Chapter 3: Mysterious caller

Miles woke to the soft hum of city life beyond the apartment walls.

Neon light flickered through the blinds, casting shifting patterns across the ceiling.

He shifted his sight to his naked wife, "Best modification you ever bought." Before gently kissing her cheeks.

Sliding out of bed carefully so as not to wake Sarah, he stretched, rolling his shoulders before making his way to the bathroom.

The cool water washed away the last remnants of sleep as he started his morning routine—brushing his teeth, checking his cybernetics, and getting dressed.

From the closet, he retrieved his hoverboard cartridge, slotting it into his neural port.

It clicked into place, feeding him real-time diagnostics of the board's status, "Still in good condition."

With a deep breath, he stepped outside, ready to explore the city that might become their home.

The streets of Neon City were alive with movement—holographic billboards lit the skyline, pedestrians moved in organized chaos, and the rhythmic thrum of airborne traffic resonated through the alleys.

As he navigated the walkway, he bumped into a spherical tour bot hovering just above the ground.

The bot whirred and scanned him, a small light blinking as it processed his data, "Newcomer detected. Welcome to Neon City!" it chirped before transmitting a tour video directly to his HUD.

Miles sighed but let the video play. The city had its own rhythm, and he needed to learn it fast, "The city had it's jingle. Pretty cool welcome."

Activating his hoverboard, he kicked off the ground, the board's thrusters roaring to life. He followed the video's itinerary, taking in the sights:

First, the Neon Bridge—a sprawling network of glowing pathways suspended above the lower levels of the city. Traffic zipped by in designated lanes, and advertisements flickered on every surface, selling everything from cybernetic upgrades to synthetic emotions.

Next, he arrived at the Corporate Governance Office—a towering monolith of glass and steel, where the city's elites controlled everything from energy distribution to law enforcement. Drones patrolled the perimeter, scanning passersby with cold, unfeeling optics. Even from a distance, Miles could feel the suffocating grip of authority that radiated from the structure.

Finally, he reached The Dome—a massive entertainment and commerce hub encased in an energy field that separated it from the rest of the city. Inside, the wealthiest citizens indulged in excess, shielded from the harsh realities of Neon City's lower sectors.

Hovering above the cityscape, Miles took a deep breath, exhaling as he absorbed it all. This was their new home. He just had to figure out how to survive in it.

---

Miles returned home to the scent of a freshly cooked breakfast. The aroma of eggs and toast filled the apartment.

Sarah sat on the counter, legs crossed, a laptop balanced on her lap. She barely glanced up as she typed away, "Took your time. Hope you're hungry."

Miles walked to the table and grabbed a plate, "Smells great. What are you working on?"

Sarah smirked, "Setting up our bounty hunting profile. We're officially in business. Got us approved for legal hunts on different-ranked criminals."

Miles raised an eyebrow, "That was fast."

She flipped the screen toward him, showing a sleek bounty-hunting website with their profiles, "Meet 'Demon Gunslinger' and 'Protohive.'"

Miles nearly choked on his food, "What the hell kind of names are those?"

Sarah showed a cocky smirk, "The names of two future hunters. We should get matching uniform. I can see you wearing a tight uniform so off your muscles."

"Really want other people looking at me wearing clothes." He asked.

It took Sarah a few seconds before she realised what would happen if other girls started noticing him, "Seconds thought, maybe we could go with your street clothes. So we don't draw any unwanted attention."

Before Miles could answer, their holo-screen buzzed.

A call request flashed from an unknown number. Sarah answered, and a voice filtered through, "Mr and Mrs Peters. I assume you've seen your new credentials?"

Miles leaned forward, "And who exactly are you?"

"Government contractor," the person replied. "I personally approved your application. We're looking for efficient, cost-effective solutions to our city's crime problem."

Miles narrowed his eyes, "Cost-effective?"

The contractor's voice didn't waver, "To be blunt, housing criminals is expensive and requires a lot of paperwork to be done. Eliminating them is cheaper. You do the math."

Sarah grinned, intrigued, "So, what do we get out of this?"

"Besides the money?" The contractor's tone was almost amused. "You get to kill criminals without restriction. No oversight. No interference. Just some honest community service."

Miles exchanged a glance with Sarah. The offer was tempting, but the implications were heavy.

"I'll give you time to consider," the contractor continued. "Expect my call later today."

The line went dead.

Miles leaned back, rubbing his temple. "Well... that was interesting. Surprised he knew our names already. If they are from the government, it wouldn't be hard to locate where the website was created."

Sarah chuckled, closing her laptop, "Oh my sweet carmel king, I used multiple software to keep our network from getting leak and made sure to not to leave a trace behind. If our information were leak, I would known immediately and a virus would be sent to their services...but I feel like if they were persistent enough to find a clue I left behind. Then maybe."

Miles sighed, "Contract killing criminal sounds like fun. If we doing it legally then it's basically a dream come true for us." He takes a quick bite before saying.

"We need to met up with this agent in a public area first. Load up with weapons and I will get us some disguises. If it turns to be true then we will be living the good life from now on." Before he could bite his food, Sarah sneakily eaten it off his fork.

When he noticed the messing food and the fact she was chewing, she replied, "We already living the good life. It will only get from here onwards. But you should know that someone was attempting to look at us through different cameras when we entered. Keep that in mind when we met them."

Miles runs his hand through his hair, "Guess we just wait for the day to pass. I think a movie day would work at moment."