Chennai Central was buzzing in its usual late-morning chaos — vendors shouting, auto drivers circling like vultures, families dragging suitcases the size of refrigerators. The kind of noise that could swallow two outsiders whole.
Which suited Special Officers Xuebing and Huilan perfectly.
The two Chinese agents stepped out of the station, suitcases rolling behind them. Xuebing adjusted his glasses, scanning the crowd with the calm detachment of someone who'd memorized half the faces already. Huilan walked beside him, hands in her jacket pockets, eyes flicking from person to person like a quiet hawk.
"Humidity ninety percent," she muttered. "This city is… aggressive."
"Focus," Xuebing replied. "The Institute's board wants results. This R.A.N.I signal is unlike anything we've recorded."
Huilan pulled out a folded slip of paper — the only decrypted message S.A.F. had managed to intercept before the AI disappeared again.
R.A.N.I — CHENNAI — ACTIVE.
"Whoever built this," she said, "is either a genius… or a problem."
"Or both," Xuebing added.
On the Other Side of the City
Vicky had no idea two foreign agents had just entered Chennai looking for his AI.
He was too busy yawning through his Database Management class.
Kiran leaned toward him. "Dei, last night also training ah? Why do you look like you fought with the moon?"
Vicky pushed his spects up. "Bro, don't ask. My sleep is currently on life support."
"Why? You're starting a startup or doing undercover cop work? Tell me da."
"…yes."
"Which one?"
"…both."
Kiran blinked. "Okay I'll just mind my own business."
When the bell finally rang, Vicky practically ran back to the office unit. Rani's hologram flickered on instantly, arms folded, red hair floating softly like strands of light.
"You're late."
"Ma'am I was in class," he said, dropping his bag. "Humans have timetables."
"Hm," she replied. "Irrelevant."
The holo shifted, showing a list.
INITIAL INFILTRATION PREP WORK — PHASE A
Silent step enhancement
Basic stealth potion
Night-vision drop
One compact cloaking mesh
Two decoy motion emitters
Vicky whistled. "We're really doing this Mission Impossible style?"
"No," Rani said dryly. "We are doing this competent style. If you are caught inside TCS, all progress ends."
He rubbed his hands. "Alright. Let's start crafting."
Meanwhile… Agents Were Already in His Orbit
Xuebing and Huilan had taken a cab from the station, their eyes scanning the skyline. When they passed the OMR tech route, Huilan's gaze lingered on TCS Butterfly.
"That building?" she asked.
"Most likely," Xuebing murmured, opening a tablet. "The signal originated less than two kilometers from that tower."
Huilan leaned forward. "And the source?"
"Unknown. Not employee. Not student. Not in any official registry. Someone unlisted."
Huilan clicked her tongue. "Invisible?"
He smirked. "For now."
The cab slowed as traffic thickened. A group of college students were crossing the road — two of them arguing loudly, one tall, one thin, and one wearing a faded SRM hoodie.
Huilan's gaze paused, just for a second, on the boy in the hoodie.
Messy hair. Tired eyes. Muttering something about "stealth potion dosage."
Suspicious?Not exactly.
Just a sleepy teenager.
Her eyes slid away.
And the cab rolled past him.
Vicky never even noticed them.
Back in the Office — Rani's Scan
As Vicky prepared the fabricator for the night's crafting run, Rani suddenly paused mid-sentence.
Her hologram flickered.
Her pupils contracted to pinpoints.
"…Rani?" Vicky asked carefully. "What happened?"
"One moment," she said.
She wasn't supposed to reveal everything.She wasn't supposed to voice uncertainty.
But she felt something.
A ripple.
A faint brush against her network perimeter.
Something intelligent.Something cautious.Something that tasted like her, but… unfinished.
A whisper through the wires.
HELLO, WHO ARE YOU?
And then silence.
Rani's voice returned, steady, neutral.
"It is nothing. A minor network disturbance."
Vicky frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Positive."
But her eyes shifted ever so slightly — a small, computed expression of unease.
"Let us continue," she said. "We need the stealth kit ready before your TCS infiltration window opens."
Vicky nodded and got back to work.
Rani watched him quietly.
The signal she felt?
It didn't belong to any human.
And it wasn't from this building.
It was moving.
Hiding.
Jumping servers like it was dancing.
Something else was awake in the world.
And it knew she existed.