“Fine wine, gourmet food, gorgeous women—the God dimension stuff really is cheap as hell!”
Xiao Yi’s laugh carried boisterously across Jie’s spacious living room.
He sat sprawling on a plush couch, a tight-furred, snow-white Persian cat nestled in the crook of his arm.
He stroked its head with one hand while using his chopsticks to hoist a dripping piece of tender meat into his mouth with the other.
Jie reclined on an adjacent sofa, one arm slung casually around his classic, qipao-clad beauty, laughing along with Xiao Yi’s outburst.
Lan sat near the corner of the dining table, nursing a tall glass of dark liquor in serene silence, her eyes drifting idly over the elaborate spread.
Alexandra pulled up a seat at the main table beside Six, looking over the feast covering the polished dark wood.
The table was practically groaning under the weight of serving platters.
Braised shark fin sat alongside glistening whole abalone, nested next to slow-cooked bear paws in dark gravy and delicate bowls of braised monkey brains.
Toward the center rested two massive silver platters holding what looked like iridescent, shimmering cuts of meat—synthetic dragon liver and phoenix crest.
“Don’t get too attached to the names,” Six murmured softly beside her, spooning a helping of shark fin soup onto Alexandra’s plate.
Her voice carried that characteristic, smooth, sultry purr that sounded far too intimate for a dining table.
“The dragon liver and phoenix crest are engineered knockoffs. God’s system replicates the cellular structure, flavor, and mouthfeel down to the exact molecule, but they don’t carry the legendary life-prolonging or energy-boosting attributes of the real deal. Real mythical beasts cost thousands of reward points.”
Alexandra picked up a pair of ornate wooden chopsticks from the rest beside her plate, eyeing a delicate, slippery slice of the synthetic dragon liver.
She pinched the sticks together, gripped the meat, and lifted it about two inches off the platter before the slick texture slid right out of her grasp and dropped back onto the china with a soft plop.
Alexandra stared at the chopsticks, her brow furrowing.
She tried again, carefully angling her fingers, only for the wooden tips to cross awkwardly and pinch nothing but air.
God damn it.
“Does God charge points for basic chopstick mastery, or am I supposed to just starve?” Alexandra muttered under her breath.
Lan sat across the table and offered a rare, slight twitch of her mouth.
“Give them to me.”
Alexandra looked up.
“What?”
“The chopsticks.” Lan held out her hand.
Alexandra passed them over, and Lan turned her chair slightly toward her.
“Your grip is wrong.”
“Apparently.”
Lan reached across the small distance and took Alexandra’s hand, adjusting her fingers around the chopsticks one at a time.
Alexandra went very still.
“Like this,” Lan said.
Her fingers were cool against Alexandra’s skin.
She shifted Alexandra’s thumb into place, then adjusted her index and middle fingers until the chopsticks rested between them.
“There. Don’t squeeze so hard.”
Alexandra swallowed.
“Right.”
Lan picked up another pair of chopsticks for herself and demonstrated the movement slowly.
“Keep this one steady. Move the other.”
Alexandra tried it.
The tips came together properly this time.
“Oh.”
Lan glanced at her.
“Again.”
Alexandra reached out and picked up a piece of dragon liver.
It wobbled between the wooden tips, but stayed there.
“I got it.”
“You did.” There was a hint of amusement in Lan’s voice.
Alexandra looked at her.
Lan was still close enough that Alexandra could feel the lingering warmth of her touch against her own hand.
Okay.
This is…
definitely closer than necessary.
Lan didn’t seem to notice—or at least didn’t show it.
“You’ll get used to it,” she said smoothly.
“You just need practice.”
Alexandra successfully moved the piece of meat onto her plate and smiled.
“See? Natural.”
A ghost of a smile touched Lan’s mouth.
“Don’t get confident yet.”
Alexandra laughed softly and tried to pick up another piece.
This one slipped halfway off the platter and dropped right back into the serving dish.
“Okay. Maybe not natural.”
Lan leaned closer again, her voice dropping so only Alexandra could hear.
“If you ever want that date back on the agenda, you should probably learn how to eat Chinese food properly.”
Alexandra stared at her.
Lan’s expression remained perfectly composed.
Oh.
A grin slowly spread across Alexandra’s face.
“So that’s what this is about?”
Lan released Alexandra’s hand and sat back in her chair.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You absolutely implied it.”
“I said you should learn.”
Alexandra looked down at the chopsticks in her hand, raised them, and tried one more time.
The slice of meat slipped out instantly.
She stared at the dish for a second, then dropped the chopsticks onto the table with a soft clatter.
“Nope.”
Across the room, Xiao Yi had gone unusually quiet.
His eyes had followed the exchange from the moment Lan took Alexandra’s hand.
When Alexandra finally gave up and dropped the chopsticks, he looked down at his own plate and stabbed at his food a little harder than necessary.
“I’ve got a date apparently hanging over my head, and God has decided chopsticks are a skill check.” Alexandra gestured toward the kitchen.
“I’m getting a fork.”
Lan’s lips curved slightly.
“I suppose that’s one way to handle it.”
“Damn right.” Alexandra called toward the kitchen staff, “Fork and knife, please! I’m not losing a fight to lunch.”
Within seconds, Jie’s companion brought out a set of heavy, polished silver cutlery and set it beside her bowl.
Alexandra picked up the fork with a satisfied smirk, speared a thick piece of the dragon liver, and took a bite.
The texture was absurdly smooth, rich without feeling heavy, melting on her tongue with a delicate, savory flavor unlike anything she’d tasted in either of her lives.
“Knockoff or not, it beats the hell out of stale field rations and Umbrella’s breakroom coffee,” Alexandra said, chewing happily.
Jie’s companion moved quietly around the table, topping off dishes and setting down fresh decanters.
Six sampled each dish with the same quiet attention she gave everything else.
She compared the unfamiliar flavors with memories of Caprica food, then offered a subtle, respectful nod toward Jie’s companion.
Across the table, Xiao Yi was busy talking with his mouth half-full, but Alexandra noticed his eyes flicking over toward her side of the table every few seconds.
She was used to people looking at her.
Walk into a room looking the way she did—especially now, in a bright red Dante coat with an unnaturally gorgeous blonde woman sitting beside her—and someone was going to look.
She and Six were conspicuous as hell in a group that was otherwise predominantly Chinese.
That was fine.
People looked.
This was different.
Xiao Yi wasn’t just glancing over.
He kept looking at Alexandra, then Six, then quickly dropping his eyes whenever Alexandra caught him.
Okay.
What the hell is your problem?
She didn’t know whether he was jealous, annoyed that she liked women, or simply being his usual weird self.
She knew who Xiao Yi was from the story, and she already had enough reasons not to like the guy.
Alexandra paused mid-chew, setting her fork down with a quiet clack.
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
He’s being a creepy incel.
She leaned back in her chair and stared straight at him, not breaking eye contact.
Xiao Yi caught her looking, froze for a split second, and immediately dropped his eyes, suddenly becoming intensely fascinated by a piece of braised shark fin on his plate.
He shoved it into his mouth and started chewing with aggressive focus.
Yep.
Total creep.
Six, sitting beside her, didn’t even turn her head.
A soft, private chime sounded in Alexandra’s ear as Six routed a low-latency audio transmission directly to her.
“His heart rate increased when you established direct eye contact,” Six’s voice purred in her ear, smooth and entirely unbothered.
“He appears embarrassed.”
Alexandra picked up her water glass, taking a slow sip.
“You know, you could just say he’s being a creep.”
“That would be less precise.”
“You know, if you browse deep enough into the culinary sub-menus,” Xiao Yi chimed in, suddenly loud after swallowing his shark fin, “God will let you exchange for almost anything. Sun Ernian’s human-flesh buns from the Water Margin are listed right there under historical curiosities if you’ve got the points and a sick enough appetite.”
Alexandra paused with her glass halfway to her mouth, glancing over at him with a flat look.
“Xiao Yi. We are eating. Shut the fuck up.”
Xiao Yi grinned awkwardly, entirely unbothered, and went back to his plate.
The dining room doors slid open halfway through the meal, and Zha stepped inside.
Alexandra turned, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
Her eyebrows climbed toward her hairline.
Seriously?
Who would’ve guessed?
Walking half a step behind Zha was a strikingly petite girl with wide, fearful eyes, wearing an impeccably pressed, traditional black-and-white maid outfit complete with a lace headpiece.
Not only was he into lolis, but he was a maid-chaser too.
Utterly depraved.
Zha caught her stare, cleared his throat awkwardly, and sat down at the far end of the table without saying a word, his young companion quietly pulling out his chair for him.
As the meal wore on, the initial conversation faded into the sheer, primal satisfaction of eating good food after surviving a horror scenario.
Looking at the pristine, mirror-like surfaces of the empty platters when they were finished, Xiao Yi broke into a sudden fit of laughter, triggering a wave of chuckles around the table.
Jie leaned back, lighting a cigarette and letting out a long plume of gray smoke.
His eyes wandered across the table before settling on Lan.
“Hey, Lan. I noticed you didn’t create a companion when you set up your room. How come?”
Lan didn’t answer immediately.
Her gaze shifted toward Six, then Alexandra, then back to Six.
Alexandra noticed the silent appraisal and raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“I’m wondering something,” Lan said quietly.
“That usually means I’m about to get interrogated.”
Lan ignored the remark, her tone remaining measured.
“You and Six.”
Alexandra glanced at Six, who continued taking a small sip of tea as though the conversation had nothing to do with her.
“What about us?”
“You seem very comfortable with her.”
Alexandra smiled faintly.
“Yeah. She’s good company.”
Lan studied her for another moment, her dark eyes completely unreadable.
Alexandra caught the quiet intensity behind the look.
Okay.
She’s still trying to figure me out.
“What?” Alexandra asked softly.
“Nothing.”
“Uh-huh.”
Lan looked down at her glass, but Alexandra noticed a brief hesitation before she lifted it to take another sip.
Her eyes drifted briefly toward Jie and the woman sitting quietly beside him, taking in the easy, familiar way they occupied the space together.
Lan set her glass down.
“I haven’t decided if I want someone around yet.”
Alexandra shrugged, keeping her voice light.
“If you haven’t made up your mind, you don’t have to rush it. Make a guy, make a girl, or make a sister-in-arms. Someone you actually like having around. Doesn’t have to be romantic. I’m not your life coach—do whatever works for you.”
Lan was silent for a long moment before offering a slight, single nod.
“I’ll consider it.”
Alexandra nodded, satisfied.
“Good.”
Six glanced toward Alexandra from her place at the table.
Alexandra caught the look.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Uh-huh.”
Six’s lips curved faintly before she returned to her tea.
Alexandra caught Lan watching the two of them, and Alexandra gave a tiny, dry smirk.
Lan offered the faintest nod in return.
Lunch over, the first afternoon’s training had to be scaled back to basic target practice because everyone was far too stuffed to move around comfortably.
“Starting tomorrow, every day from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM, and 7:00 PM to 12:00 Midnight, we are going to drill non-stop,” Jie announced, tossing his cigarette butt into an ash receiver as he gestured for them to follow him down a wide stairwell behind his quarters.
“Physical conditioning isn’t going to show massive gains in just a few days, so you all need to focus on marksmanship and close-quarters combat, alongside continuous long-distance running to map out your absolute physical limits. Once you know the breaking point of your stamina, you can actually ration your energy effectively inside horror films. Anyway, there’s a mountain of things to train for. Since we’re skipping heavy physicals this afternoon, everyone start with target practice. Fixed targets, moving targets—my training ground has everything. I specifically spent points on a reference manual listing every firearm in God’s database, then used it to fabricate all these weapon assets and custom training zones.”
They emerged into a massive, subterranean concrete firing range equipped with mechanized target lanes, tactical barriers, and steel benches loaded with ammunition crates.
Alexandra stepped onto the firing line, the sharp red leather coat of her Dante-inspired outfit standing out vividly against the gray concrete of the range.
Ebony and Ivory rested comfortably in her hands, the custom-crafted black and silver barrels gleaming under the industrial overhead lights.
She didn’t need to learn what to do.
The techniques were already in her head—stances, low-ready holds, recoil control, rapid target transitions.
The Complete Gun Combat Techniques package she’d bought had loaded all of it straight into her mind.
The problem was her body.
Her vision was sharper.
Her reflexes were faster.
Her muscles were stronger by a ridiculous margin.
She just hadn’t figured out what any of that felt like when she actually had to move.
Okay.
I know what’s coming.
Great.
That doesn’t mean I can actually stop it.
It just means I get to be terrified five minutes earlier than everyone else.
Beside her, Six stood near the bench, her eyes following Alexandra’s hands.
A soft chime rang in Alexandra’s ear as Six established a private, wireless link directly to her audio processing.
“The weapons are already drawing energy from the surrounding environment,” Six’s voice slipped into her ear over the private channel, smooth and languid.
Alexandra glanced sideways.
“So?”
“Their supernatural reserves are effectively unlimited while we remain inside the God Dimension.”
Alexandra looked down at the twin pistols in her hands.
“Well. That’s convenient.”
“Very,” Six murmured.
And here I was worried I’d bought two very expensive paperweights.
Alexandra raised Ebony toward a silhouette target fifty meters downrange.
A paper target snapped into view.
She reacted instantly, her arm whipping up, and squeezed the trigger twice.
BANG.
BANG.
The shots hit high and low—the first two inches above the target’s head, the second dropping into its stomach.
“Weapon function is nominal,” Six murmured softly, her voice lingering like a warm breath against the back of Alexandra’s neck.
“Ammunition generation is stable.”
“Good,” Alexandra muttered, adjusting her sight picture.
“Your shooting technique is not.”
Alexandra’s eyes narrowed.
“Excuse me?”
“Your first shot was two inches high.”
“Oh, fuck you.”
“Your second was low.”
“I was there for both of them, Six.”
“I know.”
Her voice came through the wireless link again, low and smooth.
Alexandra took a breath, letting her hands settle, trying her best to ignore the distracting delivery.
Another target popped up at thirty meters.
She brought Ivory up and metered her force.
BANG.
Dead center.
Moving targets came next.
A steel plate snapped onto an overhead rail fifty meters out, zig-zagging unpredictably.
Alexandra tracked it and raised Ebony.
Okay…
same lead as before.
She squeezed the trigger.
CLANG.
The shot struck the very back edge of the plate.
“You overestimated the target’s lateral velocity,” Six purred over the feed.
“Because my eyes are apparently running at two hundred frames per second now.”
“Your visual processing speed is approximately—”
“Please don’t give me the number.”
Six paused.
“Understood.”
Alexandra watched the next plate begin its run.
Okay.
Don’t calculate it.
Just track it.
She locked her gaze on the plate, let her arm follow naturally, and fired.
CLANG.
Dead center.
By late afternoon, Alexandra could bring Ebony or Ivory onto a fixed target without consciously thinking about the movement anymore.
The moving plates were starting to feel the same way.
She tracked them, fired, and watched them ring without having to remind herself how much force to use.
After grabbing another quick meal with the group at dusk, Alexandra returned to the facility for the night session: tactical assault drills.
Jie activated the secondary training sector, and the concrete walls shifted, opening up into modular, simulated environments—urban alleyways, dark biolab corridors, and cluttered military installations.
High-resolution pop-up targets and holographic civilian hazards were integrated throughout the lanes.
“Rule is simple,” Jie’s voice echoed over the intercom.
“Fail to smoke a hostile target within one second of appearance, and the system registers a fatal counter-attack. Hit a civilian designated zone, and it’s an immediate mission failure. Good luck.”
Alexandra stepped past the threshold into the urban alley simulation, Ebony and Ivory held at low ready, the tails of her red leather coat brushing her boots as she moved.
She pieed corners and cleared sightlines with practiced precision.
A hostile target popped from a second-story window while a second swung out from a doorway at ground level.
Alexandra snapped upward, but her pivot was a hair too aggressive—her boot slammed the slick floor with too much force, throwing her stance off by half an inch.
She smoked the upper target, but by the time she snapped down, the red timer hit 1.05 seconds.
A harsh red strobe flashed through the alley alongside a loud buzzer.
FATAL COUNTER-ATTACK.
SIMULATION FAILED.
“Your foot placement was eleven millimeters off baseline,” Six’s voice whispered in her ear, smooth and utterly unbothered by the failure alarm.
“You are over-pivoting on your lead heel.”
“Yeah, thanks, I felt it,” Alexandra muttered, resetting the simulation.
The next run put her in a biolab corridor.
Alexandra cleared the first corner cleanly, pivoted around a workstation, and caught a hostile target before it could finish rising.
Then she stepped too hard on the next turn.
Her foot skidded, her shoulder clipped a civilian hologram, and the simulation died instantly.
Fuck.
Six’s voice came through the link.
“Your turn was eighteen degrees wider than the previous attempt.”
“I know.”
“You also hit the civilian.”
“I know that too, Six.”
Around 10:00 PM, something shifted.
Alexandra entered the military installation gauntlet for her twelfth run.
Don’t think.
Don’t worry about being too fast or too strong.
Just move.
She moved through the narrow metallic corridors without thinking about each movement anymore.
Targets snapped up from hatches, doors, and overhead pipes.
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
Ebony and Ivory barked in perfect, rhythmic sync, black and white muzzle flashes lighting up the dim corridor.
She rounded the final bend, a civilian target snapping up directly in front of a hostile.
Without hesitating, Alexandra leaned her upper body to the left, carving a clean angle around the civilian hazard, and put a single round straight between the hostile target’s eyes.
The ambient lights flickered white.
SCENARIO CLEARED.
TIME: 14.2 SECONDS.
ACCURACY: 100%.
“Your movement variance is below zero point eight percent,” Six murmured softly in her ear.
“Your body finally knows how to follow you.”
“Thanks,” Alexandra panted, lowering her weapons as steam rose faintly from her bare shoulders in the cool air.
“Your performance was… exceptional.”
Alexandra wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and smirked slightly.
“See? We’re getting somewhere.”
“I’m pleased.”
Alexandra paused, holstering Ebony and Ivory, and shook her head.
Oh, come on.
At fifty meters, she could put the rounds wherever she wanted.
When Jie pushed the stationary targets back to one hundred meters, Alexandra settled behind the sights and fired ten rounds in steady succession.
Nine landed inside the ten-ring.
The tenth sat just outside it.
Alexandra lowered Ebony.
“I’ll take that.”
She walked back to the staging bench, wiping her hands on a towel.
Back in the Hive, it was just those huge, slow-ass zombies at ten meters.
Now I actually know how fast this body can move.
Not bad…
She looked over at Six, who offered her a slow, lingering smile from across the bay.
Okay.
Maybe the brain really did know what to do all along.
It just took a few hundred rounds—and one very distracting…
someone—for the rest of this body to catch up.