Chapter Two: Every Relic Bows to Zero

A short-haired woman sat behind it with a modified crossbow aimed between his eyes. “Hands up.” “Can I use the left? The other shoulder is dislocated.” “Show me the ring.” Lin hid his right hand. “Name first.” “Qiao Mi. Security researcher. I minted legally two hours ago, Obsidian tried to kill me forty minutes ago, and twenty minutes ago I learned the game's server responses come from underground.” She raised a silver foil labeled 3826. “An Echo Tag. It captures the last fifteen seconds of electronic traffic. You?” “I fix pipes.” She studied his filthy uniform and accepted it. Rotor noise approached. Qiao dragged him out of sight as three black drones bearing Obsidian's emblem crossed the shaft.