Trevor and the rest of the group had chosen Alvin's apartment as their temporary hideout until they completed the mission and could finally move into the school hostels. The small, modestly furnished space felt cramped with four teenagers and their growing anxiety, but it was better than wandering the streets of the academy city.
"So what's the plan now?" Mia asked, leaning against the worn couch. "Do we just sit here and wait for them to send us to our doom, or do we actually do something about it?"
Trevor turned to her, his sharp eyes gleaming with determination. "You mentioned earlier that you're good at hacking. Was that true?"
"Of course it was true," Mia replied, crossing her arms. "But what exactly are you getting at?"
"I need you to hack into the academy's database and pull out the detailed information about our mission," Trevor said, a confident smile spreading across his face.
Mia stared at him in disbelief. "Are you insane? I haven't even fully activated my abilities yet. How do you expect me to break into a properly secured facility like that?"
"Don't worry, you won't be doing it alone," Trevor reassured her. "I'll help you."
"And how exactly are you going to help?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Just trust me."
Mia could only sigh deeply. She knew arguing with Trevor was usually pointless once his mind was made up. Reluctantly, she pulled out her sleek, custom-built laptop from her backpack and placed it on the coffee table. She powered it on, and the screen immediately lit up with streams of complex code.
As she began typing rapidly, lines upon lines of intricate programming code scrolled across the display. Moments later, a stunning 3D holographic projection emerged from the laptop, floating above the table. It depicted a squad of armored digital soldiers charging forward in a chaotic rush toward a massive, glowing firewall.
"If you're going to provide that assistance you promised, I need it right now," Mia said urgently, her fingers never stopping.
Trevor nodded and closed his eyes for a brief moment. "Hey, Omar," he muttered under his breath. "It's been a long time since we last spoke."
A gruff, irritated voice echoed in his mind. "Don't come here bothering me with your nonsense, kid. Spit it out—what do you want?"
"I need your help again."
"Let me guess: you want me to look into someone else's future? You really need to learn how to control your own power and get stronger," Omar grumbled, but he still lent his assistance.
"Any minute now," Mia warned, her voice tense.
"It's a Glimpser-tier firewall, with five more behind it," Trevor said, his voice steady and precise. "The weak points of the first one are located at the lower left quadrant, specifically at coordinates 47.3 and 82.9. Strike there."
Mia wasn't entirely sure she should trust him completely, but she had no other choice. Her hands danced skillfully across the keyboard as she inputted the new commands. On the holographic display, the previously disorganized soldiers suddenly snapped into a tight, orderly formation. They launched a coordinated assault on the firewall's weak points. Sparks flew as sections of the digital wall crumbled, though several soldiers disintegrated in the process.
Mia felt a surge of excitement when she saw her troops break through the first barrier. It was her first successful breach of a Glimpser-tier firewall, and the thrill was undeniable. However, she couldn't afford to lose focus. She continued coding furiously while Trevor kept feeding her real-time information about each subsequent firewall's vulnerabilities.
After they successfully demolished the first three firewalls, the academy's security system finally detected the intrusion. New, reinforced firewalls began materializing rapidly, one after another. Anti-virus programs swarmed like digital predators, attempting to slow them down or trap their soldiers.
Yet Trevor and Mia remained unfazed. Their seamless cooperation allowed them to adapt quickly, dismantling each new obstacle with precision and speed.
Meanwhile, deep within the Academy's security headquarters, a large room filled with the constant clatter of keyboards and humming servers buzzed with activity. A stern man sat in his private office when a skinny, panicked technician suddenly barged through the door.
"Sir, we have a major problem!" the skinny man exclaimed, breathing heavily.
"What could possibly be so important that you barge into my office like this?" the man demanded, looking up from his desk.
"Sir, someone is hacking into our central database right now," the technician replied.
The officer waved his hand dismissively. "Then put up more firewalls and deploy additional anti-viruses. That's what your team is paid for."
"Sir, you don't understand," the skinny man insisted, his voice trembling. "We've already deployed everything we have, but they're still breaking through. It's like they know exactly where to strike."
The officer's face hardened with anger. "Are you all useless? What's the point of having an entire security division if you can't handle one intrusion? Bring me my terminal immediately!"
A small metallic box was placed before him. He pressed a button, and a glowing holographic keyboard materialized in the air. "Let's dance," he muttered coldly, his fingers beginning to move at incredible speed.
Back in Alvin's apartment, Mia and Trevor had just smashed through the final firewall and neutralized the last wave of anti-viruses. Mia was about to celebrate when Trevor suddenly raised his hand to stop her.
"What is it?" she asked, her heart still racing with adrenaline.
Trevor remained silent and simply pointed at the holographic projection. A gigantic, monstrous figure was now charging toward their remaining squad of soldiers at terrifying speed. Its form was nightmarish—a writhing mass of black code tendrils, glowing red eyes, and jaws that constantly glitched in and out of existence.
When Mia saw it, her blood ran cold. "A Borrower-tier antivirus…"
The celebration died instantly. The atmosphere in the apartment grew heavy with dread as the colossal digital beast closed in on their troops.