The city pulsed with neon light, stretching endlessly below as Lin Xiyue and Shen Luan moved across the rooftops. Sirens howled behind them, distant but relentless. They had escaped the lab, but they were far from safe.
Lin Xiyue exhaled sharply. Her body still thrummed with unfamiliar energy, the golden circuits on her wrist faintly glowing even as she tried to suppress them. The connection between her and Shen Luan had done something irreversible—she was faster, stronger, different.
She shot a glance at him. He moved with effortless precision, silent as a shadow. He looked human, but now she was certain—he was more than that.
Below, the streets twisted into the heart of the city, too exposed to risk. She pulled Shen Luan toward a darkened alleyway, pressing against the cold metal of a fire escape. "We need to find somewhere safe," she said quietly but firmly.
Shen Luan studied her for a moment, his gaze unreadable. "You're changing," he observed.
Lin Xiyue stiffened. "I don't need a machine analyzing me."
"I'm not analyzing," he replied, tilting his head slightly. "I'm observing."
She clicked her tongue and pushed off the wall. "Then observe a way out of this mess."
He nodded once. "There's an abandoned tech district five kilometers from here—underground access, no surveillance."
"Good," she murmured, scanning the streets as she mapped a path in her mind. "We move fast. If they track us—"
A sharp whistle cut through the night. Lin Xiyue's pulse spiked as muscles tensed. From the rooftop behind them, a figure emerged from the shadows. Clad in a dark combat suit, the intruder moved with smooth, calculated steps. A sleek visor covered their face, glowing with an eerie red light—clearly not an enforcer or a civilian, but something far more dangerous.
Bounty hunters.
The figure raised a hand, and a soft chime echoed—a signal. Three more hunters materialized from nearby rooftops, their weapons humming to life. Lin Xiyue's heart pounded; she had known this moment was inevitable. The government wasn't the only threat in this neon maze.
With a defiant smirk, she muttered, "And you're in my way." Without hesitation, she lunged forward. A flash of golden energy streaked through the night as she dodged the first burst of weapon fire. Her body twisted midair, narrowly evading an attack before landing behind one of the hunters and driving her elbow into his spine. The impact sent him crashing onto the rooftop.
Shen Luan moved with equal precision. He stepped forward, and as his foot touched the ground, the air around him rippled with a silent, lethal force. One of the hunters staggered, their visor flickering wildly, and a pulse of golden energy emanated from him. In moments, the hunter collapsed, his systems shutting down instantly.
The remaining bounty hunters hesitated, caught in a moment of uncertainty. Lin Xiyue smiled coldly. "Run," she commanded.
One fled, and the other—too slow to react—met his end at Shen Luan's precise strike. As the adrenaline slowly subsided, Lin Xiyue rolled her shoulders. "They won't stop coming," she admitted, eyes scanning the dark corridors of the city.
"No," Shen Luan agreed softly, his gaze steady. "But neither will we."
In that silent exchange, an unspoken understanding passed between them—a fragile alliance forged in chaos. Far above, inside a high-security government facility, Commander Yan Zhen watched their escape on a glowing interface. His fingers tapped against the console as he murmured, "Impressive."
A cold, measured voice answered from behind him, "They're more dangerous than we thought."
Yan Zhen's smile was dark and calculating. "Then we'll just have to hunt them properly."
Thus began their flight through the labyrinthine cityscape, where every neon light and shadow bore witness to the birth of fugitives on the run.