Nikku929

In the heart of Novacore, a city of cold steel and flickering neon, emotions are nothing more than a distant memory. Love, grief, anger - wiped from human minds by the perfection of Project Zero, the government’s ultimate control over the human heart.

But beneath the surveillance drones and the silent streets, a few still remember what it means to feel. A hidden resistance fights to reclaim what was stolen from them, hackers and rebels risking everything for a chance at something real.

When Nikk, one of the last free minds in the city, crosses paths with a girl who shouldn’t exist, everything changes. What begins as a glitch in the system spirals into a war for the soul of a city that refuses to feel.

In a world where love is a crime and memories are erased, can a heartbeat start a revolution?

Or is some love never meant to exist at all?

Neon Hearts - A Love that shouldn't exist

The government facility stood like an impenetrable monolith, its steel walls lined with defensive countermeasures. Drones hovered in synchronized patterns, their optical sensors programmed to detect any anomaly. Armed guards patrolled the perimeter, their movements precise and devoid of hesitation.

This was supposed to be a routine operation. Infiltrate, retrieve, and vanish before the system detected their presence. they had done it before.

"We're in", Bria's voice crackled through Nikk's earpiece. "I've looped the security feeds. we have six minutes before the system resets".

"You heard it, Follow", Nikk added.

Nikk moved in first, his footsteps silent against the polished floor, Kaya flanked him, her motions fluid and controlled. Everyone followed. Ace took the rear, his weapon primed, scanning for unseen threats.

they reached the server room in under three minutes.

"Bria, deploy the data spike", Nikk ordered.

She knelt before the main terminal, her fingers gliding across the interface. "Almost there…just a little more - "

The systems turned live. They were in. Plugging in their drives and extracting the data was their main task. Skimming over the data flowing into the drive, Nikk noticed something. there was something in here - A Test Subject. His voice echoed through the earpieces, "Check around everyone, there's something here, or rather, someone".

Just then, a sound they had not anticipated.

All eyes turned as a hidden panel slid open on the far wall, revealing something they had not expected.

She was curled in on herself, knees tightly drawn to her chest. Her long tangled mess of a hair obscured part of her face, her body clad in sterile, clinical fabric. Her feet were bare, her skin pallid against the cold glass.

But it was her eyes that made Nikk freeze.

They were filled with something he had never seen in another person within Novacore.

And then, the impossible happened. Tears slipped down her cheeks.

Nikk's pulse slammed against his ribs.

No one in Novacore could cry. No one possessed the capacity for grief or fear. Project Zero had eradicated those impulses.

Ace inhaled sharply. "This isn't just a data facility. This is an experiment site."

Nikk didn't have an answer. But he knew one thing with absolute certainty.

He stepped forward, pressed a hand against the emergency release panel.

The pod disengaged with a sharp hiss, the locking mechanisms releasing. The girl collapsed forward, her body wracked with tremors as she tumbled into Nikk's arms. Her breath came in short, desperate gasps.

And the hunt began. And they were the prey.

Chapter 2: The Heist that changed Everything