Midnight painted the Neo-Kyoto skyline in shades of sickly yellow and oppressive gray. The target was the North River Crossing Bridge, a segmented ferro-concrete structure spanning the polluted river, the fastest route for Nexus Corp to move high-value assets out of the city.
Kai was positioned under the bridge's northern approach, concealed in the shadows of a massive support pillar. His heart hammered, not from fear, but from the raw energy surging through his veins. This was the real fight—not virtual Goblins, but the enemies of his family's survival.
He was wearing a simple, dark utility suit, but the Veil Shield on his left forearm pulsed faintly, generating a localized electromagnetic field that suppressed his body's Qi signature.
[VEIL SHIELD (TIER 3) – STATUS: ACTIVE. STEALTH 60% EFFECTIVE.]
A low, encrypted whisper crackled in the comm-bead Kai wore, provided by Anya.
"Target approaching. S-4 Shipment. Two armored transport trucks. They are running Tier-2 biometric scanners, but no perimeter air support. My distraction will deploy in sixty seconds. Get ready."
Kai's new [DATA] stat allowed him to visualize the trucks' security grid. Two armored vehicles, separated by fifty meters. The valuable S-4: Spiritual Stabilization Component was undoubtedly in the lead truck.
The lead truck was protected by four Nexus Corp security guards—all Mortal Flesh rank—and one far more dangerous presence.
[TARGET: NEXUS CORP CULTIVATOR]
Rank: Foundation Establishment (Mid-Stage).
Weapon: Qi-Enhanced Ballistic Rifle.
Threat Level: HIGH (One full stage above Host. Avoid direct confrontation.)
A Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage Cultivator was the equivalent of a fully trained, professional killer, capable of easily overwhelming a newly initiated Foundation Access user like Kai.
[WARNING: HOST MUST ENGAGE THE ENEMY CULTIVATOR TO RETRIEVE THE TIER-4 DATA SHARD. STRATEGY MUST BE ASYMMETRIC.]
Kai had his plan, relying entirely on the asymmetric nature of the Star-Forge System.
Exactly sixty seconds later, the diversion deployed. A sudden, massive explosion rocked the bridge approach three kilometers behind the second truck. It was a perfect tactical blast, designed not to destroy, but to disorient.
"Distraction active. That cost me a Fortune," Anya's cold voice hissed. "They will stop both vehicles and send the guards back to investigate. Your window is thirty seconds."
The security procedures were immediate and predictable. The two trucks ground to a halt. The four Mortal Flesh guards jumped out of the second truck and began running back toward the explosion.
The Nexus Cultivator from the lead truck, a severe-looking man with a cybernetic eye-patch, remained at his vehicle, his Qi-Enhanced Ballistic Rifle tracking the shadows. His Qi signature was strong, radiating a disciplined, dangerous power that felt like solid ice.
Kai had to get to the lead truck's cargo bay without being detected by the Mid-Stage Cultivator.
He focused on his core skill: [STELLAR LEAP]. He still had zero E-PTs, meaning he couldn't use the skill.
I need Essence, now!
Kai frantically scanned his environment. He had nothing to convert. He looked at the trucks. They were running on Tier-3 fusion cells.
[NOTIFICATION: HOST CAN CONVERT RAW TIER-3 FUSION ENERGY INTO E-PTs. RISK: HIGH (Energy Volatility).]
Kai immediately accepted the risk. He dashed from his hiding spot, a silent blur of motion thanks to his refined body, and slammed his hand onto the fuel port of the second truck's engine block.
> EXECUTE ACTION: CONVERT TIER-3 FUSION ENERGY. TARGET: 5 E-PTs.
A violent, scorching energy flooded his arm. The truck's engine whined in protest.
[CONVERSION COMPLETE. 5 E-PTs ACQUIRED. HOST PHYSICAL DAMAGE: -2 HP (Minor Burns).]
The small cost was worth it. Kai felt the five E-PTs solidify in his Dantian, giving him the power he needed.
> EXECUTE ACTION: STELLAR LEAP.
The ability was instantaneous. Five E-PTs dissolved, and Kai didn't move so much as he teleported—a calculated, micro-jump that took him twenty meters, instantly placing him in the blind spot behind the Nexus Cultivator's truck.
The Cultivator, alerted by the sudden drain on the second truck's fusion cell, spun around, his Qi-Rifle raised, but Kai was already gone.
Kai located the shipment lock—a Tier-4 biometrically secured panel. He slammed the Veil Shield against it. The Veil Shield, forged from Nexus's own drone blueprints, recognized the security code as a sibling file.
CHNNGG. The lock disengaged instantly.
Kai pulled open the cargo bay door. Inside, resting on a bed of magnetic dampeners, was a perfectly spherical, glowing orange artifact. It was humming with chaotic, concentrated spiritual energy. The Spiritual Stabilization Component.
[ITEM ACQUIRED: SPIRITUAL STABILIZATION COMPONENT.]
[DATA SHARD EQUIVALENT ACQUIRED.]
Before Kai could secure it, the Cultivator was on him.
"You!" the Cultivator roared, his eye-patch glowing red. "You're the anomaly! You're the one stealing our research data!"
The Cultivator unleashed a torrent of Qi-Enhanced bullets. Kai ducked instinctively, using his new speed. The bullets, humming with mid-stage Qi, impacted the steel walls of the cargo bay, leaving deep, molten scars.
Kai was trapped. He couldn't fight this Cultivator directly.
"[STELLAR LEAP]!" Kai shouted, spending his remaining five E-PTs.
Fzzzzzt. He disappeared again, reappearing twenty meters away, carrying the glowing orange component in his arms.
The Cultivator was furious. He knew Kai was using a forbidden skill. He dropped his rifle and unleashed his Cultivation power—a pure, compressed wave of Qi energy aimed directly at Kai's chest.
"QI BLAST! FOUNDATION (MID-STAGE)!"
The attack hit Kai full-force. It felt like being hit by a train made of ice.
[WARNING! HOST SUSTAINING MAJOR DAMAGE! QI SHIELD AT 10%!]
[VEIL SHIELD (TIER 3) AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATED. 50% DIGITAL DEFENSE INITIATED.]
The Veil Shield didn't block the physical force, but it scrambled the Qi's structure, turning the focused beam into a chaotic scattershot. Kai was thrown against the bridge railing, pain exploding through his ribs, but he was alive.
[HOST STATUS: CRITICALLY INJURED (Fractured Ribs, Qi Depletion). HEALTH 15%.]
He had to get out. He couldn't forge the pill here. He heard the guards running back from the explosion, their footsteps heavy and fast.
[URGENT: ACTIVATE ESCAPE PROTOCOL. HAREM MEMBER #1 (ANYA) NEEDS TO BE ALERTED.]
Kai reached for the comms, his vision blurring. "Anya… extraction. North River Crossing. I have the component. I am… exposed."
The Cultivator smirked, raising his hand to deliver the killing blow. "You stole from Nexus, boy. Now you die."
Suddenly, a massive, explosive pulse of energy erupted from the river below the bridge, sending a column of water twenty meters into the air, soaking the Cultivator and obscuring his vision.
"Extraction active, Civilian Kai," Anya's voice was dry, but laced with genuine concern. "I told you I'd be prepared. Jump down. Now."
Kai didn't hesitate. Clutching the glowing component, he threw himself over the bridge railing, plunging toward the chaotic, dark water below.
He hit the surface hard, the Qi component in his arms thankfully protected by his desperate embrace. As he surfaced, coughing and gasping, he saw not a boat, but a sleek, silent hydro-bike—a military-grade stealth vessel.
Anya, clad in a waterproof combat suit, held the controls. She reached out a strong, steady hand and pulled him, injured and shivering, onto the vessel.
"You're a reckless idiot, Kai," Anya hissed, her eyes scanning the bridge above, where the Nexus Cultivator was now roaring in fury. "But you are a resourceful idiot. Now hold on."
She throttled the hydro-bike. The vessel sliced through the polluted water, disappearing into the city's complex network of under-river tunnels.
[QUEST: SECOND FORGING TRIAL – COMPONENT RETRIEVED.]
[HOST STATUS: CRITICALLY INJURED. IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION REQUIRED.]
Anya looked down at Kai's shattered expression, then at the glowing component he refused to let go of.
"We have the target, but you're bleeding internally. We're going to my secure location to forge the pill. If you die before you teach me how to do that, Kai, I swear I'll resurrect you just to kill you myself."
She wasn't threatening him. She was stating a crucial, intimate truth about their alliance. Kai simply nodded, clutching the component, knowing that the next few hours would decide if he lived to see his children breathe clean air again.