_*]:min-w-0 !gap-3.5">The faint click in Lyra's modified earpiece was almost imperceptible. A normal interface wouldn't have caught it—the signal was encrypted and transmitted on a non-standard frequency. But Lyra's equipment hadn't been normal since day one in the Game.

  She kept her breathing steady, pretending to examine the cave fungus while her teammates rested in the small alcove they'd cimed after completing the main byrinth challenge of Floor 4 earlier that day. They'd been exploring additional cave systems for the past six hours, and everyone was exhausted. Her fingers continued their methodical work, collecting bioluminescent samples, but her attention was entirely on the intercepted communication flowing through her earpiece.

  "...quota increased again," Dren's voice came through, though he sat silently across the alcove, his interface message meant only for the others. "We need five pyer eliminations by tomorrow."

  "We've only managed two this week," Jax replied through the same hidden channel. "The crawlers count for less."

  "That's why we need her," Dren continued. "Unaligned count the same as any pyer. Five credits. One clean elimination and we're covered."

  Lyra's fingers faltered for just a moment before she forced them to continue their steady work. They were talking about her. Pnning to kill her for quota credits.

  "She's been useful," Mora objected weakly. "Those interface modifications got us through the eastern tunnels."

  "And we've learned everything we need from her," Kiv countered. "She's slowing us down now, hoarding the best resources. One Unaligned rat isn't worth all four of us failing quota."

  Lyra had survived three floors of the Game through a simple philosophy: expect betrayal, prepare accordingly. This wasn't the first team that had pnned to sacrifice her. It probably wouldn't be the st. The difference was that this time, she'd caught them before they could act.

  Her mind raced, cataloging options while maintaining her casual posture. The alcove had a single entrance—they'd chosen it for security, but now it was a potential trap. Her main equipment cache was hidden two chambers back, accessible through a narrow crack the others didn't know about. Most of her survival gear was there, but her modified interface and essential tools were on her person.

  "I'll take first watch," she announced, standing and stretching as if nothing were wrong. "You all should rest. We've been exploring for hours after beating that byrinth challenge."

  Dren exchanged gnces with Kiv—a look Lyra now understood all too well.

  "Actually," Dren said, rising to his feet, "I think we should discuss our quota situation. As a team."

  So they pnned to do it now. No waiting for her to be asleep or separated.

  Lyra nodded, keeping her face neutral. "Sure. We're at what, three credits with those crawlers we eliminated yesterday?"

  "That's right," Jax confirmed, his hand casually moving toward his belt knife. "We need five more."

  "Challenging," Lyra said, taking a deliberate step toward the entrance, "but not impossible if we—"

  "Stop," Dren commanded, drawing his short bde. "You're not going anywhere. We've made a decision."

  The pretense had dropped faster than she'd anticipated. Lyra looked at each of them in turn, seeing the resolution in their eyes. Even Mora, who had occasionally shown her kindness, wouldn't meet her gaze.

  "I heard your little chat," Lyra said ftly. "Should really check for signal leakage when plotting murder."

  Shock registered on Jax's face—the technician immediately understanding the implications.

  "She's intercepting our comms!" he warned, lunging forward.

  Lyra was already moving. Three days exploring Floor 4 with this team had given her precise knowledge of their capabilities. Dren was the combat specialist and the greatest threat. Kiv was quick but overconfident. Jax had technical skill but poor reflexes. Mora would hesitate.

  She ducked Jax's lunge and smmed her palm against the small device attached to her belt. The bioluminescent fungus samples she'd been collecting erupted in a blinding fsh—a modification she'd prepared for exactly this type of situation. The burst of intense blue-green light temporarily blinded anyone looking directly at her.

  Disoriented shouts filled the alcove as Lyra darted between Mora and Kiv, heading for the exit. She felt Kiv's fingers brush her pack, trying to grab her, but momentum carried her forward and out into the tunnel.

  "After her!" Dren's voice echoed behind her as she sprinted down the winding passageway, mentally mapping her route.

  The Shallow Caverns were a maze of interconnected tunnels, most mapped by previous pyers, but Lyra had spent her limited free time discovering paths the others had missed. One such path y twenty meters ahead—a vertical crack leading to an upper chamber that her slender frame could navigate but would prove challenging for the broader-shouldered Dren and Kiv.

  The sound of pursuit grew louder behind her as she pushed herself harder, lungs burning in the cave's thin air. She reached the crack and squeezed into it without hesitation, pulling herself upward through the narrow opening. Sharp stone edges tore at her clothes and scraped her skin, but she continued climbing.

  "There!" Jax's voice called out. "She's using that crack!"

  "I can fit through there," Mora said. "Let me follow."

  Lyra reached the upper chamber and immediately moved away from the opening, pressing herself against the wall in the darkness. She slipped her hand into a pocket and removed a small device no bigger than her thumb. With practiced fingers, she adjusted two tiny dials, set it near the crack's exit, and moved deeper into the chamber.

  Seconds ter, Mora's head appeared through the opening. As she pulled herself up, her movement triggered the proximity sensor on Lyra's device. A high-pitched sonic pulse—inaudible to human ears but perfectly tuned to the frequency that agitated the cave crawlers—emanated from the small emitter.

  Lyra counted silently. One. Two. Three...

  The screech of disturbed crawlers echoed from deeper in the chamber. Mora's eyes widened in terror as she heard the telltale sound.

  "Crawlers!" she shouted down to the others, trying to retreat back through the crack. "The upper chamber is infested!"

  Exactly as Lyra had discovered yesterday, when she'd mapped this escape route. The crawlers ignored her as she slipped toward another exit, a horizontal tunnel barely visible in the dim bioluminescence. Her modified interface allowed her to see heat signatures, revealing the crawler nest's location and the clear path around it.

  She heard Mora's panicked descent back through the crack, followed by urgent conversation as the team decided their next move. They would need to pursue through the main tunnels, trying to cut her off at connecting passages—a significant dey that gave her precious minutes.

  Lyra crawled through the horizontal tunnel, emerging into a rger chamber she recognized from earlier exploration. From here, she had three possible routes: back toward her equipment cache, deeper into unexplored territory, or toward the main thoroughfare where other pyers might be found.

  The equipment cache was the most tempting. Her carefully collected resources, spare tools, and emergency supplies were hidden there. But it was also the most obvious destination—the first pce they would check once they realized they couldn't follow her current path. With reluctance, she eliminated that option.

  The main thoroughfare offered potential safety in numbers but also greater exposure. Without knowing who else might be nearby, exchanging one threat for another seemed unwise.

  That left the unexplored tunnels—a risk, but one that pyed to her strengths. Her modified interface gave her advantages in navigation and threat detection that standard equipment couldn't match.

  Decision made, Lyra moved toward the unexplored passage, periodically stopping to listen for pursuit. The sounds of her former teammates faded as she put distance between them. Only when she could no longer hear anything except the ambient dripping of water and occasional skittering of small cave creatures did she allow herself to slow down.

  In a small side chamber with a single entrance she could monitor, Lyra finally stopped to assess her situation. She sank to the ground, back against the cool stone wall, and took inventory of what remained in her pack:

  One water filter with half capacity remaining. Two protein bars—enough for a day if she rationed carefully. Basic medical kit—mostly intact. Three light sources—one standard, two modified. Toolkit with essential repair components. Climbing gear—rope, hooks, and harness. Her customized interface processor and battery pack. The communication interceptor she'd built from scavenged parts. A small collection of bioluminescent fungi samples.

  Not ideal, but not desperate either. She'd started Floor 1 with less.

  The loss of her equipment cache was a significant setback. Beyond the practical resources, it had contained components she'd been collecting to enhance her interface further—rare crystalline formations they'd found after completing the byrinth challenge, specialized tools she'd modified for technical work, and her detailed maps of Floors 1 through 3.

  Lyra winced as she examined the scrapes on her arms and legs from the tight passageway. Nothing serious, but they needed cleaning to prevent infection. The cave environment was rife with bacteria. She applied antiseptic from her medical kit, hissing slightly at the sting.

  As she worked, she considered her former teammates. They'd been together since midway through Floor 3, when she'd encountered them struggling with a technical puzzle she could easily solve. The alliance had been useful—safety in numbers, shared resources, complementary skills. They'd successfully navigated three partial floors together, even managing to complete the main byrinth challenge of Floor 4 just this morning. She'd known the alliance was temporary, as all her alliances had been, but she hadn't expected betrayal quite so soon after a significant achievement.

  The increase in elimination quotas expined it. Floor 4 demands were significantly higher than Floor 3, creating desperation even among previously cooperative teams. It was a pattern she'd observed repeatedly since entering the Game: increasing pressure turned potential allies into certain enemies.

  The Game was designed that way. Force cooperation until resources become scarce, then manufacture scarcity to ensure conflict. Simple, effective, brutal.

  Lyra finished tending her wounds and repacked her supplies. She needed a new pn. Without her cached resources, long-term survival would be challenging. She needed either to find new resources quickly or to form another temporary alliance—though the thought made her grimace after her recent experience.

  Her interface's scanner suddenly pinged, a soft alert that made her freeze. She tapped the side of her device, bringing up the detection array. Multiple signals—at least four distinct interface signatures—moving through the tunnels approximately two hundred meters back.

  "They're tracking me," she muttered. Her former teammates must have found someone with better tracking equipment than Jax possessed, or they'd formed an alliance with another hunting group. Either way, they were closing in faster than she'd anticipated.

  Not just pursuing, but hunting with purpose. For quota credits. Five credits for an Unaligned elimination.

  Lyra quickly assembled her remaining tools. She had little time to put distance between herself and the hunters, but running blindly into unexplored territory carried its own dangers. She needed information first.

  She attached a small amplifier to her interface—her own creation, cobbled together from salvaged components—and extended the scanner's range. The signal crified, revealing more details.

  Seven distinct signatures now, moving in a coordinated pattern. Three matched her former teammates, but the others were new. The formation suggested experienced hunters, not random pyers—they were spreading out to cover multiple tunnels, forming a net rather than a direct pursuit line.

  She'd seen this before. Worker-css hunting packs formed when quota requirements increased. They pooled resources and skills to track and eliminate isoted pyers. Sometimes they even offered "bounties" to others who could provide information about potential targets.

  "Tag an Unaligned, earn partial quota credit," she whispered bitterly. The hunting packs rarely targeted Architects or Privileged, who typically traveled with well-equipped teams. Unaligned pyers like herself—especially those traveling alone—were much easier prey.

  Lyra's mind raced through scenarios. With seven hunters coordinating, her chances of simple evasion were slim. They would split up to cover different routes, establish ambush points, and systematically eliminate escape options.

  Her modified scanner showed they were already executing this strategy—three signatures moving along the main tunnel while pairs branched off to cover alternate routes. They knew these caves well enough to anticipate where she might go.

  She had only minutes before they would reach positions cutting off her forward progress. The northeastern route—her pnned escape path—was already being covered by two signatures moving rapidly to establish a blocking position.

  That left only two options: find a hiding pce and hope they passed by, or create a diversion and slip through their net during the confusion.

  Hiding was risky with their advanced tracking capabilities. If they had a dedicated tracker, which seemed likely given their coordination, standard concealment wouldn't be sufficient. Her interface modifications emitted distinct energy patterns that a good scanner could detect even when powered down.

  Diversion, then. She still had two modified light sources and the bioluminescent fungi samples. Combined with her remaining crawler lure, she might create enough confusion to slip past at least one section of their net.

  But first, she needed to set the stage. Lyra quickly gathered her gear, leaving behind nothing that could be used to track her. She pced one of her modified light sources near the chamber entrance, rigging it with a timer and motion sensor. When triggered, it would create a brief, intense fsh simir to the one she'd used to escape her teammates earlier.

  She'd need to move quickly though—her scanner showed the hunting party closing in, now less than 150 meters away and still spreading out to cover more tunnels. Their coordination suggested this wasn't their first hunt. They moved with practiced efficiency, leaving few gaps in their approach.

  Lyra slipped out of the chamber, pressing herself against the tunnel wall as she moved. The bioluminescent fungi provided just enough light for her enhanced interface to navigate, but hopefully not enough for the hunters to spot her immediately if their paths crossed.

  Her scanner indicated a complex junction ahead—a chamber where multiple tunnels converged. Two hunter signatures were already approaching it from the western entrance. If she could reach it first, she might be able to set her trap and slip through the eastern passage before they established their position.

  She increased her pace, ignoring the protest from her scraped limbs and the growing fatigue in her muscles. The constant flood of adrenaline was taking its toll—she'd been running and hiding for hours now, with minimal rest and no food since the betrayal.

  The junction chamber came into view—a roughly circur space where five tunnels met like spokes of a wheel. Lyra quickly assessed her options. The northeastern tunnel was her best escape route, but also the most obvious choice. The hunters would expect her to head that direction, toward Floor 5's entrance.

  Instead, she moved to the southeastern tunnel—a narrower, less traveled passage that her scanner showed was currently unguarded. She pced her crawler lure device at its entrance, setting it to activate one minute after detecting interface signals. Then she positioned her second modified light source at the chamber's center, rigging it to create a cascading pulse effect rather than a single fsh.

  With her traps set, Lyra slipped into the southeastern tunnel, moving as quickly as silence allowed. Her scanner showed the first hunter signatures entering the junction chamber from the west. Perfect timing.

  She increased her distance from the junction, counting down in her head. Three, two, one...

  Even from thirty meters away, she caught the reflection of the light pulse—a disorienting strobe effect designed to confuse both visual and electronic tracking. Seconds ter, she heard distant shouts, followed by the unmistakable screeching of disturbed crawlers.

  Chaotic movement appeared on her scanner as the hunters reacted to both the light pulse and the crawler threat. Some signatures retreated while others moved erratically through the junction. The confusion wouldn't st long, but it might be enough.

  Lyra pushed deeper into the southeastern tunnel, navigating by touch and her interface's enhanced vision. This passage was less traveled, with rougher terrain and fewer bioluminescent fungi for light. It twisted downward at a sharp angle, leading into territory she hadn't explored previously.

  After fifteen minutes of rapid progress, Lyra paused to check her scanner again. The hunter signatures had reorganized, but their pattern had changed. Instead of spreading out to cover all tunnels, they were now concentrated on the southeastern passage—her passage.

  "They're tracking me specifically," she realized with a chill. Not just following obvious routes or establishing a general net, but somehow following her unique signature through the caves. Someone in that hunting party had equipment sophisticated enough to distinguish her modified interface from standard ones.

  She needed to find a way to mask her signal—normally a simple task with her tools, but she'd lost most of her specialized equipment when she'd been forced to abandon her cache. Her remaining options were limited.

  The tunnel ahead split into three branches. Her scanner showed that the hunting party had split as well—four signatures following directly behind her, while three others moved through parallel tunnels, attempting to circle ahead and cut off her escape.

  Lyra studied the tunnel options, calcuting. The rightmost passage sloped upward, likely connecting to upper cave levels. The center continued retively level. The leftmost descended sharply and, according to her limited mapping data, might connect to one of the underground water systems she'd detected earlier.

  Water could potentially mask her interface signature, or at least confuse the trackers temporarily. Decision made, she took the left passage, descending into increasing darkness. The bioluminescent fungi grew sparser here, forcing her to rely more heavily on her interface's enhanced vision.

  The passage narrowed and the floor became slick with moisture. The sound of running water grew louder as she progressed. After another fifty meters, the tunnel opened into a small chamber with a fast-flowing underground stream cutting across its floor. The water disappeared into a narrow opening on the far wall—too small for a person to follow.

  But the stream was only part of the chamber's hydrology. To her right, a still pool of water reflected the few patches of bioluminescent fungi growing on the ceiling—one of the reflecting pools that were characteristic of Floor 4. Unlike the stream, this water was perfectly clear and calm.

  Lyra's scanner showed three hunter signatures approaching from behind, less than five minutes away. The other four had split to cover alternate routes, likely attempting to predict where this passage would lead.

  She had moments to decide. The stream was too small to follow, and doubling back would lead directly into the pursuers. The only option was the reflecting pool, which might connect to rger water systems deeper in the cave.

  Lyra approached the pool's edge, studying its surface. Unlike the stream, there was no obvious current, but that didn't mean it wasn't connected to other water bodies. She removed a small pebble from her pocket and dropped it into the center of the pool. The ripples expanded outward, but with a subtle asymmetry that suggested a gentle flow toward the far edge.

  Her scanner beeped urgently—the hunters now just two minutes away. No time for further investigation. She quickly secured her most essential equipment in waterproof compartments of her pack, took several deep breaths to maximize her oxygen, and slid silently into the pool.

  The water was cold enough to shock her system, but she forced herself to remain calm as she swam toward the far edge where she'd detected the subtle current. As she'd hoped, she found a submerged tunnel—wide enough for her to navigate if she removed her pack and pushed it ahead of her.

  Lyra took one final deep breath and ducked beneath the surface, pushing her pack into the tunnel before following. The passage was tight but navigable, with a gentle current assisting her movement. Her modified interface continued functioning underwater, providing limited visibility in the darkness.

  She swam through the submerged tunnel for what felt like an eternity, lungs burning for air. Just as her oxygen was nearly depleted, the passage angled upward, and she emerged into an air pocket within a rger underwater cave system.

  Gasping for breath, Lyra pulled herself onto a narrow stone ledge at the air pocket's edge. Her scanner showed no immediate hunter signatures nearby—the water had indeed masked her trail, at least temporarily.

  But her celebration was short-lived. As she caught her breath, a weak signal appeared at the extreme edge of her scanner's range—someone with unusually powerful tracking equipment was still detecting her, though they hadn't yet pinpointed her location.

  "Not giving up easily, are they?" she muttered between breaths. She needed to keep moving. The air pocket provided temporary refuge, but with dedicated trackers still hunting, she couldn't afford to rest long.

  The underwater cave had three visible paths—continuing to swim through the partially submerged tunnel system, climbing up through a narrow fissure in the ceiling of the air pocket, or following a small ledge that ran along the water's edge deeper into the cave.

  The swim would be risky with her already depleted oxygen, and her wet clothes would be a liability in the cool cave environment if she continued the climb. The ledge offered the best immediate option—a chance to put more distance between herself and the hunters while remaining above water.

  Lyra followed the narrow ledge, one hand against the wall for bance. The path was treacherous, barely wide enough for her feet, with the dark water of the underground cave system pping just centimeters below. One slip would mean another swim, and she wasn't sure her stamina would hold for a second immersion.

  After twenty minutes of careful progress, the ledge widened into a small chamber with solid ground. Lyra gratefully stepped onto the more stable surface, taking a moment to check her scanner again.

  The tracking signal was still there, now more clearly defined—a single hunter signature moving with purpose through the cave system, somehow following her path despite the water barrier. The other signatures were spread out, searching multiple routes, but this one tracker remained locked on her trail.

  Lyra shivered, both from her wet clothes and the implications. Either the hunter had equipment far beyond standard Game issue, or they possessed unusual tracking abilities. Neither option was comforting.

  She quickly assessed her surroundings. The chamber had three exits—another ledge continuing alongside the underground water, a tunnel leading upward, and a narrow passage cutting horizontally into the darkness. Her scanner showed the tracking signature approaching from the direction she'd come, following the water's edge.

  The upward tunnel might lead to more frequently traveled areas where she could lose herself among other pyer signatures, but it might also trap her if it didn't connect to rger systems. The horizontal passage offered unknown territory—potentially an escape route or a dead end.

  Before she could decide, her scanner beeped an urgent warning. Multiple signatures now converged on her location—the hunting party had regrouped, likely guided by their dedicated tracker. Seven signatures, moving with clear purpose, now approached from multiple directions.

  The trap was closing, and her options were rapidly diminishing.

  Lyra chose the horizontal passage, moving quickly into the darkness. The tunnel narrowed almost immediately, forcing her to crouch and eventually crawl. The limited space would slow her pursuers as well, potentially buying precious minutes.

  She emerged into another chamber, smaller than the previous one and with only two visible exits—the passage she'd just traversed and another, even narrower tunnel on the opposite side. Her heart sank as she checked her scanner again. Signatures approaching from both directions.

  They had anticipated her route, using their knowledge of the cave system to predict her movements and position hunters accordingly. The coordination was impressive—and terrifying.

  Lyra examined the chamber desperately, looking for options. No ledges to climb, no water features to use for concealment. Just the two passages, both effectively blocked by approaching hunters.

  Her fingers traced the chamber walls, searching for any crack or crevice that might offer escape. Near the ceiling, she found a small opening—possibly rge enough for her to squeeze through if she removed her pack. But reaching it would require climbing a nearly vertical wall with few handholds.

  The scanner showed hunters now less than three minutes from both entrances. No time for indecision.

  Lyra removed her climbing hooks from her pack and drove one into a crack in the wall, creating an anchor point. She attached her climbing rope and began to ascend, using the minimal natural features of the wall to support her weight as she pulled herself upward.

  The rock face was slick with cave moisture, making each handhold precarious. Halfway up, her foot slipped, leaving her dangling momentarily by one hand until she could regain her position. The noise of scrambling stone echoed in the chamber—possibly alerting the approaching hunters to her exact location.

  With a final effort, she reached the ceiling opening and pulled herself into it. The passage was even tighter than it had appeared from below, forcing her to wiggle forward on her stomach, pushing her pack ahead of her.

  Her scanner showed hunter signatures entering the chamber below. She heard voices echo off the stone walls.

  "The rope! She's gone up!" a male voice called out.

  "Cut it down, Cale. Vira, check if that passage connects to the upper level," another voice—Dren's—commanded.

  Lyra continued squeezing through the narrow passage, ignoring the scrape of stone against her already injured limbs. The tunnel twisted upward at a sharp angle, making progress even more difficult as she fought against gravity.

  After ten agonizing minutes, the passage widened slightly, allowing her to move more freely. It continued upward before eventually opening into yet another chamber—this one rger but with a disturbing feature.

  No exits. No other passages. A dead end.

  Lyra's heart pounded as she checked her scanner. Hunter signatures approaching from below—they had found the connection to her escape route and were following. Two signatures already positioned in the tunnel, with others establishing positions elsewhere, likely covering any routes she might take if she somehow escaped this chamber.

  The hunters had her cornered. Seven against one, with no further escape routes and dwindling resources. Lyra backed against the far wall of the chamber, mind racing through options that grew more desperate by the second.

  She quickly inventoried her remaining tools—one modified light source, a toolkit with basic components, climbing gear now minus one hook and rope, her customized interface with failing battery, and the small collection of bioluminescent fungi. Not much to work with against seven determined hunters.

  But she hadn't survived three floors of the Game by giving up when cornered. She'd been in bad situations before. There had to be a way out—some angle she hadn't considered, some resource she hadn't fully utilized.

  Lyra began setting up her final defensive position, arranging what little she had to create maximum advantage. She pced the bioluminescent fungi strategically to create shadows she could use for concealment. She modified her st light source to create a strobing effect that might disorient attackers in the confined space.

  As she worked, she heard them coming closer. Voices echoed through the passage leading to her chamber—her hunters, coordinating their final approach.

  "She's trapped. No other exits from that chamber," a voice announced with satisfaction.

  "Remember, we need her intact for confirmation," Dren reminded them. "Quota system requires verification."

  "Five credits," another voice said hungrily. "Enough to cover all of us."

  Lyra set her jaw, continuing her preparations as the voices grew louder. She wasn't dead yet, and until she was, she would fight with every tool, trick, and tactic she possessed.

  The hunters were close now, their voices clear in the narrow passage leading to her chamber. Soon they would emerge, expecting to find trapped prey. They would discover that even cornered, an Unaligned from Sector 17 was never easy prey.

  Lyra positioned herself in the shadows, ready for what might be her final stand in the Game.