Zero Hour

01:30 – Industrial District 14, Orika City

The warehouse detonated with chaos.

Gunfire exploded from the catwalks. Sparks rained down from metal railings as bullets chewed through them.

Toma hit the deck and slid behind a container just as a bullet sparked off the ground where his head had been a second before.

"Keiji Shiromura, huh?" he muttered under his breath. "Platinum tie, gold watch, zero survival instincts."

[Recommend: Prioritize elimination of high-value target, Lieutenant-level enemies yield exponential asset bonuses and unlock new contract tiers.]

"You're just saying that because you want a bigger payout."

[Correct.]

Toma peeked out. Four new guards flanked Keiji on the catwalk. One was reloading a bullpup rifle.

Another had dual blades strapped to his arms, cybernetic veins glowing beneath his skin.

"Augmented?" Toma asked.

[Two of four. Estimated net reward if all are eliminated: ¥2,000,000 minimum.]

"…Suddenly, I feel very patriotic."

He bolted from cover and fired up at the platform. One round ricocheted; another tagged a guard's thigh. Screams. The man toppled over the rail and crashed through a stack of crates below.

BANG! BANG!

Toma returned fire at a second guard who was trying to get a bead on him with a scoped SMG. Two bullets found his chest. Armor stopped the first. The second hit the exposed neck.

["+¥190,000 credited. Critical neck strike: +¥40,000 bonus."]

From above, Keiji shouted, "Stop firing like amateurs! He's just one punk! Surround and crush him!"

"Funny, you're doing a lot of shouting for someone who's supposed to be in charge," Toma yelled back.

He sprinted for the forklift, using it to vault onto a stack of crates. He climbed higher, one hand holding Revenant Alpha, the other gripping a support beam.

Clang. Clang.

Footsteps approached from behind, fast, heavy.

Toma spun, just in time to see the cyber-augmented enforcer with the dual blades leaping toward him.

He dove backward, bullets flying mid-air.

The man landed in a crouch and lunged, blades flashing in the dark.

Toma ducked the first slash, barely dodged the second. Sparks flew as the blade clipped the edge of a metal beam.

Too close.

He rolled and fired upward.

Three bullets into the torso. Armor.

Another into the leg. It hit exposed muscle, crippled the limb.

The enforcer roared, swinging in a blind arc.

Toma ducked again, then brought up both pistols.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Head. Neck. Eye socket.

The enforcer dropped like a corrupted machine.

[+¥310,000 credited. Cybernetic threat defeated. Efficiency bonus: ¥75,000.]

Toma exhaled hard, panting as he scrambled higher.

More members fired from above. He heard Keiji retreating through a side door, shouting orders. "Don't let him reach the main office! Lock it down!"

"Too late," Toma muttered. "You're overdue on rent, asshole."

He jumped onto the final catwalk, ducking low. Bullets whizzed past. One grazed his arm, blood spattered, but he didn't slow down.

Two guards waited by the office door.

One fired wildly. Toma slid under the bullets and shot him in the stomach.

The other came at him with a crowbar.

Toma caught the swing with his arm, grunted in pain, and jammed Revenant Beta against the man's throat.

BANG!

Crimson splattered across the office wall.

[+¥230,000 credited.]

Toma kicked the door open.

01:39 – Shiromura Command Office, Industrial District 14

Keiji Shiromura stood behind a black marble desk. The office was out of place, neatly arranged with expensive whiskey bottles, gold-framed portraits, and a massive display screen showing surveillance feeds.

"Are you out of your mind?" Keiji spat. "Do you even know who you're fucking with?"

Toma stepped inside, guns still raised. "Yeah. I know exactly who I'm fucking with."

Keiji grabbed a pistol from under his desk and fired.

Toma dove left. The bullet whizzed past. He rolled, came up firing, one shot nailed Keiji in the shoulder.

The crime boss screamed, stumbled back, and crashed into a liquor shelf.

"You think this ends with me?!" Keiji yelled, blood leaking from his arm. "You're a nobody. A stray! You kill me, and fifty others will come for your head!"

Toma stepped forward, guns lowered slightly. "I used to deliver noodles to buildings you people owned," he said quietly. "I walked past your guards. Your dogs. You never saw me. But you know what the difference is now?"

Keiji glared.

Toma raised Revenant Alpha. "Now I deliver bullets."

BANG!

The shot hit Keiji dead center in the heart.

The older man collapsed backward, knocking over the whiskey rack.

Silence.

[+¥1,200,000 credited. Executive elimination complete.]

["New system feature unlocked: Asset Requisition Mode."]

["Shiromura regional command node has been dismantled."]

Toma exhaled and dropped into the office chair.

His arms trembled. His lungs burned. His account was still deep in the red, but now it had a pulse.

[Debt now sitting at ¥14,600,000, Congratulations. You're trending upward.]

Toma leaned back, staring at the broken body across from him. "…That's one way to climb the corporate ladder."