The sweltering evening was slowly giving way to the cooler embrace of twilight, though true darkness was still at least an hour away. Waves of heat still shimmered above the sunbaked asphalt, though it was far from the suffocating midday scorch that had ruled this place only hours before. One would expect this golden hour to bring life and energy to the surroundings — but here, silence had settled in. Trees were prematurely yellowing and shedding their leaves, birds had vanished, animals were nowhere to be seen, and not even the faint hum of insects broke the stillness.

As the sun bathed the land in its final golden rays, the “Ghosts of the Future” approached the silent, sprawling complex of the Vostok Global-Biochem Corporation. The paved road leading to the warehouse was deserted, with only occasional gusts of wind stirring dust along the shoulders.

Maksim pulled the truck to a stop near the main gates. Beside him, Alisa sat in the passenger seat, multitasking through multiple threads, tapping into the feeds from their scout drones, which they had sent out earlier to survey the area. All the incoming data was instantly displayed on a holographic map. But simply seeing the absence of “red dots” wasn’t enough. As a true analyst, she was meticulously assessing risks and possible scenarios.

“Clear!” Alisa declared, as her flying scouts continued sweeping over the Vostok Global-Biochem warehouse grounds, updating the facility map.

“This is definitely the place,” she confirmed, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “It’s a large complex with several buildings. The main ones are the equipment and chemical storage warehouse. There’s also a separate vault for biomaterials.”

The team was already on standby, weapons at the ready, sitting tensely in the truck’s cab as they prepared for deployment.

“I’m an idiot,” Maksim suddenly groaned, laying his assault rifle across his lap, and smacking his helmeted forehead with his palm.

“I’m aware,” Alisa replied, her tone carrying a touch of humor. “But care to enlighten the rest of us as to the specific reason for this revelation? Usually, you don’t come to this conclusion so easily…”

“Damn it, sis! Do you even have to troll me right now? Why the hell are we sticking our heads in the lion’s mouth again — or should I say, into a damn Shaiszu’s maw? Why did we take on a high-risk mission with variable complexity? And WHY… just WHY didn’t I check what you signed us up for in advance?”

In augmented reality, Maksim opened the mission briefing, dismissing the sections for “mission success criteria” and “failure conditions” to focus on the essentials:

// SYSTEM, Module “Missions”

Mission: Reconnaissance of the Vostok Global-Biochem warehouse complex

Coordinates: [expand]

Mission Type: Reconnaissance

Complexity: Variable

Danger Level: High

Urgency: Immediate

Priority: Very High

Expected Duration: Up to 5 hours

DESCRIPTION:

The Council of Free City Rzeszów has tasked your team with conducting a reconnaissance operation at the Vostok Global Biochem Corporation warehouse complex, located approximately 80 kilometers from Rzeszów near the border with the State Ukraine.

The City is working to ensure food security and is actively searching for necessary equipment, resources, and technologies.

Presumed Contents of the Warehouse:

Bioproduction equipment, such as vertical farming systems, algae cultivation tanks, protein incubation units, synthetic meat printing machines, consumables, and tools for calibration and monitoring.

Attention:

This area has frequent Shaiszu wondering portals activity. Due to this, the mission danger level has been classified as High. Analytical team estimate a minimum 35% probability of combat encounters.

Engaging monsters is not required — retreat is permissible if necessary. However, any combat risk undertaken will result in additional compensation.

MISSION OBJECTIVES:

Primary Objectives:

* Conduct a detailed reconnaissance of the Vostok Global-Biochem warehouse complex.

* Gather and document comprehensive information on the warehouse contents, exercising particular care with fragile equipment and reagents. Inspect containers and sealed crates for potentially critical equipment.

* Assess the level of risk and identify potential threats, including any Shaiszu presence.

* Maintain continuous live-stream coverage of team operations, using at least three drones (additional drones are encouraged).

* Submit a full report to the Rzeszów City Council upon completion of the mission (online submission permitted).

* In the event of any unforeseen circumstances, contact a City Expert for additional instructions.

Secondary Objectives:

* Avoid detection by hostile forces whenever possible.

* Minimize direct combat engagement within the warehouse premises.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

* Refrain from actions that violate mission conditions, such as theft or intentional property damage.

REWARDS AND BONUSES:

Base Reward:

50,000 grants for successfully completing the mission and providing detailed information about the warehouse contents.

Bonuses:

* Combat Risk Bonus: Additional payment starting at 10,000 grants for confirmed combat engagement with Shaiszu (varies by complexity and outcome).

* Data Quality Bonus: Up to 5,000 grants for providing comprehensive and high-quality data.

* Additional Task Rewards: Variable, for successful completion of additional tasks as specified.

Alisa folded her arms across her chest, tilting her head slightly as she gave her brother a pointed look.

“Because safe,” she emphasized the word with deliberate weight, “recon missions typically pay around 3,000 grants. And even those get snatched up instantly by sly little teams — probably to avoid shelling out for resource data and just gamble on their luck.”

Max took a moment to process her words before narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

“Okay, little sis, I’ve got you figured out,” he said after a beat, catching on to the game his sister was playing. “What have you come up with this time? Found a way to actually reduce the danger level?”

Alisa laughed, breaking the tension with a ripple of amusement.

“Technically, it wasn’t even me who figured it out,” she admitted with a teasing grin. “It was Dasha. Which means now you officially owe her two cakes. You get what I’m hinting at here?”

Dasha raised her helmet visor and, following Maxim’s lead, rested her submachine gun on her lap.

“Maxie… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, yeah. I thought you already knew… well… so, yeah. I talked this mission over with Alisa before she picked it. Well, actually… she discussed it with me…”

“It’s fine, WonderKid,” Max said, his voice calm and reassuring, grounding her jittery tone. “Now, tell me — what’s your idea?”

“It’s all thanks to my attribute, ‘Foresight,’ okay?” Dasha said, her confidence growing with each word. “Even at level one, I can feel when a portal’s about to open a few seconds ahead of time… and I can use the ‘Instant Appraisal’ skill to try to react fast enough.”

For emphasis, Vasilevskaya waved her vape — a mildly absurd and somewhat funny gesture, as if the small box in her hand could somehow lend credibility to her claims.

“But I didn’t stop there,” she continued, her enthusiasm spilling over. “This morning, I also dug deep into the Informatorium API. Now, if my passive ‘Danger Sense’ triggers, it’ll paint the danger zone the visual field in red glow — the brighter the red, the worse the threat. So… the denser the color, the sooner it’s going to happen…”

“Very clever,” Maksim said with a nod of approval. “Sorry to interrupt, but can your active skill ‘Glimpse the Future’ also detect incoming Shaiszu portal openings? I think I see where you’re going with this…”

“Yes, Max, exactly!” Dasha’s face lit up with pride. “I spent all morning setting up command chains to make sure this skill only triggers in situations of real, life-threatening danger…”

“Wait, hold on — stop right there, WonderKid,” Max said, sharply yanking his visor up as he leaned forward, his gaze locking onto hers. “Are you telling me you’ve figured out how to consciously activate triggered abilities? And you managed to integrate it with the System’s automated responses? Am I understanding this right?”

“Well… yeah… kind of,” Dasha stammered, her confidence faltering under his intensity. “I mean… not completely yet… yeah. I’m using a dev-UI version, and half of it is still manual work. But… but I guarantee I’ll be able to foresee potential portal openings. Not earlier than five minutes ahead, of course… but that’s a lot of time, isn’t it? I mean… it’s enough, right?”

Nikola got up from the folding chair she’d set up in the narrow aisle of the truck’s cabin. Stretching, she leaned against the wall.

“Five minutes? For combat, five minutes is an eternity,” she remarked. “You can prep just about anything in that time. Hey, Dasha, can you predict threats that aren’t right next to you? Like, say, if you’re inside the complex and the truck is parked somewhere nearby — would that work?”

Daria glanced at Nikola in surprise but quickly caught on, nodding eagerly.

“Yes, yes, of course! I just need to see the object… and the area around it. But the farther away it is, the less accurate it gets — and the prediction window shrinks, too.”

Nikola quickly tapped a few points on the map.

“If the truck is parked here, and we’re all the way over there, in the farthest part of the warehouse, could you still pick something up?”

Dasha hesitated briefly, calculating, then nodded again.

“I think so… yeah. At that distance… the prediction window would probably shrink to around thirty seconds, though.”

Maksim and Alisa exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

“Perfect,” the blond cut in, beating her brother to the punch. “I’ll keep one thread for controlling the truck, so I’ll be able to react in time.”

“And we won’t need to leave combat drones for security — one observer drone should be enough, right, WonderKid?” Max asked.

“Yes,” she squeaked in reply.

Max leapt to his feet, unable to stay seated with all the possibilities spinning in his head.

“That’s fantastic! So, the truck’s taken care of. But this level of control? That’s incredible! Hey, WonderStar, when you’re done refining this, will each of us be able to manage our skills through the interface? Will we see how much energy we have left? Countdown timers for cooldowns?”

“Well… yes?” Daria said, clearly startled by his enthusiasm. “I don’t have much left to finish. Plus, with the training data we’re about to collect on this mission… I can test and refine it… so it’ll be ready really quickly. I promise — it won’t take long, yeah.”

The guy paced back and forth in the cramped cabin, his thoughts racing.

“Damn it, WonderKid, why didn’t you tell me this earlier? I could’ve used this as leverage in the negotiations with the Linkers — and especially with Miro! This is huge! A total game-changer! An ironclad argument! And it’s a lifesaver for our missions!”

“I’m sorry…” Daria whispered, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. “I didn’t know… But it’s not ready yet! I can’t just… talk about something that’s not ready. Let alone show it to anyone.”

“Max, you absolute blockhead,” Alisa snapped, cutting him off, “what are you doing right before a mission? Apologize, now!”

The guy hesitated before awkwardly stepping over and sitting down beside Daria on the bed.

“Hey, WonderKid, I’m really sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to pressure you or anything like that. How about this — tomorrow, we’ll take the whole day off. Sleep in. Eat something delicious. Take a walk around the city, yeah? And if you feel like diving into the System code, you’ll have all the time you need. Deal? Don’t worry about it now. Let’s focus on the mission first. Once it’s done, we’ll rest.”

Nikola walked over with a warm expression and held out an open pack of tissues. Dasha took one, dabbing at her eyes.

“Sorry… it’s just the stress… and being so tired…”

“Everything will be okay,” Alisa reassured her with a kind smile. “And you really have earned a break. We all have.”

“Alright then,” Maksim said, clapping his hands once, a spark of energy in his tone. “Let’s start the stream for Rzeszów and get moving. The sooner we begin, the sooner we’re done …”

With Dasha’s newly revealed capabilities, the team decided there was no need to hide the truck. They parked it just inside the gates, facing the exit, ready for a quick getaway. Maksim and Nikola took a moment to walk the area, ensuring nothing would obstruct the vehicle if they needed to make a rapid escape.

Meanwhile, Alisa and Dasha scanned the surroundings, using both their own eyes and the drones hovering above.

[Hey, Max, Nika, take a look at this,] Alisa said through the team conference, sharing a live stream from one of the drones. [Is this what you were looking for?]

The feed showed a separate parking lot, cordoned off by a barrier arm. Beyond it stretched rows of white-and-blue vehicles, all stamped with corporate logo and name of “Vostok Global-Biochem.” The array included four high-end utility pickups, two already equipped with canopy kung. Five sleek minibuses, four compact cargo vans, and four luxurious business-class sedans.

[Bingo!]

[Jackpot!]

[The cars! Like… um, wow… yeah…] Dasha joined them, a bit hesitantly.

The drone circled the lot at low altitude, providing a closer view of the vehicles.

[Whoa… talk about luck. This really is a jackpot,] Redhead said with a satisfied chuckle. [We could easily turn those pickups — especially the ones with canopies — into solid raider rigs. You get what I’m saying, Max?”]

[Yep. Consider the secondary objective done. More than done, even. I’m all for keeping both pickups — but that’s for after the mission. Now let’s focus on the main task. Drones on recon, and we’ll start with the main building.] Maksim waved sharply, signaling the team to prepare.