Chapter 10: Seeds of Doubt

The blaring klaxons and flashing red lights turned the cavernous chamber into a disorienting hellscape. Three minutes. That's all they had before OmniCorp security descended upon them. Trapped on the central platform by shimmering blue containment fields, Zero felt a familiar knot of panic tighten in his chest, momentarily overriding the adrenaline rush.

"Think, Nyx, think!" Zero yelled, his voice strained against the noise. "There has to be another way out! You know these tunnels, right?" He gripped the Blackfire Pistol, its reassuring weight doing little to quell the rising fear. His DEX Override timer blinked urgently in his interface – thirty seconds remaining. The artificial boost that made him feel capable, competent, was about to vanish, leaving him back at his base stats, facing down corporate enforcers.

Nyx didn't panic. Their initial surprise quickly hardened into focused intensity. They were already scanning the massive, defunct power node structure rising above them, their masked gaze flicking between the physical structure and the complex schematics still flickering on the hacked terminal screen.

"The containment grid seals the main access points," Nyx analyzed quickly, their filtered voice sharp and precise despite the chaos. "But the node itself… it's pre-Nexus infrastructure. Integrated, but not fully controlled by OmniCorp's current security protocols. There might be… structural weaknesses. Maintenance conduits. Emergency vents."

They pointed towards a section high up on the node, barely visible in the flashing red light. "There. An old coolant discharge pipe. Leads upwards, towards the upper ventilation shafts. Should bypass the main grid lockdown."

Zero followed their gesture. It was easily fifty meters up, a sheer climb on the dusty, precarious structure, with only damaged conduits and corroded access rungs for handholds. "Climb that? While security is closing in? Are you serious?"

"Got a better idea, newbie?" Nyx shot back, already moving towards the base of the structure. "Unless you feel like testing your Level 2 toolkit against an OmniCorp Rapid Response Team armed with military-grade hardware." They paused, glancing back at him. "Your buff is about to expire. Move!"

Zero cursed. Nyx was right. It was a suicidal climb, but staying put was certain capture, or worse, 'deletion'. He checked the terminal one last time. The screen still showed the fragmented data stream from the legacy slate, the Digital Dragons logo mocking him, that familiar backdoor code pulsing faintly amidst the corruption. What did it mean? Why was his old code buried in this ancient system? He had no time to ponder.

His DEX Override buff flickered and died. [Buff Expired: DEX Override]. He felt the enhanced speed, the heightened reflexes, drain away, leaving him feeling sluggish, vulnerable. The EP drain stopped (EP: 15/55), but the loss of the boosted DEX (back down to 11) was a palpable blow.

"Go!" Nyx urged, already starting the ascent, moving with a startling agility that belied their gear, finding handholds and footholds on the corroded surface with practiced ease.

Zero grit his teeth and followed, holstering his pistol and scrambling onto the base of the power node. The metal was cold, grimy, and treacherous under his boots. He looked up. The climb looked even more daunting from here. The flashing red lights created confusing shadows, making it hard to judge distances or spot secure holds.

He started climbing, mimicking Nyx's movements as best he could, relying on his base DEX and the grip of his standard-issue boots. Every meter gained felt like a victory. The klaxons continued their relentless assault on his senses. His interface flashed a new warning.

[OmniCorp Security ETA: 2 Minutes]

"Faster, Zero!" Nyx called down, already significantly higher up.

Zero pushed himself harder, ignoring the protesting ache in his virtual muscles. He glanced down. The platform, the glowing terminal, the shimmering containment grids seemed terrifyingly far below. A wave of vertigo washed over him, a phantom sensation from his real-world fear of heights bleeding through into the simulation. He shook his head, forcing himself to focus on the next handhold, the next foothold.

As he climbed, his mind raced. How had OmniCorp detected them? Nyx claimed the node was off-grid. Had accessing the legacy data slate triggered some deeper, hidden alarm? Was the slate itself a trap, a lure left by OmniCorp to snag curious hackers like him? Or was it something else? The Oracle had mentioned 'echoes', 'anomalies'. Was this detection part of that?

And Nyx… their knowledge of these hidden areas, their advanced skills, their sudden appearance… it was all too convenient. The 'Unknown' messenger had warned him to trust no one, especially Nyx. Were they leading him into a trap? Using him to access the data slate, only to abandon him to OmniCorp security? The seeds of doubt, always present, began to sprout, choking the fragile trust that had begun to form in the workshop.

[OmniCorp Security ETA: 1 Minute]

He risked another glance upwards. Nyx had almost reached the coolant pipe junction. They seemed to be working on something, manipulating a control panel near the pipe entrance.

"Almost there!" Nyx called down. "Just need to bypass the vent seal!"

Zero climbed faster, desperation lending strength to his movements. He reached a particularly precarious section, a smooth, vertical face with only a few damaged, sparking conduits offering purchase. He hesitated, searching for a secure route.

Suddenly, a section of the catwalk far below exploded inwards. Not from an external attack, but from within the pit beneath. A geyser of superheated steam and molten metal erupted upwards, striking the underside of the central platform. The entire structure shuddered violently.

Zero lost his grip, his boots skidding on the smooth metal. He scrabbled frantically, his fingers finding a desperate hold on a loose conduit just as his feet swung out into empty space. He dangled precariously, his heart hammering against his ribs, the heat from the eruption below washing over him.

[WARNING: Environmental Hazard Detected! Structural Instability Increasing!]

"What the hell was that?" Zero yelled upwards, his voice strained.

"Geothermal instability!" Nyx shouted back, momentarily pausing their work on the panel. "This node regulated the vents! With it offline for so long… pressure must have built up! The whole structure could go critical!"

As if on cue, another, smaller eruption burst from a different point below, sending debris raining upwards. The entire chamber groaned, the metal shrieking under immense stress. The catwalks swayed violently.

[OmniCorp Security ETA: 30 Seconds]

"Nyx, the vent!" Zero urged, pulling himself back against the structure, searching for a new foothold.

"Working on it!" Nyx snapped, redoubling their efforts on the panel. Sparks flew from their decryption sequencer. "Damn legacy encryption… almost got it…"

Zero found a small ledge for his boot, steadying himself just as another tremor shook the node. He looked down again. Through the steam and flashing lights, he saw movement near the sealed bulkhead door. Figures. Multiple figures, clad in heavy, black combat armor, carrying large energy rifles. OmniCorp Security. They were trying to breach the containment grid.

[Containment Grid Integrity: 75%... 60%... ]

They were running out of time.

"Nyx!"

"Got it!" Nyx yelled triumphantly. With a loud hiss of escaping pressure, a heavy grate covering the entrance to the coolant pipe swung open. "Go, Zero, go! I'll cover our tracks!"

Zero didn't need telling twice. He scrambled the last few meters, his movements fueled by pure adrenaline, and hauled himself into the dark opening of the coolant pipe just as the containment grid below finally failed.

[Containment Grid Breached!]

He heard the unmistakable snap-hiss of energy rifle fire from below, followed by the clang of ricochets off the metal structure. He turned, peering back out of the pipe entrance. Nyx wasn't following him. They were still on the structure, near the panel, drawing their Blackfire Pistol and returning fire towards the security team now swarming onto the central platform.

"Nyx, come on!" Zero shouted.

"No time!" Nyx yelled back, ducking behind a sturdy conduit as enemy fire intensified. "Someone needs to wipe the terminal, cover our escape route! Get moving! I'll find another way!" They fired a rapid burst from their pistol, forcing two security troopers back. "Go, Zero! That was the deal! You get the answers, I handle the… consequences!"

Zero hesitated. Abandoning Nyx felt wrong, a betrayal of their fragile alliance, even with the warnings echoing in his mind. But they were right. Staying meant capture for both of them. He had the corrupted logic chip, the memory of his backdoor code flashing on the screen… clues that needed investigating. And Nyx seemed… capable. Resourceful. Maybe they could handle this.

He took one last look at Nyx, silhouetted against the flashing red lights and enemy fire, then turned and plunged into the darkness of the coolant pipe. It angled sharply upwards, the air inside blessedly cool after the heat of the chamber. He scrambled forward on hands and knees, the sound of the firefight below fading behind him, replaced by the rush of air and the pounding of his own heart.

He had escaped, for now. But the questions multiplied. Was Nyx truly an ally, sacrificing themselves to let him escape? Or was this part of a larger manipulation? Who was the 'Unknown' messenger, and what was their agenda? What was the significance of the Digital Dragons logo, his old code, buried in a pre-Singularity data slate? And the Oracle… was the AI guiding him towards truth, or towards destruction?

He crawled onwards, deeper into the Nexus's ventilation system, the seeds of doubt firmly planted in his mind. He had power now, a weapon, skills, a level up. But he also had enemies, watchers in the shadows, and a conspiracy that seemed to stretch back decades, intertwined with his own forgotten past. He had followed the breadcrumbs, stepped off the official path, and now, as the 'Unknown' messenger warned, he might truly be reaching a point of no return. The only way forward was deeper into the shadows, trusting no one, questioning everything, hoping he could navigate the echoes of the singularity before they consumed him completely.

His interface pinged one last time as he crawled through the dark, stifling pipe. A system message, stark and simple.

[Quest Log Updated: [Pest Control: Data Sprites] - Reward Pending.]

[New Objective Received: Survive.]