23rd September, Year 714 A.G.

Inside Neo Solace, Outer Ring, Egghead District, Bourdillon Hotel.

It was evening...

In a street adjacent to the infamous hotel, a group of 11 men in black attire and Halloween-themed masks walked out, skip-jumping and singing loudly.

Bzzzz!

The Omnicore Eye reacted, redirecting multiple CCTV cameras to focus on them but the cameras found nothing- just a group of hyperactive men wearing Halloween-themed masks and playing around.

The omniscient surveillance system lowered its alert level on the group, but it designated a few CCTV cameras to continue monitoring them.

"I want to be a soldier...!"

"I want to be a pirate...!"

"I want to be a DOCTOR...!"

"I want to fool around...!"

They sang loudly and shamelessly while skip-jumping in the direction of the hotel, they looked ridiculous as they did it.

But just as they arrived in front of the hotel gate where armed guards stood, the masked men suddenly dipped their hands in their pockets and brought out toy guns- pistols.

They pushed a regulator inside the toy pistols and then...

BZZZ!

Grayish white ADE flared around the toy pistols, and instantly they enlarged into real full-sized pistols.

’Eh?’ The hotel guards were alarmed but before they could react.

Bam... bam... bam...

The gang unleashed hell on the guards!

It was so sudden, the guards couldn’t react.

Protected by their bullet proof vests, none of them died immediately but they were all injured and immobilized.

Immediately after the initial shooting, one of them charged towards the armored gate and placed a square-shaped device on it.

He activated it.

Tick... tick... tick...

KABOOM!

A bomb detonated!

With its detonation, the explosion tore through the armored gate, bringing it down and leaving the hotel vulnerable for infiltration.

Bourdillon hotel was exposed!

The moment the first bullet was shot by the masked gang, the Omnicore Eye detected it immediately, sending out an instant emergency signal to the nearest Omnicore Police station.

The police were already reacting, but it would take them a while to arrive.

Inside the hotel, panic surged as boarders screamed in terror and fear even as the hotel’s internal security instantly started being mobilized.

At the same time, the gangs charged inside the hotel.

Some of them wanted to shoot at the injured guards to end their lives but the one who detonated the bomb stopped them.

"No need!" He shouted. "We’re on a time limit, the police will come soon!"

"We need to get our target and leave!"

The masked man talking was Brick, and the other gang members listened to him. Afterall, he was the one who brought the update for the job.

Despite the presence of the Omnicore Eye reducing crime rate in every city of the Federation, there was still an underground presence in every Omnicore city though it was repressed.

Most of them dared not make a move, only operating beneath the surface and feeding on the crumbs left by the officials.

But in the outer ring of the Megacity, there are desperate men, Geneforms who were ready to do anything to achieve their goals and make money if they believed that the risk is manageable.

And this evening, they had reason to believe so.

Afterall, yesterday, Talia intercepted the psionic network signal of a wealthy merchant who made a booking with Bourdillon Hotel.

Tracing the man’s network, Talia discovered that he made a withdrawal of 1 million Neo Credits from his bank yesterday, meaning he was walking around with a suitcase of 1 million Neo Credits!

She fed this news to Leon, who fed it to the rest of the crew and then finally gave it as a mission to Brick.

Last night, after abandoning his previous boss after just a few hours of work, Brick met this gang and gave them the mission update.

Of course, it wasn’t easy to convince them but as an F Rank Gene Augur, his strength was enough credibility. Paired with his experience and familiarity with dealing with thugs, Brick was able to convince them.

Their intention was not to rob Bourdillon Hotel, they were not that brave. Their only intention was to rob a single man, and that was easy in comparison.

Of course, their leader’s big fear was the inability to carry weapons in Neo Solace, but Brick solved that problem easily with Leon’s help.

Leon created custom pistols for them that were naturally miniaturized, integrating an activatable function to return them to their normal size and function.

With Talia’s help, he also integrated Ghost Line technology into their creation, giving them the capability to evade the Omnicore Eye’s surveillance while still in their miniaturized form.

By providing not just the update but the resources and a concrete plan to complete the mission without too much risk, just like expected, the gang of thugs agreed to take on the mission.

Afterall, 1 million Neo Credits was on the line!

Bam... bam... bam...

After dispatching the guards at the gate, injuring them, they charged into the receptionist area, discharging a few harmless bullets to prevent any of the people around from trying anything heroic.

"DON’T MOVE!" A few of them bellowed, pointing their pistols at the receptionists who cooperated obediently.

With 2 thugs holding the receptionists at gunpoint, the others charged deeper into the hotel, locating the room on the first floor easily.

BAM!

The gang leader who was also an Ascended, a Cyber Gladiator brought the room door down with force as he rammed into it with his shoulder.

"Don’t move!" They roared, charging into the room.

"Please, please, I have no money...!" A chubby-looking Geneform with fat belly and chubby cheeks immediately went on his knees, pleading.

"WHERE IS THE SUITCASE?" The gang leader bellowed.

Bam!

He unleashed a gunshot outside, showing his intention to kill without hesitation. Intimidated by this and fearing for his life, with tears flowing down his eyes, the chubby-looking merchant finally pointed at the ceiling.

’Eh? Ceiling?’ The gang leader was stunned.

He looked up and was confused as he could not find anything, till one of his subordinates said. "Boss, look... is that it?"

He looked, and then...

"..." He was speechless.

To protect and hide his suitcase, this merchant went as far as painting it white to camouflage it with the color of the ceiling and glue it to the ceiling!

’This...’

He was stunned but he didn’t hesitate. "Get it!"

"Yes boss!"

One of the thugs immediately grabbed a nearby chair in a bid to jump and bring the suitcase down.

That was when they heard it...

Tututututututu...!

Gunshots!

Beneath his mask, the gang leader’s eyes gleamed ruthlessly. "Internal security is here," he growled. "Continue!"

"Let’s go!" He turned to Brick and said.

They both went to the door to reinforce their comrades who they left behind, opening fire at the internal security of the hotel who finally arrived.

In the deadly exchange of gunfire that ensued, within less than 30 seconds, the suitcase was retrieved and they cheered.

"YEAHHH...!"

"It’s time to go... move, move! Fast!"

Immediately, they started rushing back to the entrance to escape while still exchanging gunfire with the internal security.

Bourdillon Hotel had an Ascended among their private security, an F Rank Cyber Gladiator but due to the nature of his powers, he dared not walk blatantly into the center of the gunfire.

That bought time for the thugs to escape, till he came...

BZZZZ!

Violent purple ADE flared like a tsunami from a corner of the large receptionist area of the hotel as he charged out like a hurricane.

Daren made his triumphant entry!

...

[Special Appreciation to ImperialJadeDragon, Yametekudastop, and r03n for the Golden Tickets! Thanks for the support!]