EXT. CENTRAL CITY – STREET TO APARTMENT COMPLEX – NIGHT
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyawig0sz5G
[Central City glows under the neon buzz of street signs and dull, overworked lights. The trio walks along the edge of a pedestrian lane. Jason pushes a rattling hover-cart loaded with groceries. SD-A carries a tightly packed bundle of batteries, and SD-K has reluctantly been assigned the important job of snack security.]
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJw3clCcxZ
SD-A (genuine curiosity)
“So… why aren’t you working today? I assumed you had, like, robot crime to stop.”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSparBqrjTN
JASON (immediately, proudly)
“It’s my day off.”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VJDCe6FcG
[SD-K gives him a sharp side-eye.]
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWPEmoaoh1
SD-K
“You almost got eaten by a parasitized bot twelve hours ago.”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZDkViXJp7
JASON
“Exactly. I’ve earned this non-lethal stroll. Nothing wrong with pretending to be a civilian once in a while. Look at me. Just another guy with metal guts and a bag full of over-salted oil crisps.”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ188dgFir8S
SD-A (nodding slowly)
“I didn’t know Security bots got days off.”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXG6yooyOA
JASON (grinning)
“They don’t. But when you’re borderline broke and have one working railcannon arm and a suspicious oil addiction, you get creative with your scheduling.”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYwQ3kwyK9
[They pass a food stall run by a toaster-shaped bot roasting something shiny on skewers. SD-K slows down.]
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdRWb3wL8s
SD-K
“What are those?”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsGAMM5Ybl
JASON
“Processed gear tendons. Crunchy, weirdly addictive. I once ate nine in a row and forgot my own designation.”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjnkanAmBw
[SD-K nods thoughtfully. Jason grabs one, tosses a coin at the stall owner, and bites it with an audible crunch. He winces.]
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIURtWpxH2
JASON (muffled)
“Yep. Still tastes like spicy regret.”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqtGVsjphC
[They turn down the final street, toward the towering apartment complex. It’s a stacked grid of concrete cubes, each tangled in wires like spaghetti art. Jason’s cube sits on the third tier, halfway up the far wall.]
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrSBN3hIcM
SD-A
“This is home?”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQ626eXQWS
JASON
“Home sweet slightly flammable cube.”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmGTZ1jfY0
SD-K (deadpan)
“This entire structure looks like it’s held together by bad decisions.”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfP9970PWk
JASON
“Exactly. Fits me perfectly.”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDJbcsS8uH
[They approach the elevator platform—an old, groaning thing that vibrates slightly too much. Jason hits the button and it opens with a wheeze.]
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmFcNGN6Bv
JASON (as they step in)
“No action, no parasites, no Security HQ yelling at me. Just one quiet night with two suspicious guests and half my salary gone. Could be worse.”
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HtlZ7hxt6
[The doors close. The elevator jerks upward, carrying them toward a deceptively peaceful evening in the city that never sleeps—because most of it doesn’t have proper shutdown protocols.]
ns216.73.216.172da2
and then Add to home screen.