Chapter 4

The slums of the Enclave looked exactly like the garbage chute of a massive, metallic beast. Rusting pipes crisscrossed above their heads, leaking foul-smelling condensation onto the cracked pavement. The sky was permanently obscured by a thick, yellow smog that burned the back of Terra's throat with every inhalation.

Zev walked ten paces ahead of Terra. His long, powerful strides ate up the distance. He never looked back. Terra practically jogged to keep up. Her chest heaved. The cheap, high-heeled boots the original Terra wore pinched her toes, sending sharp spikes of pain up her calves.

Whenever they passed a group of people huddled around burning trash barrels, they would stop and stare. Their eyes were hollow, hungry. They looked at Terra's clean, though ridiculous, clothes. They looked at her unblemished skin. But then they looked at Zev. They saw the slight bulge of his muscles under his dark military shirt. They sensed the violent, suppressed energy radiating off him. And they backed away, lowering their heads in submission. The Beast Mark really was a shield. Without him, Terra would have been dragged into a dark alley within five minutes.

They finally reached the edge of the sector. The concrete gave way to dark, muddy earth. Before them ran a wide, slow-moving river. The water was not blue. It was a murky, sickly grayish-brown.

"The filtration river," Zev stated flatly, stopping at the muddy bank. He crossed his arms and stared out at the water, deliberately giving Terra his back.

Terra walked to the edge and looked down. The smell was awful-a mix of old copper and rotting vegetation. "Is this safe?" Terra asked, hesitating.

"It won't melt your skin off," Zev replied without turning around. "The industrial plants upriver filter out the heavy radiation. It's safe enough for the rats to drink. You'll survive washing your face."

Terra crouched down in the mud. She didn't care about ruining the expensive clothes. She needed to get the chemical sludge off her face. Terra cupped her hands, scooped up the cold, gray water, and splashed it onto her skin. It stung. The water was harsh, highly acidic. But as Terra scrubbed aggressively, peeling away the thick layers of waterproof white foundation and neon pink dye, she felt an intense sense of relief. Her pores could finally breathe. Terra rubbed her eyes until they were raw, clearing away the heavy black eyeliner. She dunked her hands back into the water, scrubbing the grease from her fingers.

As Terra stared down at her blurry reflection in the moving water, a sharp, synthetic chime suddenly echoed inside her skull.

DING.

Terra froze. Her hands hovered over the water.

[System Activation Complete.]

A robotic, distinctly female voice spoke directly into Terra's brain. It did not come from her ears. It came from inside.

[Welcome, Host. I am the Kore AI System. Designed for tactical survival and biological optimization in high-stress environments.]

Terra's heart leaped into her throat. The golden finger. The transmigration cheat code. It was real. Terra didn't speak out loud. She formulated the thought in her mind. *What can you do?*

[Initializing bio-metric scan. Accessing Host status...]

A translucent blue screen suddenly projected itself directly onto Terra's retinas. She blinked rapidly, but the screen stayed fixed in her field of vision.

[Host Profile]

Name: Terra Mason

Status: Severe Malnutrition, Mild Chemical Toxicity.

Energy Level: 12% (Critical)

Crypto-credits: 500 (Initial System Reward)

Five hundred crypto-credits. Terra's bank accounts had been zeroed by the Board, but the system just handed her a lifeline. In the Enclave, credits were everything.

[Accessing Contracted Asset Dashboard...]

The screen flickered. A new tab opened. It showed a list of names: her contracted males. Her beast husbands.

[Asset 1: Zev Kagan]

Form: Serpent (Level 6)

Physical Status: Healthy.

Affection Metric: -90 (Lethal Hatred)

Trust Metric: 0

Terra winced. Negative ninety. The man literally wanted her dead. She scrolled down mentally.

[Asset 2: Rhys Donovan]

Form: Aquatic (Level 5)

Physical Status: Critical Organ Failure.

Estimated Time to Death: 4 Hours.

Affection Metric: -99 (Absolute Disgust)

Trust Metric: 0

Terra's blood ran completely cold. Rhys Donovan. The second male the original Terra had forcefully contracted. He was dying? Four hours? Terra dug frantically into the original Terra's memories. Rhys. He had an aquatic bio-form, a mermaid-like beast. He required high humidity and clean water to maintain his scales. The original Terra had locked him in a dry, concrete basement for a week as punishment for refusing to let her pet his dorsal fin. She had literally dehydrated a Level 5 combat asset to the point of organ failure out of sheer, petty cruelty.

If Rhys died, his bio-core would detonate. And because he was contracted to Terra, the feedback loop would tear straight through her life force. It wouldn't just kill Terra. It would kill Zev, too. The Beast Mark linked them all to the same sinking ship.

"Zev!" Terra screamed, spinning around in the mud, her face dripping with gray water.

Zev turned slowly. He looked at Terra's bare face for a split second, a flicker of surprise passing through his golden eyes, but it was instantly masked by irritation. "What now?" Zev snapped.

"Where is Rhys?" Terra demanded, scrambling up the muddy bank. Her wet boots slipped, but she caught herself. "Where did she-where did I lock him up?"

Zev's expression darkened instantly. The muscles in his jaw visibly jumped. "You locked him in the sub-basement of the warehouse in Sector 4," Zev said, his voice dropping into a deadly, quiet register. "You told Corbin to stand guard and not let anyone give him water until he 'learned his place.' Why? You want to go watch him suffer?"

"He's dying, Zev!" Terra yelled, pushing past him. "If he dies, we all die!"

Zev grabbed Terra's arm. His fingers dug painfully into her bicep. "He's a Level 5," Zev growled. "He can survive a week without water. His core is strong."

"His organs are failing!" Terra ripped her arm out of his grip. She didn't have time to explain how she knew. "Take me to Sector 4. Now!"