Chapter 13: Into the Understreet
Sector 19 wasn’t on any official city map. It was buried under the collapsed metro tunnels of Old Neo-Lagos, hidden from the drone patrols and city maps. Locals called it The Understreet — a no-man’s land of illegal trades, forgotten tech, and untraceable talent.
For Jaden, it was dangerous ground. But his system had flagged it as a location with a Core Chip Matrix, a vital component needed to finish Lyra, the humanoid AI unit he had been building piece by piece.
He moved quietly through the shadows, Emma trailing close behind.
System Ping: Objective Detected
Component: Core Chip Matrix
Risk Level: Medium–High
Funds Available: 1,300C
The Understreet pulsed with dark energy. Stall lights blinked from rusted steel walls. Vendors shouted about half-functional AI chips, carbon batteries, and black-market bots. A nearby kiosk offered hacked surveillance lenses—"See through walls!" it claimed.
Emma glanced around nervously. "Feels like the kind of place where someone could sell your face for credits."
"Let’s just get the chip and get out," Jaden replied.
Their destination was a makeshift shop built inside a flipped bus. Neon-blue lights glowed under shelves stacked with scrapware. Behind a desk sat a short man with bronze-tinted eyes and copper-plated fingers.
"You looking for something special?" he asked, eyeing them carefully.