The office was a mix of voices, footsteps, and the occasional metallic clang from someone tinkering with a piece of equipment.
The air had a hum of electricity, mingling with the weird scent of WD-40 and coffee left too long on a hot plate.
Ezra stood awkwardly in the center of it all, his eyes darting between the mismatched furniture, the sprawling tangle of cables snaking across the floor, and the people moving with purpose—or lack thereof.
Despite being in the afterlife, the group seemed as fragmented as any high school cafeteria. Clusters of people exchanged banter, while others hunched over their desks, their focus glued to screens or handwritten notes.
Ezra’s attention shifted to Carina, who stood at the far end of the room, her calmness in doing things was always eye-catching for some reason. She was flipping through a worn notebook, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Before Ezra could move closer, the lights overhead flickered and then died, plunging the room into sudden darkness.
A hush fell over the group, and the shuffle of chairs and feet filled the din.
“Oliver,” Carina’s voice cut through the silence, yet her command was indistinct.
Oliver reached for a panel beside an old wardrobe, its surface scratched and slightly dented from years of use.
Softly, he pulled the door open. Inside, a server rack tucked away inside.
The CPU box filled with a low hum, growing louder as the fans of the VGA cards began to spin.
One by one, the monitors brightened, casting sharper beams of light that reflected off the steel surfaces scattered around the room. Their bright lights from the IPS screens casted uncomfortable rays.
Carina calmly set her laptop onto her desk. She connected it to an ancient-looking projector mounted to the ceiling through the HDMI.
Soon, a faint beam of light came out from the device, illuminating the far wall with a glow. Dust motes travelled in the beam.
A detailed 3D model of a high school building emerged, rendered with precise lines and vibrant colors. Ezra recognized it instantly—the campus, the towering dormitories, the winding paths between buildings.
Carina moved to a nearby PC, her boots clicking against the floor as she pressed a few keys.
On the projection, the model shifted, zooming in on a specific area—the dormitories.
Small, pulsing dots appeared, thousands of them, scattered throughout the rooms like stars against a dark canvas.
Ezra leaned in, his breath catching.
“Are those…?”
“The students.”
Carina answered without looking at him. Her voice was steady, but her eyes held a sharp intensity as she studied the map.
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“Every last one of them. That’s who we’re up against.”
The room was silent again, save for the hum of fans and the occasional tap of Carina’s keyboard.
Ezra swallowed hard.
“Why do you need 5 PCs for a 3D map model?”
Ezra was shocked, again.
“It's a hi-poly model. We even have the interiors modeled. That's why we have a server and graphic cards for each PCs.”
Carina briefly answered.
“Damn…”
Ezra sighed in fascination.
Carina stood tall and confident, her dark hair falling in loose waves around her face as she walked back to the projector. When she walked through the light, her hair turned brownish-red.
Projected on the wall behind her was a stunningly detailed 3D model of their high school, the colors and textures almost lifelike.
As she dragged the cursor to a specific spot in the dormitory area, the laptop screen in front of her reflected the same image, accentuating the location.
Carina held the pencil steady, her movements quick as she circled a specific spot on the 3D map. All eyes were on her.
“This,”
She said.
“You’ll be part of our first grand operation. Code Name: Implosion.”
The words hung in the air, heavy and foreboding.
Peter leaned against the edge of the table, his large hand absentmindedly rubbing his chin.
“Man… this isn’t a joke…”
He muttered.
Ezra’s gaze locked onto the circled spot on the map, the word Implosion echoing in his mind.
He tilted his head slightly, the image of a submarine deep beneath the sea flashing before his eyes. He pictured it succumbing to the crushing pressure of the depths, its hull crumpling inward like paper.
He blinked, the imaginary scene dissolving as quickly as it had appeared.
“Implosion…”
He murmured under his breath.
Carina tapped the map with her pencil, her tone as calm as if she were explaining a group project.
“We’ll demolish all the dormitories while the mobs are resting. The runway for our plane is too short, so we’ll clear extra space for takeoff.”
Ezra froze, his eyes widening.
“What the heck? Demolish their dormitories?! Who’s gonna rebuild them? What happens to them? What happens to us? We getting five stars for crime?!”
He rapped out the words so quickly it sounded like he was auditioning for a rap battle, his hands flailing for emphasis.
“I’ve totally lost faith in you guys!”
He declared, pointing an accusing finger at Carina.
“You’re just a bunch of war criminals!”
Before he could say another word, Joshua stomped forward and shoved the barrel of his shotgun against Ezra’s cheek.
“Wha—”
“Watch your filthy mouth, kid!”
Joshua barked, his face inches from Ezra’s.
“That’s an insult to Carina! Take it back.”
Ezra tried to pull away but found himself pressed against the cold barrel.
“Why should I?! It’s against the morals of this world, right?!”
“Those mobs are nothing but mindless beings! Killing them won't make us sin in any way. If those mobs caught us declaring a war with the Architect, our merit will go down! And besides, they keep spawning with no limits. We have to eliminate some of them to prevent this world from lagging!”
Peter explained to him.
“They cause the lag too?”
Maxwell asked, fascination sparkled in his eyes.
“I'm pretty sure they do, eventually,”
Peter replied, scratching his chin again.
“But destroying all the dormitories?!”
Ezra exclaimed.
“Yes!”
Carina replied with optimism.
“We will literally tear down every single dormitory!”
Ezra blinked, his jaw dropping.
“You’re saying that like it’s a good thing!”
“The buildings will repair themselves, so there’s no need to worry.”
As Carina spoke, Oliver and Joshua wrestled behind Ezra.
Oliver tried to push the shotgun barrel towards the ceiling while Joshua attempted to aim it at him.
“Let go of my shotgun, asshole!”
“Are you insane?! You’re gonna blow a hole in the room! Do you know how long servers take to repair?!”
The two panted and grunted, stumbling into chairs and knocking over a stack of papers.
“Everyone has their assigned location.”
Carina continued, pointing to the indoor court next to the dormitories.
“Snipers will be stationed here.”
Carina directed her attention to Dika.
“Dika, I trust you'll handle the demolition of those buildings.”
“You can count on me.”
Dika replied with a smile, tying bags filled with dynamite onto the ground.
“Stan, I need you to steal the student council’s loudspeaker and tell everyone to stay inside the unaffected building while we demolish the dorm, you got me?”
Carina looked at Stan.
Stan stood with pride and confidence.
“Yessir.”
“And for you, Ezra, I'll give you an easy task,”
Carina said, pointing to a bridge connecting the high school to the indoor court.
“Your job is simply to scout this bridge and disrupt the Architect's movements if she comes near you.”
“Understood…”
Ezra answered hesitantly.
“Wait, I thought you said the Architect wouldn't come tonight?”
“Chances are low but not zero.”
Carina smiled.
Peter patted his shoulder, giving him a flare gun with the breech lock opened.
“Don't worry, new guy. Fire this flare into the sky to request reinforcement and we'll be by your side in no time.”
Ezra's gaze fell onto the gun clasped in his hands.
It was sleek and black, with a barrel that glistened in the dim light. He studied it carefully, his fingers tracing the grooves and curves, before giving a slight nod in understanding.
Everything around him seemed to fade into the background as he focused on the flare gun, already visualizing its use in his mind.