Morning in Sector 4 didn't break. It bruised.
The light filtering through Rei's blinds was a sickly, smog-choked yellow. It highlighted the dust motes dancing in the air and the chaotic aftermath of the previous night. The tangled sheets. The discarded sweatpants. The faint, lingering scent of sex that no amount of air freshener could mask.
Rei sat at her desk. She was wrapped in her sheets like a glowering burrito.
[ DEBT: 500,000 ]
[ INTEREST DUE: 2,500 (IN 24 HOURS) ]
[ CURRENT BALANCE: 67 ]
"The math isn't mathing," Rei mumbled. She stared at the holographic spreadsheet Nyx had projected onto the wall. "I made 67 credits for almost dying of exposure. I need 2,500 by tomorrow just to keep Mom's kidneys inside her body."
Nyx materialized. She wasn't wearing the suit today. She was wearing a "Casual Friday" outfit that was somehow more intimidating. A black turtleneck and high-waisted slacks that emphasized the inhuman length of her legs.
"Manual labor is inefficient," Nyx said. She swiped the spreadsheet away. "You aren't going to pay this off by walking to the convenience store. You need scale. You need volume."
She brought up a shopping window on Rei's monitor.
[ CART: STARTER STREAMING KIT ]
Item 1: Ehko-5 Condenser Mic (Used) — 150 Credits
Item 2: Lagi-Tech 4K Webcam (Cracked Lens) — 80 Credits
Item 3: Luv Pulse 3 (Bluetooth Connected) — 120 Credits
Rei choked on her own spit.
"Excuse me? Item number three?"
"Essential peripheral," Nyx said smoothly. "It connects to the stream alerts. When someone tips, it vibrates. High engagement strategy. Pavlovian conditioning for the audience and the performer."
"I am not shoving a Bluetooth device inside me for money!"
"Then you are liquidating your mother," Nyx countered. Her voice turned cold. "The Gilded Lotus doesn't accept moral outrage as currency, Asset. Buy the kit. I've already authorized a micro-loan against your projected earnings."
Rei stared at the screen. The total was 350 Credits. She was going deeper into debt to pay the debt.
"Fine," Rei whispered. She clicked [BUY NOW].
[ ORDER CONFIRMED ]
[ DELIVERY ESTIMATE: 30 MINUTES (FACELESS STAFFING) ]
Rei blinked at the delivery provider. "Faceless Staffing? Is that a shell company?"
Nyx chuckled. A sound like ice cubes rattling in a tumbler. She walked to the window. She peeled back the blackout curtain with one sharp nail to look down at the grimy street of Sector 4.
"You really haven't been paying attention to the world you live in, have you, Rei?" Nyx asked. "Do you think humans run this city? Who do you think picks up the trash in New Kowloon at 3 AM? Who do you think works the graveyard shift at the slaughterhouses?"
Rei frowned. She pulled her sheet tighter. "People? Poor people. Like me."
"Cattle," Nyx corrected. "But the infrastructure? The logistics? That belongs to the Under-City. We coexist, darling. Hidden in plain sight."
Nyx gestured to the skyline. "The vampires run the banks and the night clubs. The Orcs handle construction and heavy security. And the delivery services? That's exclusively Doppelgänger territory."
Rei felt a cold shiver that had nothing to do with the air conditioning. "Doppelgängers? Like... shapeshifters?"
"Generic organic drones," Nyx said dismissively. "They have no fixed identity, which makes them excellent couriers. They blend in. They don't steal. They don't ask questions. They are the ultimate gig workers."
Rei stood up. The realization hit her like a lag spike. "So, the guy coming to my door... isn't human?"
"Likely not," Nyx said. She turned to face Rei, her violet eyes narrowing. "Which brings me to a warning. Doppelgängers are... mirror surfaces. They reflect the energy they encounter. They are highly sensitive to intent and biological signals."
Nyx leaned in close.
"Do not engage with it socially. Do not project your anxiety onto it. And for the love of the Dark Father, be careful if you touch it. They are unstable. If they sync with a user who is... 'leaking' like you are, they tend to glitch."
Rei swallowed hard. "Glitch how?"
"Just sign the pad and close the door," Nyx said. "Don't make it weird."
Thirty minutes later, the doorbell rang.
DING-DONG.
Rei froze. She was wearing a clean oversized hoodie (black this time) and actual underwear, but the knowledge that a literal monster was standing on her welcome mat made her knees shake.
"It's just a delivery," she told herself, approaching the door. "Just a supernatural gig worker. Don't be weird."
[ MISSION: SIGN FOR DELIVERY ]
[ NPC: TARO (THE COURIER) ]
[ DIFFICULTY: LOW (BUT SPICY) ]
She opened the door.
Standing in the hallway was a man. Or... the idea of a man.
He was wearing a generic blue delivery uniform with the logo FACELESS STAFFING stitched on the pocket. He was average height. Average build. Messy brown hair.
But his face.
Rei blinked.
Every time she blinked, his face seemed to... reset. One second, he had a sharp nose. Blink. Now it was button-shaped. Blink. His eyes were green. Blink. Brown.
It was like looking at an AI-generated image that couldn't decide on a seed. It triggered a deep, primal "Uncanny Valley" nausea in the pit of Rei's stomach.
[ DATA BREACH ACTIVE ]
[ SPECIES: DOPPELGÄNGER ]
[ JOB: GIG WORKER ]
[ ATTRIBUTE: UNSTABLE MIRROR ]
"Delivery for Unit 404," the man said.
His voice was a flat, synthesized monotone. Like a GPS giving directions. He held out a datapad and a brown cardboard box.
"Y-yeah," Rei said. She stepped into the hallway, her eyes wide. She tried not to stare at the way his jawline seemed to be vibrating. "That's me."
"Sign here," Taro said. He thrust the datapad toward her.
Rei reached out with her right hand to take the stylus.
She wasn't paying attention to her Heat. She wasn't paying attention to the warning Nyx had just given her about Doppelgänger sensitivity.
[ NEW SKILL AUTO-EQUIPPED: LUSTFUL TOUCH (LVL 2) ]
[ TRIGGER: SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT ]
As Rei grabbed the stylus, her pinky finger brushed against the back of Taro's hand.
ZAP.
It wasn't a static shock. It was a thump of heavy, wet energy. The air between them warped.
[ HEAT GENERATED: +10% ]
[ EFFECT: SENSITIVITY AMPLIFIED (200%) ]
Taro didn't just flinch. He glitched.
His generic face rippled like water disturbed by a stone. The "mask" of the boring delivery driver shattered.
For a split second, his eyes rolled back. They turned completely white. His mouth fell open in a silent, exaggerated gasp. The vibration in his form synced instantly with Rei's hidden arousal.
"Ah..."
The sound that escaped him wasn't robotic. It was human. Deeply, shockingly human. A guttural, breathy moan that echoed in the quiet hallway.
He dropped the datapad.
CLATTER.
Rei jumped back. She clutched the box to her chest. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Did I static shock you?"
Taro was shaking. He looked at his hand. The hand she had touched. Like it was on fire.
Then he looked at Rei.
His face stopped shifting. It settled on a specific configuration. Flushed cheeks. Dilated pupils. An expression of bewildered, intense arousal. He was mirroring her internal state. He was showing her exactly what she was hiding under the hoodie.
"That felt..." Taro's voice wasn't flat anymore. It was shaky. "That felt... like warm velvet."
[ SYSTEM ALERT: TARGET SENSITIVITY CRITICAL ]
[ HE LIKED IT. ]
Rei's face burned.
"I... I have dry skin! Static! Winter air! Bye!"
She kicked the datapad back toward him. She scrambled backward into her apartment and slammed the door.
She locked it. Then she leaned against it. She slid down to the floor, clutching the box of streaming gear.
Her heart was pounding. But this time, it wasn't just fear.
She looked at her hand. Her fingertips were tingling. She could still feel the texture of his skin. Not just the surface, but the heat beneath it. The pulse of his blood. The sudden spike of his nerves.
She hadn't just touched him. She had invaded him.
[ HEAT: 34% ]
[ XP GAINED: +50 (FIRST SUPERNATURAL CONTACT) ]
"I didn't mean to," Rei whispered, staring at her trembling fingers. "I didn't mean to make the monster moan."
Nyx appeared. She was sitting on the kitchen counter, looking thoroughly amused.
"I told you they were sensitive," Nyx purred. "Most succubi have to undress to get a reaction like that. You did it with a pinky finger."
Nyx pointed at the box in Rei's lap.
"Now. Open the box. It's time to set up the studio. And Rei?"
Rei looked up. Eyes wide.
"Wash your hands. You don't know where that Doppelgänger has been."