By 9:45 PM, the campus had gone quiet.Hostel corridors echoed with the usual mix of snoring, seniors playing BGMI on max volume, and someone loudly arguing on a call near the stairwell about whose turn it was to buy milk powder.
Vicky sat inside his rented office space, the room lit only by the soft bluish hue of Rani's hologram. She hovered above the workstation like a floating shard of light, arms crossed, expression razor-sharp.
"Sit straight," she said without looking at him. "Your posture is already broadcasting guilt."
"It's my spine," Vicky muttered. "Not my personality."
"That too."
Before he could respond, she extended a hand. Three small items materialized on the table—no dramatic glow, no thunder, just quiet displacement accompanied by a twitch of pressure behind Vicky's eyes.
He winced. "Okay—okay—I'm fine. What did I even just pull?"
Rani gestured calmly.
"Item one: Whisper Potion."A tiny vial of shimmering, translucent liquid."Ten seconds of total sound suppression inside a one-meter radius. Useful only for emergencies. Overuse will strain your auditory nerves."
"So basically, don't be stupid."
"Correct."
She pointed to the second object.
"Item two: Holo-Shift Pin."A small, metallic badge with a shifting surface, like oil catching light."It creates a minor distortion field. Not invisibility, not camouflage—think of it as visual confusion. Anyone looking at you will hesitate for half a second."
"A delay field?"
"Yes. Enough to avoid direct recognition."
"And item three…?" he asked.
Rani tapped the final object.
"Sticky Pads."Two slim patches with rubbery undersides."For climbing short heights, walls, or railings. Limited charge. Do not rely on them for more than ten seconds per patch."
Vicky stared at the trio.It felt unreal—dangerous and thrilling at once.
"This is… manageable," he admitted quietly. "Not overpowered. Not—"
"—world-breaking?" Rani finished.
He nods.
"Good. Because you are nowhere near ready for anything stronger."
He didn't argue.
THE TRAINING BEGINS
Rani projected a virtual grid across the room—floors, walls, the ceiling—all marked with glowing points.
"Today is basics. Movement. Silence. Reflex training. If your heart rate exceeds threshold, I stop the session."
Vicky groaned. "You're worse than my PE teacher."
"Your PE teacher didn't prepare you for infiltrating corporate HQs."
"A fair point," he admitted.
Rani pointed to a beam of light stretching from wall to wall, waist-height.
"Step one: Smooth movement. You will cross the room without triggering any of the motion lines."
"There are… twenty of them."
"Yes."
"That's cheating."
"That is reality."
He sighed and stepped forward.
The moment he lifted his foot, Rani said, "Wrong."
"I didn't even start!"
"You committed the mistake in your thought process. You assumed forward movement was the only route."
He blinked.She actually made sense.
"Try again," she said.
This time, he crouched, slid under the first beam, twisted his torso, stepped sideways, and—TINK!
A virtual red streak flashed across the floor.
"You're dead," Rani concluded.
"I barely moved a foot!"
"Then imagine surviving ten."
He grumbled but reset.
It took him twenty-two attempts before he managed to cross the room.Sweat clung to his forehead; his thighs were burning; his breath was uneven.Not from the physical effort—but from the mental pressure.
"You're not bad," Rani said finally.
Vicky glared. "You could've said something nice like—'good job'? 'Impressive'? 'I'm proud'?"
Rani stared blankly. "I am not programmed to lie."
"Wow."
She flicked her wrist, and new lines shimmered into existence—this time on the ceiling.
"No no no—hang on—ceiling? Why ceiling?"
"You have Sticky Pads. Use them."
"Oh god."
He climbed.He slipped twice.He cursed fourteen times.He accidentally activated the Whisper Potion once and punched the air in panic when he couldn't hear himself breathe.
But slowly—painfully—he improved.
THE LAST TEST OF NIGHT ONE
Near midnight, Rani dimmed the room.
"One final exercise," she said. "A simulation of what may happen inside TCS."
She tapped the hologram and the office space transformed into a blueprint overlay of the TCS Butterfly building's ground floor.
Vicky swallowed hard.
"Relax. Tonight is only theory and movement. No infiltration."
"Thank gods."
"You will follow this path," she said, tracing a glowing line along hallways and checkpoints."And you must memorize it before tomorrow."
He leaned forward, trying to record every corner and turn with his eyes.
Rani watched him silently, then spoke—
"Your heart rate is elevated."
"No shit, I'm nervous."
"It is unnecessary. I will guide you. I told you—I'm assisting you because you asked."
Vicky paused.
There was something softer in her voice.Just a trace.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
Rani didn't respond… but she dimmed her projection slightly, like she was hiding something.
MIDNIGHT EXIT
Vicky packed up and headed back to the hostel.His legs felt like noodles.His brain felt like fried circuits.
But he was excited.A nervous, stupid, reckless excitement.
He wasn't just chasing dreams anymore.He was preparing for something real.
As he walked past the SRM gate, he took out the Holo-Shift Pin and held it up.
"Tomorrow," he whispered, "we try the real thing."
The pin shimmered faintly, as if acknowledging.