Chapter 37 · Neon Deadline: Glitch Hunt - Chapter 37: Neon Deadline: System Reboot

"Don't you dare disconnect me." Seth's fingers locked around my wrist before I could tear the cable free.

His hand was hot. Too hot. The heat punched through my sleeve and ran straight up my arm while the God-plugin screamed across my vision.

THREE SECONDS AHEAD.

The virtual room split into six versions of itself. In one, Seth stood over me. In another, he was on his knees. In four more, his body jerked against the restraints bolted into the floor.

Every version ended with the same red warning.

NEURAL CASCADE: 81%.

"Let go," I snapped.

"You pull that cable, I lose motor control."

"You already lost it. Your left eye hasn't focused in ten minutes."

"And you're still connected."

The room trembled. Not the fake walls. The real ones. I felt the vibration through the metal chair under me, through the blood-contract burned into my palm, through the thin wire running from my temple to the console.

Seth leaned closer. His breath brushed my cheek, rough and uneven. "Kaelen. Look at me."

"I'm busy saving your life."

"No. You're trying to kill yourself slower."

My fingers tightened around the extraction port. "Funny. I thought Enforcers preferred clean executions.