The beam knifing through the manhole slits was harsh and white, carving a strip of light across the filthy water.
"Zzz—zz—"
Not power lines. Servo motors. Federation search hounds, police issue. They were right above him, separated by less than five centimeters of cast iron.
Lu Jin pressed his back to the rusted pipe, holding his breath. The fibrosis in his lungs was quiet under the muffling blanket of Holy Resonance, but every heartbeat thumped against his ribs loud enough to echo in the dead sewer.
He had the encrypted communicator he'd looted from the corpse clenched in his hand, fingertips gone pale.
D-class trash didn't get to win straight fights. His only weapons down here were the classified Ark intel in his head and a mouth that had just learned how to lie properly.
He thumbed the transmit switch. His throat bobbed once, and he forced his voice down into the low, strained register he'd heard from the clean-up captain—the man he'd killed.
"Calling command… this is Clean-up Squad Alpha-3…"
The line hissed once.
"Alpha-3, report. Has target been secured?"
He didn't answer the question. He sucked in a breath, let panic bleed into his tone, then barked into the mic:
"Negative! Intel was wrong! Target's carrying an Ark Ω-9 biochem sample! The container ruptured! Repeat, the container ruptured!"
"What?!" Command's voice went up an octave.
Lu Jin didn't give them space to think. He yanked the pin on his homemade flash trap and hurled it down the pipe.
"Boom."
The dull blast slammed through the tunnel. Light ripped the darkness away for a heartbeat. Lu Jin let out one last ragged scream into the mic:
"Geiger's maxed! It's nerve gas! Requesting cordon—argh—zz—"
He crushed the communicator in his fist and flung the pieces into the muck.
Above him, the mechanical footsteps scattered. Orders barked out, voices sharp with fear, followed by the shrill whine of sirens and a new set of alarms—hazmat protocols kicking in.
"Bunch of cowards," Lu Jin muttered, wiping the blood at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
He'd bet right. In a world carved up by genetic caste, the upper tiers feared "contamination" a hell of a lot more than they cared about one runaway D-class.
He dragged his legs into motion, using the chaos to slip into a narrower drainage pipe, further from the manhole.
The real-world crisis peeled back for the moment.
His phone, however, suddenly burned against his thigh like a brand.
[Warning! Warning!]
[Observation Target "S-09" Hunger Level has exceeded critical threshold!]
[Feeding Countdown: 00:10!]
Lu Jin yanked the phone out.
On-screen, in the dim warehouse of Resource Point No. 7, "Big Yellow" was baring its hydraulic jaws. The maw could chew through a tank; right now, it hung open in front of Li Xing.
Its single eye had gone fully blood-red, locked on the girl who had no idea her "pet" was one twitch away from predator mode.
She was still trailing her knuckles across its cold armor, humming under her breath, completely ignoring the red indicator above its head screaming "feeding mode."
[Thought Stream (Big Yellow):]
[So hungry… can't hold back…]
[That skull looks so brittle… the soft stuff inside must be delicious…]
[Core protocol failing… feed… I have to feed…]
Lu Jin's scalp prickled.
He hadn't adopted a dog. He'd brought a live warhead home and set it on the couch.
"Shit. What the hell do you even eat?" His thumb slid across the screen, opening the system shop.
His balance glared back at him, pathetic and bright.
¥20.00
One measly yuan blown on the "heart translator," and now he couldn't even afford a basic energy brick.
The system clearly smelled the desperation. A new window rolled down with all the subtlety of a pop-up ad.
The interface flickered once, like it was laughing at him.
[S-09 Military Maintenance Manual (Official Release)][Price: ¥5,000.00]
"Five thousand." Lu Jin stared at the twenty left in his balance and let out a laugh that hurt his ribs. "You couldn't get that for my whole corpse at this point."
Executioner's jaws scraped, metal on metal—a sound that always meant violence was next. No money for the full manual, so he did what every broke bastard did: dumpster dive.
[Detected: Severe Funds Insufficiency. Connecting you to "Dark Web Salvage Yard".]
[Item: S-09 Maintenance Log (Fragment · Heavily Corrupted)][Source: Fragmented data extracted from the neural jack of a dead wasteland mechanic. Garbage file. Contains errors and unknown noise.][Salvage Price: ¥19.90](Note: This is literally the only thing you can afford. Yes, it's trash. It might still tell you what the big metal idiot likes to "eat." No refunds.)
"Nineteen ninety… for e-waste?" Lu Jin stared at the price, so angry his hand shook. "You knew I had twenty left, didn't you? Fine. Take it."
Countdown hit three seconds.
He ground his teeth and slammed his thumb on the purchase button.
"Deal."
[Payment Successful.]
[Balance: ¥0.10]
The moment the last of his lifeline vanished, a gold dotted arrow streaked across the wasteland feed.
It cut clean through Li Xing's avatar and pointed toward a half-dissembled heavy tank husk in the corner of the warehouse.
[Free Command Bullet (0-cost): Dig under its belly!]
On the wasteland side, Li Xing had just been about to wipe Big Yellow's "mouth" clean. The shimmering text slid into her vision.
She blinked, then nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, spun, and sprinted toward the tank wreck.
S-09's blood-red eye tracked her. Its massive frame creaked with hunger as hydraulics strained. It hesitated for just a breath, then the treads began to grind forward.
A hunter, following the scent of a meal.
Li Xing dropped to her stomach and wriggled under the tank chassis. Jagged metal ripped her fingers, but she didn't slow. She clawed through layers of grime and dried oil, nails scraping steel.
"If Listener says it's there… then it's there…" she murmured.
Her fingertips hit something flat, cold, and rectangular.
She hooked both hands around it and yanked.
"Clack."
Two dust-coated blocks slid free—military isotopic batteries, edges still glowing faintly with a cold blue shine.
Old-world miracles. Even after fifty years, there was enough power in each one to cook a human to ash.
She didn't know that.
All she knew was: this was the meal Listener had found for Big Yellow.
She staggered back to the mech, hugging the batteries to her chest.
By now, its jaws were open as far as they'd go, the throat behind them a dark tunnel lined with spinning teeth.
Li Xing rose on her toes, lifted the blocks high, and pushed them straight into that monstrous mouth.
"Big Yellow, dinner."
On Lu Jin's screen, his pulse skipped.
"Crack—"
The sound was clean and sharp.
Big Yellow's jaws shut. They didn't close around Li Xing's arm. They came down neatly on the battery casing.
Lead seals snapped. Electric-blue fluid spilled out and slid down into the core furnace.
A beat passed.
Then Executioner's eye flicked, the blood-red bleeding away, replaced by that familiar dim yellow.
[Thought Stream (Big Yellow):]
[Oh… this flavor…]
[Crispy lead seal… bursting electrolyte center…]
[Little stale. Gets in the teeth… still so good…]
[Feeding Drive: 99% → 10% (Satiated)]
The giant machine let out a low, contented hum. Its combat posture melted. It leaned forward like a fed dog, enormous steel head nudging gently against Li Xing's shoulder.
She burst out laughing, grabbed its cold face with both arms, and hugged it like she meant it.
"Listener is amazing! Big Yellow really was just hungry!"
[Detected: Observation Target obeyed "Oracle" without question under extreme risk and successfully neutralized S-class threat ×1.]
[Emotional Analysis: Deepened Trust – A- · Safety – A- · Sense of Accomplishment – B+]
[Holy Resonance EXP Settlement: +25]
[Observation Target: Li Xing][Holy Resonance Realm: Mortal Echo · Glimmer Stage][Level: LV2][Growth: 459 / 500 → 484 / 500]
She turned to the invisible camera, grinning so hard her eyes nearly disappeared, face streaked with oil and soot but somehow cleaner than any S-class socialite Lu Jin had ever seen on TV.
In the sewer, he slid down the wall until he hit the damp floor, all strength gone with the adrenaline.
"Little money burner…" he muttered.
He stared at the sad little ¥0.10 on-screen, cursing under his breath—yet there was a curve at the corner of his mouth he couldn't force back down.
Golden light popped like a cheap fireworks overlay across his vision.
[Detected: Observation Target "Li Xing" has generated extremely strong trust and safety.]
[Holy Resonance Conversion…]
[Feedback Gained: Holy Tune · Beast Tamer's Aura (I)]
[Effect: For the next 30 minutes, your body emits S-class predator pheromones. Any canine lifeforms (including but not limited to mutant beasts, police dogs) will experience bloodline suppression when in your presence.]
Lu Jin stared for a second, then tipped his head up toward the exit.
Up top, a Federation police dog on perimeter duty was still going crazy at the manhole, barking its lungs out.
He straightened his filthy collar and nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose out of sheer habit. With one hand, he pushed the cover aside and climbed out of the hole in full view of the dog.
The big black shepherd inhaled once.
Then its whole posture collapsed. Tail tucked tight. A whine leaked from its throat. It shuffled back two steps and plastered itself to the ground, shaking.
The SWAT officers nearby figured the animal was tired and barely glanced over.
Lu Jin dragged his cap lower, merged into the flow of bodies on the street, and let the city's neon swallow him.
He was still alive.
Broke, deep in metaphysical debt, responsible for feeding an S-class mech that might one day snack on his girl's brain—but alive.
He fingered the lone physical coin in his pocket and looked up at a massive holo billboard blazing above the rain-wet high-rises, eyes gone flat and cold as bare steel.