The Sector 9 gate stood as solid as the jaws of a steel monster, ready to chew anyone who dared pass without permission. Neon-blue lasers swept every inch of the pavement, scanning the heart-chip frequencies of thousands of workers lined up in sterile rows. In this world, privacy was an extinct antique; every pulse was data, and every piece of data belonged to Neo-Heaven Corp.
Kenzo stood at the very back of the line, wearing a tattered hoodie that smelled of oil and desert dust. On his shoulder, Xiao Hei was coiled tight, mimicking a dark leather scarf. The snake remained motionless, but Kenzo could feel its heart racing—not from fear, but from hunger. To Xiao Hei, the thousands of chips ahead were not technological tools; they were an energy buffet waiting to be devoured.
"Steady," Kenzo whispered, barely audible. "Now is not the time to eat."
Beside him, Ling Er was visibly restless. Her fingers danced across a transparent screen projected from her wrist. "Kenzo, these gate sensors use Firmware version 8.4. They're incredibly sensitive. If Uncle Feng's fake chip glitches for even a millisecond, the entire city's alarm will go off. Are you ready?"
Kenzo simply nodded. He didn't rely on technology. He closed his eyes for a moment, centering his consciousness on his Lower Dantian. There, a vortex of black Qi spun slowly, creating a static magnetic field that naturally dampened the electromagnetic waves from his body. This was a basic Void Shroud technique from the Sovereign Path—a trick that made digital scanning systems see him as "empty" rather than a "threat."
"Next!" shouted a Sentinel officer standing behind an energy barricade.
Ling Er went first. Her chip was scanned. Beep. A green light flashed. Status: Standard Citizen – Hacker Tier 1 (Registered). The officer snorted, letting her through with a look of disdain.
Now, it was Kenzo's turn.
As he stepped forward, the air around the gate suddenly felt cold. The Sentinel officer, a man with a heavy-looking cybernetic arm, frowned. He pointed a handheld scanner directly at Kenzo's chest.
"Name?"
"K," Kenzo replied shortly.
"Occupation?"
"Scavenger technician. Just moved from Rust Haven."
The officer laughed cynically. "Trash from a trash heap. Let's see if your chip is still functional or if it's just scrap metal."
A red laser swept across Kenzo's chest. Within his mind, Long Wei growled. "These corporate dogs... how dare they point that toy light at a descendant of the Dragon."
Be quiet, Old Dragon, Kenzo thought. Let him do his job.
Suddenly, the monitor on the officer's desk flickered red. Error: Ghost Signature Detected.
Ling Er's heart nearly stopped from across the gate. She stared at Kenzo, eyes wide. Uncle Feng had warned that Ghost Mode carried risks when facing devices with the latest databases.
The officer narrowed his eyes. "Something's wrong with your chip, K. The frequency is too... clean. Like there's no ZenPay transaction data for the last three days. Don't you eat?"
"I'm fasting," Kenzo said coldly.
"Hilarious. Step into the interrogation room. Now." The officer reached for Kenzo's shoulder with his hydraulic-powered cybernetic hand.
However, before those metal fingers could touch the fabric of Kenzo's jacket, a distortion occurred. Xiao Hei, who had been silent until now, suddenly opened its eyes. A pair of vertical golden pupils flashed within the darkness of the hoodie. Without warning, Xiao Hei released a small wave of Natural Qi that collided directly with the digital nervous system of the officer's cybernetic arm.
Crrrttttt!
Sparks erupted from the officer's elbow joint. He screamed in pain as his arm suddenly locked into a rigid position. "Dammit! Malfunction! My arm is having a Core-Burst!"
A small panic broke out at the gate. Other officers rushed to their pained comrade. In the chaos, the gate's security system suffered a momentary glitch due to the static energy surge from the damaged limb.
"Now!" Ling Er whispered from a distance.
Kenzo didn't run. He walked with steady, fast steps, passing through the sensors while they were rebooting. The moment his feet touched the smooth asphalt of Central City, he felt the difference. The air wasn't dusty, but it felt bland—like breathing inside a vacuum-sealed plastic bottle.
They reached a narrow alley flanked by skyscrapers whose peaks pierced the artificial clouds. High above, a giant holographic billboard displayed Zhao Shen's wise, smiling face with the caption: "Power is Property. Neo-Heaven is the Future."
"That was insane," Ling Er leaned against a wall, trying to catch her breath. "You were almost caught. And that snake... what did it do?"
Kenzo stroked Xiao Hei's head. The snake looked slightly larger now, its scales shinier after absorbing a bit of energy from the officer's cyber-arm. "He was just helping me 'erase' the trail."
"You're lucky," a deep voice emerged from behind a stack of cargo crates at the end of the alley.
A massive man with circuit tattoos trailing up to his neck appeared. It was Zhong the Giant, one of the core members of Rust Haven who had already infiltrated the city. Behind him stood several people in uniform tactical gear.
"Uncle Feng sent a message," Zhong said, eyeing Kenzo with scrutiny. "So you're the Zero? You look thinner than I imagined. But your guts at the gate... I'll give you credit for that."
"Where is the hideout?" Kenzo asked without preamble.
"Follow me. This city has eyes everywhere. Even in the trash, there are micro-drones watching."
Zhong led them to an underground bunker hidden beneath an old noodle shop owned by Lao Ban. Inside the bunker, the atmosphere was much more technical. Dozens of monitors displayed live feeds from various corners of the city, Sentinel radars, and charts showing gold price fluctuations and NC rates.
"Welcome to the shadow base," Zhong said. "In here, we are ghosts. If you step one inch outside without preparation, Neo-Heaven will freeze your assets, shut down your heart chip, and send Sentinels to collect your corpse in less than five minutes."
Kenzo set his bag down. He pulled out a necklace with a black scale that was now glowing dimly. "I don't care about any of that. I need access to the academy database. There is information about Lin Tian stored there."
At the mention of Lin Tian, the room went dead silent. Lao Ban, who was chopping vegetables in the corner, stopped mid-motion.
"Lin Tian is a forbidden name in this city, kid," Lao Ban said without turning around. "Just saying it can make your chip explode if detected by the word-filtering AI. Why are you looking for him?"
"Because he is the reason I am here," Kenzo replied firmly. "And because the betrayal he suffered is the reason you are all hiding underground like rats."
Zhong slammed the table. "Watch your mouth, Zero! We are surviving here!"
"Surviving is not living," Kenzo countered, his eyes flashing with a cold, black aura. The mental pressure he released made Zhong step back. "You have technology, you have weapons, but you lack the courage to take back what was stolen from you."
Ling Er quickly intervened. "Enough! We have the same enemy. Kenzo, to get into the academy database, you need an identity stronger than just 'K'. You have to become one of them."
"How?"
"There's a selection exam for elite technicians next week," Ling Er explained. "Neo-Heaven is recruiting new talent for the 'Divine Cloud' project. If you can get in as an intern technician, you'll have access to the low-level servers. From there, I can help you hack your way up."
Kenzo fell silent. He stared at his palm. The dried blood beneath his fingernails was from the thugs he had defeated in the slums. He realized this battle would not be won by muscle alone.
"Use your wits, boy," Long Wei whispered. "A dragon does not only strike with claws. A dragon also commands the mists and illusions. Enter their nest, learn their weaknesses, and when the time comes... burn it all from the inside."
That night, Kenzo practiced in a dark corner of the bunker. He attempted the Heavenly Circulation technique for the first time since arriving in the city. In an environment thick with signal pollution, gathering pure Qi felt like trying to strain clear water from black mud.
However, every time he felt suffocated, Xiao Hei would draw near and absorb the frequency interference around him, acting as a living filter.
One cycle... two cycles...
The blood in his veins began to churn. The black scale on his necklace suddenly emitted intense heat. Suddenly, a vision flashed through Kenzo's mind.
He saw a man who looked remarkably like him standing atop a mountain, holding a black sword that split the heavens. Before him, thousands of people prostrated. But behind the man, a shadow with a golden-glowing heart chip drove a dagger into his back.
"Ancestor..." Kenzo hissed.
A violent pain hit his chest. Kenzo coughed up blood. The thick, dark red liquid fell onto Xiao Hei. Miraculously, the blood didn't run off; it was absorbed by Xiao Hei's scales.
Xiao Hei hissed loudly. The snake's body began to crack, as if its skin were too tight for something growing inside. A pair of small bumps appeared on its head, resembling horns that hadn't yet fully sprouted.
"Evolution?" Kenzo was stunned. "Just from a drop of my blood?"
"Your blood contains the essence of the Black Sky Sect," Long Wei said with pride. "This beast has bound its destiny to yours. It is no longer a mere snake. It has begun to tread the path of the Ancient Dragon."
Kenzo stared at Xiao Hei, who was now exhausted after its brief transformation. He then looked up at the ceiling of the bunker, imagining the majesty of the Neo-Heaven Tower standing atop the suffering of millions.
"Tomorrow," Kenzo said to himself. "Tomorrow, 'K' begins the climb."
He took a piece of scrap metal and began sharpening it into a dagger. In this city of iron, technology might be king—but for Kenzo, will was God. And his will was singular: To bring down the false heaven of Zhao Shen.