"I suppose that makes me the third option then?"
The sharp, resonant voice drifted from above.
Everyone looked up in shock. Standing tall upon the roof's edge was a man whose features seemed almost sculpted, heroic and unyielding. His posture radiated dominance as he looked down upon the scene. A living shadow had appeared right above them—yet none of the Neon warriors present had noticed him until this very moment.
"You are… Lucas Kane?"
Ethan Cole's eyes widened. He remembered him well. He had traded with Lucas not long ago, buying ten bows at an extortionate price. The sting of being overcharged was still fresh in his memory. And yet, without those bows, their raid on the Supermarket Stronghold would never have succeeded with so few casualties.
The sight of Lucas filled Ethan with both relief and dread. Relief, because reinforcements had come. Dread, because… it was just one man.
Four against eight. No matter how one calculated, the numbers didn't favor them.
"Lucas, don't just stand there! Run to the supermarket entrance and call my brothers!" Ethan shouted desperately. "If we can match their numbers, then maybe we have a chance!"
Lucas didn't move. Instead, his lips curved into a faint, almost mocking smile.
"Hold on. If I do save you, what's in it for me?"
The words stunned Ethan into silence.
"What?"
"Don't you try to morally blackmail me," Lucas said with perfect calm. "If I risk my life to save you, I should be compensated. Otherwise, I might as well let these Neon Survivors finish you off and then kill them afterward. That way I'd get all the spoils to myself. Isn't that far more profitable?"
His reasoning, cold and merciless, was also unassailable. Ethan opened his mouth to protest, but no argument came out. He wanted to cry. Who in the world bargained like this in the middle of a hostage situation?
Finally, he stammered, "I—I'll give you twenty bags of frozen dumplings!"
Lucas shook his head slowly.
"Nice try. But with the power grid gone, frozen food is worthless unless stored in a space ring. That's just trash you can't keep for yourselves. I don't want scraps. Let's stop wasting time. One price—half the supplies you looted from the supermarket. If you try to cheat me, I'll take everything. Do we understand each other?"
Ethan's face twisted in pain. Half their hard-won spoils, the fruits of days of fighting, scouting, and killing Crawlers. But what choice did he have? Without Lucas, he would die here and now.
"…Fine. Deal."
Their negotiation, cool and pragmatic, enraged the small mustached Neon warrior who had been holding Ethan at sword point.
"Are you ignoring me? I'll kill every last one of you!" he roared, his voice shrill with fury.
"Be careful!" Minako Lee hissed, her eyes narrowing. "This is the one who killed Daigo and the others. Don't underestimate him!"
The mustached warrior sneered. "Daigo was a fool who let his guard down. I won't make the same mistake. We are trained fighters, and he is just one man. Together, we'll crush him. Don't let this Dragon Republic dog escape!"
But Lucas Kane had no intention of escaping. He dropped lightly from the roof, his black Tang blade flashing in the dim light.
Ethan panicked. "Lucas! You said you were here to rescue us! I told you to get reinforcements, not fight them all alone! This is suicide!"
Yet before his words had even settled in the air, Lucas moved.
His figure blurred, darting left and right like a phantom. The mustached warrior and two others barely had time to register the cold gleam of steel before their bodies split apart, severed cleanly in two. Blood misted the alley.
At the same time, Ethan's two young comrades wrestled against four Neon warriors. Both sides were at the Exceptionally Strong physique tier, but they were still at a disadvantage, slowly pushed back by sheer numbers.
Then—flash.
A single arc of light cut through the gloom. The four Neon warriors collapsed simultaneously, their lives extinguished before they even understood what had happened.
The two young men froze in place, staring in disbelief.
"That… that was four men at our level… cut down in a single strike?" one stammered.
Their legs trembled uncontrollably. The difference between them and Lucas wasn't merely skill—it was an abyss.
"Stay back!" Minako Lee shouted desperately, pressing her blade against Ethan Cole's neck. "If you come any closer, I'll kill him! No one gets the supplies then!"
Lucas's expression never wavered. His voice was cool, merciless.
"Sorry, I don't respond to threats. I already recorded Ethan's promise to pay me. If his people refuse, I'll just kill them all and take everything. It won't cost me much time."
He advanced one step at a time, his aura swelling like a tidal wave.
"You, however, must die. I gave you a chance. You chose to deceive me."
The oppressive force rolling off him made Minako's hands tremble. For the first time, her cunning mind faltered. Was this man truly human, or some god of death incarnate?
Ethan seized the moment. Dropping his weight, he rolled away from Minako's grasp, scrambling free.
Lucas closed the final distance. His Tang blade rose high, gleaming like moonlight.
With a single, decisive strike, he cleaved Minako Lee from head to toe.
The alley fell silent, broken only by the sound of blood dripping onto stone.