The basement was silent except for the soft hum of machinery and the rapid clatter of keys.
Fluorescent tubes flickered overhead, casting harsh, clinical light over the disorganized chaos—half-built tech sprawled across workbenches, schematics pinned to rusting walls, and empty cans of caffeine shots scattered across the floor.
Nano sat hunched forward, her eyes locked on the stream of code scrolling down her primary monitor.
Her breathing was steady, but the tension in her shoulders betrayed a storm beneath the surface. She had just received a call from the Villain Syndicate's strongest member in Zone 3.
The phone lay beside her, speaker on.
Then—
:: What did you just do, Nano?! ::
The voice shot through the room like a whip crack. Male. Controlled. Cold with authority. But beneath that icy tone was fury, barely leashed.
She didn't pause and kept typing, her fingertips hovering.