CHAPTER 6: The New Green

Bero revels in independence, admiring the jade he wears and the strength he believes it grants. He maintains strict SN1 injections, chasing invincibility without the training of Green Bones. Despite a shabby apartment and a complaining neighbor, Bero feels transformed—powerful, respected, and beyond his past.

At the Rat House, an underground haven for unsanctioned jade users, Bero trains erratically with Mudt, experimenting with Strength and Lightness. He augments his income by selling shine to a steady clientele of low-income thrill seekers, small-time criminals, and secret jade aspirants who rely on SN1 to tolerate their stones.

The Rat House operates under a code: never ask where jade comes from. Tension lingers from past Mountain infiltration and recent No Peak crackdowns, but the “new green” still boasts of overturning elite control of jade. Bero’s intermittent Perception senses both nearby jade users and their curiosity about the quantity he flaunts.

Soradiyo, a cautious jade-wearer with a foreign accent, approaches Bero and Mudt. He reveals himself as a recruiter for Ti Pasuiga and offers them work as rockfish—mules smuggling jade out of Kekon—paid in money, shine, and eventually more jade. With SN1, Soradiyo claims, anyone can carry stones, reducing reliance on easily flagged Abukei couriers.

After Soradiyo departs, Mudt rejects the idea, insisting they can train until they rival Green Bones and even challenge the Maiks. Bero dismisses Mudt’s bravado, resenting his dependency and lack of lethal resolve, and privately credits himself for the cemetery plan and the killings that secured their jade.