Footsteps echoed loudly across the stairs, sending up a slight cloud of dust as dozens of black boots marched rapidly upward.

  The flashlights mounted on assault rifles swept across the upper area, illuminating the stairwell brightly just as the lead soldier spotted the door above.

  This prompted him to aim his rifle at the door, pressing his body tightly against its side before leaning halfway out, his weapon and flashlight trained inside.

  Revealed within the beam of light was merely a plain, empty hallway. In that second, the soldiers behind him pushed through, while he maintained his aim, waiting until the last man had passed.

  He then followed his squad, turning back to aim his rifle at the door they had just exited, the rustling of tactical gear echoing behind him.

  At that moment, he found himself walking backward past rooms on both the left and right, but in that very second, he saw two other soldiers emerging from them.

  Seeing this, he turned back to the front, finding the rest of the team swiftly fanning out into the rooms. This put him on point once again, the sound of footsteps trailing him in formation.

  He moved to the left, using his left foot to push the door inward while raising his rifle, sweeping the flashlight into the deep corner and tracing the angles of the room.

  Stepping through the doorway, he pivoted along with his weapon toward the back of the door, his muzzle tracking into the far corner.

  Seeing the interior was clear, he turned around to find the other soldiers taking the lead, with one man walking backward to cover the rear.

  That rear guard then turned forward, prompting him to fall in line, turn around, and raise his rifle to aim while walking backward.

  But soon, the continuous sound of marching split to the left and right, causing him, still walking backward, to glance over his shoulder. He found the others now stacked up in front of a room before they turned to look at him.

  They shook their heads. Seeing this, he turned back to the front, noticing a wall not too far away, so he eyed the final room on the right before heading toward it.

  He swung his rifle toward the room on the left, aiming inside, but upon seeing another soldier waiting there with his weapon pointed at the floor, he lowered his own gun.

  The soldier gave a slight shake of his head, prompting him to nod briefly and walk to the window, revealing another building nearly five meters away.

  Looking down, he spotted another ten soldiers crouching behind that building. One sat at the corner, weapon pointed forward, while another on the left covered the rear of the structure.

  Seeing this, he aimed his rifle at a narrow alley slightly away from the soldier at his corner and flashed his light three times.

  The soldier on standby at the corner stood up and immediately pushed forward. Watching them move, he raised his head and looked toward the building on the right.

  It revealed another group of soldiers still on standby behind the building, but right then, a flashing light appeared beside them.

  This signaled them to rise and move out. Observing this, he shifted his gaze from the advancing troops up to the upper floors of that building.

  He spotted another soldier standing by a window, looking back at them. The man gave a subtle nod before vanishing back into the room.

  He nodded back gently and turned away from the window, finding his squadmate still waiting. He gave him a nod, signaling the soldier to lead the way out, with him following closely behind.

  Pulling back down to the ground floor, they exited swiftly through the door, only to find the rest of their squad holding on standby just outside.

  When the men waiting at the corner near the door saw the others emerging and heading toward them, those with their muzzles pointed downward...

  ...shifted their attention back to the entrance, before the point man stood up and pushed inside, immediately raising his rifle to the front.

  Flashlights flicked on as he rushed into the room, prompting the others to rise and follow in his wake.

  They moved until the rearmost standby soldier, walking backward, was fully inside. This allowed the squad that had just exited the building to take their place, taking cover behind the wall.

  They adopted the same routine as the previous group. The soldier at the corner checked on his team, and seeing everyone in position, he checked his left flank.

  He spotted another unit on standby at the opposite building. The soldier aiming forward then turned back to run a quick check on his own squad.

  Confirming everyone was set, he looked over, and the two exchanged a nod before turning their focus back to the front.

  But time didn't keep them waiting long. Shortly after, they saw three quick, successive light flashes directed at the ground.

  They immediately stood up, leaving the wall to advance toward the next building.

  Keeping their weapons trained on the structure ahead, they hurried over and halted beside the building near the corner door, with one man keeping his sights dead ahead.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  They waited there briefly until the sound of approaching footsteps from behind prompted the point man to stand up, moving to the side of the door before aiming inside.

  This opened a window for the rest of the troops to filter in. He stood guard until the last man crossed the threshold, then followed them inside, turning his weapon to cover their six while walking backward.

  With that, the once-darkened building was bathed in sweeping beams from weapon-mounted lights before the rays shifted swiftly, trailing the strike force as they surged up to the second, third, fourth, and fifth floors.

  They then pulled back down to support the ground elements. This exact maneuver was unfolding across the entire city in a sweeping radius.

  Under the cover of night, they were converging silently and rapidly upon a single pinch point: 14th Street. And now, they were only one kilometer away.

  Inside a building three blocks away, small yellow eyes peered over a windowsill, locked onto the lights flashing inside a structure nearly three hundred meters out.

  Watching the beams climb from the first floor to the second, third, and fourth before descending again, those eyes slowly lowered.

  The moonlight from above cast a pale glow onto the head of Arc, who was currently sitting right beside the window.

  Almost his entire body remained cloaked in darkness. Only his upper head, clad in a stolen military uniform, was visible. Looking down at the floor, he raised his right hand, staring at the pistol in his grip.

  He stayed silent for a moment before turning back to the window. Craning his neck to look outside, he saw the soldiers pushing even closer, reaching another building.

  Ducking back down, he finally spoke.

  "Perfect."

  Giving a slight nod, he sat quietly, his gaze fixed on the floor. In that moment, he set his gun down and hastily stripped off the military uniform.

  Underneath, he wore a long-sleeved leather top. He immediately unbuckled the drop-leg holster, stripped off the tactical pants, and reattached the holster to his own leg, sliding the gun back in before looking to his right.

  There lay a black box on the floor, heavily wrapped in fabric torn from clothing. He glanced at the discarded uniform, drew a knife, and began cutting the fabric into strips to fashion a rope.

  Tying the makeshift cloth ropes together, he secured a canteen and fashioned a lanyard. He then grabbed the box, slinging it over his neck and resting it against his back.

  I stood up and stretched slightly to peek out the window. Seeing them closing in once again—now only one block away—

  I immediately turned my back, sneaking out of the room. I hurried toward the stairwell and made my way up.

  Reaching the third floor, I was met with a sprawling, empty office-like corridor. I scanned the area before noticing a door on the far right side, left slightly ajar.

  I sprinted toward it, keeping my profile low. Reaching the frame and stacking up on its left side, I drew my gun.

  I used my left hand to push the door open slightly, aiming my weapon through the gap. But what appeared before me was the building's exterior.

  Seeing this, I crept out for a better look. A cold breeze hit my face, and the lights from the adjacent building appeared directly ahead.

  Taking it in briefly, I glanced back behind the door. What I found was a fire escape. I peered down, only to see the staircase completely sheared in half.

  Staring at it in silence, I backed inside and closed the door. At that moment, I turned my attention to a window on the right and crept toward it.

  Reaching the glass, I slowly peeked my head out. Across a five-to-six-meter gap was the opposite building. I could clearly see soldiers flooding into a room, silently and rapidly sweeping the corners with their flashlights. I instantly ducked down.

  Seconds later, a beam of light swept into the room right over my head. I glanced up slightly, watching the glare linger above me before finally fading away.

  I raised myself back up to check the opposite building, watching the soldiers make their way downstairs. I then looked down to the street, spotting troops advancing and stacking up at the very base of my building.

  Taking it all in, I slowly sat down. Using the right hand that held my gun, I quietly shifted the box on my back, giving a faint shake of my head.

  "Just my luck."

  Letting out a soft sigh, I sat in silence for a moment. I then poked my head out for another look, catching sight of soldiers just exiting the structure.

  I pulled my head back, my eyebrows knitting together in a frown. But after sitting still for a while, the heavy thud of footsteps echoing from below made me immediately, yet cautiously, rise to my feet.

  I stared at the opposite building nearly six meters away, then glanced to my right at the open corridor.

  A slight smirk crossed my face before I moved in that direction, the heavy boots from below thundering in unison with my own footsteps.

  I halted in the middle of the room, holstered my weapon, and turned toward the window. Listening to the footsteps that now sounded like they were storming up the stairs, I snapped my gaze over—and right then,

  A flashlight beam cut upward as a soldier's head cleared the top of the stairwell. Seeing him, I locked my focus dead ahead and broke into a full sprint!

  As I charged at the window and the soldier breached the floor, our eyes met for a fleeting second.

  I instantly snapped my attention forward, planted my foot on the windowsill, and launched myself into the air.

  My body vaulted out of the window, suspended in mid-air, both my arms and legs fully extended toward the target.

  The image of the approaching building rushed at me as gravity began to pull me down. I slammed my hands onto its windowsill, grabbing hold!

  My body slammed brutally against the concrete wall, sending shockwaves through my frame! Even so, I muscled myself upward. Right then, a gunshot rang out!

  As I hauled myself over, a heavy impact hammered into the middle of my left shoulder blade! The force instantly dropped me to the floor!

  "Hostile at the rear of the building!"

  The soldier's shout echoed. Sprawled on the floor with the box beside me, I fought to get up, a searing pain radiating from my back and my left arm already going numb.

  I dragged myself forward using only my right arm, crawling toward the right side of the wall before pushing myself into a seated position, my back pressed flat against the concrete.

  Agony shot through my entire body as my back bumped lightly against the wall. I ground my teeth audibly. Forcing my left hand into a fist, I felt the sensation slowly crawling back into the arm.

  I used it to push myself off the floor, struggling to keep my balance. Just then, another gunshot blasted! The bullet whipped past my back and shattered against the wall right in front of me!

  I collapsed back to the floor abruptly. Staring straight at the doorway, I planted both hands on the ground and threw myself toward the exit as another volley of gunfire erupted!

  Followed by the supersonic cracks of bullets, I scrambled and crawled until I was halfway through the doorway. Pushing off the left doorframe with my left foot, I launched myself hard to the right.

  Dragging myself across the floor for a brief moment, I made a desperate, thrashing attempt to stand, only to crash heavily back down.

  Pinned to the floor, I shoved myself up with my left arm. My right hand unzipped my collar, reaching inside to pull out a small, paper-wrapped strip of meat.

  I shoved it into my mouth, using my teeth to tear the paper away, exposing a brown, compressed meat bar. Giving it a brief glance, I stuffed the whole thing in, chewed rapidly, squeezed my eyes shut, and forced it down my throat.

  The veins in my neck and temples bulged drastically. As the meat hit my stomach, my eyes snapped open!

  Golden irises flared, glowing piercingly in the pitch darkness! Throwing my head up, I looked to my left, surged to my feet, and charged straight at the window ahead!

  A split second later, gunfire roared at my back. Only meters away from the glass, I threw myself forward into a leap.

  My feet cycled in mid-air, striking the windowsill as I propelled myself out into the void in the blink of an eye!

  The sheer force cracked the windowsill, a plume of dust kicking up in my wake!