“You know it,” the Russian moved slowly with his hands in plain sight.

“Good. Make sure it stays that way.” They moved to the bar.

“Just because we’re prospectors,” the Russian shook his head. “Anyway, I don’t like killing a man without knowing his name.”

“Tango.”

“That’s not your real name.”

We locked eyes, measuring each other, killer to killer.

“I guess Tango will have to do. See you in the crater.”

I watched until he left the bar and called my company contact, Jeeves.

“The Russian just paid me a visit.”

“How unfortunate,” the British male voice sounded bored. “I’ll add a high-powered sniper rifle to your gear.”

“And a bullet-proof suit.”

“Those are hard to come by in a wasteland city, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“He took out Spec last month. Make it happen, or MoonCorp might never know if there are diamonds in that crater.”

“Spec? I didn’t know he was dead. That’s very unfortunate. Will you be able to deal with the Russian? Or should we hire another?”

“I’ll handle him. Just get me the suit.”

I took the monorail to the hotel district, watching my back. I wouldn’t put it past the Russian to make an attempt before we get anywhere near the crater. My gaze went to the projected blue sky and white puffy clouds of the city’s dome, reminding me of Earth. I’ve been here too long. I’m tired of fake sky. I know what’s on the other side-a wasteland of darkness and rocks, craters and chasms, hopelessness and death.

A drone flying outside my window shook me out of my ruminations. My instincts warned me to beware. Drones are as common in a lunar city as birds on Earth. However, a drone matching the speed and direction of a monorail doesn’t happen often, if at all.

Suddenly, two miniguns materialized from the drone. I ducked just as it opened fire. Shattered glass fell on me. Passengers screamed. I pulled my pistol, rolled the quad barrel to scattershot, and destroyed the drone. I scanned for more drones before holstering my gun.

After a grueling round of questions from the LTF, I finally made it to my hotel. The rifle and suit lay on my bed. These should give me an advantage in the crater, assuming I make it out of the city.

I grabbed the rifle to feel its weight and peered through the scope. To my horror, I spotted a gun pointed at me from the opposite building. I pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. I hadn’t loaded it. Just then, my window shattered, and a bullet grazed my cheek.

I fell to my knees and crawled to the corner, out of sight of the gunman. How is he always one step ahead of me? It’s like he knows where I’ll be before I do. Then it hit me-my phone. Jeeves gave it to me when I arrived. I almost threw it out the window, but then I had an idea.

I crawled to the edge of my bed, still out of sight of the window, loaded my rifle, and grabbed a drone from my gear bag under the bed. I secured my phone to the drone and entered Jeeves’ hotel coordinates.

If the gunman could track my phone, then he’d think I retreated to my safe house. I carefully used a mirror to see if he had gone. He had. I quickly dressed my wound to avoid questions, threw on my long jacket, and concealed my rifle.

I found a low-rise building whose roof would be perfect for my plan. I positioned myself and waited. An hour passed before the Russian took his shot. Jeeves’ window shattered exactly where the drone landed with my phone.

I saw the gun flash on the fifth floor of a building slightly to my right. I aimed for his head and fired. He instantly fell.

I walked to Jeeves’ place and looked through the shattered window. He lay in a pool of blood. The Russian hit him between the eyes—an instant kill. Jeeves betrayed me. It’s poetic justice that his asset killed him. The company who hired them must know there are diamonds in that crater. Or else, they would have never attempted to take me out in the city.

I hurried to the Russian before the LTF arrived. He lay where I shot him. For the first time in my career, the sight of death made me sick. He was just like me–a prospector. It’s just business. Nothing personal.

I saw myself lying in a pool of blood, like the Russian. I, too, will make a mistake one day and take one between the eyes. Suddenly, it began to feel very personal. I’ve had enough of this rock. The vultures can have it.

I looked back down at the Russian.

“Back at the bar, you asked for my real name. I don’t know why it’s important to you, but I owe you that much. It’s Tom. Nothing fancy. Just Tom.”

I left for the nearest shuttle port.

He pushes another button on the box and the wall opens, revealing an audience people. Spinning me around, he looks at the audience and says, “Can I have your attention, please.” All is quiet. “What do you say, Sam. Are you ready to go for level four? You have a hundred thousand now, do you want to risk all to continue. What do you say? Yes or No?”

I thought about how strange the last three levels were. I saw my parents in the front row nodding their heads. I hear myself say, “Yes!”

The room is unfamiliar. I don’t know how I got here. I don’t remember anything from my past. A bed, table, and chair sit in the middle of the room I sit down in the chair and the chair tilts down ejecting me through the a hole. I land about twenty feet down in another room. I look around and see four doors, one on each wall. I choose the first one I see. The area beyond the door is alive with sounds. It’s a rainforest and I am staring a crouching tiger, ready to pounce. I run. I jump a ravine and fall. I underestimated how far the other side was. I fall into a river at the bottom of the ravine.

I hurry, swimming towards the shoreline. I hear a splash behind me and turn, watching in horror, seeing the tiger swimming towards me. Reaching the shore I pull myself out of the water and take off. I don’t turn to look back. I grab a vine and swing over the next ravine and drop. I stop, panting hard and look back. There’s the tiger glaring at me. I wasn’t sure the tiger could cross the ravine so I run. I find a tree and climb up and look down. The tiger had given up and gone away. I lay my head back on the trunk of the tree and close my eyes.

I open my eyes and I’m back in the unfamiliar room. A man sits by the table. He gets up and holds out his hand.

“I would like to congratulate you on making it to level four. Only a few people have ever made it to level four.”

I push him away and yell, “Who are you? What’s happening to me?”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box and pushes a button. “Sorry, I always forget to restore your memories.”

I am getting a sense that I should be remembering something. My brain is still trying to piece everything together when it suddenly freezes up on the scene of a tiger ready to pounce on me. I scream and push the man down and run. I hit the wall and bounce back falling to the floor.

“Sam? Sam, are you okay? The man says.

“Your name is Tom.” I say. My memory starts filling in the blanks.

“Yes it is. Sorry, it’s a side-effect of the process.” He takes my arm and pushes another button on the box. The wall disappears, revealing the audience. They all rise and applaud and I can hear chanting, “More, More.”

“Yes, folks, here his is. Now, will he continue? Sam will you walk away with your winnings or will you triple it by completing level five. A moment of silence ladies and gentlemen while he contemplates the decision. Sam you now have two hundred thousand and if you complete level five you will walk away with six hundred thousand. What will it be? You have fifteen seconds to decide.”

A large display on a screen behind my head started the countdown. You could hear the murmuring in the crowd as they whispered among themselves and placed side bets on my decision. I thought about the last level. It didn’t seem that scary now that I could look at it logically. There was an escape route and all I had to do was escape. I just needed to think, which I was very good at. I heard myself yell, “YES!” The audience roared. I closed my eyes relishing the attention.

The room is unfamiliar.  I don’t know how I got here. There is a table, a chair, and a bed. I go over to the bed and sit down and fall through the frame. I continue falling through the floor and falling hard at the bottom of another room. My leg is twisted at a crazy angle and my head is swimming. I see a door. I stand and test my leg. It hurts but I’m able to walk. I walk through the door and fall.

I cradle my head and curl up into a fetal position to try and brace for the impact. I land in front of a herd of strange animals. They ignore me as I look around. I hear a noise. The animals stampede in my direction. I run also. I dive behind a rock and cover my head, coming out once they have passed.

There is a horrific beast staring at me. It growls and I run. I head for the trees. The creature chases me. I grab onto the nearest branch of the first tree and swing myself up on the limb and start climbing up. Hoping that the beast can’t climb trees. To my horror, I see it climbing up.

All the trees are somewhat interconnected and I start racing from tree to tree. I check the progress of my protagonist. It’s not as as fast in the trees. The ground is close now and I jump down.

I hear a thud as the creature jumps to the ground. I start looking for anything that I can use as a weapon. I will have to kill this thing before I can rest. A branch falls and I grab it up. It has a sharpened point where it split from the tree. It seems sturdy enough to use as a spear. I stop and brace myself. The creature runs onto the spear impaling itself, dying. I close my eyes.

I hear clapping and open my eyes. The room is unfamiliar. I don’t know how I got here. A man sits on a chair by the table. He stands up, takes my hand and shakes it.

“I congratulate you on making it to level five. Fewer people have ever made it this far. What you did with that branch was amazing.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box and pushes a button. “Okay Sam. How was your experience? Are you okay? You’re looking a little pale.”

I am getting a sense that I should be remembering something. I take a deep breath. My head is spinning and my leg is throbbing.

“Where am I?” I ask.

“Come with me, Sam. You will remember everything in just a moment.” He pushes another button and the wall disappears and a roar goes up from the audience.

My brain resets and I look down and see my parents looking up at me solemnly.

“Sam, are you going to make your parents proud and go to the next level. You have only one left. I will tell you now. Only two people have ever made it back from level six. One billion. Will you be the third in our game? I will put five minutes on the clock this time and you can go over and discuss it with whomever you choose this time. While you are deciding we will take a quick break to check in with our sponsors.” He cues the camera crews and then leads Sam over to his parents who are climbing up onto the stage.

“Mom, dad, I don’t know. It’s a lot of money. We could live in a better place.” I thought about what would happen if I didn’t survive the next level. They were holding me and crying.

I finally said, “I have to. I will survive. My survival instincts are good.”

Tom, cued the camera crews and everyone got back to their seats. I walked over and took my place beside Tom.

“Well folks, here he is with his decision. Sam, what will it be. Are you going to risk it all to complete level six the very last level worth one billion dollars? I need your answer, now.”

“Yes!” I say, closing my eyes.

I hear a grating noise and open my eyes. The room is unfamiliar. I don’t know how I got here. There is no furniture and the floors are smooth. I finally get tired of looking for a way out and sit down against a wall and close my eyes listening for a moment.

I open my eyes and flail my arms about to try and stop the fall. My body is plummeting rapidly to the room below. I cradle my head and roll up trying to protect myself from the impact. I hit the bottom and cry out. I didn’t break any bones, but I hurt. A ladder hangs over me. I am hurting too much to attempt climbing the ladder so my only option is the door in the wall.

I go to the door and open it slowly. It leads to a meadow. A river is flowing to the side and there are deer grazing. I walk out head towards the river. I squat down and put my hand in the water. The water is icy. I am trying to remember how I got here.

I hear a growl that stands my hair on ends. I turn and see a large wolf looking at me and snarling. I could never run without the wolf catching me. I do the only thing left I jump into the river. I see the wolf running towards me. I swim. The water is so cold that I am having trouble breathing. The wolf is running beside the river following me and waiting for me to come to shore. I swim faster, trying to get to the other side, but my body is cold and I am having more trouble moving my arms and legs. My teeth are chattering and I know I am not going to make it. I sink to the bottom and realize, I’m in waist-deep water, a hundred yards from where I jumped in. The wolf is there trying to decide if it is worth getting wet to come after me. I stand and struggle to make my legs carry me to the other side so I can pull myself out of the river. I stumble and fall and swim to the other side. The wolf sits down on the other side and howls. The sound hurts my ears and I cringe. I make myself crawl out of the water. I start scooching backwards and come to a stop against a tree. I look up and see my salvation. I pull myself up and grab the side of the tree and start climbing the tree. I get about twenty feet off the ground and look down. A pack of wolves have arrived. Braving the water, they now sit at the base of the tree. They try to climb the tree and fail. Finally they leave. I climb further and find a decent limb to spread out on. I close my eyes.

I hear a noise and open my eyes. The room is unfamiliar. I don’t know how I got here. A man is coming to me grinning.

“Welcome back. Sam you have done amazingly well. That was incredible how you jumped in the river. That was ingenious thinking on your part. That is the kind of thinking we need in our newest colony. You earned a seat on the next transport. You will have to sign a non disclosure agreement on everything that happened here. All you can say is that you won the money. Do you understand? We only have so many spots available in the new colony. This is how we choose the brightest minds.”

I could hear everything he said and I was reveling in my moment. I was going to the new colony that was all that mattered. Tom pushed a button on his box and the wall disappeared one last time. The audience surged the stage and his parents were up on the stage and grabbing him as he walked forward.

“I did it. Did you see? I made it.” I yelled above the crowd, as my parents joined me. I shook Tom’s hand and smiled for the camera then signed the non-disclosure agreement on the podium.

I hear a coughing noise and open my eyes. The room is unfamiliar. But I know how I got here. I am on the transport ship with my parents heading to our new lives.

China is accelerating the rollout of 5G-Advanced (5G-A) networks across multiple cities. Major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, have already begun deploying 5G-A networks in select areas. This next-generation technology offers significant improvements over standard 5G, including peak download speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second, millisecond-level latency, and more cost-effective connectivity for Internet of Things applications.

Shanghai’s 5G-A network has achieved targeted coverage in key areas since the China Telecom Shanghai branch launched a 5G-A user experience campaign in February. The key areas under coverage include the Lujiazui commercial hub, major venues like the Expo Center, main roads in urban districts and popular tourist spots such as Disneyland, according to Shanghai authorities.

Shanghai has achieved complete 5G network coverage across its whole metro system. This coverage spans all 21 lines with a total length of 896 kilometers and 517 stations in the city’s subway network, and over 80 percent of the system uses 5G-A technology.

Test results showed average download speeds exceeding 600 Mbps in stations and tunnels, with peak rates surpassing one Gbps. The high-speed network supports improved passenger services while enhancing operational capabilities including smart scheduling, equipment monitoring and emergency response.

In Hangzhou, the capital of East China’s Zhejiang Province, the city has achieved full 5G-A coverage across major scenic spots, universities and key urban areas. Mobile users can now enjoy ultra-fast 5G-A speeds in landmark locations such as the West Lake scenic area, the Hubin business district and metro stations.

Beijing authorities have released an upgraded action plan for scaled 5G application (2025-27). The plan targets the construction or upgrade of more than 35,000 5G-A-enabled base stations citywide by the end of 2027, aiming for full coverage within the Fifth Ring Road and expanded 5G-A deployment in key areas and scenarios.

The number of 5G base stations in China exceeded 4.39 million as of the end of March this year, with the user penetration rate reaching 75.9 percent, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China said.