Empty shells danced in the air, gunshots rattling the corridor. Bullets spun from the magazine, arcing onto the crimson carpet, kicking up white smoke. A barrage roared like a broken dam, riddling the Secret Ninja’s black garb with honeycomb holes.

  “—!”

  The ninja’s blade, crackling with violet lightning, deflected bullets, incinerating the steel hail with arcs of electricity. Thin bolts traced water molecules in the air, reducing rounds to ash, surging toward the rifle’s muzzle to unleash a burst of compressed energy.

  “!”

  Releasing the trigger, Danan sensed the imminent danger and hurled the exploding rifle away just in time. Sparks singed his cheek, the acrid gunpowder stench stinging his nose, but there was no time to care. He readied a shotgun, aimed at the ninja, and parried a lunging invisible blade with the barrel.

  “Danan! You okay?!” Gloria shouted.

  No way he was okay. Ignoring Gloria, Danan clenched his teeth, blocking the ninja’s ferocious assault. Wielding his mechanical arm’s high-frequency blade, he faced an unseen weapon—its shape, reach, unknown. All he knew was its armor-slicing edge and the ninja’s erratic technique. Blocking it was sheer luck.

  Yet… spotting a fleeting gap, Danan fired, sensing something off.

  A hypothesis—no, a mere guess, lacking evidence or basis for certainty. But after clashing blades and pulling the trigger, Danan’s life-or-death experience led to a conclusion.

  If wrong, if this was wildly off, he’d be locked in a war of attrition with the Secret Ninja. The fight wouldn’t end until one died. Worse than mid-city security, these shadow guards would haunt him, forcing him to fend off assassins while surviving. He couldn’t afford to err, to misjudge his options. Thus… use everything.

  Violet lightning burst from the ninja’s mechanical arm. Scarlet lines raced across reinforced exoskeletal legs, powered by the arm’s energy. A mechanical hum roared as the ninja shattered the floor, charging at Danan’s heart and head, certain of victory—until he saw Danan’s eyes, drenched in feral killing intent.

  Slashed through flesh and bone, organs torn, yet Danan lived. White worms covered his wounds—what were they? Why didn’t he dodge, charging instead? Gasping, the ninja hesitated, slowing his attack. Not a mistake, but too late. Had he noticed Danan’s abnormality sooner, masked his intent, he might’ve seen the unnatural. The gap in experience, in playing their cards, decided their fates.

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  “Nephthys,” Danan muttered.

  The ninja’s blade pierced Danan’s right lung.

  “Fuse with his mechanical arm… kill him.”

  “Understood.”

  At Danan’s command, Nephthys sent white worms crawling over the ninja’s arm.

  Had it been Eve, her silver-winged armor could’ve breached security systems, detaching organic and cybernetic joints. But Danan’s Lumina bugs lacked hacking capabilities. His tactic was brute force—sacrificing his flesh to lock the ninja’s movements and destroy him. Sensing danger, the ninja struggled to free his arm from the fusing worms. Danan drew his sword, Heres, its translucent glass-like blade gleaming.

  “Die, half-assed scum,” Danan growled.

  “Tch!”

  A thin voice leaked from the ninja’s hood. Forcibly detaching his arm, abandoning it, he leaped back, white steam hissing from his exoskeletal legs.

  “What are you stalling for?! I pay you a fortune! Do your damn job, fool!” the pig-like man roared.

  “…”

  Still arrogant, sprawled on the floor, the man ranted. Gloria approached, stroking his cheek with the bloodied club, making him pale, his nose snorting.

  “What?! You’ll kill me, Gloria?! Without me, Silentium—”

  “Silentium persists without you. Nothing changes,” Gloria said.

  “Impossible! My connections drive the new project—”

  “You’re mistaken. Listen. Without you, without other execs, even without me, the Commander, Silentium must endure—for mid-city.”

  Sensing Gloria’s killing intent, the ninja moved to protect his client. Correct, but turning from Danan was a fatal error.

  Blood sprayed, echoing in the ninja’s ears. Flesh tore, dripping wetly, mechanical arm humming. A piercing killing intent stabbed his back. Twisting, he dodged as Danan’s bloodied arm grazed overhead, crashing into the wall.

  “Got time to look away? I’m your opponent!” Danan roared.

  Lumina bugs filled Danan’s chest wound, healing as if it never existed. Blood on his shattered armor turned to dust, recirculating through his cells. Spitting blood phlegm, stomping it with his boot, Danan glared at the stunned ninja with boiling intent, raising Heres and firing the shotgun.

  Madness. Cold sweat slid down the ninja’s cheek, touched by Danan’s fury. Deflecting scattershot with lightning, maneuvering his remaining arm, the ninja felt his life crushed by Danan’s madness. The same unease as guarding mid-city folk in the undercity’s damp air—death permeating every corner, a city of sin where no one valued life. Retreating from Danan’s onslaught, the ninja muttered, “Not worth it.”

  “Help me! Kill Gloria! Hurry—” the man screamed.

  “…”

  Clinging to the wall, dodging scattershot, the ninja locked eyes with Gloria, nodding slightly before vanishing. Activating stealth camouflage, he crept behind Gloria, blade at his neck.

  “You,” Gloria said.

  “…”

  “Killing me is pointless. Worse, it endangers you. Using me as a shield against Danan? Futile. He’d shoot through me to kill you and move on.”

  “…Then.”

  “Here’s my offer. Tell me your employer’s payment. I’ll match it—name your price. If multi-contracts are off, die here with me or let Danan kill you. Choose, ninja.”

  “…”

  Profit-wise, Gloria’s deal was the rational choice. Even factoring in replacing his lost arm, refusing was foolish.

  Glancing at Danan, shotgun raised, the ninja said, “Thirty million credits. Pay it, and I’ll switch sides.” Glaring at Gloria’s smile, he stood firm.