Daniel ran as fast as he could through the city with the androids right behind him. He cut around a corner, nearly slipping as he pushed off the curb. Streetlights flickered overhead, throwing long shadows across the cracked asphalt. He didn’t have time to think about where he was going — only that he needed to stay ahead. A shout of metal on concrete rang out behind him as one of the androids vaulted a parked car instead of going around it. Daniel didn’t look back, but he heard the impact when it landed. Too close.
He pushed harder. He darted between two buildings, weaving through a narrow service alley. Trash bins, broken pallets, a sagging chain-link fence — he cleared them on instinct, lungs burning, legs screaming. The androids tore through the obstacles without slowing, metal scraping against metal as they forced their way through the tight space. Daniel burst out onto another street, the city stretching ahead of him in a blur of neon signs and dark windows. He could feel the androids closing in — not because he saw them, but because the rhythm of their steps never changed. They didn’t tire. They didn’t falter. They didn’t lose focus.
He did. His breath hitched. His stride wobbled for half a second. He forced himself forward, pushing past the pain, past the fear, past the thought that this might be the last stretch he ever runs. He didn’t know how long he could keep going. But he knew one thing:
If he slowed down, even once, they’d be on him, so he ran. Daniel pushed himself around the next corner and finally had a few steps of breathing room, enough to duck into the shadow of a recessed doorway and press his back against the wall. He could hear the androids closing in, their footsteps hammering the pavement as they sprinted after him, but for the first time since the chase began he wasn’t running. He held out his left hand, fingers trembling as he forced himself to focus, pulling that familiar pressure into his arm. The circuitry-like glow crawled up his skin, brightening as the charge built, humming under his palm like a storm waiting to break. The first android hit the corner at full speed, turning sharply to reacquire him—and Daniel released the Arc Lash in a single, violent burst. Blue lightning snapped across the alley and slammed into the machine’s chest, the impact throwing it sideways into the wall hard enough to crack brick. Sparks burst from its torso as it tried to stabilize, joints twitching from the overload. Daniel didn’t wait to see if it recovered; he pushed off the wall and ran again, the fading glow in his arm the only proof he’d even stopped at all. Daniel sprinted down the alley after the blast, but instead of committing to another full run, he cut sharply behind a stack of old crates and dropped into a low crouch, forcing himself to breathe through the burn in his lungs. The android he’d hit was still rebooting its balance, and the others were closing fast, their footsteps echoing off the walls as they recalculated his position. Daniel pressed his back against the cold brick and lifted his left arm again, focusing on that rising pressure beneath his skin. The glow returned slowly at first, then brighter, crawling up his forearm in thin, electric lines. He shifted his stance, keeping one eye on the corner as the first android’s shadow stretched across the ground. The moment its head cleared the edge, Daniel stepped out and released the second Arc Lash point?blank. The blue surge cracked through the air and slammed into the machine’s torso, sending it crashing backward into the others behind it. The alley lit up for a heartbeat, then fell dark again as Daniel staggered back, arm still tingling from the discharge. He didn’t wait for the androids to recover; he moved to a new position, already trying to pull another charge into his arm before they regrouped. One of the CRU android shot at Daniel with a new attack he's never seen. He focused on the android and used his skill SCAN on it.
[CRU-LV 8]
-Pulse Restraint: A short?range concussive burst from the palms that knocks a target down or stuns them long enough for a CRU to close the distance and restrain them.
-Shock Bolt: A fast, mid?range electrical projectile fired from a wrist emitter. It detonates on impact with a burst of static that disrupts muscle control and knocks a target off balance without causing lasting harm.
"Damn!" Daniel yelled as the shock bolts the androids were firing at him were fast. He tried not getting hit by this new attack. Daniel then focused on charging another Arc Lash. As he did, an android outflanked him as it fired a shock bolt right at him. the instant he heard the emitter fire he threw his left arm up without thinking. The world tightened around him—vision dimming at the edges as a translucent blue shimmer snapped into place, curving around his body like a half?formed shell. The Shock Bolt hit the barrier of light with a sharp crack, scattering into harmless static that washed over him before fading into the air. Daniel stared for half a second, stunned not by the impact but by the fact that he’d actually done it; the Aegis Veil held, humming faintly around his arm like a shield made of pressure and instinct. The CRUs re calibrated immediately, their footsteps closing in as they prepared another volley, but Daniel pushed off the barrier and moved again, the fading glow trailing behind him as he realized he finally had something that could keep him alive long enough to fight back. Daniel cut through a narrow service alley and skidded to a stop when he spotted a burst pipe leaking across the pavement, a thin sheet of water spreading into a shallow puddle. The androids were right behind him, their footsteps echoing off the walls as they closed in with mechanical certainty. Two androids rushed Daniel who was hiding behind some debris both firing shock bolts at Daniel as they only shattered a mirror where they thought Daniel was standing. Daniel didn’t wait. He snapped his arm forward and released a wide Arc Lash that tore across the puddle, the electricity racing through the water in a bright, violent flash. Both androids seized at once, their limbs locking as sparks burst from their joints, the shock traveling cleanly through their frames before dropping them to the ground in a synchronized collapse. The alley went quiet except for the hiss of the leaking pipe and Daniel’s steady breathing as he stepped back from the fading glow in his arm, already listening for the next set of footsteps approaching from deeper in the city. Daniel continued running as there were two more androids behind chasing him. Daniel vaulted over a low railing and dropped into a narrow maintenance corridor lined with metal storage lockers, the whole space echoing with every step he took. The last two CRUs were closing in fast, their sensors sweeping for him with that faint, rising hum he’d come to recognize. He didn’t run. Instead, he slid behind a locker door hanging half?broken on its hinge and kicked it hard, sending a sharp metallic clang ricocheting down the corridor. The sound bounced off the walls in a chaotic pattern, and the CRUs reacted instantly, recalibrating toward the false source. Daniel struck two more lockers in rapid succession, each impact sending another echo down a different angle. The androids advanced toward the phantom noise signatures, their targeting systems locking onto the strongest acoustic return—straight toward a suspended ventilation unit hanging overhead by a single rusted bracket. Daniel waited until both CRUs stepped beneath it, then snapped an Arc Lash into the bracket. The bolt cut clean through the metal, and the entire unit dropped like a guillotine, slamming both androids to the ground in a burst of dust and twisted steel. Their limbs twitched beneath the weight as their systems tried to re calibrate. Daniel didn’t waste the advantage. The ventilation unit still rocked slightly from the impact, metal groaning as the two CRUs struggled beneath it, their arms pinned at awkward angles as their systems tried to recalculate. He stepped in fast, sneakers splashing through the dust and debris, and drove his heel into the side of the first android’s head, knocking its sensor array sideways just as it tried to target him. The second one managed to free a hand, fingers twitching as its emitter began to charge, but Daniel snapped an Arc Lash straight into the exposed wiring along the fallen unit’s frame. The current surged through the metal and into both CRUs at once, their bodies locking in a violent jolt before going completely still. The corridor fell quiet except for the settling clatter of loose screws rolling across the floor. Daniel backed away, chest rising and falling, the faint afterglow of the Arc Lash fading from his arm as he listened for any sign of more units approaching. Nothing. Just the soft hum of the ventilation fans overhead and the sharp, metallic smell of overheated circuitry as the last two androids went dark beneath the crushed duct work. Daniel pushed off the wall and took a slow breath, the corridor finally still around him. As the tension drained from his shoulders, a faint pulse flickered at the edge of his vision—soft, almost like a blink he didn’t remember making. He frowned and turned his head slightly, and the pulse sharpened into a small, hovering bracket that hadn’t been there a second ago. It didn’t force itself open; it simply waited, a subtle glow tugging at his awareness the way a half?formed thought does when it wants to be acknowledged. Daniel focused on it, and the bracket expanded just enough to reveal a single line:
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
[ Status Update Available ].
No sound, no vibration, just a quiet presence hanging in the air as if the system had tapped him on the shoulder. He hesitated, then let his attention settle on the notification, and the bracket brightened in response, ready to unfold the moment he allowed it.
[CRU-LV 8] -Defeated (exp. 115)
[CRU-LV 8] -Defeated (exp. 115)
[CRU-LV 8] -Defeated (exp. 115)
[CRU-LV 8] -Defeated (exp. 115)
Daniel let his focus settle on the hovering notification, and the moment he acknowledged it, the bracket unfolded like a thought stretching awake. The status page hovered in front of him again, but this time it didn’t feel foreign. It felt responsive. He tested the idea deliberately, narrowing his attention on the progress bar, and the panel shifted smoothly, enlarging the EXP line until it filled his view—260 / 300, the remaining gap glowing with a faint, steady pulse. He exhaled and thought about closing it, not with words, just intent, and the panel folded in on itself like a page turning in his mind. Another thought brought it back, crisp and immediate, as if the system had been waiting for him to realize he didn’t need gestures or commands. He could will it. Move it. Shape it. The realization settled into him with a quiet certainty, a new layer of control threading into his instincts as naturally as breathing. Daniel dismissed the status page with a thought, the bracket folding into nothing as the corridor settled into a low mechanical hum. His pulse had finally steadied, and with the last two CRUs down, the silence felt almost unnatural—like the world was holding its breath, waiting for him to move. He pushed off the wall and started toward the exit, sneakers crunching over broken screws and bits of shattered casing. The air outside hit him cold and sharp, but no immediate pursuit. For the first time since the chase began, he wasn’t running blindly. He knew exactly where he needed to go.
Ronan’s house wasn’t just familiar—it was defensible, and already swept by someone who actually knew what he was doing. Daniel cut through the alley and slipped back onto the main street, keeping to the shadows as he moved. His body felt different now, lighter in a way he couldn’t quite name, like the level?up had threaded a new kind of awareness through his muscles. Every sound registered sharper, every movement felt more deliberate. He crossed the street and headed toward the residential blocks, weaving between debris and darkened storefronts, the glow from his arm fading to a faint warmth beneath his skin. As Daniel ran through the city, he was close to the city's edge, heading towards Ronan's house. As he ran Daniel immediately stopped, like his sixth sense kicked in again. He ducked behind some debris, and out of site from a new type of android he's never seen before. This new android he's never seen before stands a little taller than an average human, its entire body sculpted from a seamless matte?white alloy that looks poured rather than assembled. The torso is smooth and unbroken, with no visible seams, vents, or access panels—just a single continuous surface that suggests precision manufacturing far beyond anything civilian. Its shoulders are narrow and its arms long, tapering into five?fingered hands that mimic human proportions only at a distance; up close, the fingers are slightly too straight, too uniform, too perfect. They never twitch or adjust. They only move with purpose.
Where a face should be, the head is a featureless oval broken only by a single vertical red slit running from brow to chin. The slit doesn’t glow constantly; it pulses in slow, deliberate intervals, like a heartbeat that isn’t alive. It never widens, never narrows, never reacts. Below the waist, the humanoid form dissolves into a tapered, sculpted housing that flows downward into a circular glide ring. The ring is a flat metallic disc embedded with micro?vector thrusters arranged in a perfect circle, each one firing in coordinated, silent bursts too small to see. A faint white under glow marks the ring’s activation, but it casts no light on the ground. When the Frame moves, the ring stays perfectly level, letting the entire machine glide forward with friction less precision. No footsteps. No servo whine. No mechanical cadence. Just smooth, silent motion that feels engineered for efficiency and ends up being terrifying because of how little it resembles walking.
The Frame never gestures, never speaks, never acknowledges. It simply arrives, glides, and performs its task with clinical detachment. Daniel focused on this new android and used his skill SCAN.
[Transference Frame-LV 5]
[SKILL: TRANSFER PROTOCOL]
[The Transference Frame generates a large, beach?ball?sized transfer orb from the aperture in its palm.]
[The orb drifts forward in a straight path, moving just fast enough to pressure but not fast enough to guarantee a hit.]
[If the orb touches a living target, it collapses inward instantly, and the person disappears within a second.]
[If the orb hits a wall, object, or surface instead, it dissipates harmlessly with no residue.]
[The Frame can generate another orb immediately]
[The orb does not track, accelerate, or change direction once launched]
"So this is new" Daniel said keeping out of site, he wondered where the people went if they were hit with this so called transfer orb. It gave him the creeps, like an alien invasion or so. Daniel looked up, and realized it should be night time already, as the sky was still red and seemed alive. Then Daniel just realized, he had not seen any other people. there were so many people running around earlier. Now he realized, these new androids were floating around. with it's only skill is to transfer people as he assumed. Daniel was putting two and two together, now knowing where the people of the city were at, gone. Transferred by this new android. But to where. Daniel, finally made his way to Ronan's house, as he approached the front door, he immediately sensed something was wrong. He saw the front door broken in, and rushed to it. He walked inside past the broken door and saw the furniture wasn't completely destroyed or flipped over, more like just pushed to the side like someone or something was rushing inside. Ronan!, Naya! Anybody!" Daniel yelled running upstairs, and down the hall. He saw the game room door which was broken as well. Daniel stepped into the game room and froze. The place looked like it had been hit by a silent storm—couch overturned, the DnD table shoved on its side, dice scattered across the carpet like they’d been kicked mid?panic. A chair lay broken near the corner, one leg snapped clean off. Posters hung crooked, one half?ripped from the wall. The air felt wrong, heavy, like whatever happened here had sucked all the sound out of the room and left only the echo of it behind. His friends had been hiding here. He could see it in the way the furniture clustered toward the far wall, like they’d tried to make space, tried to brace, tried to hold the door. But now the room was empty. No voices. No movement. No sign of anyone. Just the aftermath of something that had come through fast and left nothing behind. Daniel, walked around the room at a loss for words. Looking at the mess left behind, he noticed a light under one of the overturned table. It was Charices smartwatch, still glowing of a picture of her older sister, she's only ever mention her once to the group of friends. He shut off the hologram screen and shut off her smartwatch screen. He placed her smartwatch in his pocket, looking out towards the balcony doors, which were also broken inwards. He never realized it, but there was a massive building in the distance. "Where did that come from?" Daniel thought as a massive building that's never been there before suddenly was there like it's always been there. Daniel looked up at the sky, still red and looks like it was breathing. The sky gave him the sky gave him the creeps, he decided to stop looking at it. He focused on the massive building in the distance. staring at the structure that hadn’t existed earlier. Two towers rose side by side, impossibly close, their metallic surfaces fused in places like they’d grown toward each other instead of being built. Thin lines of red light pulsed beneath the alloy skin, running upward in slow, deliberate rhythms that made the towers look less like architecture and more like organs.
Suspended between them hovered a sphere of deep, burning red. Not bright. Not glowing. Burning—like a coal that refused to die. The orb pulsed in slow, heavy beats, each one sending a ripple of red illumination across the towers’ surfaces. Every pulse made the metal shift—panels flexing, seams tightening, the whole structure adjusting itself like a living thing reacting to its own heartbeat. The air around the orb vibrated with a low, resonant hum that Daniel felt in his ribs, a frequency that wasn’t sound so much as pressure. He took a step closer, unable to look away. The towers leaned inward by a fraction, subtle but unmistakable, as if they were listening to the orb… or waiting for it to speak. The red light inside the sphere swirled slowly, forming shapes that almost looked like circuitry, then dissolving again like it was thinking, processing, deciding. This wasn’t a building. This wasn’t a machine. This was the new AI manifesting itself—two towers acting as conduits, and the red orb between them as its core, its eye, its presence. Daniel, walked back inside, pass the mess in the game room, down the hall. The look on his face serious now, as he makes his way down the stairs and pass the living room and out the front door as he knows where he is going now. The building in the distance.
