An energy wave was sent out in the


    middle of nowhere during the night, signaling the success of an


    operation.


    [Got your message 2c, expecting status in 30 - k]


    In front of 2c stood another copy


    of itself, with slight variations.


    Covered in a thin, viscous, glue-like texture, 2c peeled it away,


    revealing a mirrored version of herself. Blasting several energy


    lines directly into the new clone''s skull initiated a connection. The


    third clone was now conscious.


    2c handed a wardrobe to the newly awakened specimen, which


    immediately understood the situation and began dressing.


    * * *


    It surprises me how many people have almost immediately returned to


    the city after moving out. I’ve had my clones monitor local news,


    feeding me anything noteworthy. After just a few hours of research,


    we identified hundreds of dangerous power users in Tokyo. We drafted


    a rudimentary map to highlight "probably shouldn’t go there"


    zones. It’s crude, but enough to be safer.


    I’ve kept 2c operating at 90% consciousness using my partitioning


    technique, dedicating her to job hunting. Unfortunately, with so few


    people venturing outside, market managers aren’t hiring. So much


    for clean money. Time to move on to Plan B.


    In this new world dominated by power rather than wealth, conflict is


    inevitable. The government is struggling, and citizens are too scared


    or unwilling to help reinforce order. Even the police have stopped


    using lights and sirens, knowing they’ll be hunted down the moment


    they confront a strong power user.


    The latest underground trend involves drugs that temporarily boost


    abilities, amplifying them up to twenty fold, depending on the user


    and the drug. Using the dark web and illegal forums, I acquired


    formulas for common variants. Most ingredients can be naturally


    grown, and these formulas are still in their infancy, leaving room


    for improvement—and profit margins.


    I’ve taken precautions to mask my online identity. Given the


    current chaos, I doubt the feds have the manpower to track me down.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Before risking my clones on drug deals, I sent 2c to a secluded area


    under the cover of the night to create a new clone. This one will


    serve as the group’s strategist, tasked with devising operational


    plans and conducting research. I’ve slightly improved the cloning


    process to enhance logical and computational capabilities.


    I wonder how many attempts it will take 2c to produce this clone.


    * * *


    The explosion hurls Shouki and Akie through the air, crashing into


    debris as a wave of heat and noise washes over them. Shouki groans,


    pushing himself upright, and spots Killer stepping out of the store.


    His marble figure is eerily smooth, metallic, and featureless,


    betraying no sign of the chaos surrounding him.


    "How… is he unscathed?" Shouki mutters to himself, his


    gaze shifting to Akie.


    Killer moved on, unaffected, his footsteps deliberate, as though the


    devastation was nothing more than an inconvenience. Cries of the


    injured echoed in the aftermath, as he disappeared into the night


    without so much as a glance.


    Akie lies nearby, blood soaking her sleeve from a deep gash on her


    arm. "Shouki," she gasps, her voice trembling. "I


    scanned him."


    Nodding, he scrambles to her side, hooking her arm around his


    shoulders to help her stand. Together, they stumble away from the


    wreckage, their movements unsteady but urgent.


    "I''ll get you to a hospital."


    * * *


    Meanwhile, in the middle of the western desert, out in the oasis,


    lives a man and his cattle.


    <i>Bah!</i> The


    sheep said.


    "Hello, cow." the man spoke to the sheep. "It''s time


    for milk this morning." He said during the afternoon.


    Bah bah bah bah bah


    The whole cattle was distressed, this hasn''t happened before.


    <i>What could the cows be


    stressed</i> <i>about? </i>Thought


    the man before looking behind him, where the sheep were


    screaming at, to see a massive ball of flames approaching him through


    the air extremely fast. He dodged it instinctively and moved out of


    the way, to which he noticed the massive lava globe was flying


    directly at his cattle, and before he could react, the ball crashed


    and turned the entire cattle into a blood stream.


    He ran to see what the flaming ball of rock was, to his surprise it


    was a woman, at least it is from the lower half of the body, with her


    head in the sand like an ostrich. She was wearing what seems to be


    some Chinese clothing style.


    He went closer to see if she was conscious, she


    wasn''t moving. He patiently waited five minutes to see if she would


    respond. <i>Nothing.</i>


    The man decided to do something about this case and asked, "Are


    you alright?" Calmly. That didn''t seem to work.


    Then he had a genius thought, what


    if the woman couldn''t hear him because her ears were in the sand?


    Instead of needlessly wasting his voice, he thought of the fastest


    way to remove the sand from her ears. The man got closer and kicked


    his right foot behind and forward into her stomach to get her out of


    the sand. To his surprise, the woman launched five feet in the air


    and fell back down, choking on the sand she accidentally inhaled and


    coming back to her senses.


    The woman coughed for a while


    before proceeding with words, "Wat-water please." She said


    with a slightly high-pitched tone and Chinese accent before passing


    out.