The air in the Harbor Sector was not inhaled—it was swallowed like dust scraped from rusted metal.Here, Oakland was not merely dying; it was being scraped out of existence.
Alistair watched with his own eyes as the massive cranes of Redback Existential Construction did not demolish walls, but erased the data of matter from the void itself, leaving behind gray holes—dead pixels torn from an old, corrupted image.
He walked forward with measured confidence through the wreckage, his long coat trailing behind him like the wing of a wounded crow.
[SYSTEM: Entering "Out-of-Contract Zone"][WARNING: Physical Laws Unstable | Gravity: 0.7g | Reality Pressure: Low]
Alistair stopped before a barrier of barbed wire glowing with toxic violet light.
Two Eviction Enforcers stood guard—massive, unnaturally proportioned bodies clad in pristine white ceramic armor, unmarred by a single scratch. Their faces were hidden behind digital visors streaming endless cascades of numbers.
"This zone has been seized, Broker," one of them said in a metallic voice, raising a weapon pulsing with blue energy."Your life-lease contract in this sector expired six minutes ago. Leave immediately or be struck from record."
Alistair did not smile. He adjusted his glasses coolly.
"I am not a tenant," he said."I am the legal liquidator of my father's estate. I've come to reclaim an old lien."
Before the enforcer could react, Alistair drew his brass revolver and pulled the trigger.
No lead bullet emerged.
Instead, a flash of white light burst forth, and at its core—etched in impossibly small text—were the words:
(Clause 4: Lack of Legal Capacity)
The flash struck the enforcer's chest. His armor did not explode—it peeled, like burning paper. The enforcer screamed as his body unraveled into complex mathematical equations before vanishing entirely, leaving behind only a pool of black oil.
"The bullet doesn't kill," Alistair murmured as he stepped over the remains."It simply revokes your license to exist in the database."
He continued toward Rust Tower, Redback's temporary headquarters.
The harbor was littered with displaced civilians—people who had lost limbs because they could not afford the annual Limb Tax. They stared at him with hollow eyes. Alistair did not look back.
He knew that in this world, compassion was a failed currency.
At the tower's entrance stood a woman in a business suit the color of fresh blood. She held a glass tablet, and behind her loomed the Debt Collector who had visited Alistair before.
"Alistair… the prodigal son," the woman said with a polished smile."I'm Celine, Redback's legal counsel. The client is expecting you on the upper floor—but he requests that you leave the deposit in your temple downstairs."
"Tell him I'm carrying it as collateral," Alistair replied, resting his hand on the scar that had begun to throb violently."Otherwise, I'll be forced to activate the Total Liquidation Protocol right here—and we'll all lose our contracts."
Celine stepped back. For the first time, unease cracked her composure.
The bullet in Alistair's head was not merely a weapon—it was the encryption key anchoring Oakland to reality itself.If it detonated, the city would collapse into absolute void.
"Go up," she snapped, opening the metal elevator door."But remember—Redback doesn't accept bankruptcy. If he can't take the money… he takes the soul."
Alistair entered the elevator.
As it ascended, the bullet whispered inside his skull. It was no longer just code—it sounded like his late father's voice:
"Justice, my son… is the only contract they can never sign."
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened onto a vast hall overlooking the burning city. At its far end sat a massive man clad in furs made from the skins of melted digital entities, a glowing golden contract clenched in his hand.
"Alistair," Redback said, his deep voice rattling the tower's walls."Have you come to hand me the key to my city?Or to tear it from between your eyes?"
Alistair removed his revolver and placed it calmly on the luxurious table separating them.
"I came to inform you," he said evenly,"that I mortgaged this tower to the Shadow Market ten minutes ago.You are now… legally homeless, Redback."
The blue system screen before Alistair's eyes ceased flickering and turned a deep, violent red:
[MISSION: Activate Legal Chaos][STATUS: Direct Confrontation with Landlord]