The old parking garage buzzed faintly under the soft hum of Reza's mobile server rig.
Cables snaked across the cracked concrete floor, connecting the portable drives to hastily assembled terminals.
Small status lights blinked in the darkness like stars caught in a perpetual storm.
Irfan Shah sat cross-legged on the floor, his prosthetic eye linked directly to LUCIA, initiating the deep decryption sequence.
Beside him, Aina Farisha hovered, arms crossed, scanning their surroundings for any unwanted company.
Reza knelt by the main console, fingers flying over the keyboard.
Tension hung in the air like smoke.
Any mistake now could alert PHALANX to their location.
And if that happened—
No second chances.
The screen flickered once, then stabilized.
Lines of decrypted files flooded into view.
LUCIA's voice echoed in Irfan's mind:
"Decryption successful. 82% of data recovered. Initiating file parsing."
Folders emerged, each labeled coldly:
PROJECT NEMESIS
GENESIS PHASE II
TITAN-9 INITIATIVE
SUBJECT X: STATUS UNKNOWN
Irfan's breath caught at the last one.
Subject X.
The same term mentioned in the first dossier they found.
Who—or what—was Subject X?
He pushed the thought aside for now, focusing on the biggest red flag:
TITAN-9 INITIATIVE.
He tapped it open.
The contents were chilling.
Blueprints for massive underground installations, stretching beneath critical city infrastructure.
Energy conduits linked to unknown power sources.
Nanotechnology labs.
Cerebral interface chambers.
At the top of every diagram, stamped in bold crimson:
TITAN-9: HUMANITY ASCENSION PROTOCOL
Irfan scrolled through lines of summary text.
PHALANX wasn't just trying to control a handful of people.
They were building a system—
a network capable of linking every human mind in Kuala Lumpur into a single hive.
Control.
Obedience.
An end to free will.
Under the guise of "unity," they would erase individuality itself.
A new kind of city.
A new kind of humanity.
No resistance.
Only silence.
Reza whistled lowly, her usual bravado cracking under the weight of the revelation.
"Holy hell… they're not just running experiments. They're rewriting the damn blueprint of society."
Aina's fists clenched at her sides.
"And once they perfect it here, they'll spread it to other cities. Other countries."
Irfan leaned back, staring at the ceiling, heart pounding.
"Unless we stop them."
The words hung there, heavy and impossible.
Stop an invisible empire?
With what?
A few EMP grenades and stolen data?
But deep down, Irfan knew it wasn't about winning the war overnight.
It was about igniting something.
A spark.
An idea that could spread faster than any technology.
Hope.
He leaned forward again, fingers steady as he navigated deeper into the TITAN-9 files.
Maps, names, dates.
Key personnel lists.
Secure facility coordinates.
He recognized some of the locations—government buildings, telecom hubs, research centers.
But one site stood out above the rest.
Codenamed "Site Zero."
Location: undisclosed.
Purpose: unknown.
But it was linked directly to TITAN-9's command structure.
"Site Zero," Irfan murmured. "If we find it… we find the heart of the operation."
Aina nodded sharply.
"Then that's where we go next."
Reza smirked grimly.
"You're insane. I love it."
Outside, the faint howl of the city winds whispered through the cracks of the garage.
Somewhere out there, PHALANX moved in silence, preparing their next move.
But now, Irfan, Aina, and their newfound allies were moving too.
And the first spark had been lit.
In the darkness, rebellion was taking root.