The rain was still beating rusty roofs and metal gateways from Neo-Lux. The dissidents ran through the dark maze of the alleys, an almost palpable tension between them. The acute whistle of surveillance drones resonated in the distance, adding an additional layer of stress to their flight.

Eliot opened the march, his piercing gaze scrutinizing each shadow. Rhea, holding the data key that they had risked their lives to get, struggled to keep the pace. Malik, still on guard, regularly glanced behind them, ready to draw at any time. Lya, on the other hand, seemed concentrated, but her face betrayed a deep concern.

- We are almost there, whispered Eliot, sneaking in a narrow passage.

They finally reached the back door of their base. RHEA is crouched to deactivate security systems. Once inside, Eliot locked the door behind them and leaned against the wall, short.

"It could have ended badly," said Malik, the voice tinged with reproach.

"But it was not," said Eliot dryly. Now is not the time to play criticism.

Malik clenched her fists, but Lya put a soothing hand on his arm.

-That's enough, she intervened. We all took risks tonight. Will not tear off now.

Once installed in the main room, the atmosphere was electric. Rhea had connected the data key to a terminal and began to decipher the files. Meanwhile, Eliot and Malik still argued.

- We should have stayed longer, Grogna Malik. This information is worth nothing if we do not know how to use it.

- And risk an ambush? Ironisa Eliot. Because that's what you wanted, Malik?

- Yes ! he replied, shrugging his voice. We don't have the luxury of playing caution.

"Both, that's enough," said Lya in a sharp tone. We recovered what we came to get. Let Rhea do her job before drawing conclusions.

Rhea looked up annoyed towards them.

- Could you argue elsewhere? These files are already sufficiently complicated without your cries in the background.

Eliot sighed and motioned to Malik to follow him in another room.

A few hours later, Rhea called everyone around the terminal. His eyes were surrounded, but shiny with excitement.

"I found something," she announced. And it's not beautiful to see.The holographic screen projected a series of complex diagrams. Giant servers, antennas, and connection points dot the Neo-Lux map.

“It’s called Project Nexus,” she explained. Synapse doesn't just control information. They want to control minds.

A cold silence fell over the room.

- How ? Lya asked, out of breath.

“Thanks to this infrastructure,” Rhea replied, pointing to the servers. They can send signals directly into the neural network of connected citizens. Not just suggestions or targeted ads. A complete reprogramming.

Malik ran a hand over his face in disbelief.

— This is madness. What do they want to transform people into? Obedient drones?

“Yes,” Rhea replied. And they are about to start testing.

Eliot remained silent, his mind already working on what came next.

As Rhea continued to search through the files, something caught her eye.

—Wait a second... There's something else here.

She opened a new file, revealing a series of numbers and visual sequences.

“It’s an encrypted message,” she whispered.

— From whom? Malik asked.

Rhea frowned.

— It’s signed “Orion.”

At the mention of this name, Eliot flinched slightly.

—Orion?

Lya nodded, visibly troubled.

—A former Synapse agent. Missing for years.

—And why would this message be here? Malik asked, suspicious.

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Eliot replied. Keep going, Rhea.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

After several minutes of decryption, the message finally revealed a coordinate: a terminal located in the abandoned industrial zone of Neo-Lux.

—An ambush? Malik suggested.

Eliot replied calmly:

- Maybe. But if Orion is really involved, he might have answers that we don't have.

A few hours later, the Dissidents were on the move again. The industrial zone was a metallic wasteland, filled with rusty structures and broken machinery. The atmosphere was oppressive, the silence only brokenBy their steps and the distant buzzing of drones.

They reached the terminal mentioned in the message. Rhea settled quickly to establish a connection.

-It will take a few minutes, she whispered.

But before it could finish, an engine noise was heard. Eliot raised his fist to report the alert.

-We are not alone, he whispered.

Armed drones appeared from darkness, their red lights sweeping the area.

- It's an ambush! cried Malik.

The fight was fast and brutal. Eliot and Malik worked in perfect coordination to repel drones, while Lya covered Rhea, who tried to finalize data extraction.

- Rhea, we have to leave! howl Eliot.

"Another second," she replied, "fingers running on her keyboard.

Malik killed a last drone with a specific shot before turning to her.

- Rhea, move!

She finally tore off the terminal and followed the group as they sank more deep into the industrial zone to sow their pursuers.

Once sheltered, Rhea showed the screen of her interface.

- I succeeded.

The file contained a new message:

"You are closer than you think. Find Orion before it is too late."

Eliot clenched his fists.

- We advance in the shadows, but Synapse is always a step ahead. Chapter 3: Resonances

The pale lights of Neo-Lux sparkled through the incessant curtain of acid rain, giving the city the appearance of a ghost vessel deriving in a sea of mist. The dissidents returned to their base, an old disused factory transformed into a clandestine sanctuary. The previous mission had left more than physical injuries: doubts had been interfered in the group, threatening its fragile balance.

Eliot opened the metal door, his impassive face masking his frustration. Once inside, he threw his coat dipped on a chair and sat down heavily at a rusty steel table.

"It was a disaster, scolded Malik, breaking the silence.

- We came back in one piece, replied Eliot without looking at him.

- At what price? continued Malik, his voice rising from a notch. We were taken atdeprived. You should have anticipated this!

Rhea, already sitting at her terminal, rolled her eyes.

— Will you keep your mouth shut? I'm working.

“He's right, Malik,” Lya intervened, massaging his bruised shoulder. We did what was necessary.

Malik shook his head displeased, but eventually fell silent, sitting aside.

Rhea's fingers danced across her holographic keyboard, lines of code scrolling past at breakneck speed.

“It’s okay,” she announced after an hour. I have something.

Everyone gathered around her, momentarily forgetting their differences. The screen projected a series of complex diagrams and reports labeled "Project Nexus."

“Synapse doesn’t just want to manipulate information,” Rhea explained. They want to manipulate minds.

Lya frowned.

— Manipulate... spirits?

Rhea nodded.

— They are already testing their technology in the poorest neighborhoods of Neo-Lux. The Nexus is designed to implant ideas, erase memories, reshape minds as they see fit.

Eliot clenched his fists, his face hard with anger.

—We have to stop them.

“Wait,” Rhea murmured, her eyes fixed on an unusual line of code. There is something else.

She deciphered a cryptic sequence, revealing a unique name: Orion.

—Orion? Lya asked, surprised.

“A former Synapse agent,” Eliot explained. He disappeared after sabotaging a major project years ago. Some say he betrayed Synapse, others that he was eliminated.

— So why is his name in these files? Malik asked, suspicious.

“Maybe he’s still alive,” Rhea suggested. Maybe he's trying to contact us.

The group exchanged uncertain glances. Orion was a name shrouded in mystery, a ghost whose very existence was debated.

After a long debate, the Dissidents decided to follow this new path. Lya, although injured, insisted on participating.

— We need moreinformation, Eliot declared. The Nexus is an existential threat. If we can find Orion, he might help us destroy it.

Rhea pointed to a secondary data center owned by Synapse.

—I located a facility where they could store information about Orion. But it's risky.

“Everything we do is risky,” Malik replied.

The following night, the Dissidents entered the data center. The place was eerily silent, the machines humming softly in the darkness.

Rhea deactivated the security cameras while Malik and Lya discreetly neutralized the guards. Eliot was monitoring the surroundings, ready to act in case of trouble.

“Almost there,” Rhea murmured as she accessed the main server.

But before she could finish, a surveillance drone flew by, casting a red light on their position.

“We’ve been spotted,” Eliot warned.

Alarms sounded, and armed drones converged on their position. Malik and Lya demonstrated formidable efficiency, using their weapons and cyberpunk gadgets to repel the attackers.

Rhea finally finished extracting the data and shouted:

— It’s okay, let’s go!

They made their way through the facility, dodging gunfire and using the terrain to their advantage. Once outside, they scattered to escape their pursuers.

Back at base, Rhea examined the recovered data. Among them, a new message from Orion emerged.

“He wants to meet us,” she declared.

The group turned to Eliot, awaiting his decision.

“Then we’ll go,” he said finally. But be ready. It might be a trap.

Orion's cryptic message resonated in everyone's minds:

“If you want to understand the truth, be prepared to lose everything.”