Chapter 31 · Neon Deadline: Glitch Hunt - Chapter 31: Cloud Crawl

"Don't move. If you twitch, I'll put a hole in your shoulder just to keep you still," Seth hissed, his voice vibrating against my ear.

He had me pinned against the cold, vibrating metal of the maintenance shaft. His chest was a hard wall against my back, and I could feel the heat radiating off him, smelling like ozone and expensive gun oil. One of his hands was clamped around my wrist, pinning it to the wall, while the other held his weapon steady, covering my flank.

"I'm hacking, not dancing, you idiot," I spat back, though my fingers were shaking. "Give me ten seconds or we both end up as scrap metal in this vent."

"Five," he countered, his grip tightening. "The patrol drones just cycled back. If they pick up your signature, this whole sector locks down. You'll be a rat in a cage, and I'll be the one cleaning it out."

I ignored him and slammed my palm onto the interface port. The God-tier plug-in kicked in. My vision fractured. The world shifted from the dim, grey tunnel to a neon-soaked grid of gold and violet. Three seconds. The plug-in gave me three seconds of the future.