One strike is all it takes.
Though he succeeds in assassinating Fuankilo, Oakley comes face to face with the limits of his own combat power. Seeking greater strength, he heads for the Northeastern Branch.
There, he encounters Whip, the female captain of the Burrowed Bug Unit, a fellow executive candidate renowned for infiltration. At the same time, Karatena—Fuankilo’s disciple, who harbors deep hostility toward Oakley—begins to weave her plot, while the unsettling machinations of Joanne unfold in the shadows.