Warcross

Chapter 1

It s too damn cold of a day to be out on a hunt.
 
I shiver, tug my scarf up higher over my mouth, and wipe a few snowflakes from my lashes. Then I slam my boot down on my electric skateboard. The board is old and used, like everything else I own, its blue paint almost entirely scraped off to reveal cheap silver plastic underneath but it s not dead yet, and when I push my heel down harder, it finally responds, jerking me forward as I squeeze between two rows of cars. My bright, rainbow-dyed hair whips across my face.
 
Hey! a driver yells as I maneuver past his car. I glance over my shoulder to see him waving a fist at me through his open window. You almost clipped me!
 
I just turn back around and ignore him. Usually, I m a nicer person than this or, at least, I would have shouted an apology back. But this morning, I d woken up to a yellow paper taped to the door of my apartment, its words printed in the largest font you can imagine.
 
72 HOURS TO PAY OR VACATE
 
Translation: I m almost three months behind on my rent. So, unless I can get my hands on $3,450, I ll be homeless and in the streets by the end of the week.
 
That d put a damper on anyone s day.
 
My cheeks sting from the wind. The sky beyond the cut of skyscrapers is gray, turning grayer, and in a few hours this flurry of snow will become a steady fall. Cars jam the streets, a nonstop trail of brake lights and honking from here all the way to Times Square. The occasional scream of a traffic controller s whistle cuts above the chaos. The air is thick with the smell of exhaust, and steam billows from an open vent nearby. People swarm up and down the sidewalks. Students coming home from school are easy to spot, their backpacks and fat headphones dotting the crowds.
 
Technically, I should be one of them. This should have been my first year of college. But I started skipping classes after Dad died and dropped out

Marie Lu is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series The Young Elites, as well as the blockbuster bestselling Legend series. She graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video game industry as an artist. Now a full-time writer, she spends her spare time reading, drawing, playing games, and getting stuck in traffic. She lives in Los Angeles with her illustrator/author husband, Primo Gallanosa, and their dogs.

Praise for Warcross:
A New York Times Bestseller
An Amazon Editor's Favorite YA Book for Fall 2017 
An Amazon September Best of the Month Pick   YA/Teens
An Amazon Best YA Book of 2017
A Kirkus Best Teen Book of 2017
A Publishers Weekly Best YA Book of 2017
A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2017
A Boston Globe Best YA Book of 2017
A POPSUGAR Best YA Book of 2017
A Paste Magazine Best YA Book of 2017
A Bustle Best YA Book of 2017
A 2018 YALSA Teens Top Ten Pick

A vibrant, action-packed shot of adrenaline. Lu delivers characters with heart and determination, then sets them loose in a luminously conceived world of infinite possibility. Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Six of Crows

  With a keen eye for detail, Lu (the Young Elites series) vividly imagines a future society where gaming is woven into daily life . . . Think The Hunger Games meets World of Warcraft. Publishers Weekly, starred review

Marie Lu s Warcross is unlike anything I ve ever read clever, smart, romantic yet exploding with color, action, and unrelenting speed. I flew through this book it s absolutely fantastic. Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes

  A stellar cyberpunk series opener packed with simmering romance and cinematic thrills. Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Clear your schedule, because you won t stop reading Warcross until you re done. Addictive, fast-paced, and totally immersive, this book takes you from a futuristic Tokyo on a high-tech tour of incredible virtual worlds. Packed with danger, intrigue, and heart-pounding gameplay, set in a world built with an incredible eye for detail, Warcross is Marie Lu s best book yet.