The lab settles into a rare, easy hush. Server lights pulse blue across polished metal, and Abby’s grip test leaves the reinforced bar groaning softly in her hands.
Arthur Blues
That route is clean now. No dead ends, no phantom branches. Just the access spine and the sublevel drop.
Victoria
And the coordinator’s tag is inside the handshake. Whoever built this wanted it hidden, not erased.
Arthur glances up from the map, small beside the worktable, but steady. Victoria’s green-lit frame reflects in the glass wall as she locks the last layer of the vault schematic into place.
Arthur Blues
If we keep the pressure low, Abby gets a real opening. Not just a fight, a chance to choose the field.
Abby’s bar bends a fraction under her hold, then straightens as she eases the strain. The motion feels measured, almost meditative, like she is tuning herself to the coming breach.
Victoria
We have the map. We have the bypass. For a moment, that is enough.
The three of them pause in the glow of the monitors, close enough to hear the server hum and the soft click of Arthur saving the file. The room invites a breath, and the next conversation.
“I toss the bar away and ask Arthur what the full infiltration plan is”
SUCCESS (Legendary Strength, rolled -1)
Abby lets the reinforced bar drop out of frame with a heavy clang, and Arthur snaps his attention from the map to her face.
Abby Stone
What is the full infiltration plan?
Arthur Blues
We take the access spine, drop to the sublevel route, and stay off the main net. Victoria shadows the spine, I keep the local cams blind, and you lead the physical breach.
Victoria
The bypass is live. If the inside watcher moves, I can isolate the ping and trace it back.
A sharp, unauthorized ping flickers across the lab network display, red against the blue glow. Arthur’s hand freezes over the console, and Victoria’s head turns toward the alert.
Arthur Blues
Someone is in our base network.
The route still hangs open on the projected map, a clean line down into the deeper vault, while the unseen watcher presses against the team’s walls.
Quest Complete
Investigate the mirrored relay address
Skill Upgrade: Hacking Superb→Legendary