“Zhen, there’s someone ahead,” Pierre’s curt voice broke his train of thought.

Pierre had sharp hearing that could pick up sounds within a block radius and his skill had proven very useful on many accounts. Zhen shifted his legs apart and flexed his fingers before closing them into a fist. His eyes darted from left to right, trying to discern where the enemy would come from.

They were currently cutting through an abandoned weaponry factory and there were plenty of places for someone to hide. To exacerbate the situation, the only light that illuminated the factory came from the street lights a great distance away from where they were standing. It was certainly a bad setting for a confrontation, but Zhen had been through worse.

The sound of footfalls hitting concrete echoed ominously through the structure. Zhen tensed in preparation for conflict and Pierre stepped behind him, allowing Zhen more room to move. Zhen’s eyes narrowed on an emerging silhouette as his breathing reached a fast, steady rhythm. Slowly, he made out the slim figure of a man in the darkness.

Zhen brought his arms to chest level, ready to lunge at the mysterious man at a moment’s notice. Before he could make a move, a powerful light shined in his eyes. Zhen stepped back, blinded by the intensity of the beam.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to shine it in your eyes,” the man apologized and focused the beam from his torchlight on Zhen’s chest instead.

Zhen blinked a few times to readjust his senses. The corner of his lips turned downward in a scowl as he tried to assess the stranger’s intentions.

“Who are you?” Zhen’s voice was sharp and demanding.

“Ah, let me introduce myself. I’m Eris,” he replied as he shone the torch on himself, illuminating his face and posh clothes.

Save for the blonde hair and blue eyes, he had similar facial features as Zhen - in fact, he could pass for an older version of the fighter. Most noticeably, he wore a clean white shirt that seemed to be made of some expensive material like silk. In summation, he was a pretty suspicious character who wasn’t from these parts.

“So, Eris, what are you doing in Natural Society? I’m figuring you for one of those stuck up elites in Engineered who has no business here,” Zhen taunted him.

Eris chuckled. “I like that spirit. It’s something that not many people have, especially in Engineered Society.”

Scoffing, Zhen’s brows lifted. “The hell are you talking about? Are you high?”

“No.” The devious grin on Eris’s lips disappeared. “I’m talking about the secret qualities that are built into each Engineered baby. The gene editing that they perform without knowledge and consent of anyone. All to make us compliant and without free will.”

From behind Zhen, Pierre muttered to himself, “God that’s crazy.”

Zhen wasn’t sure whether Pierre was referring to the information or to Eris but he definitely didn’t buy into this conspiracy business. “I don’t care about all that. Sell that shit to someone else and get out of our way.”

The edge in Zhen’s tone signaled danger but Eris did not budge. Instead, the man strode slowly towards Zhen, the sound of each step cutting through the still air. “I’ll just cut to the chase then. My resistance aims to bring justice and freedom to this world we live in. We have a drug that curbs the effect of the gene editing but it’s not enough. We need you. Specifically, your genes.”

The muscles in Zhen’s arms and legs tautened as he readied himself to throw a punch at Eris. Yet the older man still advanced towards him, smiling as if nothing would happen. As soon as he got near, Zhen sidestepped and threw a punch at his face.

“I know who your parents are.”

Zhen’s fist halted within inches of Eris’s face. His eyes widened and his lips parted in shock. “Wha-”

A huge weight landed on Zhen and he was driven into the ground. He could hear something in his body crack as his ribcage screamed in agony. The breath was knocked out of him in an instant. His vision swam and he could taste blood in his mouth.

Adrenaline kicked in and his strong legs dug into the ground while his lower torso moved upwards to dislodge his opponent. He felt the weight on his body lift off and roll to his left. Without missing a beat, he swung his leg towards his opponent but a fist connected with his foot, sending a burst of electricity through his body. Sharp needles seemed to prick every inch of his skin and he collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.

Before he could recover, a pair of handcuffs was slapped onto his wrists and he was hauled up forcefully by his elbows. He made to move again but a loud voice rang out.

“I don’t think you want to do that.”

Zhen’s head snapped around to the source of the voice and his eyes widened as he saw a short, stout man pointing a gun at Pierre’s head. Pierre’s hands were up in admission of defeat and despite his nonchalant look, Zhen could see a flicker of fear in his young eyes.

A tall woman stood a distance away from Pierre, her long hair falling onto her shoulders, making her face seem longer than it was. She had slit eyes and a thin mouth that was curved upwards in a disgusting smirk.

Angry at being conned by Eris, Zhen whirled around to face him but Eris’s situation was no better. He was also handcuffed and glaring at the tall woman, hatred clearly visible in his eyes. Eris moved towards the woman but in the blink of an eye, she materialized behind him, a knife to his throat.

“Now, now, Eris. Is that any way to greet me?” she purred into Eris’s ear.

Thinking that nobody was watching him, Zhen stepped towards Pierre but a sharp blow to his head made him spin around, clutching his head with his handcuffed hands. A third man with a large build stood behind him, pointing a gun at the back of his head. Zhen could hear the crackle of electricity emitting from his hands, so he surmised that this man was the one who brought him crashing to the ground.

Eris’s flashlight had fallen to the ground and the impact had triggered it to switch from directed beam to omnidirectional, casting light on all of them. Studying the three intruders closely under the new source of light, Zhen noted that they all wore a black suit, complete with pants and shoes. The tall woman – clearly the leader – and the man behind Zhen had powers, so he could assume the one guarding Pierre was also with powers.

The odds seemed to be stacked against him but at the moment, their motive wasn’t to kill. The problem was… what did they want?