He navigated another gray, utilitarian corridor, this time threading through the back office area of the Romantia, his sensors deftly guiding him past a few office workers and allowing him to slip by most of the smaller spaces undetected. His immediate goal was the security office, crucial for gaining access to the server room.
The security center, according to the schematics, lay just beyond a closed door around the next corner. Adam cautiously pressed his body against the wall adjacent to the corner, aware of the guard stationed in front of the door. Intelligence had informed him of a micro security camera installed across the hallway. Utilizing the wireless connection through his retina, Adam searched for any exploitable ports on the camera. Despite finding two open ports, both were secured behind formidable defenses. Without any direct method to bypass the camera’s security from the data at his disposal, Adam decided to deploy one of his concealed assets.
Rolling up his sleeve, he revealed the enhanced skin of his arm. A subtle command opened a concealed compartment, from which he extracted a small, silver, marble-like device. After connecting to it, he activated a mini camera within, allowing the device to mirror its surroundings and become virtually invisible. Timing his move perfectly, he rolled the device around the corner to a spot right below the micro camera, on the opposite side from the guard.
A brief, potent EMP pulse emitted from the device, momentarily illuminating the camera with a blue electric flare and effectively disabling it. The guard’s attention was momentarily diverted by the flash, providing Adam with the opening he needed.
Channeling power into his calves, Adam propelled himself forward with such speed that he seemed to glide above the floor, his approach nearly silent. His rapid movement allowed him to swiftly encircle the guard from behind. Adam’s left arm secured around the guard’s neck, while his right hand muffled any potential outcry. With a quick command, a surge of electrical energy transferred from Adam’s palm directly into the guard, bypassing his circuits and rendering him instantly incapacitated. As the guard’s body went limp, Adam gently lowered him to the ground, ensuring silence.
Adam’s attention was firmly on the door leading to the security office, guarded by a sophisticated control panel. This panel employed a multifaceted security system that combined haptic input requiring the correct touch pattern with advanced DNA recognition technology. Only individuals whose DNA contained specific natural and engineered sequences could gain entry, a process further complicated by the system’s simultaneous vital signs verification. Faced with these hurdles, Adam urgently sifted through his files for any workaround, acutely aware that time was not on his side and an unexpected visitor could complicate his mission. Among the trove of information, he discovered what appeared to be a backdoor into the door’s security mechanism. Extracting a small connector cable similar to the one he used with his laptop, he attempted to interface with the panel. Despite his efforts, only red error alerts blinked back at him through his retinal display.
“Damn, they must have updated the security since this intel was leaked,” Adam mused, frustration momentarily seizing him. But his strategic mind quickly shifted gears, contemplating the inevitable investigation of the disabled camera.
“If I can mimic the right encoding, someone coming to check on that camera might be my ticket in,” he thought, piecing together a new plan. Edging closer to the incapacitated guard, Adam reconnected the cable to the guard’s neck port. He carefully rebooted the systems left intact by his earlier shock attack, hoping to leverage the guard’s own credentials to send a message to the goons behind the door.
He effortlessly bypassed the restored segments of the guard’s NEURA— the personal firewall designed to prevent unauthorized access to an individual’s mind. Navigating through the neural network, Adam discovered an emergency communication protocol, minimally protected and among the last to deactivate in critical situations. His access was limited to sending messages, preventing him from receiving information or establishing a full connection. This meant no insights into the number of guards or the layout of the office, but for the moment it was the only viable option.
Crafting his message to mimic a system glitch, Adam sent out: “Camer an…communicatio…request tech…assistance.” This deliberately garbled message was intended to suggest a minor technical fault, not a security breach, aiming to draw someone out from behind the security office’s door without raising alarms or prompting a thorough check.
After disconnecting, Adam positioned himself strategically beside the door, taking the moment to recalibrate his implants and power systems, prioritizing the recharge of the electric impulse in his palms. With speed as a priority, he fine-tuned his Electro-Nerval System (ENS) for rapid response.
As he waited, a soft click from the door’s lock jolted him to alertness. The door slid open, revealing another guard who, unsuspecting of any intruder, stood relaxed with his arms at his sides. The guard’s gaze fell upon his incapacitated colleague, and his face contorted in shock.
Adam issued two quick signals: the first, an internal command to modulate his natural adrenaline levels, augmented by a surge of synthetic endrenaline—an artificial hormone engineered to enhance the interface between his organic systems and cybernetic enhancements, boosting his reflexes and electronic processing speeds. The second signal was external—a sonar-like scan of the now-exposed security room. This scan provided him with a virtual layout of the interior: an almost square room outfitted with multiple monitors, both holographic and traditional, a server section for data processing, and a small kitchenette and break area. Fortuitously, only one other guard was present, his attention captivated by the security feeds, his back to the door. This guard was fully immersed, his head encased in a connectivity helmet that linked him directly to the security system.
Adam acted swiftly. He surged forward and delivered a precise uppercut to the unsuspecting guard’s chin. The guard, whose skull seemed reinforced with metal enhancements, stumbled back with only a grunt, more startled than incapacitated. Seizing this moment, Adam darted into the room, swiftly disarming the guard of his electric shock baton and a knife from his belt.
In one fluid motion, Adam hurled the knife towards the second guard, who was just beginning to turn. The blade struck his throat, unleashing a spray of blood mixed with blue electrical arcs—clearly, Adam had hit a critical cybernetic implant. As the first guard clutched his bleeding throat, Adam faced the second, now activating the baton with its crackling electric arcs. A series of rapid strikes subdued the guard, with a final, forceful blow to the head ensuring he would not rise again.
To give himself some time and to hide any trace of the recent scuffle in the hallway, Adam dragged the incapacitated guard’s body inside the security room. Locking the system proved simpler than opening it, allowing the door to shut securely behind him and affording Adam a moment to breathe and conduct the necessary reconnaissance needed to continue his mission incognito.
Adam reconnected to his internal systems and deactivated the extra hormonal secretion to prevent overloading both his organic and electronic nervous systems. A display on his OptiCode provided real-time ‘neural load’ measurements, offering a basic assessment of his system’s current status. Despite the encounter’s brevity, manipulating his hormonal system was still taxing. His training enabled him to manage his enhancements efficiently, maintaining safe operational limits, yet the spike in his neural load underscored the subtle strain that even such a short confrontation could impose on a cybernetically enhanced body.
Adam reconnected to his internal systems and deactivated the extra hormonal secretion to prevent overloading both his organic and electronic nervous systems. A display on his OptiCode provided real-time “neural load” measurements, offering a basic assessment of his system’s current status. Despite the encounter’s brevity, manipulating his hormonal system had taxed him significantly. His training allowed him to manage his enhancements efficiently, keeping him within safe operational limits, yet the spike in his neural load underscored the subtle strain even such a short confrontation could place on a cybernetically enhanced body.
Using the connector helmet—no advanced authentication required—he gained full access to the open video feeds. This connection, though not as immersive as a VirtRig or as engaging as Romantia’s holographic adventure systems, streamed all video data directly onto his OptiCode. Deep within the data stream, however, several incoming channels were blocked, accessible only through DNA-embedded clearance. This was anticipated; his preparatory data included the necessary access keys for these encrypted channels. Activating the correct data stream dispelled the blur obscuring these secured feeds.
The content streaming into his optics was mostly as expected: the basic layout of Romantia’s deeper security systems. Yet, the personnel profile took him aback. Instead of the typical half-competent security guards masquerading as staff in Romantia’s public areas, these were evidently professionals, possibly federal or corporate-trained. Their hardware was top-notch, integrated seamlessly into their bodies with only subtle glows betraying their enhancements—not the haphazard electronic and mechanical protrusions typical of low-grade augmentations installed in back alleys.
“Something weird is happening here,” Adam thought, sensing a deeper conspiracy. “Could this all just be a lucrative front? The high-caliber security, the pristine condition of the entertainers—it all seems too sophisticated.”
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