The "Monthly Check-Up" was a mandatory event for every citizen in Sector 4. It was supposed to be a health screening, but everyone knew the truth: it was when they received their "Harmony Boost"—a concentrated dose of a chemical sedative that suppressed dissent and kept the population in a state of manageable lethality.
But tonight, the shipment was different. Ren sat on a rusted rooftop overlooking the Sector 4 clinic, watching the armored transport roll through the rain-slicked streets. His new Intelligence stats allowed him to see the thermal signatures of the guards inside. There were twelve of them. All Elite Peacekeepers, armed with high-frequency rifles.
[TARGET: THE OMEGA VIAL.]
[DESCRIPTION: A NANO-VIRUS THAT ERASES THE INDIVIDUAL WILL. A FINAL SOLUTION FOR THE ANOMALY PROBLEM.]
"If that gets into the local water supply, it's game over for everyone," Ren whispered, the wind whipping his new face.
He checked his inventory. He had spent a significant portion of his Sin Points on a new item: [EMP GRENADE (ONE-TIME USE)].
"Time to show them what a real health crisis looks like."
Ren activated his Shadow Jacket, feeling the familiar cold ripple of the light-bending field. He dropped from the roof, falling three stories and landing silently behind the armored transport. He placed the EMP device directly on the rear axle and rolled away into the shadows.
BOOM.
The sound was more of a heavy "thump" than an explosion, but the effect was immediate. The lights of the clinic died. The armored transport hissed as its electronic locks failed and its engine stalled. The Peacekeepers inside scrambled, their night-vision goggles flickering and dying as the EMP fried their sensitive sensors.
Ren didn't wait for them to recover. He lunged into the fray. He was a whirlwind of violet light and shadow, moving through the darkness like a ghost. His increased Strength allowed him to rip the heavy reinforced doors off the transport with a groan of protesting metal.
He grabbed the silver, foam-lined case containing the Omega Vial.
"Halt! Unsynchronized Citizen!"
A Peacekeeper with a heavy tactical shield and a crackling stun-baton blocked his path. "Drop the case! You have nowhere to run! We have your heat signature!"
Ren looked at the man through the darkness. He recognized the voice. It was the lead officer who had threatened him in the elevator back at the Unity Center. The man who thought he was a god because he had a badge and a gun.
"You like rules, don't you, Officer?" Ren said, his new grey eyes glowing with a faint, dangerous purple light. "You like the way the Agency keeps everyone in their place. Let's see how you handle a glitch in your own biology."
Ren didn't use his dagger. Instead, he opened the silver case, grabbed a secondary injector vial, and slammed it directly into the Officer's exposed neck.
[NOTIFICATION: HOST HAS DEPLOYED THE 'OMEGA VIAL' ON A SYSTEM ENFORCER.]
[REWARD: 2,000 SIN POINTS.]
The Officer's body went limp instantly. His eyes turned a dull, vacant white, devoid of any thought or spark. He dropped his shield and his baton, standing perfectly still in the rain.
"Sit," Ren commanded, his voice a low growl.
The Officer sat on the cold, wet pavement, his movements robotic and mindless.
"Bark," Ren said, a cruel smile touching his lips.
The Officer made a pathetic, mechanical barking sound. His will was gone. He was the perfect citizen now—a body without a soul, a tool without a purpose. He was exactly what the Agency wanted everyone to be.
Ren looked at the remaining Peacekeepers, who were staring in pure, unadulterated horror at their commander. He held the Omega Vial high above his head, the blue liquid inside glowing like a dying star against the black sky.
"The Agency wanted you to be puppets!" Ren shouted, his voice carrying through the silent, dark streets of Sector 4. "I'm the one holding the strings now! Who wants to be next?"
[DETECTION METER: 95% (CRITICAL ALERT)]
[WARNING: THE 'HUNTER-KILLER' UNIT HAS BEEN DEPLOYED. ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: 60 SECONDS.]
Ren felt a deep, low-frequency vibration in the ground beneath his boots. It was a heavy, mechanical thumping that shook the very foundations of the buildings. Something massive was coming—something designed specifically by the Agency's top scientists to hunt and kill Anomalies like him.
He tucked the vial into his sub-space inventory and looked toward the end of the street. A giant, four-legged robotic tank—the size of a small house—was leaping over the rooftops, its single red laser-eye locked onto his position with terrifying precision.
"Finally," Ren said, a jagged, predatory smile appearing on his face as he felt the power of the Karma Protocol surging through his veins. "A real challenge."