Chapter 65: The Art of Running for Your Life

Pragya's mind raced as he shut down the decrypted files. The weight of what he had just uncovered was crushing. Aadi was a test subject. That meant they had been watching him for a long time.

Aadi, however, was blissfully unaware of the full implications. "Okay, so I was experimented on. That explains why I occasionally forget where I put my phone while I'm literally holding it," he joked.

Pragya didn't laugh. "Aadi, this is serious. If they know we accessed this data, they'll come after us."

Aadi blinked. "Wait, so... you're saying the government is after me?"

Pragya nodded.

Aadi groaned. "Great. Just once, I'd like to be important for a good reason. Like, I don't know, winning a lottery or something. Not for being a lab rat!"

Pragya ignored him and quickly packed up their gear. "We need to move."

Just as he said that, the room's security system flashed red.

> INTRUSION ALERT. UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY DETECTED.

Aadi's face drained of color. "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no."

Pragya grabbed him by the collar. "Run. Now!"

---

Escape Gone Wrong

They burst out of the hideout, sprinting toward their escape vehicle—a sleek hover bike hidden under an old tarp.

"Drive!" Pragya yelled, jumping onto the back.

Aadi panicked. "I don't know how to drive this thing!"

"You played that futuristic bike-racing game, right?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Then drive!"

Aadi slammed the throttle, and the hover bike lurched forward at full speed—right into a trash bin.

Pragya barely held on. "Aadi!"

Aadi winced. "I panicked! Also, why is acceleration this sensitive?!"

Meanwhile, their attackers—black-suited government agents—were closing in, their own hover vehicles speeding toward them.

Pragya hacked into the city grid, overriding traffic controls. "Turn left!"

Aadi swerved. "Your left or my left?!"

"There's only one left!"

"I panicked again!"

Their hover bike narrowly avoided an oncoming truck, scraping against a neon-lit street pole before zooming into the city.

Behind them, the agents pursued in high-speed drones, firing electromagnetic pulses to disable their vehicle.

Pragya typed furiously into his tablet. "I'm hacking the drones. Keep us steady!"

Aadi's hands trembled. "Define steady!"

The hover bike tilted wildly, nearly throwing them off.

"NOT THAT!" Pragya shouted.

---

A Brilliantly Stupid Plan

The drones closed in, locking onto their position.

Aadi screamed, "Pragya, I swear if I die, I'm haunting you forever!"

Pragya's eyes flashed with an idea. "Actually… we might not have to die."

"That doesn't sound very reassuring!"

Pragya disabled the hover bike's autopilot, forcing it into manual override. Then, he yanked out the power core—a dangerous move that caused the bike to stall mid-air.

Aadi's face twisted in horror. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Jump!" Pragya ordered.

"Jump?! Jump where?!"

"Anywhere that isn't here!"

With no choice, Aadi followed Pragya as they leapt off the bike—just as it crashed into an oncoming drone, exploding in midair.

The blast sent them hurtling through the sky.

Aadi flailed. "I KNEW THIS WAS A BAD IDEA!"

Pragya activated his grappling hook, latching onto a nearby skyscraper. The two of them swung through the air like futuristic daredevils.

Aadi, still screaming, crashed into a giant holographic burger advertisement, his face smushed against a neon sign.

Pragya landed gracefully. "Told you we wouldn't die."

Aadi groaned, peeling himself off the screen. "I hate you so much right now."

---

The Aftermath

They landed in an alley, panting.

Aadi collapsed onto the ground. "Okay, new rule: We walk from now on."

Pragya ignored him and pulled up his hacked tablet. The government had been willing to send kill squads after them just for looking at the files. That meant Project Omega was more dangerous than he realized.

"We need to go underground," Pragya muttered. "This is bigger than us now."

Aadi sat up, groaning. "Define underground."

"No more hiding. We go after them first."

Aadi blinked. "Oh, cool. We went from 'running for our lives' to 'taking on an evil government conspiracy.' No pressure."

Pragya smirked. "Relax. What's the worst that could happen?"

Aadi sighed. "Every time you say that, something explodes."

As if on cue, a street sign behind them randomly fell over and crashed into a parked car, setting off its alarm.

Aadi glared at him. "See?!"

Pragya just grinned. "Let's get to work."

---

Comedy Quote of the Chapter:

"I don't need superpowers. My bad luck is already overpowered enough." – Aadi

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