With a limp and heavy breathing, I made my way through the last corridor, not far from here. I heard the sound of the guards' footsteps chasing me.
On the right side, there was a door with an access panel. Without thinking twice, I immediately attached the override chip to the panel.
Three seconds... two seconds... one second...
Click…!!
The door opened, and I slipped in just before the guard turned into the hallway.
I stood there for a moment, catching my breath.
Through the crack in the door, I could hear their movements. The sound of footsteps grew louder, it wasn't just one person, but two, or maybe more. They were desperate to find and capture me.
"He's still in the basement, right…?" one of the guards asked, checking something on the gadget on his wrist.
"He probably hasn't gone far. Something... like he was just here..."
One of the guards started looking around the area, and I knew I had to leave immediately before they checked this room.
I looked around the place where I was hiding. The room was narrow, like a storage room with shelves filled with electronic parts. There was no other way out.
until I saw a small gap.
"yeah... that's it…!!!"
The ventilation above.
I grabbed the side of the shelf, tried to climb up quickly, and opened the ventilation panel with a small screwdriver I had hidden in my jacket.
"Hold up…something's wrong in this room."
"Huh…??"
"Hurry, let's check inside. Open it…!"
One of them opened the door.
I still tried to open the vent with all my strength.
.
.
.
After that.
click…
I heard the guard successfully open the room door.
"Nothing…?"
"Damn…"
"Where the hell did he go…?"
Luckily, I was already inside the ventilation shaft. I kept crawling forward, feeling the heat of the engine along the narrow path. I hoped I could escape through this ventilation shaft.
.
.
.
After a few meters, I saw a ventilation opening leading to another corridor closer to the logistics area floor.
...
It seems like I'm in a safe place.
Yep, the back logistics door area.
"Huff.."
I walk quickly toward the exit while enduring the pain from the battle.
Finally, I'll be able to escape this hell.
But damn it.
I'm not so lucky this time.
Not long after I entered the area, I suddenly froze in place.
They were one step ahead of me, and they were all waiting for me.
In front of me, a group of elite officers in black uniforms stood in a tight formation, their bodies covered in tactical armor. Their weapons were pointed at my chest, their muzzles cold and unwavering. The visors of their helmets glinted in the dim light, completely hiding their expressions.
"Don't move…!"
"Drop your weapon...!" one of them shouted.
There was no negotiation. There was no way out.
I stood still, my hands raised slowly. I was cornered and had no idea if fighting would even help.
And right now, I only have one ammo and one flashbang left.
"Argh…"
My mind tried to stay calm and find an opening, even though it seemed like there was no way to fight back this time.
"Just quick...drop your weapon, no sudden moves…!!!"
"Alright, alright… just chill, okay…!"
I was confused and cornered, still trying to buy time... then, as I was about to raise my weapon.
Before I could even grip it.
One of the soldiers quickly shot me with a stun gun.
Blazzzt...!!
I saw a flash of blue light before my body convulsed violently, my muscles stiffening as if struck by lightning.
"Arghhh…!"
"You're very stubborn, punk..." said the guard who shot me
This stun gun seems more powerful than mine.
A few seconds later, I collapsed and was helpless, but the electric shock still felt like a painful sting spreading from the top of my head to my feet.
Until, finally, my vision became blurry.
I could hear the heavy footsteps of them approaching, then the cold sensation of metal handcuffs being clicked onto my wrists.
...
"Darkness…"
.
.
.
Slowly, I started to open my eyes again.
I became aware of my heavy head, and my eyelids were weighed down like something pressing on them.
The air around me was cold and sharp, filled with the harsh scent of disinfectant that burned my nose. The smell was so strong it nearly made me want to puke.
I tried to look around me.
"Hell naw…!"
My head and body are connected to numerous cables or tubes linked to a monitor beside this metal chair.
I want to try to get up, but I feel like I have no strength to move my body, it feels almost completely paralyzed.
I don't know if they've sedated me or if the effects of the last stun gun are still affecting my nervous system.
All I can do is stare upward.
A bright white light fills the room.
In the corner of the room, electronic machines hum continuously, and when I look closely, the sophisticated equipment in this room looks unfamiliar to me.
I don't know... what they're going to do to me.
"Kill me? Torture me? Turn me into something else..?"
I can only imagine that if they don't let me die quickly, they will torture me slowly.
Damn, I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it now.
Takk... tak...!
The sound of footsteps echoes loudly. The iron door in front of me opens.
I try to lift my head and look at him.
A man in a black suit.
His steps were intimidating, and his eyes stared at me with a cold expression.
"Welcome, little rat…!" he said, his voice flat but threatening.
"This is the first time a Ghost has actually broken into our system…"
"... and stupidity enough to get caught…!"
I smiled slightly, even though my jaw felt stiff. "I take that as a compliment."
"Tell me who sent you…?"
"Should I tell you…?" I grinned.
"Hmmm... you're pretty stubborn, but whatever. I'm gonna make you talk…!"
I stared at him with an angry expression.
.
.
.
"Let me start by telling you something interesting...!"
I just stood there staring at him.
I could clearly see his tall, muscular frame was hard to miss, but what really caught my eye was his right arm that had been modified into a solid black metal cyber-arm with thin red engravings. Military grade titanium, no doubt.
"You know, O.R.B.B.I.T Corp isn't your average tech company…" he continued, his voice now lower, more dangerous.
"We're building something bigger than you can even imagine. The foundation for the world to come…!"
He took a step closer, staring at me intently.
"Every corporation out there wants what we've got. But none can touch it. And it'll stay that way... forever..."
"You know…!"
"We're developing a system ten times more advanced than all the tech on this planet combined…"
"A new infrastructure. One that will kickstart an era unlike anything you've ever seen, reshaping the world, making it better than it's ever been…"
And you…!" He narrowed his eyes with a very intimidating expression
"You're going to be just a small part of this experiment…"
"Potential like yours can't just be left untamed…!"
He slowly circled around me.
I kept grinning, even though there was now a slight uneasiness creeping into my mind.
"You may be smart..."
"But you do realize you're not getting out of here alive, right…?"
I stared at him for a moment, then laughed softly, a laugh intended to fuel his anger.
"Alive...Hah...? I didn't even expect to get into your lousy system without noticed a single guard. Guess luck bailed on me today..."
"But if I did want to escape, trust me...I could walk outta here and leave you face-down in your shit lab...!"
The man fell silent, his jaw tightening. I could feel his gaze piercing me, but I wasn't finished.
I leaned my head back against the chair, staring at the ceiling with a bored expression.
"You big corps are all the same. Playing god with your shiny toys, talking like you're gonna 'change the world'. But when the smoke clears? It's just the same old capitalist bullshit…!"
"And let's be honest, if you hadn't messed with all that weird tech, maybe we wouldn't be living in the shadow of a dark age... or cleaning up after the war you started..."
I raised my eyebrows, looking at him with a condescending gaze.
"Lemme guess...You want to play god, live forever, hijack people's minds, and build some twisted 'utopia' where everyone kneels to your rotten system, hah…?"
He didn't respond immediately. But I saw the muscles in his face tense up for a moment.
"Your mouth is too big for someone standing at death's door...!"
I chuckled, then moved my face closer to his.
"And you're too damn arrogant to see the truth nothing eternal. Sooner or later, your shit system is going to crumble..."
"Shut your mouth…little rat…!"
His tone was sharper this time. I could feel the fire of anger burning behind his cold expression.
But I didn't stop.
I grinned wider.
"Or what? You'll delete my data? Erase my memories? Try to brainwash me into becoming your little lapdog? Damn, O.R.B.B.I.T Corp is losing its creativity, it seems..."
Gruak....!!
The man clenched his fists tightly, making his muscles bulge.
I just chuckled.
"Oh? Did I hit a nerve…?"
He stared at me for a long time, his eyes narrowing sharply, his jaw hardening. I could see the veins on the side of his head beginning to bulge.
"You really make me sick…!!!"
It seemed like.
Before I could finish speaking, his fist struck my jaw.
KRAANGGHH...!!
The pain exploded in my skull, my head was pushed to the side, and the taste of metal filled my mouth. I could feel blood seeping from the corner of my lips.
I grimaced, moving my jaw slowly.
"Damn… it hurt so much..."
My jaw felt like it was shifting and about to come off, but I managed to chuckle, even with blood dripping from the corner of my lips.
"T-that's… all you got…?" I slurred, my voice barely intelligible.
"I-was hoping for a harder punch from someone with a titanium cyber-arm like you…"
I forced myself to continue mocking him even though my words were already slurred. I knew it would only make him angrier. But that was what I wanted. The man's breathing sounded heavier now. But before he could do anything else, the door opened.
Someone in a lab coat entered, his voice flat and emotionless.
"Be patient, Sson. Don't kill our valuable test subject. I've finished the preparations."
I froze for a moment, feeling a chill creep down my spine.
He looked at me once more, then whispered in a low, threatening tone.
"You're lucky I didn't finish you off. Next time, it won't be so easy. Be ready…"
The man in the black coat immediately backed away.
I swallowed hard but kept a relaxed expression, even though, for the first time, I was starting to feel truly helpless.
Someone in a lab coat approached me, preparing a syringe.
"Calm down, boy... This will be over quickly. You won't even feel the pain once the needle is in your skin..."
It was a long metal syringe filled with a shiny blue liquid.
"No..."
He started to inject me, pressing me down with one hand to keep me still.
I wanted to fight back, to run away.
Soon, the needle pierced the right side of my neck.
The pain was excruciating. I wanted to scream, but my body had lost control.
"Sleep, child. See you in the next life…" said the man in the lab coat.
My body instantly felt stiff.
My vision faded...then everything slowly went dark.
...
I was adrift in emptiness.
Darkness.
Silence.
And suddenly, my world seemed to have completely ended.
.
.
.
"Ahhh…"
I didn't know if I was dreaming, dead, or trapped in something worse than death. My body... or whatever was left of me, felt light, weightless.
"Was this heaven…?"
As time passed, the darkness began to fade, replaced by a bright white light that slowly enveloped everything. I blinked, feeling as if my world was transitioning from nothingness to something... else.
.
.
.
My body/soul seemed to have been standing here for a long time.
Or maybe I was just thinking that I was standing. Around me, there was nothing but empty space glowing with pure white light, too bright, too perfect.
Suddenly, I smiled bitterly.
But before I could delve deeper into my thoughts, something changed.
I saw it.
In the distance, a silhouette appeared.
I don't know why, but I felt compelled to approach it. There was something... or someone... waiting for me there.
A whisper.
Faint... soft... like a voice coming from the far end of a distant dimension.
I tried to focus, trying to catch the words spoken by the voice, but the sound was distorted, broken, chaotic.
I kept moving forward. Every step I took felt strange, like walking in water or air that was too dense.
A vague shadow, formed from slowly moving gray smoke. It had no shape, no face, but I knew it was staring at me.
I tried to get closer, feeling something strange about its presence.
"Who are you…?" I asked.
My voice echoed throughout the empty space, but the figure did not answer.
However, I saw it move. Its lips moved, as if speaking to me, but I couldn't hear its voice.
I furrowed my brow, trying to read its lips, trying to understand the message it was trying to convey.
But the closer I tried to get, the farther the figure moved away. Like a mirage, like an illusion I couldn't reach.
I reached out my hand.
But.
The light suddenly dimmed.
.
.
.
In an instant, everything that was bright turned into pitch-black darkness.
I fell.
Like being pulled into emptiness, falling endlessly into an endless black hole.
And when I woke up, I felt a fear deeper than death itself.