CRACK!

There was a flash of bright white light, then spider-web cracks spread through the world like reality was fracturing.

The dream shattered and they woke up.

Leon opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the wooden frame supporting the top bunk bed.

For a moment, he was confused. 'Did I just have a dream?' And then, everything came flooding back in like an avalanche.

Leon's eyes widened in horror. 'Talia was attacked!'

His body shuddered uncontrollably in fear and horror as the details remained vivid in his head; he couldn't distinguish reality from illusion.

The terror of having his body frozen against his will, wanting to move but your body not responding- a terror akin to sleep paralysis. The fear clung to him like a second skin, making his whole body feel cold.

He shivered. 'What the hell?'

He quickly shook off his reverie as he did exactly what he did in the dream. He dipped his hand underneath his pillow and picked his dagger before rolling to the side of the bed, then pointing the dagger at the darkness in the room.

Only then did he notice movement beside him.

'Ghostwire?'

Leon saw the cold muzzle of the quiet NetRunner's Rifle pointing into the dark, ready to unleash fire at any intruder.

From the heavy breathing coming from above, he knew that the two Geneforms in the top bunk were just as shaken as he was.

He didn't pay attention to Ghostwire or the top bunk though, he instead paid attention to the other side of the room where the other double-bunked bed was. He was desperately searching for Talia.

His heart was already beating fast.

The room was silent, but he could tell that everybody was up.

The silver moon outside shone through the window, illuminating the room with a gentle silver glow and enabling Leon to see. His eyes moved instinctively as he counted. '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… we're complete, she's alive'. He heaved a sigh of relief.

Only now did he realize how much he cared for Talia and the others. It was just a few days since he met them, but they already developed a tight bond.

The thought of Talia dying really left him horrified. It was a reality that he was unwilling to accept.

But he quickly became puzzled. 'What exactly happened?'

At this moment, every single one of them was at alert and was wielding a weapon. The synchrony of their breathing made Leon pause as a frightening thought entered his head.

'Wait, did we all have the same dream?'

It was a simple thought but it made him freeze in fear. He suddenly felt that the night was very cold, he felt a chill that spread to his heart.

Sweat rapidly gathered on his forehead as he paid attention to Ghostwire who was closest to him. He feared that the quiet NetRunner would suddenly turn into some horrifying monster.

Kain finally broke the silence. "Did we all have the same dream?"

"Yes". They all answered.

Leon's heart was already beating fast as horror scenarios found their way to his head, but then Talia's calm voice reverberated the next moment.

"It's an Artifact".

'An Artifact? That Artifact that Kain told me about?'

Leon's brain worked fast as he remembered the details of what Kain explained to him about Artifacts, but then he frowned.

'Artifacts are supposed to come from the uniqueness of Ascended and Neon Beasts right? This doesn't fit any of the 5 Classes. Was it created from a Neon Beast that originated from spontaneous ADE crystallization?'

"I've never heard of an Artifact like this". Daren broke the silence again; his voice was tensed and serious. "That was no mere illusion".

"Maybe it was created from a unique type of Neon Beast". Rex added.

Talia didn't answer them. Instead, she silently stood up and walked towards the window of this room and spied down through the curtains.

Leon's heartbeat accelerated again as he stared at her.

Then, Talia calmly said. "It's not an illusion, it was a dream. I think it's an Artifact that came from the Uniqueness of a Quantum Shaper".

Leon was taken aback. 'Quantum Shaper? The elusive Class of Ascended that I'm yet to encounter?'

No one interjected, and Talia continued calmly. "From what I know, F Rank Quantum Shapers have an ability called Quantum Touch".

"It enables them interact with micro-particles to slightly alter motion and reality. They can slow down bullets, and they can also affect dreams".

Leon's breath hitched.

Daren's eyes darkened as he stood up to his feet, quickly equipping his VX-09 Emberfist gauntlets. "Are we under attack?"

That was the question that they all wanted to ask.

They looked at Talia, waiting for her to explain.

She took a deep breath. "I was killed in that dream". She said calmly like she was talking about someone else. "But through it, I learned a few things".

"I've never fought against a Quantum Shaper so I don't know how exactly their ability works, but I noticed certain flaws. The dream was incomplete".

She looked at her crewmates. "I used my ability to search the inn to see if the Zmer gang already encircled us, and that was when I found out that the first floor was a dark and empty abyss".

"Ping Scan only gives such feedback when it detects a vacuum or a region of space with no life. That was when I had my first doubts that what I was experiencing was not reality".

"At first, I thought it was an illusion, so I made some tests to verify".

Talia took a deep breath as if to verify her suspicions, then she said. "I think that was a probing attack".

Leon and the others shifted uneasily on hearing that. They could not help the feeling that hundreds of enemies already surrounded them.

At this moment, Leon really hated Talia's way of explaining things. 'Talk fast woman!' He wanted to shout it at her but he kept quiet.

Talia continued. "The enemy is Cell, Parasite's right hand man. I fought against him. I think he has his doubts about how easily I managed to break the LAN isolation barrier, so he wanted to probe and confirm if I'm already an E Rank NetRunner".

"I noticed this on time, so I managed to fool him by only using F Rank abilities". Talia's face finally turned serious. "The last time, the Zmer gang had no Artifacts. Suddenly getting an Artifact proves that they have a secret sponsor".

"And even among Artifacts, those made from the uniqueness of a Quantum Shaper are extremely extremely rare". Talia's voice became solemn.

"On one hand, he doesn't know my true strength. We can use this to our advantage in our quest to stop Parasite's slave trade business".

"On another hand though," she looked outside through the window again. "I do think we're surrounded".

'F*ck!' Leon cursed silently as he also walked towards the window to look down. The streets were dark and silent, the shadows were deep and pronounced.

Ghostwire instinctively walked towards the door. He placed his ear against the door, listened, then he looked at the others and shook his head.

"What should we do?" Kain asked in a muffled tone as he looked at Talia.

Talia thought for a few seconds, then she flashed a smile. "I think that was an attempt to scare us".

"The Zmer gang has a lot of gangsters, but most of them are mundane people. From the information that the Freegrid Collective has on Parasite, with him included, the Zmer gang should have less than 5 Ascended".

"We have the advantage when it comes to Ascended, but that doesn't mean we should be careless. With the right weapon and the right circumstances, a mundane gangster can kill even me, an E Rank NetRunner".

"Being an Ascended doesn't make us invincible, at least not at this rank".

Talia flashed a smile. "I think we should react like normal Ascended who were frightened by a horrifying encounter that we cannot comprehend, we should act scared".

"Cell clearly wants to scare us into abandoning the mission of going after the Zmer gang, so let's act scared like we're finally giving up. Let's follow the window and leave the inn, then run as far away as we can".

"That'll fit our status as F Rank Ascended who are facing a powerful gang".

"I'm guessing that Parasite sent Cell to eliminate me. By making me give up on the mission and leaving the Wastes, that'll be the same as eliminating the threat that I pose to Parasite's business. I believe that's what he did".

"So let's play according to his game". Talia smiled again.

The others looked at each other; no one had an objection.

At that moment, Leon could not help but sigh. Once again, he realized how wise his decision was to join and follow this crew.

'I'm just too inexperienced about this world'.

'If not for Talia, I would have never connected that dream to an Artifact, not to talk of connecting it to the Quantum Shaper Class'.

'I still have a lot to learn about this world'.

After that, they didn't stay idle.

Silently, they packed their things that same night before sneaking out of the inn through the window of the second floor in fear.

As they rushed through the streets, they frequently checked their surroundings and looked back in fear like they were scared of an ambush and were searching for invisible enemies in the dark.

They were like rats running with their tails between their legs.

…

100 meters away from Henry's Inn.

A shadow shifted. On the shadow's face, pair of brownish black eyes gleamed as they watched the crew of 7 Ascended escape from the inn in a panic, running deep into the night.

Cell watched in silence.

A voice snickered beside the Gene Augur the next moment. "They really ran. What a bunch of cowards".

The owner of the voice was a Geneform with a square-shaped face, a barren chin, and a receding hairline.

Cell deliberated for a few seconds before he asked. "Is that the mechanic?"

"Yes," the man nodded before adding in a mocking tone. "Mechanists are such cowards".

"Check back on his mechanic shop tomorrow". Cell said calmly.

"I will," the square-faced man snickered again. "I want to see if that cowardly b*tch has the courage to open his workshop tomorrow".

He rubbed his barren chin. "Now that I think about it, I do hope he opens. He's really good. It took him just a few seconds to repair a gun that I thought was already long dead and beyond repair".

His vivid brown eyes suddenly glimmered. "Cell, I have an idea!" He nudged the Gene Augur who reacted by glancing at him coldly.

Not minding, he continued. "If he comes tomorrow, I'll make a deal with him to become our external mechanic. That way, we don't always have to wait for the sponsor before we get new guns and ammunitions".

"What do you think?"

Cell glanced at him coldly. "I don't know". Then he turned into a shadow and slithered away.

"Tsk," the square-faced man clicked his tongue. "What a boring guy".

He also stood up and left.

At that moment, unknown to him, a drone silently hovered in the sky above him. He was already captured by the drone's camera.

…

More than 200 meters away, Talia looked at the holographic image projected from the drone feed that Leon was controlling.

She tsked. "I was wrong, it was just two people who surrounded us". She chuckled in a self-deprecating manner.

While she chuckled, she noticed Leon looking at the holographic image with a certain intensity.

"Do you know him?"

Leon was stunned. "That's the first customer that patronized me!"

Talia deliberated in silence for a few seconds, then she said. "Let's go".

As they left, Leon's HUD screen lit up.

DING!

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