PhearunKen
In a neon-lit future Phnom Penh, where skyscrapers hum with energy stolen from the earth and the truth lies buried beneath glass and steel, Anya Sothik knows she doesn't belong.
Adopted into a modest family, she lives a quiet life helping at a noodle stall and attending school at the pristine Phnom Penh International Science Academy. But Anya has always felt the Core's hum in her bones-an invisible signal no one else seems to hear. When classmates whisper "lab baby" and teachers push her to the edge, Anya knows there's something different about her... something dangerous.
Her life begins to unravel after a terrifying encounter beyond the Core's protective shield-where the air burns, the earth decays, and mutated survivors claw at the remnants of a dying world. A thin scratch on her skin won't heal, and neither will the questions in her mind. Why can she see codes she never learned? Why do the Guild's files list her as A.N.Y.A. - Autonomous Neural Yield Asset? And why is she being watched?
Pulled deeper into a maze of secrets by her best friend Riley, tech scavenger Jasper, and the mysterious Monica-an ex-Guild informant with her own vendetta-Anya begins to uncover the haunting project that created her. But shadowing every step is Luke, the quiet young man trained from childhood to guard her... and to never let her know who she really is.
As the group dives into abandoned tunnels, hacked relay stations, and corrupted data logs, Anya must confront a terrifying truth: she wasn't born. She was built. And she may not be the only one.
Worse still, someone wants her activated.
And the only way to survive might be to become what she was never supposed to be.
"LONG LIFER" is a cyberpunk Cambodian thriller about identity, trust, and what it means to be human in a world where humanity can be engineered-and erased. With vivid world-building, haunting mystery, and unforgettable characters, this is not just a fight for answers.
It's a fight to exist.