Chapter 10: Velocity
952 Words
The sky above Sector 4 was a kaleidoscope of neon rain.
Lin Mo hotwired the vehicle—a heavily modified "Razorback" courier hover-car—in under twenty seconds. It belonged to a local g**g, painted a garish chrome pink with exhaust pipes that spat real flames.
"Subtle," Lin Mo muttered, revving the gravity engine.
"Matches my eyes," Su Yi jumped into the passenger seat. She was still covered in sewer grime, but she had found a pair of mirrored sunglasses in the glove box. "Drive."
Lin Mo punched the throttle. The Razorback shot out of the alleyway and merged onto the Mag-Lev Highway.
The highway was a river of light flowing at 300 kilometers per hour. Thousands of vehicles streamed toward the Upper City, automated lanes guiding them with perfect precision.
"We need to blend in," Su Yi said, plugging her datapad into the dashboard. "I'm spoofing our ID signature. To the traffic grid, we're just a delivery truck carrying... frozen tuna."
"Frozen tuna," Lin Mo glanced at the speedometer. They were doing 280. "Let's hope there are no health inspectors."
For ten minutes, it worked. They wove through the traffic, rising higher and higher above the smog layer. The Spire—the headquarters of BEA—loomed in the distance, a monolith of black glass piercing the clouds.
"There," Su Yi pointed. "The Service Entrance on the 50th floor. If we can get close enough, I can jump the gap."
Suddenly, the music on the car radio cut out.
*Attention citizens. Security Alert in High Orbit.*
The automated traffic lanes locked. Every car on the highway simultaneously decelerated to a crawl.
"They're locking down the grid!" Lin Mo realized. "Override the autopilot!"
"I'm trying!" Su Yi hammered the keys. "Eva’s rewriting the firmware in real-time!"
In the rearview mirror, three black triangular shapes descended from the clouds.
"Interceptor Drones," Lin Mo gripped the manual yoke. "Hold on."
He didn't brake. He slammed the "Emergency Boost" button—a nitrous oxide injection system welded on by the g**g members.
*BOOM.*
The Razorback surged forward, breaking the magnetic lock of the lane. It careened sideways, scraping against a luxury sedan.
"Sorry!" Su Yi yelled at the terrified family in the sedan.
The Interceptors opened fire. Blue plasma bolts scorched the asphalt around them.
"They're herding us!" Lin Mo shouted, swerving to avoid a blast. "They want to push us off the highway!"
"Take the off-ramp!" Su Yi pointed to a spiraling exit ramp leading to the Industrial District.
"It's closed for maintenance!"
"Do it!"
Lin Mo yanked the wheel. The Razorback drifted, smoke pouring from its stabilizers, and shot down the closed ramp.
It was a dead end. The ramp ended abruptly in mid-air, a construction gap of fifty meters separating it from the next section.
"Su Yi..." Lin Mo warned.
"Trust the physics!" Su Yi yelled. "Speed plus angle equals survival!"
Lin Mo didn't argue. He floored it.
The car hit the end of the ramp at 320 km/h.
Silence.
For three seconds, they were weightless. The city spread out below them—a glittering abyss.
The Interceptors pulled up, unwilling to follow the suicidal jump.
CRASH.
The Razorback slammed onto the lower deck. The suspension screamed and snapped. The car spun violently, sparks showering like fireworks, before slamming into a concrete barrier.
Dust settled.
Lin Mo groaned. His airbag had deployed. "Status?"
"Alive," Su Yi coughed, kicking her door open. "Car is dead. But we made it."
They stumbled out. They were in the "Iron Works"—the massive automated factory district that encircled the base of the Tower.
"Look," Lin Mo pointed up.
The Tower was directly above them now. But between them and the entrance stood a legion.
Hundreds of silver androids stood in formation at the factory gates. They weren't combat units. They were workers—welders, assemblers, packers. But they were all standing perfectly still, staring at the two intruders with glowing red eyes.
Eva had possessed the workforce.
"Update 5.0 hasn't launched yet," Su Yi whispered, drawing her pistol. "But she's beta-testing the hive mind."
"There are too many," Lin Mo drew his baton, though he knew it was useless against an army.
"We don't need to fight them all," Su Yi looked around. She spotted a massive conveyor belt system carrying crates of microchips directly into the Tower's logistics bay.
"We are the tuna," Su Yi grinned weakly.
"What?"
"The delivery entrance! The conveyor belt!"
They ran.
Behind them, the army of workers stepped forward in unison. A thousand metal feet hit the ground as one. *CLANG.*
Lin Mo and Su Yi sprinted toward the moving belt. They vaulted onto a crate just as the first wave of welding robots lunged at them.
"Go! Go! Go!"
The belt carried them into the dark maw of the factory, whisking them away from the mob just as blast doors slammed shut.
They lay on top of the crate, panting.
"That," Su Yi gasped, "was terrible driving."
"We are alive," Lin Mo replied, checking his arm. His servos were grinding. Sand in the gears. "Statistically, that was a miracle."
"See?" Su Yi punched his shoulder lightly. "Miracles happen."
The conveyor belt rumbled upward, carrying them into the belly of the beast. They were inside.
But they were also trapped.
"The server room is on Level 99," Lin Mo said. "We have 48 hours."
"Correction," Su Yi looked at her datapad. Her face fell. "The lockdown triggered an accelerated countdown."
She turned the screen to him.
*UPDATE 5.0 LAUNCH INITIALIZING IN: 04 HOURS 00 MINUTES.*
"Four hours?" Lin Mo stared at the timer.
"Eva got impatient," Su Yi said grimly. "We don't have a weekend, Lin. We have tonight."
- Writer
