They both emerged from the suffocating gloom of the Shadow District, their boots clicking against the cobblestones as they entered the Brownout District. Here, the air was a thick soup of metallic grit and recycled grease, belching from the chimneys of tireless factories. Despite the hour, the district hummed with a feverish, mechanical energy.
Yuna let out a sharp, ragged cough.
"You alright?" Jax asked, his voice low.
"Yeah," Yuna wheezed, waving a hand through the smog. "Just catching my breath."
"I told you to see a doctor," Jax muttered, eyes scanning the horizon.
"No need," she snapped back, though her pale complexion suggested otherwise.
They came to a halt before a massive, iron-shuttered storefront: Dallas's Workshop. A bright yellow "CAUTION" sign was plastered across the entrance.
"Did the soldiers seal this place?" Jax asked, his hand drifting toward his belt.
"Yesterday," Yuna replied. "Rumor has it someone complained about 'unnatural occurrences' inside."
Jax let out a short, cynical laugh. "The only thing 'unnatural' about Dallas is his work ethic."
They slipped around to the rear of the building, sliding through a hidden service door. Inside, the workshop was a graveyard of progress—a chaotic expanse of rusted gears, discarded pistons, and tangled copper wiring. Blueprints were pinned to every available inch of the walls, most of them detailing complex SMR designs.
"Professor? Where are you?" Yuna called out.
A mountain of scrap metal shifted. From beneath a pile of machine parts, an old man emerged, covered in oil and soot.
"I was... researching the Pro-SMR," Professor Dallas wheezed, swaying on his feet. "Suddenly, the world went dizzy. I must have... fallen."
"You're always doing this," Jax said, his face twisting with irritation as he helped the old man up. "Overworking until you collapse. Why did you call us here, Dallas?"
The Professor's expression darkened. "There is a problem. A mineral transport train traveling from the Iron Docks to Ferrum has been hijacked by thugs. They haven't left the Ferrum outskirts yet, but if those minerals don't reach the city in time... the power grid will fail. The suffering will be massive