Dex stared at the words still burning in his HUD:
[TRY THE SEWERS. BRING A GAS MASK.]
"So… the vault's in the sewers?" He scratched his head. "Classy. Real cyberpunk elite of them."
Spectre was already rummaging through a duffel bag, tossing him a filthy respirator. "No, idiot. The tower's impenetrable. But the sewers?" She smirked. "Luciano engineers pee there."
Dex caught the mask. It smelled like industrial regret. "Fantastic. My favorite place to get digital hepatitis."
A notification popped up:
[QUEST ACCEPTED: "SEWER SCAVENGER"]
OBJECTIVE: Infiltrate Sung-Jin Cartel vault via maintenance tunnels
REWARD: Valentina's "mercy" (lol) + ???
WARNING: HP LOCKED AT 32/100
Spectre slung a stolen Luciano pulse pistol into her belt. "Move. We've got 20 minutes before shift change."
"Hold up." Dex held the mask like it owed him money. "What's in this chip that's worth both our necks?"
For a second, Spectre hesitated. Then—
BOOM.
The window shattered. A grenade rolled between them—not explosive, but glitching, vomiting pink static that dissolved Dex's HUD into nonsense.
Pink Wolf crouched on the fire escape, her claws extended. "Guess what, dumbasses? Valentina lied."
Dex's eyes narrowed as the girl from the arena crouched on the broken windowsill, her pink-tipped claws glinting under the neon light.
"You're that kid from my fight," he said, crossing his arms. "The one who cheap-shotted me with those Wolverine claws."
Pink Wolf's face contorted in rage. She launched into the room, stomping so hard the floorboards groaned.
"I. Am. Not. A. Kid!" Each word was punctuated by a sharp poke to Dex's chest. "I'm eighteen, you pendejo!" (Stupid) Her cheeks puffed out in a pout that was—annoyingly—kind of cute.
Dex rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Legally an adult, emotionally five." He leaned against the wall, ignoring the way his ribs ached. "But back in the ring, you mentioned Valentina. You work for her or something?"
Pink Wolf's scowl faltered for half a second—just long enough for Dex to notice. Then she flopped onto Spectre's bed, bouncing slightly on the cheap mattress.
"Used to," she muttered, examining her claws. "Until she rewired my arm to spy on me. Classic Valentina." She flicked a loose wire in her cybernetic forearm for emphasis. "Anyway, congrats—you've got a bounty on your head now. All servers. Even Elfheim and Ironhold. You pissed her off real bad."
Dex's stomach dropped. "Wait, all worlds? So if I ever—"
"Yep. Try to log into any server, and boom—instant target." She grinned, kicking her legs like this was entertaining. "I tracked you 'cause I wanted to see the dumbass who managed to piss off Valentina Luciano. Turns out you're just a sore loser with a death wish."
Dex's jaw tightened. "And you followed us because…?"
"I'm bored," she said, shrugging. "And I hate Valentina. So… let me join your little team." She held up a finger. "100 CR an hour. Non-negotiable."
Dex saw red. In three strides, he was looming over her, one hand planted on either side of her head, their faces inches apart.
"Let me get this straight," he hissed. "You ambush me, kick my ass, then demand I pay you to tag along? Hell no."
Pink Wolf's breath hitched. Her cheeks flushed a deep pink—not from anger this time. (Unbeknownst to Dex, this was exactly her type of chaos.)
"F-Fine," she stammered, suddenly very interested in the ceiling. "Just… get off me…"
Spectre cleared her throat from the doorway, arms crossed. "You two done? We've wasted five minutes."
Dex jerked back— "Done? What are you trying to imply? Shes like 12"
WHAM.
Pink Wolf's roundhouse kick sent him crashing into the wall. Plaster rained down as he slid to the floor, groaning.
"I! AM! EIGHTEEN!" she shrieked, fists clenched.
[HP: 27/100]
Spectre sighed, tossing Dex a single bent CR coin. It landed on his chest with a clink.
"There. Down payment for our new teammate." Dex groans in response.
An hour later they stood in the middle of an Alleyway, all three staring down at a manhole which led to the sewers, gasmasks in their hands.
Spectre crouches down.
The manhole cover screeched as Spectre wrenched it free, revealing a yawning black pit that smelled like ten years of bad decisions.
Dex peered into the abyss. The ladder's rungs were slimy, the air below thick with the kind of humidity that clung to skin like a regretful one-night stand.
"Ahem," he said, straightening his jacket with false bravado. "So, who's going first? I suggest—"
SHOVE.
Pink Wolf's boot connected with his back, sending him tumbling into the darkness.
"MOTHERFU—!"
His scream echoed as he plummeted—
SPLASH.
The waist-deep sewage swallowed him whole. It was warm. It was chunky. It was definitely alive.
"Welcome to hell," Spectre called down, her voice dripping with amusement.
Dex gagged, swatting at a floating mystery lump. "I hate both of you."
Pink Wolf landed gracefully beside him, her nose wrinkled. "Ugh. My boots are ruined."
"Oh no," Dex deadpanned. "Anyway—"
Spectre dropped down last, her cybernetic eye switching to night vision. The tunnel ahead pulsed with biotech fungus, glowing an eerie green.
"Move," she ordered, wading forward. "And don't touch the walls."
Dex glanced at the pulsing sludge coating the concrete. "Wasn't planning on it."
The trio waded through knee-deep sludge, the glow of biotech fungus painting their faces a sickly green. Dex grimaced as something squished under his boot.
"So, Pink Wolf," he said, sidling up to her. "What's your deal outside the game? You a hacker? College student? Professional menace?"
She flicked sewage off her claws. "Why? You into me or something?"
"What? No—" Dex's voice cracked. "I'm just making conversation while we march through literal shit."
Spectre snorted ahead of them. "Romantic."
Before Pink Wolf could retort, the tunnel shook. A guttural chittering echoed off the walls as three giant rats, each the size of a bulldog, with cyber-enhanced teeth—surged from a side pipe.
[ALERT: MUTATED SEWER RATS (LVL 5) DETECTED]
Spectre stepped aside, arms crossed. "Your turn, bait."
Pink Wolf hopped onto a pipe, grinning. "Show us what you got, noob."
Dex barely had time to yell before the first rat lunged.
Dex gulps and uses his {Dramatic flop} skill, his body immediately falls face face into sludge only his mind active and working. The rat tripped over him, its head smashing into a wall, the impact so hard its skull cracked as it dies on the spot. [+1 LEVEL UP. NEW SKILL: "TRIPWIRE BODY lv1" (10% chance enemies stumble over you)]
Deactivating his {Dramatic Flop} Skill in his mind, he regained control over his limbs as he stumbles up, Dex grabbed a broken pipe, swinging wildly, and missed. The second rat bit his leg.
[HP: 20/100]
'Fantastic,' he groaned.
At the same time, the third rat was unto him, as it pounced, Dex panicked and punched—and something weird happened.
His cybernetic arm hummed, then detached at the wrist, rocketing forward like a guided missile. It slammed into the rat's skull, knocking it out cold—before zooming back and reattaching with a click.
[+1 Level up]
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: "ROCKET FIST lv 1" (Ranged Attack, 50 DMG, 3x Daily Use)]
Silence.
Dex stared at his hand. '…Did my arm just yeet itself? And finally! A useful skill!'
Pink Wolf's jaw dropped. "Okay, that's bullshit."
Spectre finally looked impressed. "Huh. Maybe you're not totally useless."
The sewer tunnel ended at a maintenance shaft, its ladder leading up to a ventilation grate. Beyond it lay the Sung-Jin Cartel's vault—a glowing core of servers, guarded by automatic turrets.
Spectre cracked her knuckles. "Time to steal."
[QUEST UPDATED: "INFILTRATE THE TOWER"]