Excellent — here's Chapter 2 of CODE
Chapter 2: Neon Blood
The world tilted. The rain hissed as it hit the glowing lines across Kai's skin.
He staggered into a narrow alley, clutching his wrist where the Evolution Protocol was still syncing. Data symbols spun across his forearm display, flickering like dying stars.
[DNA sync: 47% complete]
[WARNING: Unauthorized adaptation in progress.]
"Unauthorized my ass," he hissed. "I just saved my life."
He leaned against a wall, breathing hard. The scent of ozone and blood filled the air. His claws retracted into his fingers with a metallic click. They looked human again—but felt wrong. Too strong. Too alive.
Footsteps echoed behind him.
Kai spun, claws half-extended—then froze.
It wasn't an enforcer.
It was a girl.
Hooded, soaked, carrying a weapon that looked like a mix of a sniper rifle and a data terminal. Her left eye glowed faint blue—the mark of a bio-scanner implant.
"You shouldn't be alive," she said flatly.
Kai narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Who the hell are you?"
"Doesn't matter. What matters is what you're carrying."
She leveled the weapon. Its energy core hummed like a heartbeat.
[TARGET LOCKED: CODE ANOMALY DETECTED]
Kai smirked. "So BioCrown sent you too?"
She hesitated. "I don't work for them."
"Then why are you aiming that thing at me?"
"Because whatever that file did to you—it's spreading. And if it reaches full sync…" Her gaze hardened. "You'll stop being human."
Kai flexed his fingers. Sparks rippled across his skin like lightning veins. "Guess I'll find out."
He leapt.
The girl fired—blue plasma tore through the rain. Kai twisted midair, the blast grazing his arm, sizzling his jacket. He landed beside her, eyes glowing gold.
"Bad aim," he growled.
"Bad timing," she shot back—and pressed a detonator.
The world exploded.
Flames swallowed the alley. Kai felt his body adapt mid-blast, skin hardening, senses sharpening. When the smoke cleared, he was still standing.
The girl was gone. Only her voice echoed through the comm static of his wrist display:
"Find the underground. Sector Thirteen. Before BioCrown finds you."
Then silence.
Kai stared at the rain-smeared city skyline—towering neon spires, holograms flickering, drones slicing through the fog.
Somewhere out there, answers waited. About the file. The girl. The mutation now rewriting his DNA.
He grinned, flexing his hand as golden light pulsed beneath the skin.
"Sector Thirteen, huh?"
He cracked his neck and started walking.
"Let's see how deep this evolution goes."