Alex's finger twitched. The trigger of the AA-12 had one millimeter of slack left1
He stared at the target. The Frost-Blade Mantis stood seven feet tall in the ruin of Floor 13. Its forelegs weren't limbs; they were translucent, serrated scythes of organic glass
Calculation.
Dragon's Breath burns at 3000°F. A single volley turns this bug into a torch. Safe. Easy.
And a total waste of profit.
Fire ruins the temper. If he cooked the insect, the thermal shock would shatter the chitin. If he used the Thermal Lance to slice it, he'd melt the edges
Luna needed materials
Those scythes were harder than steel and lighter than carbon fiber. He wasn't looking at a monster. He was looking at a pair of high-frequency blades worth a fortune.
"Change of plans," Alex muttered.
He lowered the shotgun. The sling caught the weight. The massive weapon banged against his hip.
The Mantis froze. Compound eyes the size of dinner plates rotated. It clicked its mandibles. Prey had bared fangs, then sheathed them. Confusion stalled its aggression for a heartbeat.
"I want your arms," Alex said. His voice rasped, vibrating with a greed that outweighed fear. "Intact."
He raised his left hand. The Inferno Gauntlet hummed. Blue light from the Micro-Fusion Cell pulsed in the dim hallwa.
Click-Whirr.
Titanium servos locked his fingers into a crushing grip. He didn't activate the plasma vent. This wasn't a firefight. It was a harvest.
SCREEE!
The Mantis shrieked. A high-frequency drill sound bored into his skull.
It took the lowered weapon as an invitation.
The creature's carapace rippled. Pale green coloration shifted. It didn't just blend in; it bent the light. The "translucent" exoskeleton aggressively refracted the grey concrete.
In less than a second, the seven-foot monster vanished.
[System Warning]
[Target Ability Activated: Optical Camouflage (Rank B)]
[Visual Contact Lost.]
Empty hallway. Only the sound of wings buzzing—blurring the air—remained.
"Hide and seek." Alex didn't smile. His face was a mask of cold alloy. "I love this game."
He shut his eyes. The visual spectrum was trash now.
[Trait Activation: Thermal Void].
The heat in his veins vanished. The Stalker Core he had consumed on the 24th floor kicked in. It synchronized his body temperature perfectly with the ambient environment.
Heart rate dropped to 30 beats per minute. Skin cooled to match the -68°C air.
To the thermal pits of the insect, Alex didn't just stand still. He ceased to exist.
Two ghosts hunted in the frozen ruin of Floor 13.
Silence clamped down. Heavier than before. The wind outside held its breath.
Alex stood motionless. A statue of meat and tech. Eyes lied. Perception didn't.
Scritch.
Sound to his left. A needle dragging on glass.
The Mantis was wall-walking. Hooked legs found purchase on the reinforced steel frame of Unit 1304.
Flanking maneuver.
Alex didn't turn. He waited. He needed it to commit.
Air pressure dropped. A sudden displacement of wind hit the back of his neck.
Now.
Alex spun.
He didn't swing blindly. He threw his left arm up in a rigid guard. The Inferno Gauntlet protected his head.
CLANG.
The impact felt like a falling elevator.
White-hot sparks showered the dark hallway. The invisible scythe slammed into the titanium plating.
The camouflage flickered on impact. For a split second, a distorted, shimmering outline of the monster appeared in the air.
The serrated edge bit deep. It chewed into the ceramic outer layer. Servos in Alex's arm whined, screaming against the Strength 5.0 load
"Found you," Alex hissed.
He drove his right fist forward. The Tactical Knife aimed for the shimmer.
Vacuum.
He hit nothing but air.
The Mantis was fast. Agility S. It retracted the scythe faster than a shutter click. It backstepped. Camouflage restabilized.
Gone.
Alex stepped back. He put his spine against the wall of the "Prepper" apartment.
Pain hammered his radius. The gauntlet held, but the kinetic force had bruised the bone underneath.
"Clever trash," Alex whispered. "It knows the armor is hard. Testing for gaps."
Silence returned. Then, floorboards groaned.
Not the wall. The ceiling.
Alex stared into the void. Malice dripped down like the yellow slime coating the floor.
He checked the fuel gauge. 35%.
He couldn't afford a long dance. He needed to bait a fatal strike.
He lowered his guard. Just an inch. A fatal error for a rookie. A trap for a landlord.
SCREEE!
The air above him tore open. The Mantis dropped. Gravity aided the strike. Both scythes swung down in a scissor motion.
Decapitation vector.
Alex didn't dodge. He surged forward. He met the falling guillotine.
He didn't block. He caught it.
CRUNCH.
Impact shuddered through his skeleton. Like catching a falling elevator car.
Twin scythes slammed into the reinforced cross-guard of the Inferno Gauntlet. Alex's boots punched through the linoleum, cracking the concrete slab beneath. His knees buckled.
Whirrrrr-SCREE.
Hydraulics screamed. Servo-motors fought the Strength S crush. Sparks showered Alex's visor as serrated blades chewed into the titanium plating.
[Armor Integrity: Critical] [Structural Failure Imminent]
The Mantis pressed down. Weight immense. The "invisible" shimmer radiated focused malice. Mandibles clicked inches from his face. Acid drool etched the helmet glass.
It tried to retract the blades. A sawing motion meant to slice through the gauntlet and the meat beneath.
"No refunds," Alex grunted.
He clamped the gauntlet's fingers. Servos locked onto the enemy blades. He anchored the monster.
Chest-to-chest. Suicidal range for a gunman. Perfect range for a mechanic.
Alex looked past the gnashing mandibles. He didn't aim for the armored head. He aimed lower.
Under the creature's primary arm joint, a soft membrane pulsed.
The Spiracle. The air intake.
Alex drove his left fist forward.
SQUELCH.
Titanium punched through wet membrane. The fist sank wrist-deep into the creature's thorax. Cold slime flooded the gauntlet seams. The insect's massive heart thumped frantically against his knuckles.
The Mantis stiffened. Clicking stopped. It thrashed, realizing the violation too late.
"Internal combustion," Alex whispered.
He didn't just fire the vent. He dumped the core.
[Plasma Vent: Overload]
WHUMP.
A muffled, wet explosion rocked the creature's frame.
It didn't burn on the outside. It lit up from the inside.
For a second, the Mantis glowed like a paper lantern. Blinding orange light strobed through the translucent gaps in its abdominal armor.
Steam blasted violently from every joint, spiracle, and crack in the chitin. The smell hit him instantly—boiling hemolymph and cooked ozone.
Internal temperature hit 4,000 degrees.
Neural ganglia popped like wet fuses. The massive scythes dropped dead, sliding harmlessly off Alex's armor.
Optical camouflage shorted out. The "shimmer" died. The charred, smoking hulk slumped against the wall.
Alex yanked his arm out. Wet suction followed. The gauntlet smoked, clean. Heat had cauterized the slime instantly.
The massive carcass slid to the floor.
[System Notification] [Target Eliminated: Frost-Blade Mantis (Queen Guard)] [Combat Rating: S (Perfect Harvest)] [XP Gained: 3000]
Alex didn't check his health. He didn't check the hallway.
His eyes locked on the corpse.
From the ruin of the creature's chest, a beam of light erupted. Not white trash. Not blue gear.
Gold.
A vertical pillar of golden light pierced the darkness of Floor 13, illuminating the frozen steam.
Rare Drop.
Pain in his arm vanished. Pure, uncut dopamine flooded his brain.
"Jackpot."
He didn't wipe the acid from his shoulder. He didn't reload the shotgun.
He reached into the light. Fingers trembled with greed.