Jay stood above a partially collapsed building where he could just make out a few letters of a neon sign that used to display the name Surplus Cybernetics. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “Just wonderful,” he said with a cheery demeanor and smile.

  Not having the energy to even care about his mangled words, he bent down and began moving chunks of rubble using his Spirit Empowerment for the larger pieces.

  **Skill level increased: Lifting 0 - 1**

  He ignored the message and continued clearing away rubble for the better part of half an hour before what he was looking for was finally revealed. Despite the collapse of the entrance, the inside of the building still seemed mostly intact. It took just a few more minutes and three more levels in Lifting before he finally had a large enough gap to squeeze inside. The building was quite eerie with the large amount of blue and pink neon lights that used to decorate the store flashing with the last throes of life that they could muster. Glass covered the ground, and the normal fluorescent lighting that illuminated most of the shop was completely out of commission. Jay walked through the store, straining his eyes until he finally came across the section he was looking for. A small, flickering hologram sign told him what he was looking at. Though it was already obvious by the rows of detached cybernetic arms decorated with all sorts of state-of-the-art tech.

  **Premium right arms**

  Jumping the small counter, he thumbed through the catalog before pulling one off the shelf with a smile. It was his dream arm. The one he had spent countless days salivating over but knew he would never get his hands on until now. Tapping the computer behind the counter and letting out a sigh of relief as it lit up. He plugged in the limp robotic arm, disabled its anti-theft mechanisms, and marked it as sold. The screen flashed, and a notification popped up.

  Pending manager approval, please wait…

  Jay grimaced as he read it. It looked like he had shot too high with that one. He should have known an item costing almost as much as a brand new car wouldn’t be that easy to tak–

  The thought died as a new notification popped up.

  **Remote override granted. Sale approved.**

  Jay’s eyes went wide as he read over the statement again and again, still unable to comprehend what just happened. He quickly disconnected the arm before whoever made that mistake could rectify it.

  “You know, it's probably not the best idea to break into places in broad daylight,” a young male voice called from behind him.

  Jay spun around and considered reaching for his gun. A man stood in the middle of the store, illuminated by the flickering neon lights. He was dressed in a large black hoodie with a green skull covering the back of the hood. He wore ripped blue jeans and had several piercings covering his eyebrows, ears, and upper lip. By the look of his face and other features, he couldn’t be older than eighteen or nineteen.

  “What do you want?” Jay asked with his unwanted smile affixed to his face once more.

  “Nothing, really. Just saw you breaking in here and thought I'd grab some souped-up cyberwar for myself. Wasn’t even gonna let you know I was here, but I saw you struggling with that arm and saw the perfect opportunity to show my gratitude. You know you're strong as shit, right? Especially for your frame. I couldn’t even budge half those rocks. Must be rocking some major upgrades under all that,” he said, looking Jay up and down.

  Jay stared at the arm in his hand with realization before turning to the young man with wide eyes. “You granted the approval?”

  “Yep.”

  “How?”

  The young man shrugged. “These places normally don’t have the best security, and while I can’t say I'm a master hacker, when a manager leaves his ID badge on a random counter, I can sure make it look like I am,” he said with a grin.

  Jay chuckled before abruptly stopping. The depressing thought of that being his first genuine laugh in several years wormed its way into his mind. He pushed it down after a second and just enjoyed the moment. He didn’t know who this person was, but he was starting to like him. “Well, thanks for that. I’m Jay, by the way.”

  “Don’t mention it. Like I said, thanks for getting me in here. And you can call me Phalanx, if you like.”

  Jay nodded and thought for a moment about whether he should have introduced himself with his moniker before thinking better of it. The less likely that someone would link his leaderboard name to his own, the better. He didn’t feel like having to watch his back constantly once he put the plans he and Lan had come up with into action.

  “So, you think I could grab a liver and leave the rest for you?”

  “Go for it. Far as I'm concerned, you got first dibs, but if that's all you want, I won’t complain.”

  Jay nodded and made his way over to the artificial origins section before grabbing one compatible with his blood type that wouldn’t need constant injections and disabling its security protocols with Phalanx’s help. Jay smiled with his bounty in hand and nodded towards Phalanx as he passed him. The younger man smiled, but it soon turned to a frown when he looked at Jay’s old, beat-up right arm.

  “Just a second,” he said, grabbing Jay’s shoulder and preventing him from leaving. “You don’t happen to be a candidate, yeah?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Lan almost screamed into his mind. “Stay calm and lie!”

  Jay, at least, didn’t have to worry about his face betraying him as the chip turned his worried emotions into a cheerful expression. “What’s a candidate, and would my being one change something here?”

  Phalanx looked him over for a few moments before finally releasing him with a sigh. “Sorry. It’s just that most of the new groups that have taken over the city are comprised of people calling themselves ‘candidates.’ They have some strange fucking abilities, and I thought after seeing your arm and the way you moved those rocks despite that shitty piece of tech that you might be one.”

  “Would it matter if I were?” Jay asked, with a confused expression.

  “Well, kinda. You seem like a nice guy, and a few of the assholes from the group that started the fighting yesterday kidnapped one of my friends right in front of me. I couldn’t even attempt to stop them.” He punctuated that last statement by pulling up his hoodie, revealing a large area of red and black skin that still oozed small bits of blood and pus. “I wanted to upgrade myself with the best parts I could steal from here and make another attempt to rescue him, but I doubt it will be enough.”

  “Doesn't that hurt?”

  Phalanx let his hoodie and shirt fall back down to cover the grizzly burn wound. “It does, but I've been getting these strange hallucinations or something telling me my Pain Tolerance has leveled. I think it might be my brain finally failing to deal with the pain, but who knows. At least every time it pops up, the pain decreases a bit more.”

  So, should I still not tell him anything? Jay asked, mentally directing it toward Lan.

  “Yes. I wouldn’t think you need this explained, but people could lie. I can only think of one reason they would have taken his friend, if that story is even true, and that's to allow one of their buddies to kill him and become a candidate themselves. Even if you make the foolish choice to help him and don’t end up in that exact situation, you're not going to be saving anyone.”

  But--

  Lan cut him off. “No. I’m sorry, Jay, but a corpse is not worth risking your life over.”

  He clenched his fist and gave Phalanx a gentle smile. “How long ago did they take him?”

  “Just after the fighting ended. Around five or so.”

  “That settles it, Jay,” Lan said. “There isn’t a chance in hell his friend survived. Multiple candidates probably died in that fight, revealing that it can be transferred. They likely rounded up any weak candidates they could find after that, and... well, you know the rest.”

  Jay paused for a moment, clenching and unclenching his fist. “I’ll tell you what, kid. Help me install this arm real quick. Then, point me in the direction of wherever they took your friend, and I'll see if I can find them,” he said with a wink.

  Phalanx smiled, shifting his lip piercings and revealing a row of shiny white teeth. “Great!”

  Jay nodded and, with his left arm and a grunt of pain as the nerves disconnected, removed his shitty right arm, letting it clatter to the floor. He handed Phalanx the new arm and took a seat in a nearby chair that he dragged over.

  “Alright. I just need you to hold it in position.”

  The young man did as he asked and held the arm in the proper position as Jay slowly connected the nerves, grinding his teeth in pain as he did. It finally all clicked into place.

  **Skill level increased: Pain Tolerance 4 - 5**

  Painting and wiping a bit of sweat from his brow, Jay looked down at his new right arm as he slowly wiggled its fingers. The response time was near instant, and he couldn’t help but laugh. He ran a finger down the palm, and the signals transferred to his mind no differently than if it were his own skin. For the first time since he had sold the original to that flesh purist, he actually felt like he was whole again. Well, at least until he thought of the failing artificial origin and chip in his brain.

  **

  New cyberware integrated: Synthetic Bionic Arm

  Rarity: Uncommon

  Quality: Excellent

  **

  “Alright, so, where did they take your friend?”

  Several hours later, Jay and Phalanx crouched on the roof of a small commercial building. They looked down at a nearby bank that the group Phalanx was looking for had taken over and converted into a headquarters of sorts. It was guarded by five people in total. Two larger men stood in front of the entrance, basically blocking the doors with how large their frames were. Another man and two women sat just inside the building, visible through the windows as they laughed about something one of them had said.

  “So, what now?” Phalanx asked with a shrug. “You think you could take them?”

  “Uhh…” Jay paused for a moment before directing a question toward Lan. Can I take them?

  “If you're lucky and they haven't been focusing on their class skills, possibly. Still, seeing as they are still around after that mini-war yesterday. I’m guessing at least one of them has reached Level 14 and is working on getting their tier up.”

  So, what should I do?

  “Well, unless you have suddenly changed your mind about killing, I would recommend you leave and forget about this pointless venture.”

  And if I'm not going to do that?

  “If you're going to be an idiot and insist, I would recommend you start leveling that Stealth skill and keep that gun you got loaded and drawn. I know you're opposed to it, but if you get caught, you're going to need to shoot your way out.”

  Jay sighed, but nodded. “I'm going to sneak in and see if I can find your friend.”

  Phalanx looked at him with a questioning glance. “Are you sure? You barely know me, and if you get caught in there…”

  “I'll be fine,” Jay said with a reassuring smile as he rolled up his pant leg and pulled out the revolver.

  Phalanx let out a small yelp of surprise upon seeing the weapon. “How the hell did you get that?”

  “Long story. Wait here, and if you hear gunshots, run the heck away.”

  The younger man nodded, still staring wide-eyed at the weapon.

  With a smirk, Jay left the roof, circled the building, and formed a holster for the weapon under his shirt, the same way he had formed his armor before continuing. He attempted to be as quiet as he could while staying out of sight. He moved almost half a block away before crossing the street and making his way back toward the bank. Now approaching from the opposite side. His continuous attempts to move silently were rewarded with two levels in his Stealth skill, making the act just a little easier and more efficient. He wasn’t sure exactly how it was working, but it almost seemed like even though he made the same movements. The sounds produced were just slightly quieter.

  To his dismay, a man stood at the back entrance to the building, leaning against a wall while smoking a cigarette. Jay wasn’t deterred. He had spent the better part of a day practicing expanding and hardening his spirit, which gave him the perfect way to silently incapacitate the man.