Chapter 15 · Grind, Loot, Survive - Chapter 15: Black Market Bootcamp

"Stop whining or I'll leave you for the scavengers," Selene hissed, her hand gripping the back of Milo's collar and hauling him forward.

"I'm not whining! My chest feels like someone's trying to cook my lungs from the inside!" Milo gasped, his boots dragging against the damp stone of the lower district. The pain from the scan was still humming under his skin, a jagged, electric vibration that made every breath feel like swallowing glass.

Selene didn't slow down. She shoved him through a rusted iron door that groaned on its hinges, dumping him into a room that smelled of ozone, stale tobacco, and something that vaguely resembled rotting fish.

"Welcome to the bottom of the barrel," she said, letting go of him so abruptly he stumbled into a stack of empty crates. "Bram! Get your lazy ass out here. I've got a liability that needs fixing."

From behind a curtain of hanging wires, a man stepped out. He looked like he'd been assembled from spare parts—greasy leather vest, a cybernetic eye that flickered a dull red, and a smile that didn't reach his eyes.