Rebirth Of The Tech Emperor Chapter 13
807 Words
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Chapter 13 – First Blood
The night air was heavy with the scent of rain, damp concrete glistening beneath the streetlights. Adrian walked alone across campus, his Smart Lens glowing faintly as streams of data scrolled across his vision.
Classes had ended hours ago, yet something in his chest thrummed—a warning that refused to be silenced. The system’s earlier alert still echoed in his mind.
> [Notice: Surveillance activity confirmed. Unknown signatures detected within 200 meters.]
He adjusted his backpack strap and kept walking, every step measured. To an outsider, he looked calm, but his senses were sharpened, razor-thin.
From the shadows between the library and the science block, movement stirred. A man in a gray suit stepped out, his face expressionless. Two more followed, flanking him like phantoms.
Adrian stopped. His lips curved faintly. “You’ve been following me since the Expo. Took you long enough to say hello.”
The lead man’s voice was low, steady. “Adrian Cross. You’ve created something far beyond your station. You will come with us.”
“And if I don’t?” Adrian asked lightly.
The man’s eyes hardened. “Then you won’t be leaving this campus.”
At that, the system chimed in his ear.
> [Threat Detected: 3 Hostiles. Engaging Combat Subsystem Protocol.]
The world slowed. Trajectories painted themselves in the air, red arcs of possible strikes. Weak points glowed faintly at the joints of the men’s bodies. Adrian’s pulse quickened—not from fear, but exhilaration.
The first man lunged. Adrian sidestepped smoothly, catching his wrist. The subsystem calculated the angle, and Adrian twisted sharply—bones cracked, the man collapsed with a muffled grunt.
The second drew a baton from under his jacket, electricity crackling at its tip. He swung, fast. Adrian ducked, the weapon slicing air above his head. His fist drove into the man’s ribs with machine-guided precision. Air burst from the attacker’s lungs as he crashed into a wall.
The third was smarter. He pulled a sleek pistol, the muzzle glinting under the streetlight. “Enough games.”
Adrian’s vision blazed with warnings.
> [Firearm Detected. Probability of fatal impact: 76%. Countermeasure Recommended.]
The instant the man’s finger twitched, Adrian moved. His hand grabbed his backpack strap and flung it upward. The shot cracked, sparks flying as the bullet punched through textbooks. Adrian closed the distance in a blink, slamming his palm under the gunman’s jaw. The pistol clattered to the ground.
The man staggered. Adrian’s knee drove into his stomach, and he folded, gasping.
The system chimed coldly.
> [All Hostiles Neutralized.]
Adrian stood among the fallen, breath steady. He bent down, picking up the pistol. His Smart Lens scanned it instantly—unregistered, military-grade, silencer attachment.
His eyes narrowed. Not amateurs. Government? Mercenaries? Or something worse.
One of the men groaned, clutching his broken wrist. Adrian crouched beside him, voice quiet but edged with steel. “Who sent you?”
The man’s lips pressed shut. His eyes burned with silent defiance.
The subsystem whispered in Adrian’s mind.
> [Interrogation Protocol Available: Pulse Monitoring, Lie Detection.]
Adrian leaned closer. “I don’t have patience for martyrs. Talk, or I’ll let the system decide how much of you stays intact.”
The man swallowed hard, sweat dripping down his temple. Finally, he spat out one word:
“Vanguard.”
Adrian froze. The name hit him like a blade of ice. He had heard it in his previous life—an organization buried deep in the shadows, rumored to control governments, corporations, entire wars.
The man tried to smirk, but Adrian knocked him out cold with a sharp strike to the temple.
The street fell silent again, save for the distant hum of the city. Adrian straightened, sliding the pistol into his bag. His Smart Lens pulsed with new data.
> [New Threat Database Updated: Vanguard Identified.]
[Sub-Mission: Investigate Vanguard’s Operations.]
[Warning: Threat Level Escalating.]
Adrian looked out across the campus, the rain finally starting to fall in thin sheets. Vanguard. The hunters had shown their face. And if they were involved, then the game had only just begun.
A faint smile curved his lips. “Good. Let’s see how long they last.”
Somewhere above, high in a nearby building, another figure watched through binoculars. He lowered them, speaking into an earpiece.
“Target survived the intercept team. He’s more dangerous than projected.”
A voice crackled back. “Then we escalate. Deploy Phase Two.”
The watcher’s gaze lingered on Adrian’s silhouette against the rain-soaked street. “Understood.”
Adrian, unaware of the eyes tracking him, walked back into the storm. His system hummed with cold efficiency, ready for whatever came next.
> [Main Mission Updated: Survive Vanguard Pursuit.]
[Reward for Completion: Unknown.]
And Adrian, once again, smiled.
Because he wasn’t just surviving anymore. He was evolving.
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