Neo had started to hate the apartment.
That should have been ridiculous. A month ago, a place like this would have sounded like one of those fantasies people in Zone 0 only allowed themselves when hunger had already worn through their pride.
Two weeks later, it felt like a cage.
He had money, a weapon, a phone, and more comfort than he had ever touched before, yet none of it pushed him forward. No message from Richards. No real lead. No Breach he could enter. Only Snot flooding his phone with nonsense at every hour like some kind of curse in human form, sending videos, jokes, and garbage from an app called TikiToki without a single message worth reading.
'I can't keep doing this.'
Neo got off the bed and crossed into the living room. The city stretched below in steel, light, and distance, still carrying that same unreal quality, like he had stepped into someone else's life by mistake.
One goal had stopped drifting and hardened into something simple.
Gray Hand.
If he wanted in, he needed to raise his Soul Core. Heart would be ideal. Vein at the very least.
He called up his Soul Window.
[391/1000 Ember]
Unchanged.
His phone buzzed.
Neo picked it up, frowned, and read the message from Snot.
"Open the door in five minutes. ;)"
Neo stared at the screen.
'Open the door? What door? He's never been to my place.'
He crossed to the glass and leaned forward slightly, narrowing his eyes as he searched the street below. It did not take long.
There.
A familiar figure was moving through the crowd with far more energy than the people around him, weaving between strangers with the loose, cheerful rhythm of someone halfway to singing and not caring who heard it.
It was Snot. Even from up there, he stuck out like a sore thumb.
Neo still did not quite believe what he was seeing. He blinked a couple of times, then rubbed at his eyes with one hand just to make sure distance and glass were not playing some stupid trick on him.
A moment later, the intercom rang.
Ring... ring...
Neo walked over and looked at the small screen. Snot's face filled it at once. Brown hair, brown eyes, and that absurd nose, still the first thing anyone noticed about him.
Neo pressed the button. The light downstairs turned on. Snot clearly knew he had answered, even if Neo had not said a word.
"You can open the door too, you know," Snot said through the speaker. "I'm not exactly enjoying standing down here freezing my ass off."
Neo frowned at the screen. "How the hell do you know I live here? I don't remember telling anyone."
"Oh, come on," Snot said. "Don't be like that. We're friends, aren't we?"
Neo did not answer.
Snot was already drawing enough attention out on the street just by talking into the intercom like an idiot.
"Alright, fine," Snot went on. "Open the door and I'll tell you. I'm already embarrassing myself down here, so could you please let me in, Neo? For once, I actually have something worth talking about. Good news too. A new Breach opened not long ago. You let me in, we talk about the details. Otherwise I leave and take my amazing information with me."
Neo let out a slow breath.
A new Breach.
That was all he needed to hear.
Just like that, two weeks of boredom cracked open. Maybe he could finally move again. Maybe he could finally start advancing the way he wanted. By now, Neo had already learned something irritating: getting into a Breach was not simple. He had tried asking at the government offices himself, only to get the same answers every time. Nothing nearby. Restricted access. Controlled by some faction or family.
He pressed the button to unlock the door.
"Thanks," Snot said.
Then he threw him a wink through the camera.
Neo saw it and felt a chill crawl down his spine.
The elevator finally reached Neo's floor and opened.
Neo was already at the door, sliding the card-key into place and unlocking it just as Snot stepped out and headed straight for the apartment, clearly ready to walk in like he belonged there.
"Neo, my dear friend, we finally meet again. And this time I actually bring something better than the videos I sent you. But did you see the last girl I sent? She's a famous influencer. Absolute ten, right?"
Neo stopped him with one hand before he could cross the doorway.
Snot froze there and looked at him, confused. "Something wrong?"
"Yes," Neo said. "Two things. First, the shoes. I don't want the floor getting dirty. Second, how the hell did you find me?"
Snot bent to take them off without much complaint. "Remember the day we ran into each other at the mall?"
Neo gave a small nod. "Yeah."
"Right. Well, pure coincidence. I was in a taxi and caught you out of the corner of my eye going into this building." He clicked his tongue twice. "I have to say, I was surprised. And you didn't tell me anything either. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I honestly thought we were closer than that."
Neo said nothing.
Snot straightened again, his shoes in one hand. "Didn't expect someone from Zone 0 to be living in a place like this. You must've gotten money fast somehow." His eyes narrowed a little, though the grin never really left. "The Soul Relic you sold, right?"
"Yeah," Neo said. "That was it."
"Good. So can I come in now? I already told you why I'm here."
Neo stepped aside and let him in.
Snot walked past him like the place had already become familiar, headed straight for the fridge, opened it, and grabbed something to drink without asking.
Neo stood there watching him.
He did not say anything. He was still trying to understand how Snot could act this naturally in someone else's apartment.
Snot came back with orange juice in hand, dropped into a chair at the table, tapped the surface twice with his fingers, and looked up at him.
Tap. Tap.
"Sit down," he said. "Let's talk."