The adrenaline from the fight with the Acid Crawler faded as quickly as a cheap black-market stimulant.
All that remained was the gnawing emptiness in Astra's stomach — hunger chewing at her insides like a rat trapped in the walls — and a heavy, buzzing fatigue in her legs. Every step sent a dull ache through her muscles.
Astra emerged from Sector 404 just as the neon sky of the city shifted from its toxic pink glow to a dirty orange hue — the hour known as the dog watch, when even the toughest cyborgs crawl back to their charging docks and ordinary mortals lock their doors with three bolts.
Her temporary refuge was located in the "Residential Hive" — a massive building resembling a gigantic concrete beehive, where entire families crammed themselves into ten square meters: parents, children, grandparents, and sometimes even pet rats kept instead of cats.
But Astra had a luxury.
A tiny single-room cubicle on the fourth tier, directly above the twenty-four-hour noodle bar "Old Li's."
For that privilege she paid not only with credits, but with silence.
Li never asked unnecessary questions about where her fresh wounds came from, or why she sometimes returned smelling of blood and ozone.
The smell of burnt oil, synthetic spices, and old soy protein hit her nose the moment she stepped inside the diner.
The neon lamps above the counter flickered, casting yellow reflections across the grimy walls coated in greasy soot.
"Still alive again, Nova?" Old Li rasped without looking up from slicing blocks of soy protein.
His cybernetic eye — an ancient Sensor-3 model — focused on her torn shoulder with laser precision.
"You look like a garbage truck chewed you up, spat you out, and then ran over you a couple more times just to be sure. What was it this time? Those freaks from 404 again?"
Astra sank onto a tall stool with a tired sigh, dropping the metal case by her feet.
The shotgun remained across her knees — a habit she hadn't been able to break even here.
"Pretty much, Li," she replied with a crooked smile.
"Double portion of Spicy Death noodles. And add a real egg, not that powdered garbage. I earned something almost human today."
The old man grunted, but something like concern flickered in his one human eye. He nodded and tossed noodles into a boiling pot.
Astra placed a few wrinkled credit chips onto the counter — everything she had left in her pocket.
Those were her last legal credits.
The five hundred credits for the Ripper would only arrive tomorrow, after the Corporation finished verifying the drone recording.
[YOU ARE SERIOUSLY SPENDING MONEY ON THIS USELESS ORGANIC FILTH?]
Thanatos grumbled inside her skull.
His voice carried the pure contempt of a being that had never known hunger, fatigue, or the taste of cheap noodles.
[YOU NEED SOULS, NOT CARBOHYDRATES AND FAT. I CAN FILL YOU WITH POWER, AND YOU DECIDE TO EAT LIKE A COMMON MORTAL.]
Shut up, handsome, Astra snapped mentally, keeping her face perfectly calm.
If I pass out from exhaustion in the middle of the street, you lose your precious vessel. Buy me Primary Regeneration. Now. And don't whine — I know you're already drooling in anticipation.
Thanatos chuckled.
[HA-HA, MY GREEDY REAPER… FINE. YOU ARE VERY PERSUASIVE WHEN YOU'RE HUNGRY. PURCHASE COMPLETE.]
PURCHASE COMPLETE: PRIMARY REGENERATION (LEVEL 1)
Souls spent: 4.5
Balance remaining: 0.3
Warmth — this time soft and almost gentle — spread from her spine up to her shoulder.
The torn wound began closing before her eyes.
The skin pulled together like magnets, leaving behind only a thin pink scar.
Astra quickly pulled her jacket tighter so Li wouldn't notice.
In the cyberpunk world, natural biological regeneration without implants either cost millions or meant illegal mutation.
No one could know.
Li placed a steaming plastic bowl in front of her.
The smell of spices — sharp and artificial with a hint of synthetic chili — filled the air.
The noodles were cheap, tasteless like cardboard… but hot and filling.
Astra ate slowly, almost enjoying it, while watching the entrance through the reflection in the greasy display glass.
And there—
Across the street, hidden in the thick shadow of an archway—
Two figures stood.
Leather coats with high collars.
Mirror visors hiding their faces.
And the unmistakable predator stance.
Classic outfit of Steel Dogs guild enforcers.
"Li," Astra said quietly without turning around, still eating.
"Did you have visitors today? Asking about me?"
The old man froze while wiping the counter with a dirty rag.
His cyber-eye clicked, focusing on her.
"Two of them came, Nova. Asked who dragged a Ripper carcass out of Sector 404."
"I said I didn't know. But they didn't believe me."
"They know you found something valuable in Warehouse B-12."
"Something heavy. Something that smells like money."
"And they don't like when someone pokes around their territory without permission."
Astra finished the last drop of broth and carefully set the chopsticks down.
Her wallet was empty.
Her stomach was finally full.
And real trouble waited outside.
"Steel Dogs don't like people hunting on their turf without a license," she murmured.
"But what they hate even more is missing their cut."
"Greedy bastards."
[THEY CAME FOR YOUR CASE. AND FOR YOUR LIFE, MY STAR,]
Thanatos whispered, his voice low and eager.
[DO YOU WANT ME TO SHOW YOU THEIR WEAK POINTS RIGHT NOW? TWO RED THREADS ON THEIR NECKS. ONE SHOT — AND THEY FALL LIKE TRASH BAGS. COME ON… I CAN ALREADY TASTE THEIR SOULS.]
No. Not here, Astra replied firmly in her mind.
If I start a massacre in Li's place, the authorities will shut him down. And he's the only one who doesn't sell me out for a handful of credits.
I'll deal with them my way.
Outside.
In the dark.
She stood, grabbed the heavy metal case, and slung the shotgun over her shoulder.
She knew they would follow her all the way home.
The footsteps were already there — synchronized, confident.
Like wolves smelling blood.
"Thanks for the noodles, Li," she said, glancing back at the old man.
"If I don't show up for breakfast tomorrow… assume I took a vacation."
"A long one."
"To the Moon."
The old man nodded, but worry flickered in his eyes.
Astra stepped out into the sticky night of Sector 404.
The rain had almost stopped, leaving behind a dense fog where neon signs looked like blurry ghosts.
The footsteps behind her came almost immediately.
Two people.
Walking in step.
Not even trying to hide it.
She turned into a narrow alley leading toward her residential block.
The case in her hand felt heavier than before.
Inside was equipment worth thousands of credits…
—or her death sentence.
"Hey, doll!" a mocking voice called from behind.
"Didn't you lose something back in 404?"
"Like a work permit?"
"Or maybe a few thousand credits that were supposed to belong to us?"
Astra stopped.
Slowly.
Very slowly she turned around.
Cold lunar light already burned in her eyes.
[THE FUN BEGINS,] Thanatos whispered with satisfaction.
[SHOW THEM WHO THE REAL REAPER IS.]