Chapter 1
The wind at three hundred meters high didn't just blow; it screamed. It was a cold, metallic gale that carried the scent of ozone, burnt rubber, and the desperate dreams of ten million souls living below in Neo-Astra.
Kael stood on the edge of the Horizon Tower, his worn-out sneakers gripping the rusted chrome railing. Below him, the city was a glowing abyss of neon veins—blue for the corporate sectors, a sickly toxic green for the industrial zones, and a flickering, dying orange for the slums where he grew up.
"Just a delivery," Kael whispered, his voice trembling as much as his knees. "It's just a package. You've done this a thousand times on a bike, Kael. The only difference is the gravity."
But it wasn't just a package. Inside the insulated carbon-fiber box strapped to his chest was an Apex-7 artificial heart. In the black market of Neo-Astra, that piece of tech was worth more than Kael's life, his apartment, and his entire family lineage combined.
Suddenly, a sharp ping resonated inside his skull. His vision flickered as a translucent blue interface overlaid his sight.
[NIGHT RIDER SYSTEM INITIALIZED]
[Syncing with User: Kael Thorne...] 100%
[Current Mission: The Dying Pulse]
Objective: Deliver the Apex-7 Heart to 'Last
Hope' Clinic (Sector 12).
Time Remaining: 08:32.
Current Rank: F (Trainee).
Potential Rewards: 5,000 Credits, +100 XP, Skill Unlock.
Failure Penalty: Permanent Account Deletion (Death).
Kael gulped. "Permanent deletion." In this world, if your digital ID was wiped, the city's automated defense turrets saw you as a "glitch" to be removed. He checked his stats—a habit from playing illegal retro RPGs in the basements of the slums.
[CHARACTER STATS]
Level: 1
Strength: 10 | Agility: 14 | Endurance: 11
Luck: 25 (Rank: Rare/Anomaly)
Active Skill: Pneumatic Dampeners (Niv.1)
"Twenty-five Luck," Kael scoffed. "If I were lucky, I wouldn't be jumping off a building."
The timer hit 08:00. The heart in the box gave a rhythmic, mechanical thud. Kael leaned forward. The world tilted. Gravity took hold.
WHOOSH.
The air became a solid wall, slamming into his chest. He watched the floors blur past—90, 80, 70. At forty floors from the ground, he saw his target: a massive ventilation duct on the neighboring skyscraper.
"Now!" He slammed his heels together.
Pshhh-KTANG!
The hydraulic pistons in his boots fired. The Pneumatic Dampeners skill kicked in, glowing with a faint blue aura. He hit the slanted metal of the duct with a heavy slide. Sparks flew as his metal-reinforced soles ground against the steel.
[SKILL PROFICIENCY INCREASED: Pneumatic Dampeners (1.2%)]
The momentum carried him toward the end of the duct. Beyond it lay the Maglev tracks, where a high-speed bullet train was screaming toward the central station at two hundred miles per hour. Kael leaped. He soared through the gap, landing on the roof of the Maglev with a bone-jarring
CLANG.
[FLASHBACK: The Ghost of the Slums]
As the train roared, the sound faded into a muffled hum in Kael's mind.
Six hours ago. Sector 17 – The Rust Gut.
The apartment smelled of recycled air and cheap disinfectant. It was a space no larger than a shipping container.
"Kael… stay."
The voice was thin. His sister, Elara, was nineteen, but the Grey Lung—a disease caused by breathing unfiltered industrial nanites—had made her look like a ghost. Kael looked at the medical monitor hooked to her arm.
[LIFE SUPPORT STATUS]
Oxygen Saturation: 64% (CRITICAL)
Battery Life: 04:12:00
Refill Cost: 4,500 Credits.
The number was a death sentence. To the corporations, a dying girl in Sector 17 was just a statistic.
"It's the only way, Elara," Kael whispered, taking her cold hand. "I've spent three years playing by the rules. Look where it got us. I'm going to run, El. I'll bring back that heart, and I'll bring back the credits."
He had kissed her forehead, the heat of her fever burning his lips. As he walked out, the System had flickered to life for the first time, sensing his desperation.
[HIDDEN QUEST TRIGGERED: A Brother's Burden]
[Warning: Fate is a cruel dealer. Do you accept?]
He hadn't hesitated. He had pressed [YES].
[PRESENT DAY: The Lawless Zone]
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
Bullets hitting the Maglev's roof snapped Kael back. Three black drones with rotating Gatling-eyes were descending.
"Subject identified," a mechanical voice boomed. "Unlicensed Rider detected. Deploying Pacification Drones."
Kael growled. His vision zoomed in. Because of his high Luck, the world seemed to slow down just enough to see a "Critical Point"—a small cooling fan beneath the drone's lens.
"Fourteen percent success rate ?" Kael lunged forward, sliding across the slick metal. "I've had worse odds just trying to buy breakfast."
He threw a heavy steel wrench.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: Lucky Throw (Lvl 1)]
The tool tilted in the wind, ricocheted off a signal pole, and jammed perfectly into the drone's fan. SPARK! The drone spiraled out of control, exploding against the tunnel wall.
[DRONE DESTROYED! +25 XP]
[LUCK STAT INCREASED: 25 -> 26]
The train slowed as it entered the "Lawless Zone" of Sector 12. Kael didn't wait for a full stop. He rolled off the train, hitting a pile of industrial trash and sprinting toward the "Last Hope" clinic.
But as he turned the corner into the alleyway, the temperature dropped. A man stood there, wearing a sleek, obsidian-black exo-suit. A high-rank Rider badge gleamed on his chest. In his hand was a mono-molecular blade, humming with purple energy.
"The Apex-7 heart," the stranger said, his voice modulated and cold. "Hand it over, rookie. That's a Rank-B item. You're just a Rank-F delivery boy who took a wrong turn."
Kael looked at his HUD.
[TIME REMAINING: 01:15]
[THREAT LEVEL: LETHAL]
He tightened the straps on his box. His heart hammered against his ribs. He had 75 seconds to save his sister, and a professional killer was standing in his way.
"You want the package ?" Kael wiped blood from his lip, a wild, desperate grin forming. "Then you better be fast. Because I don't plan on stopping."
[NEW SKILL EVOLVING...]
[CONDITION MET: Absolute Desperation]