The slums of Neo-Kashi didn't just look like a dump anymore—it looked like a high-tech warzone. Without the "Merit" system to keep them in check, the Dharma-Guards had basically turned into a state-sponsored gang. They weren't patrolling for safety; they were checking pockets.
Kabir and Mira were trying to navigate the "Drainpipe Alley," a shortcut to the Old Ghats, when a spotlight suddenly blinded them.
"Arre, look at these two," a voice crackled through a helmet speaker. "Walking around like they own the place. You kids didn't get the memo? It's 'Tax Day' in the slums."
Four Dharma-Guards stepped out of the shadows. They were still wearing their white-and-gold armor, but it was scuffed and spray-painted with skulls. The leader, a guy with a jagged scar across his visor, was holding a heavy plasma-carbine.
Above his head, the HUD was a big fat [0], just like everyone else.
"Captain Arjun, right?" Kabir said, squinting against the light. "I remember you. You're the guy who used to arrest people for forgetting to say 'Please.' Now you're just a common gunda?"
"The name is just 'Captain' now, glitch-boy," the leader sneered. "And the rules have changed. No more Merit, no more salary. So, we're taking 'donations' for our retirement fund. Hand over the data-slate and that shiny girl beside you."
Mira gripped Kabir's arm. "Kabir, his rifle is still linked to the local sub-net. If he fires, the recoil-lock won't work because the system is offline. He'll blow his own arm off!"
"Wait, really?" Kabir grinned, looking at the Captain. "Yo, Captain! Your gun is literally a ticking bomb, bro. You might wanna check the firmware before you pull that trigger."
"Don't lie to me!" the Captain roared, charging the plasma-cell. The rifle began to hum, but the sound was wrong—it was a high-pitched whine that sounded like a tea kettle about to explode.
System Notification: [Hardware Link: Broken. Cooling Protocol: 404. Good luck lol.]
"I told you," Kabir said, stepping forward. "In the world of Zeroes, your fancy gear is just expensive paperweights."
"Shut up! Kill them!" the Captain ordered his squad.
The other three guards lunged with their electric batons. Kabir didn't even break a sweat. He reached out and touched the nearest guard's chest-plate.
"Subtraction Style: Short-Circuit!"
The silver light of the Void flowed through Kabir's fingers and into the guard's armor. Since the "Kshatriya-Protocol" had reset all values to Zero, the armor's internal battery didn't know how to handle a negative pulse.
ZAP!
The guard's armor didn't just fail; it literally exploded with blue sparks, sending the guy flying into a pile of trash.
"Wtf was that?!" the second guard screamed, stopping in his tracks.
"It's called 'Zero-Logic,' yaar," Kabir said, his eyes glowing with that creepy silver fire. "You guys spent your whole lives worshipping the numbers. Me? I was born in the minus. I know how to talk to the dark."
The Captain, losing his mind with rage, pulled the trigger on his plasma-carbine.
BOOM.
Mira was right. The recoil-stabilizers, which usually used Merit-Data to balance the shot, didn't kick in. The rifle kicked back like a mule, the plasma-bolt flying into the sky while the gun itself shattered in the Captain's hands.
"Aah! My hand!" the Captain screamed, clutching his charred fingers.
"Told you," Kabir sighed, walking up to him. He picked up the Captain's dropped comms-unit. "Now, tell your boys to clear the alleyway. We've got a date in the Old Ghats, and we're already running late for the apocalypse."
The remaining guards looked at their screaming captain, then at the "Negative Boy" who just broke a plasma rifle with his mind. They didn't need a Merit-Tag to tell them they were outmatched. They bolted.
"Nice one, Kabir," Mira said, leaning against the wall and catching her breath. "But we just wasted twenty minutes. The clock is at 22 hours now."
"I know," Kabir said, looking at the countdown in the sky. [22:15:30]. "But look at the bright side—at least the traffic is light."
They reached the end of the alley, where the neon lights of Neo-Kashi faded into the dark, mossy stones of the Old Ghats. This was the 'Off-Grid' zone. No cameras, no satellites, just dead data and ghosts.
"The Shadow-Vault is down there," Mira whispered, pointing toward a crumbling stone archway that led underground. "But Chacha said the vault isn't just a room. It's a 'Logic-Maze.' If your brain can't handle the paradoxes, you never come out."
"Logic and me never got along anyway," Kabir said, lighting a fresh beedi. "Let's go see what the Architects are hiding in the basement."
They stepped into the darkness, leaving the burning city behind. The real mystery of the "Minus" was waiting for them in the deep.