The descent from the forty-story skyscraper did not take thirty minutes. It took exactly twelve seconds.
Ren did not bother retracing his path down the rusted steel girders. His Level 40 architecture, heavily compressed and frictionless, had completely redefined his relationship with localized gravity. He turned his pitch-black, completely solid violet eyes toward Chloe, who was still catching her breath on the ashen, ruined roof.
"We are bypassing the vertical terrain," Ren stated, his perfectly smooth voice cutting through the crisp night air.
He didn't wait for her to agree. He stepped forward, grabbing the heavy nylon webbing of her Level III-A plate carrier with his left hand, and effortlessly lifted her off her feet. Chloe barely had time to gasp before Ren simply stepped backward, directly off the edge of the shattered concrete ledge.
They plummeted into the dark, overgrown urban canyon.
