The Glitch Auditor: Overthrowing The Sky

Bionic Interrogation

Time remaining thirty days. The digital countdown in the corner of Arka’s retina blinked at an accelerating pace, flashing an unstable, warning yellow hue.

Beneath his tightly buttoned black shirt, the bright blue bionic fractures from Nara’s consciousness chip had crept up to the base of his neck, throbbing with a sharp ache every time he drew a breath.

His body was counting down to its breaking point, but tonight, he had to attend a lethal performance evaluation.

The Aetheria restaurant stood tall on a floating platform in Sector 01, piercing through Neo Jakarta’s thick layer of smog.

This was an exclusive sanctuary for the high ranking executives of the Sky Central System. Its walls were crafted from military grade bulletproof bionic glass capable of withstanding tactical missile strikes, while the floor projected digital flowers that bloomed and withered in seconds, perfectly synced with the real time fluctuations of the stock index.

In a secluded VIP corner isolated by a soundproof barrier, Jessica sat with engineered elegance. Her jet black hair was pulled back into a flawless bun, yet her fingers wrapping around a crystal glass of synthetic wine trembled ever so slightly. She had finally snapped out of it, realizing her absolute stupidity in Chapter 3.

Her reputation was in ruins and her position as Corporate PR Lead hung by a thread after she signed GLORIA’s legal broadcast permit on live television.

On the marble table between them, a small metal pyramid rotated slowly, projecting a crimson scanning laser directly onto Arka’s chest.

"Sit down, Arka," Jessica said, her voice freezing cold as she forced down her deep-seated anxiety.

"That is the Veritas 9, a military grade bionic lie detector synced directly to your central nervous system. If you utter a single lie about Nirvana Entertainment's plans, a bionic shockwave from that device will shred your human heart in a millisecond."

Arka calmly pulled back the velvet lined chair and sat down without a hint of fear. His relaxed posture only made Jessica tighten up even more. As the interrogation device hummed to life, a sudden surge of heat erupted in Arka’s frontal lobe.

[Notice, Accumulated Energy from 50 Million Fans Has Reached the Authority Threshold!]

[Your [DARK MANAGER] Class Level Has Risen to Rank D!]

[Unlocked Final Core Skill, LIE DETECTION (Level 1)]

[Lie Detection (Level 1)]

Allows the user to view the accuracy and validity of any statement spoken by the target as a real time digital percentage floating in the air.

A faint smirk played on Arka’s lips. Perfect. The final piece of his core skill set was complete.

"I know what you did at the Pulogadung studio, Arka," Jessica said, leaning forward, her eyes locking onto his with deep resentment.

"You manipulated the Cyber Occult Division into slaughtering one another. The High Directorate is absolutely furious. Tonight, I lured you here to conduct a personal internal audit. If I hand over your corrupted data and the chip in your chest to the boardroom tomorrow morning, my position will be safe and I'll secure my executive promotion!"

Above Jessica's head, a glowing red digital readout materialized courtesy of Arka's new skill: [Statement Validity, 12% LIE DETECTED].

Arka leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest, completely indifferent to the Veritas 9’s red laser targeting his heart.

"You lured me here to save your own skin and buy yourself a promotion? Hilarious, Jessica. Your market analysis has been painfully shallow ever since we were back in the lower divisions."

"Don't play games with me! This machine will kill you, Arka!" Jessica snapped, slamming her hand on the table and triggering a sharp spark from the Veritas 9 pyramid.

"Let's conduct a real data audit," Arka cut her off coldly. He activated data audit level 2 and snapped his fingers.

Instantly, a transparent holographic interface bearing a black digital skull bypassed the luxury restaurant's encryption, splashing an internal Sky Central System document across the air, stamped top secret asset liquidation plan.

Jessica’s face drained of color the moment she saw her name typed at the very top of the list.

"Take a good look at the data, Director of PR," Arka said, his voice flat yet striking straight at her core.

"This is the Budget Efficiency and Operational Cost Cutting brief for next quarter, authorized by your CEO exactly two hours ago. Did you really think throwing my head to the board would absolve your failure at Sudirman?"

Arka swiped the hologram closer to her face.

"To the High Directorate, you're already flagged as damaged goods that failed to protect their stock stability. Look at page three, it says it plain as day Subject, Jessica Class Two PR Lead, Scheduled for physical liquidation on the 15th of next month. Melt down subject's total consciousness for Sektor 01 artificial sun fuel."

Jessica’s mental defenses collapsed in an instant. Her eyes widened, her breathing grew shallow, and her entire body went so limp she had to lean on the marble table for support.

The document was completely valid. The encrypted digital signature of the CEO at the bottom of the file was impossible to forge by anyone in this city.

"N-no way... This is a lie, you manipulated the data..." Jessica stammered, tears streaming down her face, ruining her expensive makeup.

"I gave them five years! I sacrificed my relationship with you, I threw away my conscience to hit their corporate targets! They wouldn't just turn me into gasoline for the sun!"

Above her head, the digital counter shifted: [Validity Level: 99% ABSOLUTE TERROR].

"There is no such thing as loyalty in this sky corporation, Jess. We are all just numbers on their balance sheets," Arka said, his voice softening but carrying a deadly, cold weight.

"The second productivity drops, the first thing they cut is employee overhead. You, me, my sister Nara to them, we are nothing but cheap fuel ready to be shoveled into the solar furnace whenever the energy quota runs low."

Arka reached across the table and casually deactivated the Veritas 9 pyramid using an administrative bypass code he had pulled from the hacked document. The red laser on his chest vanished instantly.

Jessica remained entirely still, staring blankly at the digital floor as her entire world shattered. She finally realized the truth, she was just an elite corporate slave wearing a golden collar, waiting to be slaughtered by her masters next month for the sake of a quarterly financial report.

"Now, you have two choices, Jessica," Arka said, bringing up a new digital contract from the Nirvana Entertainment system, which cast an elegant, deep violet glow across the table.

"Choice number one, you head back to your PR office, wait for the 15th to arrive, and let them melt your body into solar energy to torture humanity."

Arka leaned in close, locking eyes with his ex girlfriend like a dark manager ready to acquire a lost soul.

"Or choice number two. Sign this Dark Firm Contract. Become my mole inside the system run insider trading on classified data for Nirvana Entertainment under my direct command. Leak the board's every move, manipulate their financial reporting from within, and in return..."

Arka touched his chest, where the blue bionic fractures pulsed with a dull ache.

" Me and the five Fallen Angels will ensure those CEOs' heads roll across the boardroom floor long before your execution date arrives. I'm offering you your life, Jess. What's it going to be?"

Jessica stared at the digital contract, her hands shaking violently. She no longer saw Arka as her broke, weak ex from the lower slums standing before her was a chillingly logical architect of destruction, commanding five forbidden entities capable of tearing down the sky.

Terrified of dying and fueled by a burning thirst for revenge against the corporation that had betrayed her, Jessica wiped away her tears. She grabbed her digital stylus and pressed her thumbprint onto Nirvana Entertainment's black contract.

BEEP!

[INTERNAL CONTRACT BOUNDING, Subject JESSICA is officially registered as a Nirvana Entertainment Insider Trader]

[Executive Level Data Access to the Central System Mainframe Linked to Your Management Dashboard!]

"Pleasure doing business, Jess," Arka said, standing up and straightening his blazer with a sharp, chilling grin.

"Welcome to Nirvana Entertainment. Starting tomorrow, get me the structural infrastructure data for their primary power grid. We are going to execute the largest market sabotage in Neo Jakarta's history."

Arka turned on his heel and left the luxury restaurant, disappearing into the private elevator shafts, leaving Jessica staring down at the black contract in her hands, her heart pounding wildly fully aware that she had just sold her soul to the most dangerous bureaucratic demon in the city.

"Get back to your desk. Tomorrow, we start bleeding them from the inside."