Kaito's body hit the cold, oily water of the Neo-Tokyo drainage canal with a heavy splash. His vision blurred for a second, his lungs burning from the Gale Palm's recoil.
[CHAKRA: 2/100. WARNING: CRITICAL DEPLETION. SYSTEM STABILITY: 85%.]
"Damn it," he coughed, dragging his soaked body onto the concrete ledge. The smell of rust and chemicals filled the air. This was the 'Undercity'—a place where even the Administrators' satellites couldn't see clearly.
He looked at the obsidian card. It was still there, tucked in his tactical belt, glowing with a soft, reassuring violet light.
"You are not alone, Architect." The Faceless Man's voice was fainter now. "The code you carry is a beacon. Hide it well."
Kaito stumbled through the dark tunnels. Suddenly, the sound of a metallic click stopped him in his tracks. A cold, sharp blade was pressed against his throat.
"You're making too much noise for someone being hunted by Enforcers," a girl's voice whispered from the shadows.
Kaito slowly looked up. In the dim light of a flickering neon tube, he saw her. She wore a high-tech respirator mask and a hooded cloak. But it was her eyes that caught him—they were a piercing, cat-like yellow, and she had strange markings on her cheeks.
"I'm not looking for trouble," Kaito rasped.
"Too late. Trouble found you the moment you touched that card," she replied, narrowing her eyes. She glanced at his Retinal Interface. "Level 1? And you survived a fall from a maglev train? Who are you?"
"I'm Kaito. And I... I'm rewriting the script."
The girl froze. She slowly lowered her blade. "Rewrite... you mean you're the one the legends talked about? The one who can see the 'Chakra Strings'?"
She stepped back and pulled off her mask. She was young, maybe his age, with a fierce look of defiance. "My name is Rin. My family has been hiding in these tunnels for generations, waiting for the System to crash. If you're really the Architect, then Neo-Tokyo is about to burn."
[NEW CHARACTER ENCOUNTERED: RIN. CLASS: ROGUE NINJA (DESCENDANT).]
[RELATIONSHIP UNLOCKED: ALLY?]
"The Enforcers will be down here in minutes," Rin said, her voice turning serious. "They can track your Chakra signature now that you've used a skill. If you want to live, follow me. We have a 'Dead Zone' where the System can't find us."
Kaito looked back at the tunnel he came from. He could hear the buzzing of search-drones approaching. He had no energy left to fight.
"Lead the way," Kaito said.
As they disappeared into the labyrinth of the Undercity, a new notification flickered in his vision:
[GLOBAL ALERT: ADMINISTRATORS HAVE ISSUED A BOUNTY ON USER 'KAITO'.]
[BOUNTY AMOUNT: 1,000,000 CREDITS. STATUS: MOST WANTED.]
Kaito smiled despite the pain. "One million? I guess I'm finally worth something in this city."