Lin woke up, stretching his muscles and loosening them from the tips of his fingers to the tip of his tail. He looked around but didn’t find Roth. He wasn’t back yet. At first, he didn’t care that his pet was gone. Cats were self-sufficient. He didn’t need anything or anyone, just a soft bed. However, now that a few hours had passed, he was starting to miss the human. Roth’s funny antics and nonsensical decisions added a pop of color to his life and kept him entertained in the dullest moments.

Nevertheless, he wasn’t quite at the point of going to look for him yet, especially because he had a mission. Lin got out of bed, cracked his neck, and left under the cover of the night. It was midnight, the perfect time to hunt. He had played and napped to his heart’s content during the day, and now, cloaked by darkness, he could complete the mission his human had given him.

It was a simple task: break into the coffers of Kulvar Lindstor and the Slaver Alliance and either steal or destroy their contents. Lin decided to start with the Slaver Alliance. They had the worse security system, which would be a good warm-up for him.

Even without activating his many stealth-boosting skills, Lin was almost invisible as he darted from shadow to shadow through the city, never making a sound. After a few minutes, he arrived at the 64th floor, the Busterds’ headquarters.

The exterior of the building was heavily guarded, with sentries armed with shields and spears patrolling the perimeter. Large, snarling coyotes were chained at the entrance, barking menacingly at anyone who dared come too close. Lin watched from the shadows, waiting for the right moment.

When a guard’s attention was diverted, Lin activated camouflage and blended against the background. Now, even if these pitiful guards looked straight at him, they would fail to detect him. Lin resisted the urge to giggle as he slipped past the stupid coyotes and humans with a ghostly grace.

Once inside, Lin navigated the maze of corridors. Slaves and warriors walked all over the facilities, but he stuck to the shadows, moving silently. As he drew closer to the heart of their fortress, the number of guards decreased, but he started finding other security measures. Thin trip wires stretched across the hallways, glowing faintly in the dim light. He gracefully leaped over them.

He finally reached the office of the leader of the Slaver Alliance, Elaine Busterd. Lin sniffed the air. It smelled of perfume and tea. He took a deeper breath and detected a faint odor of metal coming from below ground.

He honed in on the precise location and, finding a slightly larger gap between two wooden boards, inserted the tip of his claw. There was a clicking sound, and one of the boards lifted. Lin pushed it aside, and another floorboard elsewhere clicked. They had hidden the safe under a puzzle.

Lin admired the setup. It was designed to make a thief waste time. He didn’t care; he figured it out within minutes. Then, closing his eyes, he reached the dial of the vault, rotated it, and, hearing each pin click into place, he moved on to the next number until the vault cracked open.

The vault was filled with treasures. When he sniffed it, he found that little was edible, but he ate whatever was. There was dried camel meat, which was salty and crunchy. Lin munched on it happily.

You’ve eaten [Camel Mother’s Jerky].

+6 strength;

+6 resilience.

There were also fruits and vegetables, which he ate more out of boredom than because of their taste.

You’ve eaten [Ironroot Fruitcake]

+30 hp;

+30 ep;

+2 dexterity.

Lin had to admit that he was a little disappointed. He had hoped for tastier things, but perhaps the Lindstor vault would have more to offer.

Then, suddenly, everything changed. Lin’s normally sleek fur bristled as a shiver raced down his spine. The pleasant warmth of the food turned cold, and a sharp, gnawing pain twisted in his belly. He pawed at his throat, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The room seemed to spin, and a low, guttural growl escaped his throat. Lin’s eyes widened in terror as the pain intensified, each spasm more violent than the last. Had the humans poisoned these treats? He crouched low, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Suddenly, a desperate cough erupted from his throat. His body convulsed, and Lin expelled a large, tangled hairball. It landed with a squelchy thud, and the room fell eerily silent.

A hairball. So that’s what it was. Shrugging, Lin left the hairball inside the vault and took out all the gold. Lin pocketed a good amount and then, leaving the vault open, decided to move on to his next goal.

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He traveled up the city, jumping from rope to rope and floor to floor until he reached the Lindstors' home. They kept twice as many guards. Even though they were higher-leveled than the Busterds, Lin sneaked past them comfortably.

Closer to his target, he started finding trickier security measures. The buzz of electronics came from under certain tiles armed with pressure sensors. Further on, a high-tech laser grid crisscrossed the path to the office. A human would have missed them, but Lin's keen feline eyes easily detected the lasers and skillfully maneuvered through them by pressing his body flat against the walls and crawling along the floor while careful not to trigger any of the pressure sensors.

Whatever trap, sensor, or guard Lin ran into was easily bypassed until he found himself in Kulvar Lindstor’s office. Here, the scent of metal and oil, characteristic of safes, came from behind one of the paintings. It was a full-scale portrait of one of the Lindstors. Lin scowled at the portrait. All humans looked the same: hairless and graceless. He opened the painting and found a large vault.

This time, Lin could smell better food. Excited, he worked the dials drawn by the enticing aroma. After a few minutes, the lock clicked open, and he saw the vault's contents. One shelf was filled with papers and documents. Most were filled with gold bars, but the truly precious bounty was at the top.

He jumped up to the top shelf and found a collection of delicious snacks. There was one particular vegetable that tasted like fish; as he bit into it, the door suddenly slammed shut behind him. Lin frowned and, turning around, tried to scratch the vault door. He didn’t leave a dent, not even a scratch. The inside of the vault was coated with an energy field. What was this? This had never happened to him before. Someone had set up a trap in the vault!

Lin thought for a few moments about what he would do. It didn’t take long for him to decide. Shrugging, he decided not to worry and just eat. The vault would have to open eventually, and he was confident that even if someone powerful appeared on the other side, he could make a run for it. In the meantime, he had plenty to do inside this vault.

*

"Hey, look who it is!" Drake greeted him with a brilliant smile.

"Drake! Ha! It's different to see a man face to face than through a screen," Sarg said, shaking Drake's cybernetic arm heartily.

Since Sarg had moved to Greensburg, he had upgraded his gear. He now wore a green silk robe adorned with beautiful patterns. He also had jewelry, mostly rings with large stones, to match the outfit. The ensemble suited his new status as the Union branch leader of Greensburg.

“How are things in your branch?” Drake asked.

“Never better. Applications keep raining in. What about in Hilsford?"

"Better now that we have another branch to share the load. However, things are starting to pick up again. I keep receiving messages from Union members asking us to open branches in the Fire Pits and the Water Caves. It won't take long before we open a third branch and then a fourth.”

“Which is why we're here," Sarg declared somberly, looking around.

While mid-tiered cities often felt like a blast from the past, the capital had every semblance of a modern city—perhaps even more modern than the real world. Large buildings, such as the Core Tower, dominated the skyline. Drake looked down, trying to imagine how deep the Core Tower stretched into the ground until it eventually reached the famed Core.

Modernized vehicles, androids, and robots, exceedingly rare in the mid-tiered cities, were abundant here. The equipment on passersby was also far beyond anything the average player in Hilsford could afford.

"So, what time does he arrive?" Sarg asked. A military man by nature, he was displeased at the mere notion that their contact might be late.

"Cut Manny some slack; he's doing us a favor.”

“Are you sure we can trust him with this?"

"He seems like a good enough guy, and besides, we're just having him show us the ropes—nothing more," Drake assured him.

"Why don't we just stick to the mid-tier cities?" Sarg suggested. "I think it's been working well for us so far."

Drake shook his head decisively. "It was one thing when we didn't know what lay beyond levels 50 and 60, but now that the Core has been discovered, it’s clear that the late game in AstroTerra will happen here. We've already received complaints from Union members about having to travel to Green Country to participate in Union activities. I fear that if we postpone this move, it will hurt us badly."

Sarg grunted in agreement as if his captain had issued an order he disagreed with but wouldn’t disobey.

"And how are things between you and Bessie?" Drake teased.

"Well, I’d forgotten how fun dating could be," Sarg said, smiling.

"Has Roth talked openly to you about you two?" Drake asked curiously.

Sarg looked away. "Not openly. But he and I have come to an unspoken agreement."

"Have you now?"

“But we're taking it slow, you know? We're just talking, and... I'm considering introducing her to my children. But that's not why we're here," Sarg said, embarrassed. "Look, Manny is coming."

The mild-mannered biomonk from Cerberus strolled toward them.

"Manny," Drake said, shaking hands with the tall man.

"Drake, Sarg, good to see you both. How goes the Union?"

"Wealthier, thanks to Cerberus’ gold," Sarg teased.

Manny shrugged. “We always focused more on hunting than crafting. I think our arrangement works well for both of us. So, you want to check out the capital, eh?"

"Yes, we're considering opening a branch here, but we fear we might run into trouble if we don’t tread carefully," Drake explained.

"Pegasus, huh?" Manny nodded. "Well, they were the ones who unlocked the estate market and were the most prepared. They snatched up the best properties. The other guilds had to fight for scraps. Now, only tiny breadcrumbs remain. Let me show you what's available.”

"Where's Cerberus situated?" Sarg asked.

"We managed to find a mansion in the academic district. We were lucky. We were halfway through a quest, and as soon as the marketplace unlocked, we saw an opportunity with the NPC we were working for and took it."

“Is that where we’re going?” Drake asked.

“No way. We’re heading out to the slums."

"The slums?" Sarg protested. "Isn't there anything in the capital’s crafting district?"

Manny just laughed. "Sorry, mate. Even if Cerberus dumped all its gold in the Union, I doubt you would have enough to buy a little tool shed in the crafting district."

Drake bit his tongue. He disliked having a Union branch destined for craftsmen in a part of town related to crime and villainy. He doubted they would attract many good craftsmen this way. "Very well," he said, resigned. "Show us what you have."

Drake and Sarg followed Manny, silently hoping they could find a suitable headquarters for the Union.