camera's rotation, slipping from the shadow of a support pillar to the cover of a parked loader-droid.
He wasn't here to liberate the workers. He was here to shop.
"Where is the armory?" Kai subvocalized.
< SCANNING LOCAL ARCHITECTURE... DETECTED HIGH-SECURITY STORAGE AT COORDINATES 44-NORTH. ENERGY SIGNATURE CONSISTENT WITH MILITARY-GRADE HARDWARE. >
Kai checked his reserves. [ QI: 255/300 ]. The climb and the stealth protocols were draining him slowly, but he had enough for a fight.
He navigated the maze of conveyor belts and smelting vats. Sparks rained down from overhead welding bots, bouncing off his heavy coat.
He reached the storage sector. Unlike the chaotic open floor of the factory, this area was walled off by heavy chain-link fences topped with monofilament wire. Guards in heavy exo-suits patrolled the perimeter, holding shock-rifles.
These weren't the street thugs he fought in the Boiler Room. These were the Vipers' elites—the Enforcers.
[ TARGET: VIPER ENFORCER ][ CULTIVATION: HARDWARE FORGE (MID-STAGE) ][ EQUIPMENT: HYDRAULIC EXO-FRAME / KINETIC RIFLE ]
"Too many to fight head-on," Kai noted.
< THEN DON'T FIGHT. YOU HAVE THE KEY. >
Kai frowned. "What key?"
< THE CODE. THE ENTIRE SECURITY GRID IS RUNNING ON A SUBSIDIARY NETWORK. FIND A JUNCTION BOX. WE CAN SPOOF A MAINTENANCE TICKET. >
Kai scanned the wall. He spotted a gray panel near a vent output.
[ OBJECT: NETWORK NODE 77 ][ SECURITY: TIER 2 ENCRYPTION ]
He crouched by the panel. He didn't have a deck or a cable. He placed his bare hand on the metal casing.
"Decompile," he whispered, but he modulated the output. He didn't want to destroy the box; he wanted to strip the firewall.
He pushed a thin stream of Qi into the node. In his mind's eye, he saw the logic gates of the lock. They were blue, rigid structures of code.
He visualized a bypass. A loop.
[ INITIATING: LOGIC INJECTION ][ BYPASSING AUTHENTICATION... ][ ACCESS GRANTED. ]
The red light on the junction box turned green.
< I'M IN. > Cipher said. < DISABLING CAMERA 4 AND 5. UNLOCKING SERVICE ENTRANCE B. YOU HAVE A TWO-MINUTE WINDOW BEFORE THE SYSTEM RUNS A DIAGNOSTIC CHECK. MOVE. >
Kai moved.
He slipped past the patrol while their backs were turned, timing his run with the rhythmic venting of steam from a nearby pipe to mask the sound of his boots.
He reached Service Entrance B—a heavy steel door labeled AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. The mag-lock clicked open as he approached.
He slipped inside and closed the door gently.
The warehouse was cool and dry, climate-controlled to protect the merchandise. Rows of crates were stacked to the ceiling.
Kai's eyes—and the System—lit up.
[ OBJECT: CRATE (MARKED: AZURE BIO) ][ CONTENTS: PROSTHETIC SERVOS (MILITARY GRADE) ]
[ OBJECT: CRATE (MARKED: VOID FINANCIAL) ][ CONTENTS: CREDIT CHIPS (UNREGISTERED) ]
It was a treasure trove.
Kai moved quickly. He found the crate of servos. He didn't have tools to pry it open, so he used the Arc-Blade, slicing the hinges with a quick, precise activation of the plasma edge.
Inside, packed in protective foam, were sleek, chrome-plated motors and joints. They were beautiful.
He grabbed a handful—elbow joints, wrist rotators, micro-hydraulics—and shoved them into his deep pockets.
[ LOOT ACQUIRED: HIGH-GRADE SERVOS (x6) ]
"Parts secured," Kai thought. "Now food."
< AISLE 4. COLD STORAGE UNIT. I DETECT BIOLOGICAL MATTER. NOT SYNTHETIC. >
Kai hurried to Aisle 4. There was a small, refrigerated unit. He popped the seal.
Inside were vacuum-sealed packages of red meat. Real meat. Probably vat-grown in the Upper Ring, but real muscle tissue, not algae paste.
[ ITEM: RIBEYE STEAK (SYNTH-BEEF CLASS A) ][ NUTRITIONAL VALUE: HIGH ][ ENERGY CONTENT: TRACE QI ]
Kai grabbed three packs. He hesitated, then grabbed a fourth. He shoved them into his coat.
"We're done," Kai said. "Let's go."
< WAIT. > Cipher's voice stopped him. < LOOK TO YOUR LEFT. BOTTOM SHELF. >
Kai looked. Sitting unobtrusively on a shelf amidst piles of spare wires was a small, metallic cube. It looked unremarkable, but the System highlighted it in pulsing gold text.
[ OBJECT: MEMORY CORE (ENCRYPTED) ][ ORIGIN: PRE-WAR TECH ][ ENERGY SIGNATURE: DORMANT ]
"What is it?"
< I DON'T KNOW. BUT THE ENCRYPTION ALGORITHM... IT'S SIMILAR TO MINE. IT'S OLD CODE. TAKE IT. >
Kai grabbed the cube. It was heavy, cold. He pocketed it.
[ WARNING: SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC IN 10 SECONDS. ]
"Time to go," Kai said.
He turned back to the service door.
But the door didn't open. The light on the panel had turned red.
< THEY'RE RUNNING A SWEEP. I LOST CONTROL OF THE DOOR. >
"Can you re-hack it?"
< NOT FAST ENOUGH. SOMEONE IS MANUALLY OVERRIDING THE SYSTEM. A NETRUNNER. >
The heavy blast doors at the main entrance of the warehouse began to grind open. Heavy footsteps echoed on the metal floor.
"Someone's been raiding the pantry," a voice boomed.
Kai ducked behind a stack of crates. He peered around the edge.
Standing in the main doorway was a man in a sleek, white bodysuit that contrasted sharply with the grime of the factory. He wore a visor that covered his eyes, glowing with scrolling green text. He was flanked by four Viper Enforcers.
[ TARGET: SECT OVERSEER (LOW RANK) ][ CULTIVATION: LOGIC GATE (EARLY STAGE) ][ SPECIALIZATION: NETWORK CONTROL / ELECTRO-KINETICS ]
An Overseer. A low-ranking member of the Divine Silicon Sect sent to manage the gangs.
"Come out, rat," the Overseer said, his voice amplified. He raised a hand, and arcs of white electricity danced between his fingers. "I can see your thermal signature. You're burning hot."
Kai cursed. He had forgotten to mask his heat after entering the cool warehouse.
He checked his reserves. [ QI: 230/300 ].
He touched the Arc-Blade.
"Cipher," Kai thought. "Can you jam his visor?"
< HE'S HARDWIRED INTO THE LOCAL GRID. I CAN'T JAM HIM WITHOUT CRASHING THE WHOLE FACTORY. >
"Then crash the factory," Kai said.
< ...I LIKE THE WAY YOU THINK. >
< ACCESSING MAIN POWER JUNCTION... OVERLOADING TRANSFORMERS IN 3... 2... >
"Now!"
Kai leaped from cover just as the lights in the warehouse exploded.
The overhead lamps burst in showers of glass. The hum of the ventilation fans died with a groan. The warehouse plunged into pitch blackness.
"What?!" The Overseer shouted, his electricity flickering.
Kai didn't need light. The Entropy Sutra painted the world in wireframes.
He activated the Arc-Blade.
SNAP-HISS.
The blue plasma lit up the dark like a lightning bolt.
Kai charged.
The Enforcers panicked, firing their kinetic rifles blindly into the dark. Bullets sparked off the crates.
[ TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS: ACTIVE ]
Kai weaved through the gunfire. He slid under a burst of rounds, coming up swinging.
The Arc-Blade sliced through the hydraulic leg of the first Enforcer. The man collapsed, screaming.
Kai spun, using the momentum to drive the pommel of the baton into the helmet of the second guard. The shock discharge fried the man's HUD. He stumbled back, blind.
The Overseer recovered. "Target locked!"
He thrust his hand forward. A bolt of lightning arced through the dark, aiming for Kai's chest.
Kai raised his left hand.
[ STATIC FIELD ]
He pushed a wall of dense, charged air in front of him.
The lightning hit the field. It didn't stop, but it diffused, spreading out like water hitting a pane of glass. The electricity washed over Kai, stinging his skin, singeing his coat, but not stopping his heart.
[ DAMAGE TAKEN: MINOR ][ ENERGY ABSORBED: +5% ]
Kai grinned. The Entropy Sutra fed on chaos.
He burst through the static field, closing the distance to the Overseer.
The Overseer backed up, trying to charge another bolt. "You... you're a cultivator? A rogue?"
"I'm a glitch," Kai snarled.
He swung the Arc-Blade.
The Overseer raised an arm to block, relying on his personal shield generator.
The plasma blade hit the invisible barrier. Sparks flew. The shield shimmered, turning red.
[ ENEMY SHIELD: 40% ]
Kai didn't pull back. He pressed forward, pouring his own Qi into the blade.
"Decompile!" he roared mentally.
He didn't just cut; he attacked the structure of the shield itself.
The red text of the System swarmed over the Overseer's barrier.
[ ANALYZING FREQUENCY... ][ DISRUPTING HARMONICS... ]
The shield shattered with the sound of breaking glass.
The Arc-Blade continued its arc, slicing across the Overseer's white bodysuit.
It was a shallow cut across the chest, cauterized instantly by the plasma. But the shock knocked the Overseer off his feet.
Kai stood over him, the blue blade humming inches from the man's throat.
"Don't," the Overseer gasped, his visor cracked. "The Sect... they'll wipe this sector. They'll delete you."
"Let them try," Kai said.
He didn't kill him. He didn't have time. The remaining two Enforcers were regrouping.
Kai turned and ran for the service entrance. He kicked the manual release lever, forcing the door open.
He sprinted out into the chaotic factory floor. The blackout had spread. The assembly lines were halted. Workers were milling about in confusion. Emergency red lights strobed.
Kai vanished into the crowd, just another shadow in the panic.
The return to the Sump was a blur of evasion. Kai didn't stop until he reached the trash-chute shaft that led to the Dead Sector.
He slid down, landing heavily on the platform.
He checked his loot. The servos were safe. The meat was slightly squashed but intact. The mysterious cube was still in his pocket.
He approached the bunker.
But as he reached for the scrap metal to pry the door, he stopped.
His Packet Sniffer, which he had left running on low power, pulsed a warning.
[ PROXIMITY ALERT ][ SEISMIC VIBRATION DETECTED ]
The floor was vibrating. A low, rhythmic THOOM... THOOM... THOOM... echoed from the darkness of the Sump tunnels.
It wasn't a heartbeat. It was footsteps. Heavy footsteps.
< KAI. > Cipher's voice was grave. < THAT IS NOT A PATROL. THAT IS HEAVY ORDINANCE. >
Kai turned to look down the main tunnel leading to their hideout.
In the distance, through the gloom, two red lights appeared. Like eyes. But they were set ten feet apart.
A massive shape moved into the bioluminescent light of the fungi.
It was a machine. A quadruped walker, three meters tall at the shoulder. Thick armor plates covered its chassis. A rotary cannon was mounted on its back. Its feet were heavy claws that crushed the scrap metal with every step.
[ ENEMY: SIEGE BOT (MODEL: BREACHER) ][ ARMOR: HEAVY COMPOSITE ][ WEAPONRY: 20MM AUTOCANNON / CONCUSSION GRENADES ][ THREAT LEVEL: LETHAL ]
And riding on top of the chassis, perched like a vulture, was a small, twisted figure.
It was the Rat-King. The large one with the purple eyes. It chittered into a headset, pointing a clawed finger directly at the bunker door.
"Subject located," the synthesized voice boomed from the walker's speakers. "Commencing demolition."
Kai pressed his back against the blast door.
"Rin!" he shouted, banging on the metal. "Wake up! We're under attack!"
He looked at the Arc-Blade in his hand. Then at the massive Siege Bot rumbling toward them.
He couldn't fight this thing head-on. It would turn him into paste.
He needed a plan. And he needed it five seconds ago.
[ QI RESERVES: 180/300 ][ TURRET KITS: UNASSEMBLED (INSIDE) ]
"Cipher," Kai said, his voice steady despite the fear gripping his gut. "Can we hack it?"
< IT'S MILITARY GRADE. FIREWALL IS TIER 3. IT WOULD TAKE ME TEN MINUTES TO CRACK. >
"We don't have ten minutes."
THOOM.
The walker stopped twenty meters away. The rotary cannon spun up with a terrifying whine.
"Breach mode engaged," the machine announced.
Kai looked at the door. He looked at the tunnel ceiling, lined with ancient, rusted pipes.
[ OBJECT: COOLANT MAIN (SECTOR LEVEL) ][ CONTENTS: LIQUID NITROGEN ][ PRESSURE: CRITICAL ]
A grim smile touched Kai's lips.
"Open the door, Rin!" he screamed.
The blast door hissed and began to slide open.
Kai didn't go in. He stood his ground, facing the machine.
"Hey! Ugly!" Kai shouted, waving the glowing blue blade.
The Rat-King screeched. The walker's turret swiveled toward him.
"Target acquired."
Kai bent his knees, channeling every ounce of Qi he had into his legs.
[ OVERCLOCK: LEGS ]
The cannon fired.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRT.
A stream of high-explosive rounds chewed up the ground where Kai had been standing.
But Kai was already in the air. He jumped, not at the robot, but straight up. toward the ceiling pipes.
He slashed the Arc-Blade.
HISSSSSS.
The coolant line ruptured.
A waterfall of white, freezing fog cascaded down—directly onto the Siege Bot.
The machine groaned as the super-cooled liquid hit its hot armor. Metal contracted. Joints seized. The rotary cannon jammed with a sound of grinding gears.
[ ENEMY STATUS: FROZEN / MOBILITY COMPROMISED ]
The walker stumbled, slipping on the sudden ice sheet forming beneath it. It crashed into the wall of the tunnel, shaking the foundations of the Sump.
Kai landed on the walkway above the door, shivering from the cold.
"Get inside!" he yelled to Rin, who was peering out, terrified.
He dropped down, shoved her back into the bunker, and slammed the manual lock.
BOOM.
Something hit the door from the outside. A concussion grenade. The metal bulged inward, but it held.
"They're knocked down, not out," Kai said, breathing hard. He dropped the bag of meat and servos on the floor.
He looked at the two crates in the corner—the turret kits Nova had sold him.
"Rin," Kai said, his eyes burning red. "Can you use a screwdriver?"
Rin looked at the bulging door, then at Kai. She nodded, her face pale but determined.
"Good," Kai said. He ripped the lid off the turret crate. "Because we're about to have a siege."