Adrian stood over Jace's broken body. His chest still heaving from the effort of the battle. The jagged metal shard still clutched in his blood-slick hand. The nanobots in his veins thrummed with a familiar intensity, their hum a discordant mix of triumph and instability, a machine being pushed to its breaking point. Jace's lifeless eyes stared up at the smog-choked sky, his knife glinting dully beside him, stained with Adrian's blood. The silver mist of nanobots hovered above the corpse, thicker and more potent than any Adrian had seen, swirling like a storm waiting to be claimed. His overlay flickered, unprompted, its interface seemed to glow brighter in anticipation of the bounty before him.
Free Nanobots Detected. Assimilate? [Y/N]
"Yes," Adrian rasped, his voice raw. The mist surged into his chest, a torrent of cold lightning that made his vision blur and his knees buckle. His body vibrated, the nanobots integrating with a force that seemingly was rewriting his very essence. Pain lanced through him, sharp and searing, as if his blood were boiling. He gripped the wall, nails scraping brick, and forced himself to breathe through it.
Assimilation complete. Free nanobots gained: 3,872. Total available: 10,021.
The number hit him like a punch. Over ten thousand nanobots. The threshold for the Core Upgrade was finally reached. He could feel it, a pull deep in his chest, the nanobots whispering of untapped potential. But the instability was becoming a problem now, a low buzz that throbbed in his skull, a tremor that made his hands shake. His body felt like a live wire, power coursing through him, but it was volatile, teetering on the edge of combustion. He needed to stabilize it, to upgrade, and he needed to do it somewhere safe. The city was a warzone, its streets crawling with ferals and cops. Home was his only option now.
Adrian dropped the shard, wiping his bloodied hands on his torn jeans, and slipped out of the alley. The city was a nightmare of flickering lights and shattered glass, its pulse erratic, like a heart about to give out. He passed by boarded-up storefronts and more and more desperate graffiti: "THEY'RE EVERYWHERE," "NO HOPE LEFT." The curfew was in full force, cops patrolling in armored vehicles, their megaphones blaring orders to stay indoors. Adrian's phone buzzed again, another alert: CURFEW VIOLATION IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE. RETURN HOME IMMEDIATELY OR FACE ARREST. He ignored it, his mind racing with the weight of his new power and the questions it brought. Jace had known him, called him the wildcard. Someone was watching, pulling strings, and Adrian was running out of time to figure out who.
He kept his head down as he moved toward home. Sticking to alleys where the cops weren't yet. His enhanced senses picked up who was in his immediate vicinity quite easily now, even with his current instability. He heard another victim scream. Nothing to be done about it right now though. He heard the low growls of a feral lurking just out of sight. The city was unraveling, its people huddling in fear, its streets a battleground. He passed a burned-out car and a pile of discarded goods. The city was quickly starting to look as much like garbage as it smelled. The ferals were no longer rare, they were a plague, and Adrian was both their hunter and their kin.
His apartment building loomed just ahead, a crumbling relic of concrete and graffiti. He slipped inside and climbed to his third-floor unit, his boots echoing in the empty halls. The door creaked as he pushed it open, revealing the familiar interior of his apartment: peeling linoleum, a cracked mirror reflecting his glowing eyes, a bed shoved against the wall. He locked the door, his hands still trembling from the nanobots' instability, and collapsed onto the mattress, his breath ragged.
The instability was a ticking bomb, and the Core Upgrade was his only chance to stabilize it. "Initiate Core Upgrade," he said, his voice steady despite his extreme internal state. The heat was immediate, a white-hot surge that felt like his blood was igniting. He was beginning to get used to it now. His body convulsed, the nanobots working furiously, rewriting his core from the inside out. Pain lanced through his skull, his chest, his bones, as if he were being torn apart and rebuilt. He gritted his teeth, he knew the sensations would end soon. A low growl escaped his throat. He clutched at the mattress, his nails tearing into the fabric.
The overlay flickered wildly, data streaming across his vision: neural pathways rerouting, nanobot clusters syncing, system stability increasing. His vision blurred, the room wavering, and for a moment, he thought he would black out. He was glad to be already laying down. Then, just like that, it stopped. The pain faded. In its place was crystal clear mental clarity. He didn't even know that such a mental state was possible.
The nanobots' hum was smoother now, less chaotic, though a faint tremor did remain. The overlay had finally stabilized. As it flickered into view he noted that the interface was sharper and more detailed, as if the nanobots had upgraded it along with him. The data was more comprehensive, and a new option pulsed at the top:
Nanobot Core – Status
Free Nanobots: 0,021
Available Upgrades:
Core Upgrade Lvl: 2 Locked [Description: Enhances nanobot core functionality, enabling increased direct querying and increased system stability. Cost: 100,000 nanobots.]
Strength Lvl: 2 Available [Next Lvl: Increases muscle density and power output by 20%. Cost: 15,000 nanobots.]
Speed Lvl: 2 Available [Next Lvl: Enhances reaction time and movement speed by 20%. Cost: 15,000 nanobots.]
Intelligence Lvl: 2 Available [Next Lvl: Improves cognitive processing and pattern recognition by 25%. Cost: 15,000 nanobots.]
Healing Lvl: 2 Available [Next Lvl: Accelerates tissue regeneration by 30%. Cost: 15,000 nanobots.]
Senses Lvl: 2 Available [Next Lvl: Heightens sensory perception by 20%, including low-light vision and auditory range. Cost: 15,000 nanobots.]
Replication Lvl: 2 Locked [Description: Generates 10,000 free nanobots per day with sufficient organic and metallic materials. Warning: Uncontrolled replication may lead to system instability. Cost: 50,000 Nanobots]
Attribute Scaling: Each 1,000 free nanobots increases all attributes by 5% (Strength, Speed, Intelligence, Healing, Senses). Current bonus: +0% (0,021 nanobots)
Core Upgrade Complete. Nanobot Core is now interactive. Query functionality enabled. System stability increased by 40%. Warning: High nanobot counts may still cause instability.
Nanobots can now be controlled to work outside of the body for gathering materials.
Adrian's breath hitched. Interactive? He tested it, his voice low. "Core, what's the source of the ferals?"
The overlay pulsed, and a response formed, its tone neutral, clinical and precise: Query: Feral Source. Data limited. Ferals result from uncontrolled nanobot replication in human hosts, triggered by exposure to unstable nanobot clusters. Source of initial exposure unknown. Further data required.
It wasn't much, but it was a start. The core could answer questions now, though its knowledge was incomplete. He tried again. "Who created the nanobots?"
Query: Nanobot Origin. Data limited. Nanobots developed by an unknown entity with advanced biotechnological capabilities. Purpose: Human enhancement and control. Evidence suggests coordinated distribution. Further data required.
Adrian's jaw tightened. The answers were vague, but they confirmed his suspicions: the ferals, the nanobots, the stranger, Jace, were all part of a larger design. Someone was orchestrating this, and he was a piece on their board.
Thinking back to the new upgrade potentials, the attribute scaling was intriguing. Free nanobots could make him stronger, faster, and sharper than ever. But he needed more materials to keep the replication stable, and his apartment offered little: a few cans, kitchen utensils, nothing really substantial.
The city's call pressed in against the walls. The wail of sirens and screams filtering through his windows. He needed to move, to hunt, to gather materials and answers. But his body was heavy, the Core Upgrade's toll lingering. He lay back on the mattress, staring at the ceiling, the overlay still active in his mind. The new upgrade details were tempting, Strength, Speed, Intelligence, all with clear benefits, but the core's interactivity was a game-changer. He could ask it for strategies, analyze threats, maybe even track the conspiracy.
Also, the ability to send nanobots outside the body for acquiring replication materials would make things much easier moving forward.
A crash outside snapped him out of his thoughts. The sound of shattering glass, followed by a guttural snarl that sent a chill down his spine. He rolled off the mattress, grabbing a butcher knife from the kitchen. It wasn't the sharpest knife, but it would do the trick. He moved to the window, peeking out in a way that didn't let him be seen. Down on the street below was a feral, lean, wiry and twitching. It was tearing through a group of looters. Their screams cut short as the feral slashed and ripped through flesh.
Cops were converging on the scene, but they were too slow, humanly slow. Adrian's predator eyes tracked the feral's movements, his mind already analyzing: The feral was fast, uncoordinated, a lower-tier model compared to the one he'd fought earlier. But it was still dangerous.
He slipped out of the apartment, knife in hand, descending the stairs silently despite his urgency. The street was a slaughterhouse, blood splattered on the pavement, bodies strewn like broken dolls. The feral was gone when he got there, but its trail was clear. He clocked claw marks on a lamppost and a trail of blood leading into an alley. Adrian followed, his senses flaring, the nanobots urging him forward. The alley was narrow, littered with debris, and the feral was there, crouched over a fresh kill.
Adrian charged, the knife flashing as he aimed for a killing strike. But the feral was fast, dodging and swiping with claws drawing blood from Adrian's forearm. The nanobots sealed the wound, and Adrian pressed the attack, driving the knife into its chest. The creature howled, thrashing, but he twisted the blade, pulled it out in a rip, and sliced the feral's throat, bringing a swift end to the fight.
Free Nanobots Detected. Assimilate? [Y/N]
"Yes."
The silver mist surged into him, the jolt sharp but smoother now, thanks to the Core Upgrade.
Assimilation complete. Free nanobots gained: 1,243. Total available: 1,264 (post-Core Upgrade).
The lower total hit him hard, he'd burned through 10,000 nanobots for the Core Upgrade, but the attribute scaling meant his remaining nanobots still boosted his abilities by 5%. He needed more, and fast, to keep the replication stable. The alley offered scraps, rusted pipes, a broken bottle, but not enough. He queried the core: "What materials are optimal for replication?"
Query: Replication Materials. Optimal materials include high-purity metals (iron, copper, titanium) and organic compounds (protein-rich tissue, blood). Urban environments may provide sufficient quantities in industrial zones or medical facilities. Warning: Replication without adequate materials increases instability risk by 20%.
Adrian's jaw tightened. Industrial zones were on the other side of the city, and medical facilities were likely under lockdown. The ferals were his best source of materials for now. Their bodies were rich with nanobots and organic material. They were crawling all over the city, so they should be easy enough to find. But the cops were attempting to tighten their grip on all the movement in the city, which complicates things.
Adrian directed the nanobots to collect biological materials from the fallen feral. He watched as a swarm manifested in his hand and flowed onto the feral's body. The nanobot swarm broke down and collected flesh and bone. Before long the feral was missing large portions of skin that had been harvested. The nanobots flowed back to Adrian with their collected materials.
Feeling much better, he tucked the knife into his belt, abandoning the alley and the feral corpse. As he used his enhanced senses to scan for threats and materials. A low growl pulled him from his thoughts. Two ferals emerged from an alley, their eyes glowing, movements synchronized. Adrian focused his core upgraded mind and analyzed their patterns: they were hunting as a team, their attacks coordinated. He didn't wait. He charged, the knife flashing as he slashed the first feral's chest, blood spraying. The second lunged, claws aiming for his back, but he spun, driving the knife into its gut. The first recovered, swiping at his legs, but Adrian's enhanced speed let him dodge, he drove the blade into its armpit causing it to bleed out quickly. The second feral roared, tackling him to the ground, but he rolled, pinning it and driving the knife into its skull.
Free Nanobots Detected. Assimilate? [Y/N]
"Yes."
Assimilation complete. Free nanobots gained: 2,187. Total available: 3,451
The rush was intense, his attributes climbing with the new nanobots, but the instability was back, a buzz that made his head throb. He needed materials, and he needed them now. The alley offered little, but a nearby construction site caught his eye. Rushing over he found rusted rebar and copper wiring, enough to stabilize the replication. He gathered what he could, the nanobots pulling at the materials, allowing replication to proceed stably. He could feel the increase in his abilities with every nanobot acquisition.
The process was smoother, the core's stability helping, but the tremor remained. Adrian moved on, the city calling to him. The cops were everywhere, their patrols tightening, their voices sharp with fear. The ferals were spreading, and Adrian was caught in the middle.The core's whispers grew louder, urging him to hunt, to evolve, to uncover the truth. But the question burned brighter than ever: why would someone do this, and what did they want with him?