A sleek flying car hovered to a stop at the center of a crumbling, half-swallowed district remnant of the world before ruin.
The driver looked out the cracked windshield, brows furrowed in confusion as he scanned the twisted landscape of rusted metal, fallen signage, and shattered structures being slowly devoured by vines.
"Sir, is this the right place?" he asked hesitantly.
"Yes," Hex nodded, stepping out and slamming the door behind him.
Before him lay the remnants of a civilization scarred by history—buildings that once scraped the sky now bent, broken, and sunken into the ground like dying giants. Steel girders jutted out from shattered walls. Trees and weeds had forced their way through concrete, nature devouring what man abandoned.
Whole sections were blackened, either from fire or some other unknown calamity, and fractured windows reflected the sickly green light of the artificial sun above. Neon lights flickered among the rubble, casting ghostly glows on crumbling walls.
"The Federation doesn't even care enough to clean this place up..." Hex muttered, his voice echoing faintly. "Maybe it's better that way. The remnants of the apocalypse… it's not a bad place to start."
In the 23rd century, humanity made first contact with alien life.
That contact spiraled into war.
They barely survived the conflict, driving the alien forces back when the true apocalypse descended.
A mysterious energy had flooded Earth, distorting the very laws of nature. The solar system twisted planets shifted in size, spatial coordinates warped.
The skies cracked open. Dimensional tears appeared, vomiting strange flora, creatures, and resources into the world.
Humans were unprepared, on the brink of extinction. It was then they realized: the aliens had known about Earth all along—but they hadn't attacked before because Earth was worthless.
It wasn't until the spatial rifts and dimensional cracks appeared—rifts rich in rare elements, cosmic energy, and access to parallel zones that Earth became worth fighting over.
The cost of ignorance was high. 50% of the global population died during those early years.
It could've been worse… if not for Sir Evan's Protocols, the survival rate might have dropped even further.
Hex shook the thoughts from his mind and approached a decrepit building, its walls completely overtaken by weeds and moss. Hidden under the brush, a faint keypad blinked.
He pulled out a small device—smooth, round, and blinking red—and pressed its side.
A holographic interface blinked to life. A tiny drone shimmered into form, scanning the surroundings. It projected a green arrow.
Hex followed it through a narrow passage until he reached a metallic door, half-rusted but surprisingly intact. He tapped the button again.
A quick flash enveloped him, followed by a sharp click, and then—
SWISH!
The door slid open with surprising precision, revealing a sterile, dim corridor bathed in blue light. A cold mechanical voice greeted him.
[Welcome to Sector 12 Black Market… Identity is being scanned.]
[New user detected.]
[Do you want to register a name?]
Hex paused, considering for a moment.
"…Register 'Hellfire'," he said.
[Name 'Hellfire' registered.]
[Please proceed to the tall registration building to receive your badge.]
[Have a pleasant patronage.]
"You too," Hex muttered with a smirk and stepped forward.
---
As Hex entered, he was swallowed by a chaotic world of neon sin and digital haze.
The Black Market stretched like an underground city of its own, a cyberpunk fever dream born from rust, LED glow, and desperation.
The street beneath his boots was a mosaic of scrap metal and concrete, glowing with motion-triggered lights. Countless holograms flickered in the air, advertising illicit enhancements, organ replacements, and artificial memories.
Stalls lined both sides of the street—makeshift booths welded from old airship parts and satellite dish fragments. Sellers shouted beneath swaying cables and buzzing plasma lights.
"Fresh-grown nano-livers! Guaranteed to pass scans!"
"Memory pills! Relive your best day! Or your worst! Custom orders available!"
"Grade-C exoskeleton arms—strong enough to punch through riot shields!"
"Try our new neural stim packs, just one hit and you'll see sounds, baby!"
A gangly man with silver cybernetic eyes whispered to a passerby, "You want the real stuff? Not the diluted junk? I got raw mana dust. Straight from Rift Caves."
Meanwhile, a girl with glowing tattoos waved a tray of small capsules. "One bite and no nightmares for three days! Perfect for mercs and sleepless sinners."
Augmented humans wandered the alleys, some with chrome limbs, others with dataports carved into their skulls. Hover drones zipped above, scanning faces and tagging shoppers with price profiles.
Above it all, a black tower loomed—slick, sharp, and tall like a fang cutting into the artificial sky. It pulsed with red vertical lights that traveled up its length like veins.
Hex silently pulled up his hood and adjusted the mask across his face. He stepped into the crowd and moved through the chaos with purpose, heading toward that tower—the center of it all.
His eyes narrowed.
"I think this is it."
Hex entered the building and reached the main pavilion where various reception desks were lined up. He walked to one where a woman with a curvy body and slightly thicker assets sat lazily behind the counter, wearing a bunny mask.
He paused and looked around with slight confusion.
'Why are the receptionists dressed like they're working in a bar or pub?'
"Oooh~ you're quite a young one, aren't you?" she cooed, licking her lips slightly.
Hex narrowed his eyes. "How do you know I'm young?"
A melodious, almost purring laugh escaped her lips as she leaned forward, her cleavage pressing just enough to draw unwanted attention.
"Hehehe~" A melodious laugh escaped again as she suddenly sniffed the air near him, causing Hex to take a step back instinctively.
"AHHH~ what a fresh scent of virginity… I love this," she said with a moan-like tone, her voice dripping with innuendo.
"AHHH~" she gasped with a soft moan, eyes gleaming behind the mask. "That fresh scent of untouched innocence..A true virgin… mmm, I love it."
"What?" Hex choked, feeling his composure crack. He glanced around, suddenly hyperaware of how surreal this place was.
The woman giggled devilishly. "I can tell by the way your heart jumped. Hehe~ how about giving this sweet, hungry bunny a taste? I promise I'll make it a night you'll never forget~"
Hex cleared his throat sharply, voice firm. "I have priorities."
"Awww… how boring," she pouted theatrically, but then flicked her fingers over the holopanel.
"Alright, alright. Straight to business then, Mr. Stoic. What can I do for you?"
"I want my registration token," Hex replied, cutting the fluff.
She rolled her eyes playfully. "Fine, spoilsport. One moment~"
After asking him a few identification questions, she keyed in the details. The name Hellfire glowed briefly in red before vanishing into the data stream.
"Done. Registered as Hellfire. Just a heads-up—newbies usually need a sponsor to enter the Black Market. You're one of the few who got through recommendation… rare type, huh~?"
Her voice dropped again into a sultry whisper. "Now that we're done with the boring part... What else can I do for you, Hellfire?"
"Can I get a computer with access to the Intergalactic Dark Net here?" Hex asked.
"Of course you can," she said, winking. "That will be 2,000 Earth Credits."
'Hiss!' Hex cursed in his heart.
'What the hell? That's too much!'
Accessing the Dark Net was something Hex could do on his own. He had decent knowledge and could break into it using his own system.
But the real trouble wasn't getting in—it was what happened afterward. The Federation's AI would instantly mark his location and start tracking everything. If he tried to access it from a café or home, they'd flag the place and possibly raid it.
Only a Black Market terminal, built outside the Federation's monitoring system, was safe.
He'd known how to enter before but avoided it partly because he didn't want to get entangled with Stacy, and partly because he was talentless back then. It wasn't worth the risk.
Now though, the situation has changed.
Weighing the options, Hex sighed and replied, "Okay. Do it."