Engine Room: Revenge of the Vampire Nation (Escape from Club Apophis, 59)

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STORYLINE: US Air Force base, Okinawa, late afternoon.

Angry clouds hung heavy over the Pacific.

Massive Mecha Scorpions moved into formation around the lighter infantry armor, their hydraulic joints hissing as hot steam vented across the puddle-choked tarmac. The ground vibrated beneath their multi-leg stomps. Behind them, armored hovercopters whined on helipads as the Night Troops loaded the Scorpion Attack Force for the sea crossing.

Cutting through the rainy mist and reek of aviation fuel came the legendary Commander Ashe. Tall, razor-thin, and clad in a high-density commando weave, Ashe moved with the unnerving stillness of a ghost. A crimson scar ran from his brow down his cheek, while a tarnished silver Victoria Cross dangled from his septum ring over his lips. In the dim tarmac light, his dilated pupils caught the red hazard beacons like a predator's eyes.

He unlatched the massive blast doors of the war room. Cold ozone-heavy air rushed out to meet the suffocating tropical humidity.

"President Spyder." His voice sounded more like a professor's than a warrior's. "The 101st is within visual range of Jeju Island."

Maximilian stood over the tactical holotable, red eyes gleaming. Overhead lights caught the sharp edge of elongated fangs as he devilishly grinned. He clapped a heavy hand onto Ashe’s shoulder with a firm grip. “This is the last stand of the wily old Pharaoh and his Harlot,” his deep voice rumbled. “Corrupt humans and lesser monsters are no defense against the might of the Vampire Nation. This is our world now. His reign ended in Berlin.”

His grin widened.

“Tomorrow, we finally burn out his ancient bloodline.”

Alarms went off, bathing the war room in red. Warnings violently flickered across the holotable. A distressed transmission broke through, framing the face of the Flying Bats Squad Leader. Inside his cockpit, lights flickered on and off as the craft tumbled out of control.

"REPORT!" Maximilian leaned over the projection, jaw tight.

Audio shattered into metallic screeching. Only two words survived the static before the signal died completely: "...No power..."

Ashe immediately swept his hand across the control interface, switching feed angles.

On screen, three more black hovercopters dropped from the sky like lead weights. Their engine glow winked out simultaneously before the black ocean swallowed them whole.

"PULL BACK! REGROUP!" Maximilian roared. "Deploy the Mosquito Bots. All units, locate the perimeter of that bloody shield!"

Ashe rerouted the holotable to an orbital optical feed. Below them, Jeju Island was going dark as if a black wave was sweeping over it. The sky above the island burned crimson beneath the storm clouds. Streetlights were dead. Buildings stood dark along the coastline. Even the traffic signals had died.

"An Entropy Barrier," Ashe said, his voice flat and analytical. "They anticipated our arrival."

Maximilian’s expression turned to iron. "Paine. That bitch betrayed us,” he snarled.

"Possibly. But extending an Entropy field this far beyond the Forbidden Zone would require infrastructure." His eyes narrowed. "The real question is, where did they get enough Entropy to power it?"

Maximilian huffed in disgust.

Ashe zoomed in on the rocky shoreline, targeting a slim lattice structure disguised among sea cliffs. "Notice these relay towers.”

He mapped the shoreline with two quick keystrokes. Six identical towers lined the coast in a precise geometric grid.

"Equidistant. Coordinated." Ashe traced the pattern across the glass. "These aren't cell towers.”

Maximilian turned toward the open comms panel, muscles coiled like a spring. "Unit Five, see that central spire? Dive bomb it."

The sub-window displayed a surviving pilot, pale against his flight harness. "Sir, our flight systems will die the second we breach the boundary zone."

Maximilian sneered into the camera. "Then climb to maximum altitude. Aim. And let momentum carry you. Gravity does not require voltage. Ram that target at top speed, soldier.”

A heavy chill fell across the room.

“Delay that order.” Ashe stepped smoothly into the frame, placed himself directly between Maximilian and the holotable, and clicked the master mute button.

The war room went completely silent. Maximilian’s eyes blazed with lethal fury. For three long seconds, the air balanced on the edge of violence as the President confronted his commander's defiance.

Ashe did not flinch. "Wasting pilots and expensive resources on tower relays is inefficient. There is no need to sacrifice pilots and aircraft when the towers can be dismantled by hand. Send the remaining 101st Flying Bats. They can tear those structures apart with more… traditional methods.”

Maximilian glared at him, the tension slowly bleeding out of his shoulders, replaced by a slow, ruthless grin. "Do you think your elite boys still remember how to hunt with wing and claw?"

"It is innate," Ashe said. He unholstered a long-barreled WWII service pistol from his side, the cursed steel dull and heavy under the tactical lights.

“Old technology served us well in Europe.”

Max stared at the antique weapon. "That gun is over a century out of date."

Ashe checked the chamber, the metallic clack cutting through the silence.

"Digital systems fail. Blood and iron do not."

He raised his eyes. The Victoria Cross glinted in the red hazard light.

"We will hunt in the dark."

HAPPY OCTOBER, Everyone! Best month of the year. *throws fall leaves* I have fun spooky posts in the works with Engine Room items. The Engine Room is a historical fantasy event filled with high quality items, gifts, and even hosts DJ parties. This post was inspired by the many awesome war things at the event, and scorpions! I had making a more movie like image for this post.

On him, Maximilian Spyder:

Outfit: FOE -  Imprecari Outfit, Legacy Male (Engine Room)(1999L)

Gloves: FOE - Imprecari Gloves, Legacy Male (Engine Room)(752L)

Boots: FOE - Imprecari Boots, Legacy Male (Engine Room)(799L)

Sword: FOE - Great Sunderer (Engine Room)(799L)

Mask: MILKBATH - Goblin Mask [mesh]

Hair: Wasabi Pills - Draco Mesh Hair, male [mesh]

Eyes: Gloom - Savage Collection - Sclera 03 - Red S [BOM]

Skin: coconut - Dong Skin / Winter Tone / EVO X [BOM]

Tattoo: XTX - Arana Tattoo - 60% [BOM]

Head: LeLUTKA - RUNE [mesh](3990L)

Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)

On him, Commander Ashe:

Outfit: TURB - Sunrise Suit, Vest, Legacy M, fatpack [mesh](Engine Room)(2500L)

Gun: Aii - Red Moon Revolver [mesh](Engine Room)(2000L)

Helmet: SOLE - SA - Helmet DND (Black) [mesh]

Collar: AVEC TOI - Aiden Neck Corset - TIGHT - V1 (LegacyATHLETIC) [mesh]

Cap: Oracle - Sovereign Cap, male [mesh]

Nose chain: Remarkable Oblivion Paragon Cap, Nose chain [mesh]

Earrings: Swallow - Earrings H01 for lel Evo X Human Ears MALE [mesh]

Gloves: Archivefaction - Penumbra Gloves_Legacy M_Slim Fingers [mesh]

Boots: Livalle - Payne - Combat Boots  - Male [mesh]

Head: LeLUTKA - Kane Evolution [mesh](3990L)

Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)

Setting:

Scorpion tank: AxisMundi - SiegeReaver-Mount- Large[Animesh](Engine Room)(1500L)

Scorpion: SEmotion Libellune - Venom Antares Companion LIMITED[Animesh](Neo Japan)(188L)

Scorpion Chairs: Nebur Cyborg - SCORVA Rover R-027 (PBR) [mesh]

BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots,  midday sky, default camera:

Cyber Fair: The Age of Apophis, part 1 (Escape from Club Apophis, 55)

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STORYLINE: Forbidden Zone border. A dark alleyway. Noon.

The street reeked of ozone, coffee, and fresh blood. Overturned vending machines lined the dirty cement alley. One knocked over vending machine bled shattered mugs across the concrete, their porcelain shards scattered like broken teeth. In the darkest corner, a group of ghouls hunched over a fresh kill.

A hush fell over the landscape as if all sound had suddenly been sucked out of the air.

One creature looked up. A human hand hung limp from its bloodstained jaws.

The asphalt began to vibrate with a deep hum. Low. Inhuman. Glass shook. The surface of spilled coffee rippled in waves.

The other ghouls stopped feeding and looked towards the sound.

A low unnatural fog drifted into the alleyway, rolling over the shattered mugs like an undulating white carpet.

The creatures stood, backing away from their feast.

Then they saw it. Gold eyes burned through the haze like hellfire.

A blur of motion. A flash of white. Jaws. Claws. The sickening sounds of tearing flesh. Monstrous howls echoed off the walls.

Standing at the mouth of the alleyway was a towering figure clad in a white Neu Seoul Police uniform, his low-slung cap throwing his face in shadow. Behind him, a black-and-white police hovercar idled above the fog, red and blue lights flashing.

The remaining ghouls burst through the mist, rushing the man all at once.

He didn’t flinch. His arm swept upward.

Too fast.

An energy field snapped open, the face of Sekhmet blazing within.

The first ghoul’s claws struck its energy barrier and skated off in a blinding spray of blue sparks.

The ghouls broke formation, but it was too late.

A cyberblade sliced through the pack with lethal heat.

The fight was over before it began.

The last ghoul dropped to its knees. “Have mercy..." its dry throat croaked. “My King, we starve..."
The officer looked down. His cyberblade flashed.

The severed head rolled across the slick pavement, bumping gently against the man’s heavy black boot. One milky eye stared upward at him in absolute horror. Then it faded, unfocused.

A mechanical voice spoke from the alley. “My King, all escapees are eliminated.”

A glossy white lioness padded lightly out of the fog, its metallic jaws splattered in black fluid. It paused before the man, and dropped a severed ghoul arm onto the pavement like a cat bringing a gift.

The man wiped the dripping black blood from his blade’s edge before both the sword and shield folded neatly back into his gauntlets. He unhooked his faceplate, revealing a handsome, chiseled visage. His gold eyes held the terrifying weight of a thousand lifetimes.

A crowd had gathered at the edge of the alley, recording the scene on lifted wrists and high-gain ocular implants.

A woman near the front lowered her camera slightly. Her recording kept running, but her smile vanished. She was not looking at the hero. She was staring at the strange badge on his jacket. A cobra with its fangs bared, swallowing the sun.

The Ruler of the Night was suddenly beside her.

A blast of wind whipped her hair across her face.

He snatched the camera from her hand and crushed it in his palm as if it were paper.

She gasped, her heel slipping in gore as she staggered backward.

His smoldering gaze then swept over the crowd, locking on the merchants cowering behind the nearest carts.

“You should not be running food stalls in this sector,” his deep rumbling baritone could be felt as well as heard. “The perimeter is unsafe. All contraband is forfeit. Go home.”

No one moved.

“NOW.” He swept one arm across the nearest cart. Skewers of Korean BBQ tumbled into the gutter.

The merchants turned and fled down the avenue abandoning their carts.

The Ruler of the Night did not watch them go. His eyes were on the lioness. "What news have you on the boy?"

The robotic beast settled beside him.

“Observe,” it projected security footage onto a grimy wall. “It is exactly as you predicted, my King. Their escape remains undetected.”

The flickering image showed a tall, muscular red-haired guard carrying the sleeping boy, his long white hair trailing across the floor. The guard was looking left and right as he crept out of the screen.

“Rewind.”

The lioness obeyed. “The relevant footage of the comatose boy begins at 6:32 pm.”

“Zoom in.”

The footage zoomed in on Jihoon, focusing on mist beginning to roll off his body.

“At 6:42 pm, REM sleep indicators.”

The footage zoomed back out, revealing the guard collapsing.

“At 6:53 pm, sensors detected a spike of energy at the exact moment the guard fainted.”

“Hmm.” The Ruler pointed to the fallen guard. “A call for help.”

“Yes, my King. The boy has exhibited two of your gifts. The mist and the extremely rare Dream Sight. He is immobile, not helpless. Congratulations, my King. You have created a strong fledgling. Does the child know the rules of the Blood Bond?”

The Ruler did not reply.

A slow, ruthless smile touched his lips. “Cancel the ceremony.”

The lioness’ heavy titanium tail stopped its rhythmic swaying.




On him, The Ruler of the Night:

Jacket: TRK - Losttune_Jacket_LEGACYM, white [mesh](CyberFair)(399L)

Cap: AURICA - Ray Cap [mesh](CyberFair)(249L)

Tattoo: MIDORI - Cyber Neck 07 [mesh](CyberFair)(399L)

Eyes: SHIMM - CYBER XV BONUS [BOM](CyberFair)(100L)

Pet: SEmotion Libellune - Felis Nexus Companion, Special [Animesh](CyberFair)(gacha 88L)

Sword: Mythic - [M] Claw Sword and Shield [mesh](CyberFair)(640L)

Pants: Savage - Blade Pants // LegacyM [mesh]

Boots: Gabriel - ::GB::Double belt metal boots, LEGACY, Black [mesh]

Headset: SOLE - SA Headset ARA2, Black [mesh]

Gloves: Archivefaction - Penumbra Gloves_Legacy M_Slim Fingers [mesh]

Head: LeLUTKA - CAMDEN 4.0 [mesh](3990L)

Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)

Pose: momomuller - 3M gogogo 1-1

Setting:

Vending Machine: Cerridwen's Cauldron - Scifi Black Honey Coffee [mesh](CyberFair)(499L)

Background: Zeroichi - REITO Backdrop [mesh](CyberFair)(560L)

BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, hi-res, midday sky, default camera:

Cyber Fair: The Scoop of the Century 1 (Escape from Club Apophis, 44)

(click to enlarge)

STORYLINE: 

Mission objective: Get Dirt on MasterGin. Destroy Monstrum. 

Team: Solo. Hexa Herald Investigative Journalist / Influencer.
Location: GIN AESTHETICA™ plastic surgery clinic. 

Lisa pressed her back against the cold, sterile wall of the VIP clinic corridor. Somewhere behind her, Kyra was lying on a crisp white bed with her chrome skull-plating unlatched. Diagnostic arrays jacked directly into her exposed mechanical brain, pulsing with cold data instead of life. No blood. Only the flickering, phantom glint of synthetic pathways.

Her long-time best friend.

Seeing under Kyra's hood wasn't the worst part. The worst part was realizing how much of her had always been hidden, and how little Lisa had ever thought to look. The girl she grew up with was buried somewhere deep inside all that hardware, and Lisa could no longer find her.

She was the same girl who had followed her into hell just because Lisa wanted a scoop.

Lisa squeezed her eyes shut. One tear cut a clean line through the sewer grime on her cheek. Just one.

Then she shoved the grief into a mental locker, slammed the heavy iron door, and threw away the key. Sadness didn't pull views. Sadness didn't dismantle a corrupt, blood-sucking empire. She was Lisa Liemawr of the Hexa Herald, professional chaos correspondent, and she was going to burn MasterGin's pristine world to the ground. She needed dirt.

But first, she needed a camera.

She slipped down the immaculate hallway. An Enforcer stepped from the shadows, his heavy hand clamping onto her arm.

Time to activate Slippery-Bar-of-Soap mode.

Lisa went limp, twisted her shoulder to break his grip, swiped the Halophone right off his tactical belt, and was three steps down the corridor before he even processed the theft. She bounced into an open elevator, slamming the override. The doors sealed, and the car plummeted at breakneck speed.

Lisa raised the stolen Halophone, tapped the screen, and flashed her signature grin.

“That’s right, Dragonlets! Your favorite reporter is back! Today's sponsor is Poor Decision Making™, and apparently we're going for the platinum subscription.”

She let out a quiet, forced laugh.

The elevator chimed. The doors slid open. She bolted out, rounding the corner with her camera raised.

The next three doors were wide open. She filmed the empty passage, her eyes darting across the screen.

“How suspiciously helpful is that? But Lisa doesn't look gift doors in the mouth!"

Down the hall, another elevator chimed. It was coming down. Someone was following her.

“Ruh-roh.”

The overhead lights flickered, buzzing with a sharp electric whine.

A heavy mechanical thud echoed through the gleaming marble floor.

Then, total darkness.

Emergency lights flickered on, bathing the corridor in a sickly, blood-red glow.

“To the unknown person of awesomeness,” she whispered to the ceiling, giving a crisp salute. “Your hack skills are Amaze. Whoever you are, I owe you a coffee.”

Then, she smelled it.

Clove smoke.

She spun the camera around and waved to the faint tendrils of smoke with feverishly bright eyes.

“Yo Yo Yo, it's your girl Lisa Liemawr, making yet another series of decisions my future therapist is going to hate. This newshound just caught a scent!” She did a crazed happy dance. “Let’s see where this cursed yellow brick road leads.”

The spiced scent hung heavy in the stale air. She raced after it, going deeper and deeper underground.

She stopped.

The silence was absolute. The guards were entirely gone now. The smoke was stronger here. Thicker.

The camera dipped just for a second.

"Hey, Ky." Her voice dropped out of the influencer register entirely. "If you're out there somewhere... I'm coming. This whole operation, the story, all of it. That's for you. Because you followed me in here, and you never once asked if it was worth it, and I never once said thank you."

She stared at the faint red light lining the hall.

"I'm saying it now. Thank you. And also, I'm sorry. And also,” she paused, “we're getting out."

She raised the camera back up. The grin returned, just a little less polished than before.

"Okay! Emotional moment over. Back to committing corporate espionage against a centuries-old vampire."

She rounded the final corner.

This place had the quiet confidence of somewhere ordinary people were never meant to enter. It looked exactly like a place that needed to get broken into.

Lisa pushed open a pair of heavy doors and stopped dead.

The phone dropped a fraction.

Rows upon rows of polished machines stared back like an audience waiting for the curtain to rise.

Silence.

"Oh my cyber-soul," she breathed.

Then her chin lifted.

“Jackpot, Dragonlets. It’s your girl Lisa Liemawr reporting live from inside the belly of the beast. No signal down here, but Lisa films anyway, because that's just what a Lisa does.”

She winked and flashed a victory sign.

“I’m a hundred and fifty feet under the center of the Forbidden Zone.” She gestured dramatically downward. “Exactly where I traced the threatening phone call from that nasty, chain-smoking vampire himself: MasterGin.”

She panned the camera around the vast space.

“But Lisa, what is this place? A museum exhibit? No! It’s a storage room of white marble and gold trim. Like even Mr. Diva’s storage rooms need to be beautiful. Compulsive much?”

Her camera swept across the room to reveal her entire bot army. The seven flawless avatars. The reporter drones. All the tech MasterGin had confiscated when his lawyers raided her apartment.

“He sued me for selling merch. Took all my gear. Shut me down. I thought he destroyed it all. But he kept them. He kept them like trophies.”

Her eyes landed on the centerpiece.

"M10?"

The little reporter bot rested perfectly still, powered down but completely restored. MasterGin had fried him with a casual flick of his electrical claws back at Jae Won Stadium. But M10 was whole now. Better than whole. He had little mechanical arms and legs. His glossy blue chassis gleamed.

“I don’t get it. Why rebuild a broken drone?”

She lowered the phone. Her reporter brain was already running the math.

"Intel," she whispered. "His lawyers didn't just confiscate you, M10. They must have rebuilt you to mine my data. My sources. My network."

A violet glow leaked around the edges of the bot's LED face screen, pulsing with a sinister low hum that made the hair stand on the back of her neck.

“Shit.” Her head dropped.

All her bots were now running on the Zone’s cursed energy. Even if she managed to steal them back somehow, they were corrupted.

Every broadcast she'd ever made. Every source she'd ever protected. Every face she'd hidden behind an avatar. He had it all.

She stood very still.

Then she lifted her head and forced a tight smile into the Halophone.

“I think I'm going to cry, which is very off-brand, so let's not.”

In the corner, propped against the marble wall like it belonged there, was a baseball bat. Black chrome and neon. The word LATHANDRO burned along the barrel.

She had sold unlicensed merch with that name. Sold it on five continents.

She stepped closer. There was fire damage on it. Her hand trembled as she studied the charred outline of fingers that once held it.

She hadn't thought about that since the day everything went up in flames. Jihoon with cleats, a drool-worthy batting average, and a million dollar smile.

Her guy was supposed to be the next biggest thing in college baseball.

A thick hiss of smoke seeped under the far door.

She zoomed in. As the smoke thickened, a silhouette materialized in the haze.

"Oh, hell naw," Lisa muttered, backing away from M10.

Plumes of smoke began rolling across the marble floor. The scent of clove hit her like a physical blow, thick and suffocating.

“Guess who, everyone,” she announced.

The silver hair. The cigarette. The posture that should be wrong but isn't.

“If you guessed it’s your not-so-favorite chain-smoking Discount Dracula, you win a prize. M10, tell them what they won! …Trauma. The answer is trauma.”

The figure in the rolling cloud moved.

“Wait."

She squinted through the haze.

“…Jihoon?"

He stepped forward with liquid confidence. Silver hair spilling over his shoulders. A clove cigarette pinched effortlessly between his fingers.

But his eyes were the wrong color. They were calm in a terrifying, ancient way. And he smiled at her with a poised, million-dollar smirk. It was exactly the way MasterGin smiled at things he already owned.

The heavy doors behind Lisa slammed shut, the locks engaging with a heavy metallic clack. Then the door behind him hissed open, revealing a paranoid nerve center. Floor-to-ceiling monitors bathed the luxurious room in a cold, phantom-blue glow. Hundreds of live surveillance feeds flickered across the screens.

He gestured dramatically for her to join him inside.

“Do come in. That is, unless you really don’t want the scoop of the century.”

Continuing with Cyberpunk Character Card theme, in this post Lisa Liemawr takes over.   ....Lathandro's baseball bat makes a reappearance with Masoom Plasma Muse Bat. It comes with a texture hud and flatpack has bonus textures like halogram.   ....From Lanevo is the Tamamo tank top, bikini, and pants. Each item comes with a detailed hud to change textures, and that includes left and right leg, from and back.   ...From Trash are the Covenant Cyberlox. The texture hud lets you change the textures for different groups with a wide selection of colors. It's very fun.   ...From Grima are the sleek Talos Protocol Cyber Arms, which includes a texture hud.   ...From Hades are the Cyberhorns. They are unrigged so you best position them.   ...The wild glasses are the CyberGhost Lens by Ohmai. They wrap around the entire head and include multiple tech animations on the lens. It has a hud to change the LED colors. They are unrigged and scalable for the perfect fit.   ....From Diaboli Design are the Gravicator boots. They come with a stacked hud of texture goodies and fits for men and women.   ... From SEmotion Libellune is cute new gacha, and limited editions, and event only color of the Neo Neko Companion. It has hud to change the expression of the visor, and change the animations for the figure.   ...From Bersav is the Cyber Nest megapack. It is mod, so I used my own PBR textures to crate that MasterGin Clinic look, but you can see it in legacy texture below. You can add your own textures to the monitor and TV.

On her, Lisa Liemawr:

Baseball bat: MASOOM - Plasma Muse Bat, fatpack [mesh](CyberFair)(395L)

Eyes: EUPHORIC - AiraEyes #07 [BOM](CyberFair)(275L)

Top: LANEVO - Tamamo Tanktop, LaraX, Fatpack [mesh](CyberFair)(660L)

Bikini: LANEVO - Tamamo Bikini Shorts, LaraX, Fatpack [mesh](CyberFair)(660L)

Pants: LANEVO - Tamamo Pants, LaraX, Fatpack [mesh](CyberFair)(885L)

Hair: TRASH - Covenant Cyberlox, fatpack [mesh](CyberFair)(1000L)

Arms: GRIMA - Talos Protocol Cyber Arms, RC2 [mesh](CyberFair)(600L)

Horns: Hades Cyberhorns [mesh](CyberFair)(666L)

Glasses: OHMAI - CyberGhost Lens, V1 [mesh](CyberFair)(399L)

Shoes: Diaboli Design - Gravicator, LaraX, fatpack [mesh](CyberFair)(999L)

Robot: SEmotion Libellune - Neo Neko Companion COMMON 09 [gacha](CyberFair)(88L)

Datapad: StudioOne - Datapad [mesh](300L)

Shine: ABYSSAL - Justice Cybertech With 3d Shine [applier][BOM](499L)

Head, eyes, skin: LOGO - Dawn Desert Nomad [mesh]

Body: Maitreya Mesh Body LaraX [mesh](2750L)

Pose: PSYCHO:Byts - Ailsa-Selfie - 4

Setting:
Furniture: Bersav - Cyber Nest, Megapack [mesh](CyberFair)(1333L)

Skybox: Ambice Store - "007" Sky Tower Building [mesh]

BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, hi-res, midday sky: