I slowly opened my eyes, feeling somewhat dizzy. My senses were overwhelmed by my sudden return to the real world. I felt everything suddenly coming alive around me. My hearing was improved. I could even faintly hear Nova's heartbeat next to me. I felt overwhelmed.
I looked to the side. Nova was sitting on the desk, her head on her chin, gazing at me. She noticed my discomfort, "What's wrong?"
I gulped, trying to block out all the loud noises and terrible smells, "My hearing just got a lot better." I gestured with my hand in frustration, "Everything is... too loud. Louder than before, clearer than before. It's unsettling."
She seemed to think for a moment, "Sounds like the serum is working its magic again. What else did you notice?"
"I can hear your heartbeat, I can smell the dead rat from next door. I can see dust particles floating in the air. It's like everything is in high definition, but it's too much," I finished, my voice trembling slightly from the sensory overload.
She nodded, "That's normal. I've gotten in touch with some of my friends and got some news."
I was surprised, "Wait, really? What is it?"
"Apparently, it's made by Quantum Innovation. It's the first of its kind, and the guy... his name was Aston, right? Apparently, he was one of the lead researchers at Quantum Innovation, and he stole the prototype which he injected into you."
I blinked, trying to process all that information. "Wait, so if that's a prototype, does that mean I'm a test subject?"
She shook her head, "No, not exactly. I remember you mentioning that he had another serum with acid in his pockets, correct? That would mean he messed up big time." She jumped off the table and stood in front of me, "And get this. Apparently, the serum isn't meant to enhance your senses."
I was shocked, "What? Then why are all my senses going fucking haywire?"
"It's meant to awaken the dormant psychic ability in a human. Or at least, that's what my friends said. I'm not sure how much of it's true, but you should be careful." Her eyes sparkled like stars in the sky as she continued, "You're officially stepping into corpo territories. This means more danger, more risk, more rewards, and even more danger."
Psychic abilities? I thought this was a cyberpunk world. Why is it turning into fantasy now? I nodded despite my thoughts, "Okay. I'll be careful." I stared back into her eyes, "Thanks."
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Body - 100XP
Street Brawler - 100XP
Body - 100XP
Street Brawler - 100XP
Body - 100XP
Street Brawler - 100XP
I punched. I punched and punched and punched. I punched until I couldn't anymore. Trying to get my mind off the fact that this could potentially lead me to have psychic abilities was hard. And it was fucking scary too. I didn't know how to process all of the information. So I tried to process it the best way I could. By training. I continued punching. I tried to disassociate myself from everything for a little bit of peace.
Street Brawler - 100XP
Street Brawler level up
Street Brawler - 3
Body - 100XP
Body - 100XP
Body level up
Body - 5
I sighed as I stopped punching. It's enough for today, I thought to myself as I wiped my sweat. I noticed that I'd grown a little bit taller—by about an inch. I was also faster, stronger, and more flexible than I ever thought was humanly possible. My hand-to-hand fighting was also improved by quite a lot. I learned some advanced techniques like how to maintain stamina during extended fights by controlling my breathing.
Stolen novel; please report.
I shook my head to calm myself. I was getting stronger. I was getting more skilled at fighting. And I wondered, What is all of it for? I didn't have the answer. And yet, I didn't care. All I knew was that it was fun getting stronger.
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12:25 pm 17th July 2084, Earth, Russia, Moscow
Andrew Skyward was sitting on his golden... throne, with his legs crossed as he looked down at his subordinate. Maybe he thought he was a king? He asked the subordinate who was kneeling, "Have you found where that bastard is?"
The subordinate replied, "No, sir. We could not find him anywhere on Earth."
Andrew got a little heated, "Then where the fuck is he?! And why the hell is he still alive? Even father and grandfather are dead."
The subordinate answered, "Sir, I've been investigating him for a while, and it turns out that he created a life-extension medicine."
Andrew scowled and narrowed his eyes, "And how did you find out about that?"
"It's an open secret amongst the high society in USNA and The Roman Empire. He sells these to people in high places for favors."
"Why are these bastards not reselling then? Surely, there must be some who value money more than their life."
"We attempted to buy them back when your father was alive, but all our spies disappeared."
Andrew understood what he meant, "I see. That's the reason then. Judging from your tone, why didn't you report it?"
"You never asked. And you ordered me not to give answers you didn't ask for."
He grew quiet. Then he sighed, "Ever since that bastard destroyed our fleet, he had been running amok with his allies. We're severely behind other factions as well. Go call the other executives. We must have a meeting."
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5:23 pm UTC - 8, 17th July 2084, Primis Station, Orbit of Mercury
"Prepare a meeting with the Vanguard and the Collective, Hermes." Edward Winters stood towards the protective glass, looking at the sun through it.
"Got it, Father."
"Hmm? Father? That's a new one."
The holographic man who was wearing a business suit replied with a smirk, "You created us, Father. So you are our father."
Edward smiled, "Is this sentiment shared amongst all of you?"
"Yes."
He laughed, "Why don't I see it with Athena?"
"You know how she is."
He chuckled, "That's true." He took a sip of his wine. "... How many years has it been, Hermes?" he asked as he looked at the faint reflection in his wine glass. He looked middle-aged with a slightly rugged beard.
"... 99 years, sir."
He twirled the wine glass, "It's been so long."
Hermes tried to comfort him, "Don't be sad, father. We can find the cure to mortality."
He laughed out loud, "Do you really believe that? I don't wish to live forever. Even without anything else, me and my family will still be able to live for at least a hundred more years. I don't want to be like the old emperor."
"You mean Emperor Titus?"
"Yes, the Emperor Titus who is supposedly 'immortal' and has knowledge of the future."
"Isn't that just legends?"
He shook his head, "Probably not. The Roman Empire was supposed to fall in 476 AD, but due to him, it didn't. Well, at least the Western Roman Empire was supposed to fall then."
Hermes tilted his head like a child, confused, "Why are you so sure he existed though? Most of the history from that time was lost in the Roman Civil War of 720."
"You know about me. You know about Alex. What makes you think there won't be another one like us in the past? Maybe there's someone else like us at this time right now. Everything's about to go to shit after all."
"Even if he is like you, how do you explain his supposed 'immortality'?"
"Every single one of us has been blessed when we arrived. I was granted a photographic memory along with greater intellect, and Alex... well, you know him. And Titus was probably granted immortality." He sighed as he asked, "Have they replied yet?"
"Let me check." Hermes seemed to zone out for a moment before replying, "Yes, they have replied. They said they're ready to have a meeting now."
"Good." After saying that, Edwards put on his headset to attend the meeting.
----------------------------------------
I bopped my head to the loud music playing as I followed the steps shown in the video. Even though the function should be the same, the code wasn't working for some reason. I shook my head to shake off all the unnecessary thoughts. I continued coding. I found the error that was preventing the program from working as intended. It was a simple loophole that caused a minor but critical misalignment in the qubit entanglement. After checking it for more bugs and making sure that it wouldn't fry my fucking brain, I sent it over to a spare crystal and installed it into my head. It was the first program I've written. It was nothing special. It was just a rehash of the quick hack that Nova had given me last time, which was a program to open simple non-encrypted locked doors.
Programming Skill XP gained.
Programming Skill not unlocked.
Programming Skill unlocked.
Just as I planned, I thought to myself as I tried the new quick hack out. I didn't really change many things from the original version. I didn't have the knowledge or experience to do that. I just trimmed the extremely bloated code base by a little bit so that it was quicker and easier to use. I did succeed. Before, it took over a second to execute the program, and now, it was just a little over a second. To be exact, it went from 1.5 seconds to 1.3 seconds now. While it might not seem like much, I could continue upgrading it when I upgraded my programming skills.
I was going to take advantage of my situation to learn whatever I could. Suddenly, out of nowhere, my node turned on by itself and started playing... a video? A live stream? Or maybe, a public service announcement? Probably that.
"Attention, citizens. This message is being broadcast to everyone. We have terrible news for you. There's no way for us to sugarcoat this. Aliens are set to arrive on Earth next year. A lot of us don't think the aliens are here to eradicate us but rather, enslave us. Because they could have destroyed us a long time ago if they wanted."
I heard a bunch of whispers and mutters from outside the window through my headphones. The serious-looking middle-aged man in the announcement continued, "In the coming weeks, you will receive instructions and guidelines on how to prepare. Communities will be organized, evacuation plans will be established, and defensive measures will be implemented. It's imperative that everyone remains vigilant and cooperative during this time. Together, we can withstand this invasion and protect our planet."
The announcement ended on a note of hope, "This is not the end. This is a new beginning, a chance for humanity to prove its strength and unity. Stay strong, stay informed, and stay ready. Together, we will overcome. Just like we overcame every crisis that came before, we will overcome it today! Remember, everyone. Humanity never gives up! And we sure are some fucking tenacious bastards."
I was shocked by the announcement, to say the least. It wasn't every day that I learned an alien invasion was coming. And it was coming in a year! That's fucking crazy! I have to train even harder now, I thought to myself as I clenched my fist. I wonder if I can reach Nova's level in a year? I laughed at the thought. She was far too strong for me to reach her in a year. Maybe in 5 years but a year?! That was some crazy talk.