Chapter 64: When Your Best Friend is a Walking Disaster

Pragya stared at the encrypted files they had stolen. The drone ride back to their hideout was silent, except for Aadi, who was dramatically gasping for air.

"Remind me," Aadi panted, "why… we always… have to run… for our lives?"

"Because you keep making noise during stealth missions," Pragya said without looking up.

"Hey! That was my stomach, not me!" Aadi shot back. "Besides, I told you to let me bring snacks!"

Pragya sighed, adjusting his smart glasses to scan the data. The files were filled with cryptic code, military-grade encryption, and references to Project Omega. He had seen dangerous technology before, but this… this was different.

"Whatever this is," Pragya muttered, "it's way bigger than I thought."

Aadi leaned over, peering at the screen. "How bad are we talking? On a scale of 'mild inconvenience' to 'we're totally doomed'?"

Pragya didn't answer. He had just decrypted one of the files. A 3D hologram of a brainwave-controlling AI system appeared before them.

Aadi blinked. "Okay, that's definitely on the 'we're totally doomed' side."

---

The Return to the Hideout

They landed in an abandoned underground parking lot, which served as one of their safehouses. The place was filled with high-tech gadgets, old arcade machines, and, of course, a couch where Aadi had claimed his "official nap zone."

The moment they stepped inside, Aadi collapsed onto the couch. "Okay, wake me up when we're not in mortal danger."

Pragya ignored him and pulled up the files on a larger screen. He needed to figure out what Project Omega was really about.

The documents described a government-funded AI designed to influence human thoughts. It could subtly plant ideas, erase memories, and manipulate emotions—without people even realizing it.

"The government isn't just censoring the truth," Pragya whispered. "They're trying to control how people think."

Aadi peeked out from under a blanket. "Oh, great. Mind control. Because life wasn't scary enough already."

Pragya's eyes narrowed as he scrolled through the files. He found a list of test subjects—people who had been secretly experimented on. And one name stood out.

Aadi Mishra.

Pragya froze.

"Aadi," he said slowly.

"Yeah?"

"You might want to see this."

Aadi got up and walked over, chewing on a leftover energy bar he had found. The moment he saw his name on the list, he nearly choked.

"WHAT?! Why am I on there? I don't even remember being experimented on!"

"Exactly," Pragya said grimly. "Which means they erased your memory."

Aadi paled. "Oh god. What if they made me dumber? What if I was a genius before and now I'm just… this?"

Pragya tried not to smirk. "I think we both know that's unlikely."

Aadi glared at him. "Rude."

---

Cracking the Code

If Aadi had been a test subject, then that meant Project Omega was already operational. Pragya needed to dig deeper.

"Hold still," he said, activating his Chip of Earth Consciousness.

He placed his fingers on Aadi's forehead, scanning his brain activity. A surge of hidden data flashed before Pragya's eyes—memories that had been wiped, experiences that were buried.

And then… he saw something terrifying.

A memory of Aadi sitting in a government lab, hooked up to machines, with scientists surrounding him.

One of them spoke:

"Subject A-17's resistance is unusual. Increase the suppression frequency. We must ensure he never remembers the experiment."

Aadi flinched as Pragya pulled back. "Whoa. That was… weird. Did you see anything?"

Pragya hesitated. If Aadi knew the full extent of what had been done to him, it might break him.

Instead, he forced a smile. "Nothing important. Just your usual stupidity."

Aadi groaned. "Whew. For a second, I thought you were gonna tell me I was a secret super-spy or something."

Pragya didn't respond. Because the truth was… Aadi was more important than he realized.

And now, the people who erased his memory would be coming for them both.

---

Meanwhile, in the Shadows…

Somewhere in a high-security government bunker, a figure in a dark suit stared at a glowing screen.

An alert flashed across the system.

> WARNING: FILE BREACH DETECTED.

Unauthorized access traced to unknown hacker: Pragya.

The man picked up a phone and dialed a number.

"They know too much," he said coldly. "Eliminate them."

---

Comedy Quote of the Chapter:

"If I ever get mind-controlled, please make sure I still like pizza." – Aadi

Last Chapter Next Chapter