Opening Log: 10/10/2077, 14:30 (CST)

The rain in Sector 7 never washed anything away, it just redistributed the grime. It smelled like burnt synth-flesh and cheap copper. I pulled the collar of my trench coat higher, the damp air biting at the seams of my coat and my exposed neural port. They called me Ghost, and tonight I was running data for the Serpent.

The data chip, no larger than my thumbnail, was strapped to my left forearm, secured under layers of bio-woven polymer. It held the access codes to the entire corporate net of Omni-Tek, and if I got caught, the best-case scenario was a quick death.

“The city always demands a price. Tonight, it’s asking for a premium.” - Anonymous Netizen

I moved through the alleyways, the only light source being the broken, buzzing neon sign of a noodle stand that read ‘EAT’ in flickering magenta. Above, the sky was a permanent bruise of exhaust and cloud cover, pierced only by the distant, intimidating spires of the Corporate Zone.

A drone, a tiny, insect-like surveillance unit, whizzed past my head. I instinctively froze, activating the cheap scrambler I’d bought from a street vendor named Scratch. It was barely rated to fool a street cop, let alone a corp-grade security system, but it was all I had. The drone kept going. Close. Too close.

I reached the drop point—a forgotten access point in the rusted hull of an old freight container. The air shimmered slightly, and a synthetic voice whispered from the darkness: “Identity protocol: Echo.”

I keyed the response into my wrist comm: “Resonance.”

The voice hissed back, metallic and amused, “Welcome to the deep end, Ghost. Let’s see if you can swim.”

The game had just begun.