Midnight cloaked the city in shadows, broken only by the cold glow of neon signs flickering through the relentless drizzle. Aeris adjusted the sleek visor over her eyes, the HUD illuminating faint outlines of security cameras and patrol routes in the darkness.
Kael moved beside her like a ghost—silent, precise. Every step they took echoed softly against the steel and concrete walls of the syndicate's fortress.
The air was thick with anticipation, tinged by the metallic scent of rain and oil. Their breaths formed misty clouds in the cold night as they slipped past laser grids and infrared sensors, hearts pounding beneath layered armor.
Lira's voice crackled softly through the comm, "Mainframe room two levels down. Stay sharp. One wrong move and alarms will tear the city apart."
Aeris's fingers danced over her wrist console, hacking locks and disabling traps with practiced ease. Each door sliding open revealed deeper shadows, deeper secrets.
Suddenly, a faint hum grew louder—the whir of security drones awakening, their red eyes scanning the corridor ahead.
Kael raised a hand, signaling to freeze.
Time seemed to stretch. Neon reflections shimmered off rain-slicked surfaces beyond the windows, casting eerie patterns on the steel walls.
The drones passed, oblivious to the shadows slipping past them.
Aeris exhaled slowly. "We're in."
But the heart of the beast waited — a fortress of code, steel, and betrayal.
The real fight had just begun.