"Unlock it, Nara! Now!" Gilang yelled, his voice cutting through the ear-piercing shriek of the crimson alarm echoing inside the cramped underground server room.

Nara slammed the hard-reset button on her primary CPU unit while the monitors abruptly flashed static-streaked data corruption warnings. "I can't! Our encryption routing is being automatically locked down from Ant Corp's orbital satellite! If we force-cut the main power cable right now, this entire rig's memory will fry, and we won't have any evidence left!"

Boom!

The sound of a brutal impact against the hideout's iron door shook the cement walls violently, showering the floor with dust and flecks of rust. Someone—or something—with incredible strength was smashing through their defenses.

"We don't have time to worry about evidence if our heads get ripped off first!" Gilang grabbed Rania by the hand; she was cowering in the corner of the room, paralyzed with fear. "Move, kid! Follow me through the back emergency route!"

"B-but my backpack!" Rania wailed in panic, her eyes fixed on the remnants of her brother's phone still resting near Nara's desk.

"Leave the bag! Your life is worth way more than a phone case!" Nara barked, leaping from her chair while snatching a thumb-sized flash drive containing all the downloaded SoulSync data and slipping it into her jacket pocket. "Through the waste-disposal ventilation pipe in the corner! Move, fast!"

Bang!

The overpass hideout's iron door collapsed with a horrifying groan of warped metal. Its hinges sheared off instantly, slamming into the concrete floor with a heavy thud. A thin wisp of white smoke billowed in from the corridor outside, accompanied by the sharp, biting reek of ozone.

"Run!" Gilang barked.

Without wasting a single second, the three of them lunged into the narrow, rusty, sewage-stench ventilation tunnel. Gilang shoved Rania ahead first, followed by Nara, while he crawled at the very rear, gripping the salt-hilted short sword tightly in his right hand. Behind them, heavy footfalls and the metallic grinding of machine parts echoed closer into the tunnel.

Minutes later, all three of them burst out through an access hatch leading straight out of the overpass complex.

The torrential night rain of Sector 4's red-light district hit them like thousands of icy needles pricking their skin. The downpour soaked their clothes within seconds, turning the potholed asphalt into muddy puddles reflecting the neon reds, purples, and blues of nearby illegal club billboards.

"Damn it... a storm like this makes our tracks way too easy for corporate drones' thermal sensors to sniff out," Gilang grumbled, wiping the rain from his face as his sharp eyes scanned the desolate street.

"Where are we running to now, Lang? There are only two main routes out of Sector 4, and they're definitely already blocked by Ant Corp's private patrol units!" Nara cried out in a panic, her breath coming in cold gasps beneath the wet hood of her soaking jacket.

"Don't take the main road. We're cutting through the rat-run alleys behind the night market," Gilang answered quickly. "Rania, hold tightly onto my jacket. Don't let go unless you want to get lost in this city forever."

Rania nodded rapidly, biting her lip to hold back tears as she clamped both hands firmly onto the back of Gilang's bomber jacket. They sprinted through a labyrinth of dark, narrow alleys, flanked by the towering concrete walls of slums dripping rain from above.

Yet, before they could even reach the mouth of the next alleyway, Gilang's footsteps came to an abrupt, rigid halt.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up. His survival instincts as a senior freelancer screamed loudly.

"Stop," Gilang whispered sharply, raising his left hand to signal Nara and Rania to pull back into the shelter of a corner wall.

"What is it, Lang? Don't scare me..." Nara whispered, trembling as she fumbled in her jacket pocket for something.

From the dark mouth of the alley ahead of them, amidst the thick curtain of falling rain, a massive, towering silhouette slowly stepped forward. Its heavy footfalls produced a grinding metallic clatter against the wet asphalt.

The red neon glare from a billboard overhead caught the polished porcelain surface of its eyes and the cybernetic arm of the figure. It wasn't an ordinary human, nor was it just some street ghost. It was an Executor-Class Cybrid—a hybrid creature born from advanced biomechanical and mechanical experimentation by the corporation, a fusion of human flesh rotted by curses and military-grade alloy steel.

The creature halted a mere ten meters in front of them. Its jaw unhinged slightly, exposing artificial metal teeth that sparked tiny arcs of electricity whenever the rainwater hit them.

“Target detected. Ant Corp protocol breaker located. Total elimination authorized,” a low, raspy synthetic voice grated from a speaker embedded in the creature's neck.

"Damn it... a military-tier cybernetic assassin," Gilang hissed, his teeth grinding together. "Nara, take Rania and fall back through the other way. Find a hiding spot."

"No! I'm not leaving you out here alone, Lang!" Nara protested loudly, her face pale as she looked at the cybrid's massive frame, which stood nearly twice Gilang's size.

"If you both stay here, the three of us are gonna be ash in five minutes!" Gilang snapped without shifting his eyes from the enemy. "Move, now! That's an order!"

Without wasting another second, Gilang drew the pure salt-lined short sword from his back sheath. The blade instantly flared with a brilliant bluish-white light the moment it touched the cursed, energy-heavy damp air surrounding the cybernetic beast.

"Hey, rust bucket!" Gilang called out with a cynical grin, dropping his stance low over a puddle. "Didn't your bosses teach you any manners when visiting someone else's turf?"

The cybrid didn't answer with words. In a single blink, its massive body lunged forward, charging right through the standing water and kicking up miniature waves across the asphalt. Its speed made no sense for something of that weight.

Boom!

Gilang side-stepped with a leap a split second before the cybrid's iron fist smashed into the brick wall behind him, reducing it to a shower of rubble. Chunks of concrete scattered in every direction.

Damn, that punch hits hard! Gilang thought to himself, feeling the backdraft of the enemy's fist graze his cheek.

Before the creature could retract its arm, Gilang spun mid-air and swung his sword with all his might toward the cybrid's right shoulder joint.

Szing!

The holy-salt-lined blade scraped against the armor plating, showering blinding sparks and a sharp hissing sound. The curse layer binding the mechanical parts and enemy flesh tore partially open, causing the cybrid to grunt in pain with a sound resembling a wild beast's howl.

Yet, the creature didn't flinch for long. With terrifyingly fast reflexes, its left hand—tipped with steel claws—swiped sideways, aiming straight for Gilang's stomach.

Gilang tried to parry using his left arm, but the speed of the strike blew past his predictions.

Slam!

The steel claws raked cleanly across Gilang's left arm, shredding his thick bomber jacket and leaving a deep, gaping gash that instantly gushed fresh blood, mixing with the rain pouring down his skin.

Gilang was hurled backward, crashing heavily into a wet puddle of mud. His breath hitched, a burning, searing pain instantly shooting all the way down his left arm. Fresh blood dripped from his fingertips, turning the water beneath him crimson.

"Boss!" Rania screamed hysterically from a distance, trying to run closer, but Nara grabbed her arm and held her back hard.

"Don't go over there, Rania! You'll just be dead weight!" Nara yelled, her voice trembling, though her own tears were already mixing with the rain on her cheeks.

Gilang hissed in pain, propping his body up on his right knee while his right hand kept a firm grip on the dimly glowing salt sword. He looked up, watching the cybrid step forward slowly once more, ready to execute the finishing move and crush Gilang's skull.

"Damn it... what a terrible day to be a freelancer," Gilang muttered under his breath, wiping the blood from his temple with the back of a shaking hand.

He braced himself into a final stance to fight to the death, even though he knew his odds were razor-thin. But right as the cybrid raised its steel arm high to smash down on Gilang, something unexpected happened.

From the dead-end alley behind the cybrid, blindingly bright high-beams pierced straight through the curtain of rain.

A futuristic, unplated black luxury sedan sped forward in dead silence, cutting sharply across the middle of the road and blocking their escape route.

Before the cybrid could spin around to address the new threat, the right rear car door swung wide open from within.

From the dark warmth and dryness of the vehicle's interior, a pair of high heels stepped out into the puddle. A woman's voice—calm, elegant, yet commanding—cut through the roar of the night rain:

"If you're going to put down a corporate stray dog, Gilang, at least make sure the prey doesn't fight back this hard. Get in the car, now."

Gilang widened his eyes from the mud, recognizing the voice and silhouette of the sharply suited woman standing beside the luxury car's door. It was Renata.