A high-voltage energy bolt tears through the open air, grazing my left shoulder and scorching the metal of the aircraft ramp.I pull Ifeoma hard against my side, shielding her with my body as the black fire flares up across my skin. The world around us is completely gone. There are no more city streets, no more underground tunnels, and no more glass-walled towers. Everything is an endless, grey digital void filled with floating lines of green code and the hum of the outer overseer system.Director Voss stands on the landing ramp of her sleek silver ship, her long silver cloak snapping in the digital wind. Her face is carved from ice, completely calm as she aims a heavy energy pistol right at my chest."You broke out of a low-level sandbox simulation, Simeon," Voss says, her voice carrying clear

A high-voltage spark snaps against the blue energy bars, stinging my skin and lighting up the dark, freezing sub-level cell.I press my hands against the glowing barrier, but the electric shock throws me backward onto the cold metal floor. The smell of burnt ozone fills the small cage. Across from me, Ifeoma sits on a steel crate, her face pale in the dim light, yet her eyes remain sharp and completely focused."Do not waste your energy fighting the bars directly," Ifeoma says quietly, her voice steady. "They are hooked straight into the tower's main power grid. Every time you touch them, the system drains your strength."I push myself up to my feet, rubbing my stinging palms. "We cannot just sit here and wait for General Zane to strip our code. In one hour, the high council convenes, and they will wipe out the enti

A piercing red alarm siren cuts through the amphitheater, flashing emergency lights across the faces of the terrified council members.I do not look back at General Zane or the white-armored tribunal soldiers blocking the exit. My eyes stay fixed on the giant main screen where Ifeoma is typing at incredible speed. The orbital defense system countdown ticks down rapidly, and the crosshairs on the display lock directly onto our position inside the tower."They are routing the planetary strike weapon right to this building," Ifeoma says, her voice completely steady even as her fingers dance across the holographic keyboard. "The orbital cannon takes thirty seconds to charge. If we do not break out of this floor right now, we will be vaporized along with every council member in this room."Zane lowers his plasma blade, a

A massive crack splits the concrete ceiling right down the middle, showering the crowded bunker with sharp gray rocks and choking dust.I grab Ifeoma by the waist and pull her out of the path of a falling steel beam that slams into the floor where she was standing a second ago. The alarms are blaring so loud they drown out the shouts of the resistance fighters scrambling for cover around us."The breaching unit has cut through the main vault!" Kade calls out, running over from the communication console with a rifle in his hands. "Zane’s elite troops are dropping through the breach right now!"Before anyone can fire a shot, a blinding white flash tears through the center of the bunker roof. Chunks of metal and concrete blow outward in all directions as three heavy thermal pods drop straight down from the surface, landing hard on the concrete floor with deafening metallic crashes.The hatch of the middle pod blows off with a loud pop, and armed enforcers in sleek white armor pour out, t

A cold static hiss fades from the tactical pad, leaving a heavy silence in the damp underground tunnel. I stare at the blinking screen, my teeth clenched so hard my jaw aches. Someone out there knows the exact secret my father died trying to protect, and they are using the lives of the slum survivors as bait to draw us into the open. "It's a trap," Zara Bello says immediately, crossing her arms as she looks down at the flashing red coordinates. "Sector Seven was shut down by the council five years ago. There is no active power grid there, which means anyone waiting for us has brought their own mobile generators and heavy military enforcers." "Of course it is a trap," Ifeoma replies, her voice completely calm as she taps the screen to check the encrypted sender's path. She do