Outside the farmer's building, a tall tower poked at the sky above the grungy cityscape. It was a real dump – buildings half-submerged, choked with weeds, the whole nine yards. Then, out of the shadows pops this blonde woman in a flowing white dress, looking like she wandered off a movie set. Talk about a contrast. She was like an angel dropped into a hobo convention. But get this, the locals barely even glanced at her. They were too busy doing their thing – huddled around fires, rambling to themselves, you know the drill.

Svat, watching from a distance, couldn't hide his surprise. "Huh? A woman dressed like that in this city?"

Dogi, sensing something off, barked loudly. "Woof! WOOF!"

Svat turned to the dog, curiosity sparking in his eyes. "What is it, boy? Do you smell Nara on her? Hmhm. Alright, time to act."

Meanwhile, Svat trailed the mysterious woman, his steps silent against the wet pavement. She stopped at a drugstore and emerged with a bag. After a while, Svat decided to confront her in a secluded area to gain information. However, as the rain began to fall, the woman sought shelter by the side of a building, and Svat awkwardly joined her, pretending to also seek refuge from the rain.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, the woman spoke, her voice surprisingly gentle. "That's a cute dog. We don't see many of them around here."

Dogi, happy for the attention, gave a friendly bark. "WOOF!"

"Oh, he's hurt," she noticed. "I have some antibiotics in my bag. Mind if I take a look?"

Svat blinked. "Uh, sure. You a doctor or something?"

She shook her head, kneeling down as Dogi, sensing a friend, trotted over and gave her hand a good sniff. "Just know a bit about first aid." She looked up at Svat. "Could you hold him still for a sec?"

A few minutes later, she straightened up. "All patched up. He'll be fine." She patted Dogi’s head. "You must be new here."

Svat frowned. "How'd you guess?"

She chuckled. "Anyone who's been here a while avoids me like I'm contagious. You didn't."

"Why?" Svat asked, genuinely curious.

Her eyes flickered with a faint blue glow. "Because I'm a farmer's robot."

Svat's jaw dropped. "A robot?!"

She nodded. "And I know you've been following me. What do you want?"

In Nara's room, the air was thick with tension. Nara, groggy and in pain, struggled to make sense of her surroundings.

"Aahh... it hurts...," she moaned.

A man's voice, calm yet firm, responded. "She's awake but in pain. Please increase the anesthetic dose."

Nara, her voice laced with fear, asked, "Where am I? Who are you? Please, don't take my organs..."

The man reassured her. "Don't worry, kid. We're helping you."

Nara, too weak to resist, closed her eyes and whispered, "Thank you," before passing out again.

Hours later, as morning light filtered through the window, Nara saw Svat sitting beside her.

"Huh? You're here... where's the gondrong?" she tried to sit up but winced in pain, collapsing back onto the bed.

Svat, his voice tinged with concern, explained, "Mas Panji is on a mission. He hasn't told us anything yet. And about your body... your right hand, back, and shoulder are broken. They replaced your bones with synthetic animal bones, hehe..."

Nara's eyes widened in shock. "WHAT?!"

---

Inside James's tower, the wind began to howl, a harbinger of the storm brewing outside. Thunder rumbled in the distance, a soundtrack to the impending clash.

Panji, standing by the window, felt the tension in the air. "Alright. Even the gods themselves seem to bless this night. Are you ready, James?"

James, a man of few words, nodded. "I am ready, matey. As you can see, my men are already waiting near Blackheart's tower. I've told them to wait for my order to attack."

James handed Panji a small radio. "Listen to me, matey. You're going to scout Blackheart's tower using this radio. I want you to stay in touch with us while we try to destroy Blackheart's tower. Understand, matey?"

Panji accepted the radio, determination in his eyes. "Alright. I will scout ahead."

James nodded. "Alright, matey. We will start our operation now. See you soon. Good luck on your scouting mission."

Panji, eager to take action, suggested, "Alright, we can split our group to make things faster."

Panji then lured James's crew into an ambush at the casino hall.

"They're all upstairs, hehe. They won't expect it."

The attack began moments later. The casino hall erupted in gunfire. Panji, positioned near a balcony overlooking the chaos, saw Blackheart’s men emerge from the shadows of the slot machines, unleashing a hail of bullets. James's men scrambled for cover, but they were clearly outmaneuvered.

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The few survivors made a desperate dash for the door, only to be met by Blackheart himself, who unleashed a hail of bullets at point-blank range.

Only a handful of James's men survived, and James himself was gravely injured.

Blackheart: "You have two options: slavery or death."

James, defiant to the end, spat in Blackheart's face.

Blackheart, unfazed, replied, "Or maybe a third option: long, endless pain before death." His men then dragged James into the void.

Blackheart, with a hint of satisfaction, turned to Panji. "You did a good job," he said, the thunder in the background punctuating his words.

The morning sun greeted the city with the sound of gunfire between buildings. James's and Blackheart's towers exchanged volleys of machine gun fire and RPGs. Atop the Red Dragon's Keep, they fired ballistas to set up ziplines to James's tower, using prisoners and slaves as shields against James's snipers.

Panji, observing the chaos, couldn't help but feel a grudging respect for Blackheart's forces. "Hmmh. Their numbers are still high. I'm somewhat impressed by their resilience. They don't give up, even without their leader."

Black, a member of Blackheart's crew, chuckled. "Of course, mate. Many have been eyeing James's position from the start. They'll fight to the bitter end, haha..."

Later, atop the tower, Blackheart laid out his strategy. "This is how I fight. I'll launch some slaves as bait on a zipline, and some of my crew will be among them. That way, the snipers will be distracted."

Panji, questioning the morality of the plan, asked, "Why use the old slaves as bait?"

Blackheart, unphased, replied, "Their organs are already useless. They have no energy to work, and they're no longer profitable in the chambers. Heh."

Panji, understanding yet disheartened, sighed. "Understandable. But what if they shoot indiscriminately?"

Blackheart laughed. "Haha... don't worry. Without James's leadership, they're like a flock of sheep without a shepherd."

Panji, clenching his fist, asked, "So, do we start now?"

Blackheart, ever the strategist, replied, "Wait until the sun is behind us."

Panji, impressed yet frustrated, mumbled, "Damn bastard."

---

At another building, Nara, still groggy from her ordeal, asked, "What's that sound from earlier?"

Svat, trying to decipher the distant noises, replied, "Hmhm. I think I hear explosions and gunfire."

A child, arriving with a tray, sighed. "They've started again... the gang war."

Svat, curious about the frequency of such conflicts, asked, "Is this a common occurrence in the city?"

The child nodded. "Yes, but this time it's more intense. Usually, they shoot at each other for a few hours, but they started at dawn and haven't stopped..."

Nara, concerned for her friends, asked, "Boi, is the gondrong among them?"

Svat, unsure of Panji's allegiance, replied, "I don't know, cung. Mas Panji hasn't said anything. He might have chosen James or Blackheart."

The child, piecing together the rivalry, exclaimed, "Oh, so this is about those two. The pirate versus the slaver. This will be very intense."

Svat, curious about the child's safety, asked, "Are you always safe here?"

The child, proud of their defenses, answered, "Oh yes. No one dares to attack us because they need our products. We have a robot army."

Svat, remembering the woman from the previous night, asked, "Does that include the robot who was with me yesterday?"

The child nodded. "Yes, Maria is our first robot. She's been around since I was little."

Svat, intrigued by the child's father, asked, "And the man who helped Nara, is he a doctor?"

The child confirmed, "Oh yes, my father is probably the only doctor in the city before medpads became available. That's why he has influence here."

Svat, acknowledging the universality of medical need, joked, "Yeah, no matter if you're a troublemaker or an ordinary person, everyone's the same when they're sick, hehe..." He playfully punched Nara's shoulder.

Nara, still in pain, groaned. "Duh!"

he man then comeback with some med"This is going to bring trouble." t

One hour later, on the Red Dragon rooftop, Blackheart stood with a smirk, issuing orders. "I think this is it... Release the kraken," he chuckled, signaling his men to send the slaves as decoys. "We'll go after a few waves."

Panji, observing the setup, interjected, "Wait. What if we place planks on the pulley as shields?"

Blackheart considered the idea. "Ah, good thinking. Alright, everyone, listen to the red glasses," he commanded, and his men began attaching planks to the front of the decoys. However, James' men soon blasted some of them with RPGs. Blackheart remarked, "That was a good idea, but human shields seem more fitting for this scenario."

As the first wave of decoys was sent out, James' men continued to shoot them down. Panji noted, "It doesn't seem to be working."

Blackheart laughed. "That's expected. Once their bodies reach the other side, they'll start to realize who they've been shooting." He ordered the preparation of the second wave, adding, "You'll join the pulley during the 12th wave, when they're distracted."

Panji asked, "So we only truly attack during the 12th wave? This is insane. How many slaves must be sacrificed? 300? 1000?"

Blackheart replied sternly, "Don't exaggerate. We're at war."

Panji grabbed a rifle, saying, "Give me that gun."

Blackheart chuckled, "Oh, so you want to take on the enemy snipers. Be careful, they're quite accurate from across the way."

Panji removed his red glasses, took a deep breath, and aimed at the window. He adjusted his scope and fired. "Too low..." he muttered, firing again. The enemy's muzzle flashes stopped. "Maybe I hit them. Too bad this isn't a game, so no kill notifications," he chuckled to himself.

Panji then still in same spot. not changing his position like idiot take a few shot, after taking out the snipers, muttered, "Headshot. Too bad there's no XP for that."

Suddenly, his room was hit by machine gun fire. He rolled and took cover. Cloak opened the door and said, "If I were you, I'd run out now."

Panji immediately fled the room, and moments later, a rocket hit it.

Cloak asked, "You're a daredevil, huh? Why the urgency?"

Panji nodded.

Cloak continued, "I see. You think you can save some slaves up there?"

Panji replied, "There's something that makes us beasts or not."

Cloak agreed, "Yes... By the way, I can sell you my camouflage cloak for the right price. With this, you can sneak into James' building undetected."

Panji asked, "Sell? Why not just give it to me? You know this could end the battle faster."

Cloak explained, "I know the battle will end, but if Blackheart dominates, I won't get double payments anymore. And without a strong rival for Blackheart, our income will decrease."

Panji sighed, "Ah... I thought I was the bad guy, but there's always someone worse. Fine, how much for your cloak?"

They haggled, with Cloak initially asking for 10 million and Panji offering 100,000. They settled on 4 million, with Panji able to pay in installments.

Cloak handed over the cloak and helmet, revealing his black hair. "How do I use this?" Panji asked.

Cloak instructed, "Your wrists and feet must be covered by the cloak, and don't move too much when it's activated."

Panji thanked him and shot Cloak in the head. "Oh, I forgot... What if the battery runs out?" he asked the corpse. He then carried the body to the elevator, muttering, "Let's test this cloak."

As he descended with the body, two men tried to enter the elevator. One asked, "Who's this?"

The other replied, "Never seen him before. Must be a merc Blackheart recruited. but this mean elevator line being tracked by sniper. lets use a stairs"

They decided to take the stairs after seeing the body, thinking the elevator wasn't safe. Panji opened his cloak, satisfied with its effectiveness. "Wow, it worked," he said to himself. then he look at cloak “so cloak. you dead with no one remember. “ panji then check his magazine “that is karma for double agent bastard”

Meanwhile, Salad, a doctor and vegetable seller, was checking on Nara, a captive, with Maria by his side.

Nara asked, "How am I doing, kind sir?"

Salad replied, "You'll be fine soon. And please, call me Salad."

Nara laughed, "Salad? That's a funny name."

Salad explained, "Well, I'm a doctor and I sell vegetables. Vegetables are good for health, and I treat the sick. So, they call me Salad."

Nara inquired, "Who kidnapped me?"

Salad answered, "Blackheart's men. He's the biggest slaver in town. James isn't much into slave trading; he focuses on arms deals."

Nara pondered, "Hmm... Does Gondrong know this? He wants to save me, right? He must have chosen James to rescue me."

Svat, another character, agreed, "Possibly. He might not have known you escaped. Plus, Blackheart's followers are too mysterious. In my opinion."

Salad paused, his gaze distant on the towers. "Blackheart... he's a man who understands the value of leverage. He knows how to make deals that benefit him, even if others suffer." The way he said it suggested he had firsthand knowledge.

Salad sigh then look at them, his expresion is unreadable "I understand why your friend is helping James. Despite being evil, James has a clear vision for his trade, which attracts loyal followers. That's why he's become the biggest gang over Blackheart. Blackheart, on the other hand, attracts followers with pleasures and his combat skills."

Nara and Svat nodded in agreement.

The child, with his remote-controlled drone, brought bad news. "James is in trouble. They're sending dozens of people on ziplines as decoys."

Svat exclaimed, "Oh no, that's cruel. What can we do? Salad, don't you have robot soldiers? Use them to help James."

Maria scolded, "Svat!"

The child asked, "What did he say, mom?!"

Salad sighed, "Let him speak, Maria. Maybe it's time they knew the truth... Your mother might still be alive. She didn't die giving birth to you. There was an agreement between me and Blackheart."