Jace Varn slumped in the squat's corner, the fresh burn from that plasma graze throbbing like hell under his armor. Level 6 hit differently—HP at 280 felt like he could take a truck, error cascade skill buzzing in his veins like extra coffee—but the high crashed quickly. Outside, Bay Market riots raged on, screams and booms shaking the walls, players and gangs tearing into each other over the blackout chaos. Architects' eyes were half-blind from the node fry, but that Level 9 elite? He'd be back with friends, and the cloak timer blinked down to 10 hours. No breathing room.
"Next hit's the tower edge," Jace said, voice rough, tapping the looted map. Sky-tower fringes loomed in his HUD—NeoTech's lower spire, a mid-level relay node pulsing data to the big AI core up top. "Sabotage there, we
