After neutralizing the patrol units in the maintenance sector, Lena, Valerie, and Jackie continued deeper into Impala Automatics.
The remaining perimeter defenses fell even faster.
With the scanning capabilities of Lena’s Kiroshi Stalker Optics and the processing power of her Arasaka Mk.III Cyberdeck, every patrol route was mapped before the security units reached them.
One R2 robot after another vanished from the factory network.
Some had their communication modules severed by Lena.
Others were ambushed by Valerie and Jackie from outside their visual range.
The machines were destroyed or disabled before they could transmit warnings to the central security system.
The Militech Wyvern drones suffered the same fate.
Lena interfered with their communications, while Valerie and Jackie targeted their sensors and power modules with throwing knives.
Every falling drone was caught before it struck the ground, preventing even the sound of crashing metal from betraying their presence.
As the three mercenaries advanced, the hostile markers on the factory map steadily disappeared.
Impala Automatics was being stripped of its defenses piece by piece.
And inside the core research facility, no one had noticed.
Yet.
The heavy machinery surrounding the central platform continued to roar.
A massive Militech combat robot stood beneath the laboratory lights.
Its armored limbs were connected to testing equipment, while thick cables ran from its neural-control module to several terminals.
Researchers moved around it, recording data and checking each system.
“Proceed with the next test,” Dr.
Koch ordered.
He stood before the main console, completely absorbed in the information scrolling across its screen.
One of the researchers looked toward an empty workstation.
“Where’s Marcus?”
A colleague paused and glanced over.
“Didn’t he go to the restroom?”
“He’s been gone for a while.
We’re drowning in work, and that gonk is probably hiding somewhere.”
The researcher placed his tools on the table.
“I’ll find him.”
He left the laboratory and headed toward the maintenance area.
Several minutes passed.
He did not return.
At first, no one paid much attention.
Impala Automatics was enormous, and moving between its different sectors took time.
Eventually, another researcher became impatient and opened a communication channel.
“Marcus, can you hear me?
Get back here.
We’re overloaded.”
There was no response.
He tried contacting the worker who had gone to find him.
Again, only silence answered.
The researcher frowned and opened the surveillance network.
Feeds appeared from the entrance, maintenance workshop, dormitory sector, and production floor.
Every screen showed normal operations.
Security robots continued along their patrol routes.
Wyvern drones flew above the factory.
Employees moved between their assigned workstations.
There were no alarms.
No system failures.
Nothing that explained why two workers had disappeared.
The silence finally attracted the attention of the Zetatech security team.
The netrunner approached the surveillance terminal.
“Show me the previous ten minutes.”
The researcher obeyed.
Footage rewound across the screens.
The netrunner studied it for several seconds before his expression hardened.
The workers’ movements repeated at precisely the same intervals.
It was not live surveillance.
It was a recording.
“Someone has breached the factory.”
The atmosphere inside the laboratory changed instantly.
The other two Zetatech operatives entered combat readiness.
The Sandevistan user moved in front of Dr.
Koch, while the third guard drew his TKI-20 Shingen.
“How many intruders?” the melee specialist demanded.
“What equipment?”
“I don’t know.
They dismantled the perimeter without triggering an alarm.” The netrunner connected his Tetratronic Rippler Mk.III to the factory network.
“They have a skilled netrunner.”
The Shingen user glanced toward the laboratory exit.
“We need to move the doctor.”
Dr.
Koch looked at the unfinished combat robot.
“Is that necessary?”
A violent impact suddenly shook the laboratory wall.
A hundred meters away, Lena lay prone on the roof of a production building with her Nekomata braced against the concrete.
Her Kiroshi optics outlined the Zetatech operatives through the walls of the research facility.
She had not targeted the netrunner.
The man equipped with the Zetatech Sandevistan was the greater immediate threat.
If he reached close range, even Valerie and Jackie would struggle to match his speed.
The Nekomata completed its charge.
Blue electromagnetic arcs crawled across the rifle as its internal components vibrated beneath the accumulated energy.
Through the concrete wall, Lena tracked the guard’s stride, center of gravity, and direction of movement.
Her Arasaka Mk.III Cyberdeck processed the available information and calculated the necessary lead.
The crosshair settled over his head.
Lena fired.
The fully charged Nekomata round tore through the laboratory wall.
Concrete exploded inward.
The Sandevistan operative reacted the instant the wall began to rupture.
His implant activated.
To everyone else, his body became a blur as he threw himself sideways.
The electromagnetic projectile passed through the position his head had occupied a fraction of a second earlier.
It continued through a piece of laboratory equipment and finally struck the far wall, leaving a fist-sized crater in the reinforced concrete.
The guard rolled across the floor and came up on one knee.
Lena watched through her optics.
“You reacted to that?”
She clicked her tongue.
“Even a standard Zetatech Sandevistan is no joke.”
Inside the laboratory, the guard stepped protectively in front of Dr.
Koch.
His expression remained controlled, but his eyes shifted toward the hole in the far wall.
That shot had been aimed directly at his head.
If the wall’s destruction had not given him the split-second warning he needed to activate his Sandevistan, the projectile would have removed most of his skull.
He reached up and touched the edge of his head armor.
A deep groove had been carved across its surface.
Even after dodging, the round had come close enough to graze him.
The realization made his expression turn colder.
The shooter had accurately targeted his head from approximately a hundred meters away—and had done so through a concrete wall.
“Find the sniper,” he ordered.
The Zetatech netrunner was already working.
Data streams flashed through his optics as he reconnected to the factory architecture.
Lena had sealed several network interfaces, but activating the Nekomata and transmitting targeting information had produced momentary disturbances.
“Tracing the intrusion source,” he said.
“They concealed most of their activity, but that shot left a pattern.”
He combined the network residue with surveillance blind spots and the estimated trajectory of the electromagnetic round.
A section of the factory appeared on the tactical map. Get faster updates on g.com.
“Found her.
Northwest production building, rooftop.”
The location was synchronized to the other guards.
The operative equipped with the Kang Tao Smart-Weapon Jammer raised his head.
His TKI-20 Shingen unfolded in his hands.
Mechanical sections shifted into position as the Smart Link established a targeting solution.
The Shingen locked onto Lena’s rooftop position.
It opened fire.
A storm of smart ammunition curved between the factory structures.
Lena had already moved.
The failed assassination attempt had exposed her firing position, and remaining on the rooftop would allow the enemy netrunner and smart-weapon specialist to pin her down.
She collapsed the Nekomata’s support, secured the rifle, and sprinted toward the edge of the building.
Her Kiroshi optics tracked the incoming projectiles.
Three steps from the ledge, her Reinforced Tendons compressed.
Lena jumped.
Artificial muscle fibers released their stored energy, launching her across the gap between two factory buildings.
The smart rounds adjusted their trajectories behind her.
As Lena neared the opposite wall, she planted one foot against the concrete and activated the Reinforced Tendons again.
The second burst of force changed her direction in midair.
She vaulted over an industrial exhaust unit and landed on the roof of the adjacent building.
The smart rounds lost their targeting solution.
They followed her original trajectory and struck the wall, producing a chain of sparks and shattered concrete.
Lena rolled behind cover and immediately repositioned.
The new rooftop was closer to the research facility and provided a clearer firing angle.
She deployed the Nekomata again and rested it against the edge of the roof.
Her optics recalculated everything.
Distance.
Wind speed.
Wall thickness.
Target positions.
Projected movement.
The Zetatech operatives were no longer standing still.
One guarded Dr.
Koch, another searched the network for Lena’s location, and the Shingen user continued scanning the rooftops.
They knew they were under attack.
That no longer mattered.
The stealth operation had already accomplished its purpose.
Most of the factory’s exterior defenses were gone, the workers had been incapacitated, and the three elite guards had been isolated inside the laboratory.
It was time to stop hiding.
Lena slowed her breathing and opened the team’s encrypted communication channel.
“Jackie.
Valerie.”
Both answered immediately.
“Ready,” Jackie said.
He stood near the research wing’s lower entrance, flexing the fingers of his Gorilla Arms.
Valerie crouched behind a stack of industrial containers on the opposite side.
She checked the Yinglong’s ammunition and confirmed that the Smart Link remained active despite the enemy jammer.
“I’m in position,” she said.
Lena placed the crosshair back over the laboratory.
The Nekomata began charging.
Blue light gathered along its barrel, growing brighter with every passing second.
“Wait for my next shot,” Lena said.
Her finger rested against the trigger.
“Then storm the laboratory.”
]”
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