The city didn't sleep — it just hid its teeth under glittering lights.
Jackim didn't sleep either.
He lay on his narrow bed, staring at the ceiling, the faint hum of the air conditioning masking the pounding of his heart. In his hand, he rolled the silver locket back and forth between his fingers — the last ghost of a life stolen from him.
The clock ticked, dragging minutes into eternity.
Date: March 18, 2025 — Location: Haidan City — Time: 2:13 AM — Weather: Windy, with a light drizzle tapping against the windows.
A sudden noise snapped Jackim upright — a faint scuffing outside the apartment door.
Silence.
Then again — a softer scrape, as if someone were dragging a fingertip down the wood.
Jackim's skin crawled. He moved like a shadow across the room, flicking off the lamp and plunging the apartment into darkness. Heart pounding against his ribs, he pressed his back against the wall near the door, muscles tense.
Another sound — this time a click.
Someone was picking the lock.
---
Across the city, perched in her luxury lounge wrapped in silk, Susan smiled knowingly as she glanced at her phone.
A simple message blinked on the screen:
"Phase 1: Engaged."
She set the phone down beside her untouched wine and leaned back, crossing one leg over the other.
Susan, 22, untouchable queen of Haidan City, had set the first piece on the board.
And the pawn was about to learn how deadly the game could become.
---
Back in the apartment, Jackim moved silently to the small kitchenette, grabbing the only weapon he could find — a heavy iron frying pan. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.
The lock clicked again — louder this time.
The door creaked inward.
A figure in black, face hidden behind a balaclava, slipped inside.
Jackim didn't hesitate.
He swung.
The pan collided with a sickening crack against the intruder's forearm. The man staggered but recovered fast, lashing out with a concealed blade.
Jackim ducked, the knife whistling past his ear. Years of forced survival, of moving invisibly through a harsh world, kicked in.
He moved not like a trained fighter, but like a desperate survivor — unpredictable, savage.
He grabbed the man's wrist, twisted, slammed his knee into the attacker's gut.
The knife clattered to the floor.
But the man was bigger, stronger. He surged forward, tackling Jackim into the wall.
The impact rattled Jackim's bones, stars dancing before his eyes.
"Who sent you?!" Jackim gasped, fighting blindly.
No answer. Only a muffled grunt as the man punched him hard in the ribs.
Pain exploded through Jackim's side.
Instinct — not training — saved him.
He jammed his thumb into the man's eye through the balaclava. The attacker howled and recoiled.
Seizing the moment, Jackim snatched the knife and slashed at the man's thigh — not deep, just enough to slow him.
The attacker cursed, retreated staggering toward the door — then fled into the dripping, empty hallway.
---
Date: March 18, 2025 — Location: Haidan City Streets — Time: 2:39 AM — Weather: Rain intensifying, cold gusts sweeping down the alleys.
Jackim stumbled after him but stopped at the threshold. His ribs ached; he tasted blood on his lip.
He wasn't ready yet.
Not for this.
Not for all of it.
He slammed the door, locked it, slid the deadbolt, then sank to the floor, shaking.
Breathing heavily, Jackim looked around at the wreckage of his small life: the toppled lamp, the smashed clock, the bloodstained knife lying discarded on the linoleum.
This was only the beginning.
---
Under the neon glow of a 24-hour diner, two figures stood beside a black SUV.
One was Sophie, sharp as ever in her midnight trench coat.
The other was a new player — Nathan Crowe, 24 years old, a rising shadow within Susan's empire.
Nathan had the classic bad-boy look: tall, lean muscle wrapped in black jeans, black T-shirt, leather jacket. Dark hair tousled, sharp green eyes, and a jagged tattoo of a serpent winding around his left forearm.
Charming on the outside. Venomous inside.
Nathan flicked a cigarette into a puddle and smirked.
"He's tougher than we thought," he said.
Sophie adjusted her glasses, unimpressed.
"Then we adjust the plan."
Behind them, Susan's SUV purred like a patient beast waiting for its master's signal.
---
Jackim wrapped his sore ribs with a ripped bedsheet and sat heavily by the window.
Outside, Haidan City blinked like a dying star.
He had survived tonight. Barely.
But tomorrow?
Tomorrow was already sharpening its claws.
And far above the sleeping city, unseen forces moved their pieces across a vast, bloody chessboard.
Jackim would need to become something more than a survivor.
He would need to become the storm.
---