Kael crouched low behind a metal chimney on the adjacent rooftop, his eyes locked on the warehouse tagged Project LUX. Unlike the other run-down facilities in the Industrial Sector, this one had active guards, heat signatures, and encrypted data signals bouncing off satellites like fireflies in a storm.
Spark's voice came through the earpiece. "I've overridden two of the perimeter cameras. You've got a sixty-second blind spot to make it to the south ventilation panel."
Kael smirked. "Perfect. Starting the clock."
He vaulted the edge, dropping into the alleyway below with a soft thud. Moving like a shadow, he crossed the gap and ducked under the chain-linked fencing. The vent was already half-loosened—someone had used this route before.
"Inside," Kael whispered.
[Mission Activated: Infiltrate Project LUX] [Stealth Rating: 87% – Undetected]
The ventilation shaft led him into a narrow maintenance corridor buzzing with fluorescent light. It smelled sterile and cold. The kind of place where secrets were built—and buried.
He crept past a guard station, hugging the wall as Spark rerouted a camera just in time.
"Left hallway, second door," Spark whispered. "That's their data vault. I'm piggybacking your signal—whatever you scan, I can download."
"On it."
Kael reached the steel door. Locked. Fingerprint protected. But the System chimed in.
[Override Protocol: Unlocked – System Level A Access] [Initiating Bypass…]
A soft hiss. The door slid open.
The room inside was dim, lit only by the soft glow of data cores lining the walls. Holograms floated midair—project diagrams, anatomical scans, energy readings. Kael's eyes locked onto one file titled Subject 09: Fragment Compatibility Test.
He tapped it.
Images bloomed to life: a young boy—barely twelve—being injected with a glowing substance. Monitors showed his vitals spiking. His screams echoed in a short video loop. The data readout showed terrifying results: Fragment Sync Rate – 63%, Side Effects – Neural Instability.
"Spark… what is this?"
Her voice was quiet. "They're trying to implant fragments into children… artificial Operators."
Kael's fists clenched. "How long have they been doing this?"
"According to these logs… over seven years."
[New Objective: Expose Project LUX – Optional] [Reward: Influence Boost, Morality Alignment +2]
Kael downloaded all files, burned them onto a black data chip, and turned to leave.
Then he heard it.
Clink… clink…
Boots. Several pairs.
[Alert: Hostiles Approaching – 3 Units]
"Spark. They know."
"Run!"
Kael burst into the corridor just as three armed guards rounded the corner. He slid into cover behind a support beam and drew his baton. The first guard raised his weapon—but Kael was faster.
Crack!
The baton hit the man's neck. He dropped instantly. The second guard lunged, but Kael twisted, slammed a knee into his stomach, and used his momentum to knock the last man into the wall.
All three were unconscious within seconds.
[Combat Rating: A–]
Kael raced down the hallway. Sirens started wailing. Doors sealed behind him. He was running out of time.
"I'm cutting power to the east exit. Go left!"
He obeyed, sliding through the emergency door just as it slammed shut behind him. Lights flickered. The entire facility was entering lockdown mode.
Finally, he spotted the staircase to the roof. He bolted up.
[Exit Point Reached – Extraction Recommended]
Kael burst onto the rooftop, gulping in the cold night air. A drone whirled into view, red eyes locking onto him.
"Spark—!"
"Got it!"
The drone short-circuited midair and crashed to the ground with a satisfying bang.
Kael sprinted across the roof and leapt to the next building, rolling on impact.
Only then did he stop.
Only then did he breathe.
---
Later that night, back at the safehouse, Kael slammed the data chip onto the table. Aria and Spark leaned in as Rin pulled it up on the main screen.
Silence filled the room as the footage played.
Aria's fists tightened. "They're experimenting on kids…?"
Spark shook her head, voice low. "They're making weapons. Not just Operators. Weapons they can control."
Kael's jaw clenched. "We leak this to the right sources, we can expose them."
Rin turned toward him. "No. Not yet. We expose them now, they'll vanish. Hide the evidence. Kill the test subjects."
Kael stared at the screen—at the trembling boy in the video.
"Then we take them down from the inside. One lab at a time."