Chapter 16: Breaching Security

The sewer grate clanged shut above, plunging Zero into near-absolute darkness, the only illumination the faint bioluminescent patches clinging to the slimy tunnel walls and the occasional flicker from Forge's cybernetic eye. The stench of stagnant water, chemical runoff, and something vaguely organic assaulted his senses, a stark contrast to the sanitized air of the Nexus Hub or even the industrial tang of the utility sectors. This was the city's digital undergut, raw and unfiltered.

"Alright, team, comms check," Glitch's voice crackled in their private channel, momentarily cutting through the oppressive silence. "Forge, you reading me? Nyx? Zero?"

"Loud and clear," Forge grunted, his heavy footsteps splashing through the ankle-deep water.

"Nominal," Nyx replied, their filtered voice devoid of inflection. They were already moving ahead, a shadow blending into shadows.

"Check," Zero added, his hand instinctively tightening on the grip of the Blackfire Pistol. The weight felt good, reassuring, even if he hoped not to use it just yet. His newly acquired Level 3 status felt like a thin shield against the unknown dangers Nyx had warned about.

"Okay, primary objective: reach the Serpent's Coil access point," Glitch continued, her usual cheerfulness replaced by professional focus. "Maps show it about 500 meters down this main conduit, then through a series of smaller maintenance tunnels. Forge, keep an eye out for structural instability; these old conduits aren't exactly up to code. Nyx, watch our six for unfriendlies. Zero… stick close to Nyx and try not to step on anything that looks like it might bite back."

They moved forward, Nyx taking point, Zero following closely, then Glitch with her interface flickering around her, and finally Forge bringing up the rear, his cybernetic eye sweeping the tunnel behind them. The water sloshed around Zero's boots, cold and unpleasant even through the simulated material of his suit. He kept his [Scan] ability ready, though he used it sparingly, mindful of his EP reserves (EP: 60/65). The passive [Silent Movement] skill, augmented by Forge's mod, helped muffle his splashes, but the tunnel echoed every sound.

Nyx's warning about resistance proved accurate sooner than expected. As they navigated a junction where several smaller pipes fed into the main conduit, Zero's passive [Weak Point Analysis] suddenly highlighted a section of the ceiling ahead.

[System Notification: Weak Point Detected - Unstable Debris Cluster (Potential Hazard)]

Almost simultaneously, Nyx held up a hand, signaling a halt. "Movement ahead," they whispered over the comms. "Multiple signatures, low-level, erratic."

Zero activated [Scan] (EP: 55/65). The blue pulse revealed three entities lurking in the shadows around the next bend:

[Entity Detected: Sewer Skulk (Level 4) x 3]

[Type: Corrupted Fauna (Reptilian)]

[Status: Ambush Stance, Aggressive]

Sewer Skulks. Zero vaguely recalled seeing warnings about them on fringe data boards – mutated, semi-digital creatures adapted to the polluted under-sectors, known for their speed and venomous bite. Level 4. Higher than him, but potentially manageable with the team.

"Skulks," Zero reported quietly. "Three of them, waiting around the corner."

"Standard pests," Forge grunted. "Nasty bite, moderate physical resistance. Vulnerable to energy damage."

"Can we bypass?" Glitch asked, already looking for alternative routes on her map overlay.

"Negative," Nyx replied. "This is the only route to the targeted access node without doubling back through potentially monitored zones." They drew their own Blackfire pistol – identical to Zero's, he noted, though likely unmodified. "Standard elimination protocol. Forge, suppressive fire on the right flank. Glitch, target their neural clusters if you get a clean shot. Zero, cover the left, watch for flanking maneuvers."

Zero nodded, drawing his own pistol. The weight felt different now, charged with potential. He toggled the safety off, the small click loud in the tense silence. He felt a surge of adrenaline, the familiar pre-combat jitters mixed with a thrill he hadn't felt since his esports days.

Nyx gave a sharp nod. "Engage."

Nyx darted forward, silent as a whisper despite the water, firing two precise shots from their pistol. Orange bolts slammed into the darkness around the bend. A high-pitched screech echoed back, followed by furious hissing.

Forge lumbered forward, unleashing a blast of crackling energy from a wrist-mounted device Zero hadn't noticed before – some kind of Technomancer weapon. The energy arced down the tunnel, illuminating the Skulks in brief, terrifying detail – scaly, multi-limbed creatures with glowing red eyes and dripping fangs. One was hit squarely, its form glitching violently as it convulsed.

[Sewer Skulk - HP: 40/150]

[Target afflicted with [Overload] status - Systems Impaired.]

The other two hissed and scattered, one scrambling up the curved wall with unnatural speed, the other charging directly towards Zero's position.

"Zero, left flank!" Nyx snapped.

Zero reacted on instinct. He raised his Blackfire, activating his [DEX Override] module (EP: 50/65). Time seemed to slow fractionally as his reflexes sharpened. He tracked the charging Skulk, its red eyes fixed on him, fangs bared. He squeezed the trigger. Crack!

His shot went slightly wide, searing a black mark on the tunnel wall just past the creature's head. The Skulk hissed, not even flinching, and lunged.

Zero sidestepped, his boosted DEX making the movement surprisingly fluid, the Skulk's claws scraping uselessly against the spot where he'd been standing. He pivoted, aiming again, closer this time. Crack!

The orange bolt hit the Skulk square in the chest. It shrieked, stumbling back, its scaly hide smoking where the bolt impacted. [Weak Point Analysis] highlighted its unarmored underbelly.

[Sewer Skulk - HP: 95/150]

[Target afflicted with [Burning] status. -5 HP/second.]

Before Zero could fire again, another energy blast from Forge slammed into the Skulk, sending it reeling. Glitch, meanwhile, had deployed a small, hovering drone that zipped towards the Skulk clinging to the ceiling, unleashing a focused sonic pulse. The creature screeched, losing its grip and tumbling to the watery floor with a heavy splash.

Nyx finished it off with two quick shots to its head.

[Entity Defeated: Sewer Skulk (Level 4)]

[+120 EXP Shared]

The first Skulk, already weakened by Forge, succumbed to the burning damage and collapsed, dissolving into flickering data motes.

[Entity Defeated: Sewer Skulk (Level 4)]

[+120 EXP Shared]

The charging one, recovering from Forge's blast, turned its attention back to Zero. He didn't hesitate this time. Aiming for the highlighted underbelly, he fired twice more. Crack! Crack! Both shots found their mark. The Skulk convulsed, let out a final gurgling hiss, and dissolved.

[Entity Defeated: Sewer Skulk (Level 4)]

[+120 EXP Shared]

[Current EXP: 360/300] [Level: 3] -> [LEVEL UP! User has reached Level 4!]

Level 4. Already. The combat EXP, shared among the party, was significant. He quickly allocated his 5 new attribute points: +2 INT, +2 DEX, +1 CON, further solidifying his build. (INT: 20, DEX: 15, CON: 8)

"Clear," Nyx announced, lowering their pistol. "Efficient work, team."

"Told you he wasn't just bait," Glitch added cheerfully, recalling her drone.

Forge merely grunted, retracting his wrist weapon. "Loot the area. Skulk venom glands can fetch a decent price on the black market."

They quickly searched the area, finding only a few [Skulk Venom Glands (Uncommon)] and some [Corrupted Tissue Samples (Common)]. Vendor trash, mostly, but Zero pocketed his share anyway. Every credit counted. His DEX Override still had over 13 minutes left on the timer (EP: 43/65 including regeneration).

They continued deeper into the conduits, encountering two more minor skirmishes – one with a swarm of mutated digital rats ([Data Gnawers (Level 2)]) that Glitch dispatched with a targeted area-of-effect virus, and another with a lone, heavily armored smuggler drone ([Security Mule Mk V (Level 5)]) that Forge disabled with an EMP grenade before Zero used his [Data Spike] to wipe its cargo manifest and access codes. Each encounter flowed smoother than the last, the four of them starting to anticipate each other's moves, functioning less like strangers and more like a cohesive unit. Zero found himself relying on Nyx's tactical commands, Glitch's rapid-fire intel, and Forge's stoic backup, while contributing his own stealth, hacking, and now, surprisingly effective firepower.

Finally, they reached a section where the main conduit narrowed, blocked by a partially collapsed ceiling. A smaller, rusted access hatch, marked with the faded logo of the 'Crimson Lotus' – a notorious black market casino – was set into the wall.

"This is it," Glitch confirmed, checking her maps. "Access to the Crimson Lotus service tunnels. Leads down towards the old Geo-Metro lines and the Serpent's Coil network."

Nyx used their sequencer again, bypassing the hatch's archaic lock. It opened with a rusty groan, revealing a narrow, descending shaft laddered with equally corroded rungs.

"Standard infiltration rules apply," Nyx stated. "Zero, you take point down the shaft. Your [Scan] is lower range but less likely to trigger passive sniffers than Forge's wide-band scanner. Check for traps, sensors, movement. Report anything unusual."

Zero nodded, holstering his pistol and starting the descent, activating [Scan] (EP: 38/65) as he went. The shaft was tighter, damper, and smelled even worse than the main conduit. He scanned meticulously, reporting back his findings over the comms: "Pressure plate sensor on the third landing, bypassed... Laser tripwire grid below, looks deactivated but marking it... Faint energy signature fluctuation near the bottom, could be unstable power line or... something else."

They descended without incident, emerging into another network of tunnels, these clearly older, part of the decommissioned Geo-Metro system Nyx had mentioned. Abandoned station platforms lay shrouded in dust and darkness, ghostly holographic advertisements flickering intermittently on cracked display screens. The air was cold, still, carrying the faint vibration of distant, unseen trains – or perhaps just the unsettling hum of the deep Nexus.

Glitch consulted her maps again. "Okay, according to the schematic, the glitched cargo elevator shaft should be… there." She pointed towards a dark opening further down the platform, where a massive, industrial elevator door stood ajar, sparks occasionally spitting from its damaged control panel. "Records show it was decommissioned after a 'containment failure' involving hazardous materials transport. But smugglers found a way to reactivate it using back-channel power relays. It's unstable, prone to… sudden stops and inertial shifts, but it bypasses three levels of OmniCorp security checkpoints."

"Sounds fun," Zero muttered dryly.

"Forge, see if you can stabilize the power flow," Nyx ordered. "Zero, check the shaft for occupants or nasty surprises. Glitch, prep the interface for the Serpent's Coil; we need to hit the network the moment we reach the bottom."

Forge lumbered over to the sparking control panel, muttering about shoddy wiring and bypass loops as he deployed a set of diagnostic tools. Zero approached the elevator shaft cautiously, peering into the darkness below. It was a straight drop, the bottom lost in shadow. He activated [Scan] (EP: 33/65).

[Scanning Elevator Shaft...]

[Environmental Hazard Detected: Unstable Magnetic Clamps.]

[Entity Detected: [Data Leech Swarm (Level 3)] x 2 - Dormant.]

[Entity Detected: [Unknown Anomaly Signature] - Deep Shaft.]

"Got multiple contacts," Zero reported. "Two swarms of Data Leeches, Level 3, seem dormant on the walls about halfway down. Also picking up unstable magnetic clamps along the guide rails – looks like the emergency brakes are shot. And… something else. Faint signature, deep down, can't get a lock. Marked as 'Unknown Anomaly'."

"Data Leeches are nasty," Glitch commented. "Small, fast, drain EP on contact. Best avoided if possible."

"The anomaly…" Nyx mused, joining Zero at the shaft edge. "Could be anything. A system glitch, a corrupted entity, maybe just sensor ghosting from the unstable power grid." They scanned the shaft themselves with a more powerful optical sensor integrated into their mask. "Can't visually confirm. Proceed with caution."

"Power flow stabilized," Forge announced from the control panel. "As stable as this wreck is gonna get, anyway. Ready to call the lift."

"Do it," Nyx ordered. "Zero, get ready to move. Watch those Leeches."

Forge slammed his fist onto a large, physical button on the panel. With a groan of tortured metal and a shower of sparks, the massive elevator platform began to ascend slowly from the depths, chains rattling ominously.

As the platform rose into view, Zero scanned it again (EP: 28/65). Empty. Grimy, covered in strange stains, but empty. It shuddered to a halt level with the platform, the doors remaining jammed partially open.

"Alright, everyone in, quickly," Nyx commanded. "Forge, hit the descent button as soon as we're clear."

They scrambled onto the unstable platform. Zero instinctively positioned himself near the partially open doors, pistol drawn, watching the shaft walls as they began their descent. Forge hit the button, and with another violent shudder, the platform started moving downwards, faster than it had ascended.

The ride was anything but smooth. The platform groaned and swayed, occasionally lurching as it passed damaged sections of the guide rail. The emergency lights inside flickered erratically.

"Approaching the Leech swarms," Zero warned, activating his [Scan] again (EP: 23/65) and confirming their position on the shaft walls just below. They still appeared dormant, clusters of small, metallic spheres clinging to the corroded metal.

"Maintain silence," Nyx ordered. "Minimize energy signatures. They react to sudden power fluctuations and data transmissions."

Glitch dimmed her interface, Forge deactivated his cybernetic eye's active scanning mode. Zero held his breath as the platform descended past the first swarm. The metallic spheres remained still. Then the second swarm. Still nothing. They were almost past them when the platform gave a particularly violent lurch, scraping against the wall.

Sparks flew. One of the magnetic clamps Zero had detected earlier visibly buckled under the strain.

The effect on the Data Leeches was instantaneous. The metallic spheres unfurled, revealing dozens of tiny, whirring legs and sharp proboscises. With high-pitched digital screeches, both swarms detached from the walls and surged towards the elevator platform through the open doors.

"Contact!" Zero yelled, opening fire with his Blackfire. Crack! Crack! Crack! Orange bolts slammed into the incoming swarm, vaporizing several Leeches instantly, the burning DOT affecting others.

[Entity Defeated: Data Leech (Level 3) x 4]

[+60 EXP Shared]

Forge reacted instantly, deploying a wide-angle energy shield from his wrist device that partially covered the door opening, intercepting dozens of Leeches that slammed into it with metallic pings. Glitch frantically worked at a portable console, trying to deploy a counter-frequency pulse. Nyx added their pistol fire to Zero's, their shots precise, picking off individual Leeches trying to slip around the shield.

But there were too many. Leeches crawled over the shield, squeezing through gaps, dropping from the ceiling of the shaft. One landed on Forge's shoulder, its proboscis immediately trying to pierce his armor. He swatted it away with a curse, his energy shield flickering. Another zipped past Zero's head, aiming for Glitch.

Zero spun, firing instinctively. He hit the Leech mid-air, vaporizing it just centimeters from Glitch's face.

"Thanks!" she yelped, not looking up from her console. "Almost got this pulse ready!"

More Leeches swarmed in. Zero felt one latch onto his leg, a sharp draining sensation immediately registering in his interface.

[Status Effect Applied: [EP Drain] - 2 EP/second]

[HP: 128/130] (Minor damage from latching)

He cursed, kicking frantically to dislodge it while firing into the swarm pouring through the doors. His EP was dropping fast (EP: 15/65, 13, 11...).

"Glitch, now!" Nyx yelled, reloading their pistol with practiced speed.

"Got it!" Glitch shouted. She slammed her hand down on her console.

A high-frequency sonic pulse erupted from a device she'd placed on the elevator floor. It was inaudible to Zero, but the effect on the Leeches was immediate and devastating. They shrieked, their metallic bodies vibrating violently, their movements becoming erratic. Many simply fell inert, dropping to the platform floor or tumbling down the shaft. The few remaining survivors quickly retreated back to the walls, their dormant state reasserting itself.

[Entity Defeated: Data Leech (Level 3) x 18]

[+270 EXP Shared]

[Current EXP: 630/300] -> [LEVEL UP! User has reached Level 5!]

Another level! The timing couldn't be better. Zero quickly allocated his points: +2 INT, +2 DEX, +1 CON again (INT: 22, DEX: 17, CON: 9). His HP and EP refilled instantly (HP: 145/145, EP: 75/75), the [EP Drain] effect vanishing.

"Nice work, Glitch," Forge grunted, brushing a deactivated Leech off his shoulder plating.

"Just doing my job," Glitch grinned, though her face was pale. "Close one, though."

The elevator continued its shaky descent. Zero scanned the shaft below again (EP: 70/75). "Looks clear for now. But still picking up that unknown anomaly signature near the bottom."

"We're almost there," Nyx said, checking their own sensors. "Approaching the Serpent's Coil access level."

The elevator slowed, groaning and shuddering, finally coming to a halt – or rather, getting jammed – about two meters above another derelict Geo-Metro platform. This one was even darker and more dilapidated than the one above, littered with debris and flickering emergency lights.

"End of the line," Forge stated unnecessarily. "Looks like we jump."

"Wait," Zero said, focusing his scan on the platform below (EP: 65/75). "That anomaly signature… it's stronger now. It's on the platform."

As he spoke, a section of shadow near the far end of the platform seemed to detach itself, coalescing into a vaguely humanoid shape made of swirling, glitching darkness, shot through with threads of corrupted red code. It had no discernible features, just a shifting, unstable silhouette that radiated an intense aura of wrongness.

[Entity Detected: [Data Wraith (Level ??)]]

[Type: Unknown Anomaly / Corrupted Entity]

[Status: Hostile, Reality Distortion Field Detected]

Level unknown. Type unknown. And a 'Reality Distortion Field'? Zero felt a chill run down his spine that had nothing to do with the simulation's temperature controls.

"What… is that?" Glitch whispered, her eyes wide.

"Trouble," Nyx breathed, raising their pistol. "Big trouble. That's not standard Nexus fauna."

The Data Wraith turned its non-face towards the elevator, and the very air around it seemed to ripple and warp. The flickering emergency lights on the platform sputtered and died, plunging the area into near-total darkness, save for the faint glow emanating from the Wraith itself.

"Forge, light!" Nyx commanded.

Forge activated a powerful floodlight mounted on his shoulder, cutting through the darkness, illuminating the Wraith. The creature – if it could be called that – seemed to recoil slightly from the light, its form flickering even more violently. It raised an appendage made of shifting shadows, and a wave of pure static erupted towards the elevator.

The platform shuddered as the static washed over it, Zero's interface flickering wildly, displaying streams of corrupted data.

[WARNING: System Integrity Compromised! Reality Distortion Detected!]

[WARNING: Connection Stability Failing!]

"It's attacking the simulation itself!" Glitch yelled, frantically trying to stabilize their connection. "We need to take it down, fast, or we could get disconnected! Or worse!"

Zero gripped his Blackfire pistol, the Level 4 power feeling suddenly inadequate against this unknown horror. They were trapped in a broken elevator, facing a reality-bending nightmare, deep in the most dangerous sector of the Nexus, with their infiltration target still miles away.

Survive. The objective felt like a cruel joke.

The Data Wraith's attack wasn't just energy or physical force; it felt like a direct assault on the fabric of the simulation itself. Zero's vision swam with corrupted pixels, static crackled through the audio feed, and his interface flickered erratically, system warnings overlapping each other in a chaotic cascade. The very floor of the elevator platform beneath his feet seemed to momentarily lose solidity, threatening to dump them into the abyss.

[WARNING: Environmental Integrity Failure! Fall Damage Potential Increased!]

[WARNING: Sensory Input Corruption Detected! WIS Check Failed!]

[Status Effect Applied: [Disoriented] - DEX Reduced, Action Speed Reduced.]

He felt sluggish, his movements clumsy, the world tilting around him. The [Disoriented] status effect was crippling. Beside him, Glitch was clutching her head, her face contorted in pain, while Forge struggled to maintain the energy shield, which flickered violently under the static assault. Only Nyx seemed relatively unaffected, their movements still sharp, their aim steady as they fired precise bursts from their Blackfire pistol into the shifting mass of the Wraith.

"Concentrate!" Nyx's voice cut through the chaos, sharp and commanding. "It's disrupting local reality parameters! Focus your intent, stabilize your connection! Fight the distortion!"

Focus. Right. Zero forced himself to ignore the visual snow, the phantom sounds echoing in his ears. He focused on the sensation of the pistol grip in his hand, the solid feel of the vibrating platform, the image of the Wraith in his mind's eye, even as his visual input stuttered. He activated his [DEX Override] module again (EP: 60/75). The familiar jolt helped cut through the disorientation, sharpening his senses, overriding the debuff.

[Status Effect Resisted: [Disoriented] - Removed via Skill Activation.]

The world snapped back into focus, though the interface still flickered alarmingly. The Wraith was gliding towards the elevator shaft, its form warping the metal walls around it. Nyx's shots seemed to pass through it, causing minor flickers but no significant damage.

"Conventional weapons ineffective!" Nyx reported grimly. "Its core seems… phased. Glitch, can you hit it with an anti-viral?"

"Trying!" Glitch gasped, her fingers flying across her portable console, sweat beading on her forehead. "But its signature is unstable! Hard to get a lock… Firewall is insane… like nothing I've ever seen!"

"Forge, buy her time!" Nyx ordered.

Forge roared, abandoning the failing shield and unleashing the full power of his Technomancer arsenal. A volley of micro-missiles erupted from launchers on his shoulders, streaking towards the Wraith. Simultaneously, he deployed two combat drones – small, heavily armed quadcopters – that zipped forward, adding their laser fire to the barrage.

The missiles detonated against the Wraith's shifting form, creating bursts of static and corrupted light. The drone lasers scored direct hits. The Wraith recoiled, its form flickering more intensely, letting out a silent scream that resonated directly in Zero's neural pathways, a feeling of pure digital agony.

[Data Wraith - HP: 85%/??]

It had taken damage, but its health bar was still mostly full, the total capacity ominously obscured by question marks. It retaliated, extending a shadowy tendril towards Forge. Forge raised his energy shield just in time, the tendril slamming against it with enough force to crack the projected barrier and send him stumbling back.

[Forge - HP: 1850/2100]

[Forge - Shield Durability: 35/100]

"Its physical attacks pack a punch!" Forge grunted, reinforcing his shield.

Zero saw his opening. While the Wraith was focused on Forge, [Weak Point Analysis] flickered erratically, struggling to lock onto the constantly shifting entity, but momentarily highlighting a brighter, denser core within the swirling darkness. '[Unstable Core: Vulnerable to High-Energy Input / Data Overload]' the overlay suggested fleetingly.

Data Overload. An idea sparked in Zero's mind, a risky gamble echoing his fight against the maintenance drone. He switched his focus from his pistol to his toolkit interface, selecting the [Data Spike]. Could he somehow interface with this… thing?

"Glitch, can you overload its sensory input?" Zero transmitted quickly over the comms. "Flood it with junk data?"

"Working on it!" Glitch replied, her voice strained. "Trying to bypass its internal filters… Got it! Sending data burst… Now!"

A massive stream of corrupted data, visualized as chaotic rainbow static, erupted from Glitch's console, engulfing the Wraith. The creature convulsed, its form flickering wildly, momentarily stunned by the sensory overload.

[Data Wraith afflicted with [Data Overload] status - Stunned (2 seconds), Defenses Lowered.]

That was his window. Zero leaped from the still-stuck elevator platform, landing heavily on the derelict Geo-Metro platform below, ignoring the [Minor Fall Damage] notification. He sprinted towards the stunned Wraith, focusing his intent, channeling EP into the [Data Spike] function.

[Attempting Interface Connection (Anomalous Entity)...]

[Security Protocols: Unknown / Chaotic]

[INT Check Required: Difficulty 18] (Extreme due to Entity Nature & Instability)

[Rolling... User INT (22) vs Difficulty (18)... Critical Success!]

[CRITICAL SUCCESS: Connection Established! Root Access Granted (Fragmented / Unstable Core Logic)!]

[Anomaly Detected: Entity core contains non-Nexus code structure! Cross-referencing... Match Found: Suspected 'Echo' Fragment Signature!]

Critical Success! And an 'Echo' fragment? The same thing Glitch and Forge were talking about? Before he could process the implications, the Wraith began to recover from the stun, its shadowy form starting to coalesce again, turning its attention towards him.

He didn't have time for finesse. He poured as much raw data, junk code, and conflicting commands as he could directly into the entity's core through the data spike connection, essentially performing a digital denial-of-service attack from the inside out.

[Injecting Null Code Barrage...]

[EP Drain: 10 EP/second]

[EP: 55/75... 45... 35... 25...]

The Wraith shrieked again, that soul-chilling digital sound, its form flickering like a dying candle. Cracks of pure white light appeared within its shadowy mass. It lashed out blindly, tendrils of darkness sweeping across the platform. Zero dodged back, severing the data spike connection just as a tendril passed through the space where he'd been standing.

The Wraith convulsed one last time, the white light cracks spreading, consuming its form. Then, with a final, deafening implosion of static and light, it dissolved, leaving behind only faint wisps of corrupted data that quickly faded, and a single, shimmering object hovering where its core had been.

[Entity Defeated: Data Wraith (Level ??)]

[Reward Granted: +1500 EXP]

[Loot Generated: [Fragment of Corrupted Data (Epic)] x1]

[Current EXP: 1500/400] -> [LEVEL UP! User has reached Level 6!]

Another level up already? Defeating that thing gave massive EXP. He quickly allocated points again (+3 INT, +2 DEX; INT: 25, DEX: 19), his mind still reeling from the encounter.

[Fragment of Corrupted Data]

[Quality: Epic]

[Type: Quest Item / Data Fragment]

[Description: A highly unstable fragment of code recovered from a Data Wraith. Radiates anomalous energy and seems linked to the deeper 'Echoes' within the Nexus. Extremely difficult to analyze without specialized equipment. Handle with caution.]

Epic quality. Zero mentally grabbed the loot just as the others jumped down from the elevator.

"Holy glitch!" Glitch exclaimed, staring at the spot where the Wraith had been. "What was that thing? And how did you...?"

"Data overload," Zero said, his voice raspy. "Hit it while you had it stunned." He didn't mention the critical success or the root access; best to keep some cards close to his chest, especially with Nyx.

"Impressive, Zero," Nyx said, their voice holding genuine surprise this time. "Very impressive. That was a Class 3 Reality Anomaly. Nasty business. Most players wouldn't survive the initial distortion field."

"Beginner's luck," Zero deflected, pocketing the Epic data fragment mentally. He needed to examine that later, away from prying eyes.

"Luck or not, you handled it," Forge grunted, inspecting the damage to his shield emitter. "Now, let's find this Serpent's Coil access before something worse shows up."

"Agreed," Glitch said, already pulling up her maps again. "The primary access node should be through that service tunnel." She pointed to a dark opening at the end of the platform.

They moved quickly, the encounter with the Data Wraith leaving an unsettling tension in the air. They were deep in uncharted territory now, facing threats that weren't part of the standard Nexus bestiary.

The service tunnel led them into a labyrinth of pipes, conduits, and humming server racks – the physical infrastructure of the 'Serpent's Coil' data smuggling network. Glitch expertly navigated the pathways, bypassing pressure sensors and infrared grids using Zero's crafted [Bypass Chips]. They encountered a few automated security turrets, which Forge disabled with targeted EMP bursts, and avoided a patrolling group of what looked like player smugglers, ducking into a ventilation shaft until they passed.

Finally, they reached a small, hidden chamber containing a single, unmarked transit pod, sleek and black, humming faintly with power drawn illicitly from the surrounding network.

"Our ride," Nyx announced. "Direct route to the Sector Zero periphery. Strap in. It's not exactly a luxury cruise."

They boarded the cramped pod. There were no seats, just handholds. As the door hissed shut, Glitch interfaced with the pod's navigation system. "Okay, routing us through the least monitored data streams… Engaging stealth protocols… Hold on!"

The pod lurched violently, then shot forward into a disorienting tunnel of swirling data, streaks of light flashing past the small viewport at impossible speeds. Zero gripped a handhold, fighting down a wave of nausea. This wasn't like the smooth, automated transports in the Hub. This felt like being shot through a firehose made of pure information.

The journey was brief but intense. After what felt like only a minute, the pod decelerated abruptly, slamming them against the front bulkhead, before settling into a hidden docking bay. The doors hissed open, revealing a stark, metallic corridor bathed in the cold, blue glow of emergency lighting. The air felt thin, sterile, carrying the faint scent of ozone and server coolant.

"Welcome to Sector Zero," Nyx said, stepping out of the pod. "Data Vault Sigma-7 is approximately three klicks north-east of here. From this point forward, assume everything is hostile."

Zero followed them out, drawing his Blackfire Pistol. He checked his interface. [DEX Override] had long since expired, but his EP was back to full (75/75). He felt a nervous energy thrumming through him. This was it. The infiltration proper was about to begin.

Glitch deployed a small, spider-like drone that scurried ahead, its optical sensors scanning the corridor. "Initial perimeter looks clear," she reported. "But I'm picking up heavy encryption layers and active counter-intrusion sweeps ahead. OmniCorp security is tight here."

"Expected," Nyx replied. "Zero, take point. Use the cooling ducts as planned. Remember the schematics. Find the archive control room, disable local surveillance, create your diversion. We'll maintain comms silence unless absolutely necessary. Move out."

Zero nodded, activating his [Thermal Regulator Unit] and [Emergency Rebreather]. He located the access grate for the secondary cooling duct network, just as shown on Glitch's schematics. Using his [Bypass Probe] (EP: 73/75), he disengaged the magnetic locks. The grate lifted silently.

A blast of frigid air washed over him. Inside, the duct was pitch black, the only sound the low hum of coolant pumps. He took a deep breath, glanced back at his temporary allies – Nyx's unreadable mask, Glitch's encouraging nod, Forge's grim determination – and slipped into the opening.

The grate closed silently behind him. He was alone again, crawling through the cold, dark veins of the enemy fortress. The true breach had begun. He activated his suit's integrated lights, casting a narrow beam ahead, and started moving towards the heart of Sigma-7, every nerve ending tingling with anticipation and dread. He had to disable surveillance and create chaos, all while navigating a hostile, potentially lethal environment. Failure wasn't an option. Not now.