The morning time of the station was slowly engulfing the entire cityscape around. However, in the dark shadows of the alley, far from the reach of the morning light, Elpano Si Gablen and his men waited like a pack of hungry wolves. They all hid themselves and sat in the dimly lit corner just not far from the entrance of the restaurant. His eyes fixed on the two main doors of the establishment, the only point of entry and exit for their target. Beside him, was his loyal crew awaiting their orders, tension beats the dusty air.

"We'll wait for him to leave," Elpano muttered, his voice low but vibrating with authority. "No need to cause a scene in here."

His men nodded in agreement, their expressions hardened with determination. They knew the importance of patience in their line of work, especially when dealing with high-profile prey like the one who stole their long-awaited prize.

“Can’t we just gang up on him after he makes his exit from the door boss?”

“Yeah, why don’t we just grab him, choke him, and take him to a corner where we can have our way instead of waiting at a distance like this?”

“Is he that dangerous boss? Isn’t he just a kid?”

With restrained anger, he exploded in whispers.

“You fucking idiots! That kid fucking took out that motherfucker, the same motherfucker that we failed to kill many times in the past. And it seems you haven’t heard how the crime lords and families in this station have issued neutrality in the matter of this kid. That alone should make your empty heads flash with red flags if you see him walking towards you!”

“Uh-yeah, sorry boss.”

They quickly apologized and hung their heads in shame and embarrassment.

“And earlier, back inside the restaurant, I detected his attempt to scan and scour your digital lifeline boss. I had a hard time trying to maintain my Jammer on you against his several attempts to penetrate through. All I can confidently say, after that experience, that boy is no ordinary boy.” one of them spoke out. “That is one fucking hell of a Neuromancer, boss.”

“Really?” he asked with a feeling of terror inside him. If his breaker told him this, that meant he almost had a very unpleasant and very dangerous brush with excruciating death.

“Yeah, if not for me, you would have already been writhing on the floor of that restaurant, pissing and shitting on yourself.” his breaker replied. “I just hope that what we are about to do, pays off.”

“Fuck! Okay! Just be cautious this time. I don’t want to take any chances. We must make it a fucking guarantee here.”

Minutes felt like they stretched into eternity as they watched countless patrons come and go. Their eyes trained on the entrance, waiting for the moment their quarry would emerge from the restaurant's confines.

Finally, the doors swung open, and the boy named Ubel stepped out into the bustling street, his posture relaxed yet obviously alert. The boy had a bottle of wine in his hands. Unknowingly walking into their net.

Elpano's heart quickened with anticipation as he signaled to his men to prepare.

"Stay in your positions, wait for my signal," he instructed in a hushed tone as they saw Ubel walking directly into their trap. Elpano's grip tightened on the concealed pistol at his side, anticipation coursing through his veins. Suddenly, Ubel stopped and glanced over his shoulders, his senses on high alert. Elpano cursed inwardly, knowing that their cover might be compromised if they weren't careful.

But he also knew that they couldn't afford to lose this opportunity to take down the thief who stole what should’ve been theirs. His heart raced with anticipation.

He watched intently, keeping his eyes on the closing figure of Ubel. The boy emerged into the dimly lit street. As he felt that the distance was enough, he whispered to his other crew who was hidden and located just above them.

A sharpshooter that was armed with a long sniper rifle, modified with a suppressor.

"Traja, you know what to do," Elpano murmured into his coms, his voice barely above a whisper.

From her vantage point, Traja adjusted her scope. Her trained eye focused on her target below. She waited patiently for the perfect moment to strike, her finger poised on the trigger. A hunter like her found this prey unworthy of her bullets and thus, she only used a cheap one for this boy.

“Aye, commander.” Suddenly, Ubel's silhouette came into view, illuminated by the flickering streetlights. With practiced precision, Traja lined up her shot. Her breath is steady and aiming down her sights as her oculus implants sync with her scope. This feature from her weapon, allowed her to zoom toward her target with greater vision. “Target acquired.”

After hearing a clear view of a shot from Traja, Elpano didn’t hesitate and decided to take the shot. With impatience, he sent his order.

“Kill him.”

A split second later, the muffled crack of her rifle echoed through the alley as the bullet found its mark, striking Ubel in the nape of his neck. Blood erupted from the wound, splattering the pavement. Their target even had a delayed reaction from his fatal wound as Ubel had the time to touch over his missing nape and then suddenly, crumpled to the ground.

Elpano's heart leaped with triumph as he watched his plan unfold before his eyes. He had anticipated Ubel's every move and now for these past days, everything was almost within his grasp.

"Move in, secure the area," Elpano commanded, suppressing his excitement and anticipation. His men sprang into action, converging on Ubel's fallen form with weapons drawn. They quickly surrounded his dead body while ensuring that he posed no further threat even if he was already done.

It was a known and practiced precaution against any implanted defense measures or cybernetics. They wanted to avoid a scenario where the user’s body will explode after the heart stops beating or in the event of death, the body will become riddled with booby drops to kill any looter.

After quickly finding out that the boy’s body had no risk of exploding or releasing bioweapons, they quickly created a perimeter around Ubel’s body. As Traja descended from her perch, she cast a glance at Elpano and then at the boy’s dead body. Normally, others would have a hard time dealing with their conscience in killing a child, except they were all outlaws.

She was about to join them when she was stopped by Elpano.

“No, Traja. Stay there and be on the lookout for trouble. I don’t want any henchmen of crimelords and families to get involved with this.” Elpano ordered her which she sighed and returned to her post. She surveyed what they were doing behind her sniper rifle’s scope.

But as Elpano looked down at Ubel's motionless body, a flicker of doubt crept into his mind.

Then he and his crew gathered around Ubel's lifeless body, the air was thick with anticipation and excitement. He wasted no time in issuing orders to his trusted Breaker. A skilled but very expensive hacker who could navigate the digital landscape with unparalleled expertise.

"Yurtan, I need you to access Ubel's brain implant and whatnot immediately," Elpano commanded, his voice laced with urgency. "We need those access codes for his supercapital ship at the docks."

Without a moment's hesitation, the Breaker sprang into action. His vision flew across his digital interface as he initiated the intricate process of hacking into Ubel's neural interface, preparing an invasion link while also searching for the right nerve connection from his open flesh at the nape.

Elpano watched with a mixture of anticipation and excitement as the Breaker worked his magic amidst blood and gore. He could see that his breaker had a hard time searching for the right nerve as the boy had a very small neck. And each passing second felt like an eternity as they waited for the crucial information they needed.

He decided to call someone while he waited to kill his impatience. He opened up his holo and spoke into the communication line. Elpano immediately relayed the news of Ubel's demise to his contact on the other end.

"Ubel is finally taken care of," Elpano declared, his tone filled with triumph. "I have fulfilled my end of the bargain, and now it's time for you to uphold yours."

On the other end of the line, a voice crackled with obvious joy.

"Really? I trust you have proof of his demise?" But the person on the other line wanted to make sure and asked for a piece of evidence that Elpano did his part of the job.

Without hesitation, Elpano adjusted the settings on his ocular implant, zooming in on the lifeless body of Ubel sprawled on the ground below. He captured every gruesome detail, ensuring that his evidence would leave no room for doubt.

"I have sent you visual confirmation of Ubel's death," Elpano confirmed, his voice steady despite the rush of impatience slowly eating him from the inside.

“Yeah, I received it. Congratulations, you finally did it-”

“Spare me your nonsense. Prepare everyone there for my arrival. I have another important business to finish with once I get the access code of his ship.” He shoved off on hearing another insincere flattering.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Wait, so you still haven’t got the codes, and yet you already killed him?”

“Don’t underestimate breakers,” Elpano said and tried to end the conversation there. “And that’s my problem now. Once I take over the ship, you will be given what you want and I will get mine. Don’t you fucking double-cross me now?”

With a sense of finality and without waiting for another word from his contact, Elpano ended the call, knowing that he had fulfilled his part in the deadly game they had played. Ubel's short reign had come to an end, and Elpano was proud to know that he had played a pivotal role in bringing about his downfall. The killer of Munda.

“Shame that I wasn’t the one who killed you, Munda.” He said to himself, then he joked about the dead boy’s body “It’s also a shame kid, if you only accepted my offer.”

“Wait, boss… do you have much money?”

“Of course not idiot, that’s why we need to get out of here as quickly as possible.”

But even as he basked in his victory, a nagging sense of unease lingered in the back of his mind. He couldn't shake the feeling that their actions would soon come back to haunt them… not later, but sooner.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the Breaker let out a shout.

Elpano immediately turned to see, excited to hear that they had broken the security and were able to get the access codes.

However, it was not a scream of triumph but something else.

It seemed things would not go according to what he had planned. As the Breaker delved deeper into Ubel's neural organ, his initial expectations became confusion and frustration. His fingers flew across the bloodied flesh, panicky searching for any trace of the neural implant that should have been present in Ubel's brain or nerve stem, but still found nothing.

"Elpano, there's a problem," the Breaker called out, his voice tinged with concern. "I can't find any sign of an implant nor a single node or nerve. It's as if this boy never had one installed in the first place."

Elpano's brow furrowed in frustration, his anger bubbling to the surface at the unexpected setback.

"What do you mean, no implant?" he demanded, his voice sharp with loud irritation. "Are you telling me we've wasted our time chasing after a dead end?"

The Breaker shook his head with a confused expression.

"There’s another way. And the only way but I'm not sure... however it's still possible. There's still a chance I can access his brain through other means.”

“How?!” he asked in rage.

“I will induce an electric shock through this boy’s body which will jump-start his brain for only a second, and within this split second, I should be able to scan his brain with the current that passes through it," Yurtan said and added. “And this boy had been dead for several minutes already. His brain’s quality is deteriorating quickly as we speak. So we don’t have much time to mull over the consequences and decisions. If you truly want the access codes boss, this is the only way. So what will it be?”

The breaker explained that he would need to revive Ubel's brain with an electric shock to access it, a dangerous procedure that carried significant risks. However, Elpano's impatience got the better of him and he snapped.

"But can you, do it?! We need those access codes, no matter what it takes." With a resigned nod, the Breaker prepared to attempt a risky maneuver.

"I can do it," the Breaker assured, his voice tinged with determination. "But there's no guarantee of success, and it could be the end of this boy’s brain, locking us out from the access codes forever... and fatal for me."

Elpano weighed the risks in his mind before giving his consent.

"Do it," he ordered, his voice betraying his growing desperation. Repeating his desperate order. "We need those access codes, even if it means taking a gamble."

With a deep breath, Yurtan initiated the procedure, preparing his suit to send a surge of electricity that would course throughout Ubel's lifeless body.

For a moment, there was silence, tension hanging thick in the air as they waited for a response.

Then, suddenly, Ubel's body convulsed with a violent spasm, his muscles twitching uncontrollably as if he were being electrocuted. Elpano thought it was the Breaker’s doing but then he saw the confusion in Yurtan’s eyes.

His eyes widened in horror as he realized something had gone wrong.

“It’s not me-”

Elpano also saw the breaker’s face in panic and immediately knew they were going to take the worst outcome.

"FUCK!" Elpano shouted, his voice laced with panic.

But it was too late. With a final jolt, the Yurtan slumped forward, his body limp and lifeless as the surge of electricity proved too much for his body and implants to bear. His very own built-in defenses that were installed for this kind of case simply shut down due to overloading their limits. The electricity passed through around the breaker like a shockwave, creeping through the ground and their bodies. The destructive effect was so bad that the lights around them and near their location were all fried to a crisp, leaving small husks and broken shells.

Trajan, who was surveying what they were doing, was shocked at the sudden electrical surge and saw them flying at a distance before being slammed back to the ground.

“Wh-what’s happening there? Boss?” she asked but heard no reply, so she zoomed in closer with her sights to know the real situation.

Elpano and his men received minor burns, damage to their skin, and a few broken bones. Not that much to silence their cybernetics and implants, however, he knew that their breaker was forever lost as he was the closest and was connected with the source of the electric pulse.

The alley fell silent, the weight of the moment hanging heavy in the air as Elpano and his crew stared in shock at the epicenter of their misfortune and also where their fallen hacker died.

Then, without even waiting for their minds and bodies to calm down to process what just happened... something very unnatural happened before their very eyes.

Ubel's lifeless body suddenly stirred to life.

His limbs moved with an eerie fluidity, stretching his arms and body as if he had just woken up. This unexpected change in the events sent chills to Elpano and his crew. The boy stood back, patting his clothes from dust and dirt.

An unexpected sight where Ubel stood with a knowing smirk playing on his lips.

"Well, well, well..." he said, his voice dripping with amusement. "Looks like you boys are in a bit of a bind of your own making."

“Impossible! I shot him!” Traja couldn’t also believe her own eyes. She immediately prepared to take a shot and aimed her rifle sights on his head. Her fingers quickly pressed the trigger without waiting for Elpano’s orders. Another bullet went true towards her target passed through the boy’s head and caused an explosive impact of flesh and gore.

But instead of falling to the ground, the boy’s headless body just stayed up and turned towards where Traja was located and gave her two middle fingers.

Then through their horror, the headless body started to quickly regrow its missing parts from bones, to muscles then to skin. The only change was the boy’s hair which grew only short.

“Damn, I will have a hard time growing my hair again you know?” the boy complained, the people who attacked him however were not amused at his indifferent mood.

“H-how?!”

“A f-freak!!”

Elpano’s surviving crew just cried out their terror in response to the absurdity of their current situation. But the boy, Ubel just grinned like he was successful but was caught in his small prank.

“I am sorry, bad habits die hard. It can’t help my naughty side.” he laughed and then made a lecturing attitude. “By the way, did you know that there was a special kind of jellyfish on Earth, no, rather Terra that would reverse its age just to live forever and sea stars that could regenerate themselves from any wound or loss of limbs and organs from scratch? So what you just saw isn’t a freak but a part of human evolution, if we never became dependent on technology.”

Then stopped himself as if he remembered something.

“Although I don’t know if those creatures are still alive at this point, in this universe after World War III…” Ubel corrected himself. “And should I be considered a hypocrite when I also got this regenerative capability through technology?”

Elpano and his men however had no time nor the luxury to listen to the boy’s biology lesson and all of them watched in horror.

They had thought Ubel was dead, but now he stood before them. Alive and seemingly quickly regenerated from harm, something not even gold medicines or an Ambrosia could ever do in a short amount of time.

This was clearly out of their league and they wanted to run away but their feet refused to listen.

Then the boy turned towards them. Ubel's eyes glowed with an ominous light. He unleashed his formidable Neuromancy abilities upon Elpano's crew. With a mere thought, he delved into their minds, manipulating their implants with sinister precision. The crew members writhed in agony as Ubel flooded their brains with a torrent of overwhelming information, causing their implants to malfunction and their thoughts to spiral into chaos.

They clutched at their heads, their screams of pain echoing through the alley as they were consumed by a cacophony of agony. Hundreds, thousands, millions of useless data were being repeatedly sent to their brain, with no power to stop it. Elpano, still reeling from his encounter with Ubel, watched in horror as his crew members fell to the ground. Their bodies convulsed uncontrollably as they struggled to cope with the onslaught of mental anguish.

"What... what have you done to them?" Elpano demanded, his voice trembling with fear and disbelief as he staggered backward, his eyes wide with terror.

Ubel merely smirked, his gaze cold and calculating as he surveyed the scene before him.

"What... what's happening to me?" Elpano stammered as he tried to forcibly stand up but he felt no strength from his arms. His heart pounding in his chest as minutes passed.

Ubel's gaze locked onto Elpano, his grin widening as he spoke in a voice that sent shivers down their spines.

“You people have become so complacent and dependent on third-rate implants and cybernetics that you didn’t even bother to make an effort to install anti-hacking measures. What’s with outlaws nowadays?” Ubel sighed in disappointment. “I wish that you would make things harder for me to hijack your implants and cybernetics.”

What Ubel failed to realize was that Elpano and his entire crew were prepared for such a scenario and that was the purpose of the breaker’s presence in his group. But what Elpano and his group didn’t expect was for the breaker to fall into the trap of an experienced Neuromancer.

"Stay back!" Elpano warned, his hand trembling as he reached for his weapon. But before he could react, Ubel's hand shot out with lightning speed, seizing Elpano by the throat and lifting him off the ground with unnatural strength from a boy.

"You made a grave mistake," Ubel growled, his grip tightening around Elpano's throat as he struggled to draw breath. "And now you’re going to be my toy today for delaying me in my plans."

“But before that.” Ubel gazed towards the direction where Traja was located and zoomed his sights to see her. Then he hacked through her sniper rifle and her body. “Sorry, but I intend everyone to enjoy my little game.”

However, Traja was able to cut off her connection with Ubel’s hacking through a defensive measure from her implants. But not before her rifle exploded in her face. By the time the smoke dissipated, the sniper had disappeared from Ubel’s sight before he could even attempt another attack.

“Interesting…” Ubel let out an impressed voice. “It seemed your breaker and your sniper have better upgrades against Neuromancers than any of you.”

Then Ubel stopped the mental torture of Elpano’s men, making them feel the relief of having a vacant mind. Some of them were already drooling on the ground, others had peed themselves.

“I can’t have all of you die on me yet.” he strengthened his grip on the paralyzed Elpano. “Because unfortunately for you all... I have so much to ask.”

And as Elpano looked into Ubel's cold, merciless eyes, he knew that there was no escaping the boy who was still gripping his throat like a vice.