Kai's heart was pounding in his chest as the elevator plummeted deeper into the city's forgotten underbelly. The sudden drop, the jerking motion of the malfunctioning cables, did little to shake him from the terror of being hunted. His entire world was reduced to the cold metallic walls of the shaft, the weak hum of the failing system, and the distant, terrifying memory of the Scavengers' footsteps growing ever closer.
[System Alert: Heavy Damage Detected. Health: 41/120][Stamina: Critical. Recommend Rest or Stimulant Use.][Skill Slot Locked: Unable to Access Passive Buffs.]
"Damn it…" Kai muttered under his breath, wiping a streak of blood from his lip. His muscles were burning. His ribs ached. The burst of speed had taken its toll.
The elevator's descent slowed as it reached its destination—an ancient maintenance subgrid buried beneath the city, a forgotten place not even the most advanced scavenger factions bothered to chart. It was the only place the system couldn't track him. Or so he hoped.
With a groan, the doors opened. The stale, damp air rushed in, cold and heavy. He stepped out into the dark, flicking his hand to his wristband. No data. No HUD. No indicators. Silence.
But it wasn't complete silence. Far in the distance, faint mechanical hums and distant thuds reverberated through the cavernous halls, telling him one thing: the Scavengers were still hunting him. He wasn't out of danger yet.
[System Offline: Tracking Disabled][Signal Jammed: External Communication Blocked]
The world felt quieter here—too quiet. The only sound was his ragged breathing and the soft echo of his boots hitting the cracked concrete floor.
Kai checked his status window, but it was blank. He wasn't sure how long it would stay that way, but for now, it was a blessing. The Scavengers wouldn't be able to track him unless they knew where he'd gone. And if he was lucky, they'd think he'd gone deeper into the wreckage.
He pulled out the encrypted map from the scavenger he'd downed earlier. The screen was cracked but still functional, a flickering blue glow guiding his eyes. There were several routes leading through the subgrid—tunnels, collapsed maintenance shafts, dead ends—but one route stood out. A series of old service tunnels that led out of the city… and, possibly, away from the Scavengers.
The map didn't offer much in terms of detail. The text was blurry, fragmented, but it was enough.
Kai shoved it into his jacket and began moving.
The deeper he went, the more disorienting the landscape became. The tunnels were narrow, choked with rusted pipes, cables that hadn't been touched in years, and doors that seemed to lead nowhere. The only light was the faint glow of bioluminescent moss that clung to the walls—sickly green and faintly glowing, casting eerie shadows over the jagged rocks.
He had no real destination, no plan other than to keep moving, but instinct told him that every step away from the surface was a step closer to survival. Here, in the dead zone, the system couldn't track him. No automated drones. No faction alerts. It was a rare oasis of freedom in a world that had turned every player into a target.
[Objective: Escape Pursuers][Unlocking Path: Utility Subgrid Depth Level 3]
Kai moved quickly, relying on his instincts more than any system prompt. His body was sore, every movement a reminder of the punishment it had taken from the Scavengers. But this was the price of survival.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been walking when he heard the first noise.
A soft click.
A shift in the air.
Kai froze.
His mind raced. It couldn't be. Not here.
[System Alert: Entity Detected][Analyzing... Entity Type: Player Class - Unknown][Status: Faction Marked - Scavenger Group][Advised Action: Evasion]
A voice echoed down the hallway. A familiar voice.
"Well, well, well... looks like the rat's still alive."
It was the short girl—the one who had laughed back in the ruins. She was here. And she was not alone.
Kai's heart dropped into his stomach. They had found him. The Scavengers had found him.
His hand went to the piece of rebar at his side, but there was no time. He was already on the move, running.
His boots pounded against the metal floor as he ducked through an archway, darting through a maze of crumbling hallways. Behind him, the sound of footsteps grew louder. The girl's voice followed.
"You can't escape us, kid," she taunted, her words dripping with amusement. "You're not even in the game anymore. You're ours now."
Kai's breath caught in his throat as he sprinted down the narrow corridor. The walls closed in on him. He had no choice but to keep running, to hope that whatever part of the map he was following would lead him to something—anything—that could help him break free.
But his body was starting to betray him. His steps grew heavier. His vision was starting to blur at the edges. The adrenaline that had carried him so far was beginning to fade.
The girl's voice came again, closer now, almost as if she were right behind him. "We've got you now. All your little tricks won't help. The system sees all, kid."
The words stung. The truth was, Kai had no idea what the system actually saw anymore. It was broken, fractured, unreliable. It was just a glitch in the machine. But these people… they knew how to use it. They knew how to track, how to hunt. And they had all the resources.
Kai stumbled as his foot caught on a pipe, sending him crashing to the floor. His head smacked against the concrete, and a burst of pain shot through his skull. Dazed, he struggled to push himself up, but he wasn't fast enough.
The girl appeared in the hallway in front of him, her figure lit by the faint glow of the bioluminescent moss. She smirked.
"You're not even a real player anymore. Just a glitch. A mistake."
Kai blinked, his head pounding as he tried to focus. His vision was clouded, the edges of the world starting to fade to black.
But then the system spoke—just a whisper, almost imperceptible.
[System Update: Data Spike Unlocked]
His hand shot out before he could think. His fingers slammed into the ground, and suddenly, a pulse of energy surged through the air—straight at the girl.
She screamed, stumbling back, a barrier of static crackling in the air as the data spike hit her, pushing her off balance.
Kai gasped, using the momentary distraction to scramble to his feet. His legs were shaking, his body on the verge of collapse, but he had to keep moving.
[Skill Unlocked: Data Spike][New Objective: Escape Scavengers]
Kai didn't wait. He didn't need to. He sprinted forward, into the unknown tunnels, the faint echo of his pursuers already fading behind him.
He had to get away. He had to survive.
[End of Chapter 3]