The air in Bajo's street market clung thick with the smell of sweat, salted fish, and exhaust fumes drifting in from the distance.
This was a place where the law of the jungle ruled. Whoever moved fast, ate.
The Nameless Teen stood silently in the corner of a dark alley, his shadow perfectly blending with a stack of empty wooden crates.
His eyes, sharp and cold like blades, were fixed on a chubby man who looked out of place.
The man wore a glossy synthetic jacket, far too good for a slum like this, and hanging from his waist was an old-model electronic wallet that looked full.
"Target locked," the teen muttered, his face deadly serious.
The chubby man was busy bargaining over scrap parts, completely off guard.
In a split second, the teen shot out of the shadows. He moved without a sound, like a ghost in the crowd. His steps were light, barely touching the muddy ground.
Sret!
That thin but strong hand snatched the electronic wallet from the man's waist. A precise pull, cutting the strap clean without tearing the jacket.
The teen instantly turned, ready to disappear back into the crowd. But bad luck the man was more alert than expected.
"THIEF! CATCH THAT BRAT!" his shout thundered, tearing through the noise of the market.
Two burly men, likely hired bodyguards who had been standing near a butcher, reacted immediately. They spotted the teen sprinting away.
"Damn… hah… hah…" the teen cursed under his breath, adrenaline surging.
He picked up speed, leaping over a pile of rice sacks.
One of the bodyguards charged after him, crashing into a vegetable stall and sending it into chaos. Angry shouts from the vendor only added to the disorder.
"Move! Move!" the teen yelled, weaving through the panicked crowd.
He made a sharp turn to the right, slipping into a narrow alley between two old buildings. The alley was filled with hanging laundry and foul-smelling wastewater puddles.
The other bodyguard tried to cut him off from the adjacent alley.
The teen spotted a stack of rusted metal barrels ahead. Without hesitation, he jumped onto them, using them as footholds before grabbing onto a water pipe fixed to the wall.
Bruk!
One of the bodyguards tried to grab his leg but only managed to tear the edge of his pants. The teen kicked the hand hard and climbed up onto the tin roof of a small food stall.
From above, he saw both of them confused below.
But the chase wasn't over. The chubby man shouted from afar, pointing at him. The two bodyguards spotted a rusty iron ladder at the end of the alley and began climbing.
The teen ran across the tin rooftops that creaked and bent under his weight. He had to jump from one roof to another. The gaps were wide, and below lay hard concrete alleys.
One jump. Success.
Second jump. The metal was weak. He almost slipped, his fingers gripping the edge tightly. His breathing turned ragged. He pulled himself up just as one of the bodyguards appeared on the roof behind him.
Ahead of him dead end.
Only a wide gap separated this block from the next. Far below, a busy road carried the flow of the city's underlayer.
He glanced back. The bodyguards were getting closer, their faces feral.
"You're cornered, rat!"
The teen stared at the gap. This was insane. But getting caught meant death or worse.
He stepped back, taking a short run-up. His mind went blank. Only raw survival instinct remained.
He ran as fast as he could and… jumped.
Silence.
Time seemed to slow. He floated in the air, the lights of passing vehicles below forming streaks of glowing lines.
Hup!
His hands caught the iron railing of a balcony on the opposite building. His body slammed into it with a loud metallic clang. Pain shot through his chest, but he didn't care.
He pulled himself up onto the balcony, gasping.
Across the gap, the two bodyguards stopped at the edge of the roof, staring at him in disbelief, unwilling to risk such a jump.
The teen stood up, brushing dust off his clothes. He looked at them calmly, then reached into his pocket. Pulling out the stolen electronic wallet, he raised it high and gave a thin grin the only smile he had.
Before they could do anything, he turned and disappeared into the darkness of the abandoned building beyond the balcony.
Tonight, the Shadow won again.
And more importantly… tonight, he and the Old Man would eat meat.