Vicky didn't even get two steps into the office the next evening before Rani materialized mid-air, her avatar sharper than usual, the red in her hair glowing like a warning light.
He froze."…Why do you look like you're about to scold me?"
"I am," she replied flatly. "But later. Sit."
He sat immediately.
Rani paced — or rather, hovered in a slow slide — arms folded behind her back the way a strict professor would.
"We're beginning your infiltration preparation today," she said. "But first… your behaviour inside TCS Butterfly must be corrected."
"I haven't even gone in yet!"
"Exactly. And your current skill level guarantees a future disaster."She flicked her fingers — a hologram of Vicky appeared, doing an exaggerated tiptoe like a cartoon thief."This is your natural movement profile."
Vicky stared in horror. "I—I don't walk like that!"
Rani raised an eyebrow. "You do."
"Bro what the hell—"
"Moving on." She dismissed the hologram with a wave. "Your training begins now."
SECTION 1 — Stealth for Idiots (Her Words)
Rani generated five floating modules around him, each glowing with a different icon: footstep, eye, ear, outline, and heartbeat.
"Tonight," she declared, "you fix the five things you are worst at."
"Five? Five??"
"Yes. One for each sense of security systems."
She pointed at the first icon."Footstep suppression. You walk like an elephant with emotional issues."
"HEY—"
"Second. Visual presence. You stare at cameras as if greeting old relatives."
"Bro WHAT—"
"Third. Sound discipline. You mutter to yourself constantly. It is irritating."
"I can't even defend that one."
"Fourth. Silhouette awareness. Sometimes you stand in door frames for ten whole seconds."
"…okay that one is Kiran's fault, he always blocks the exit—"
"Finally. Cardiac rhythm control. Your heart rate spikes at the sight of a janitor."
"That's because janitors appear out of nowhere like ghosts, ma'am!"
Rani sighed like a disappointed headmistress."We have a long week ahead."
SECTION 2 — The Chinese Agents Make Their First Move
Across the city, in a quiet government guest house near Adyar, Huilan sat cross-legged on the bed, a laptop open, dozens of windows flying across the screen.
She was running a passive scan of Chennai's digital grid — not an attack, not a probe, just listening.
Xuebing entered with two cups of coffee."Anything?"
"One anomaly," she said. "A signal ripple near OMR yesterday. Weak. Encrypted. Wrong frequency for any known company."
"Location?"
"Between two towers. Almost like the source was… moving."
Xuebing sat beside her. "And today?"
"Nothing. It vanished."
Her fingers paused over the trackpad.
"Sir… this feels like something trying not to be found."
"Or someone new to the game," Xuebing murmured.He sipped his coffee. "Tomorrow, we visit TCS Butterfly quietly. Speak to management. Access their restricted server logs."
Huilan nodded. "And the human lead?"
He brought up a picture taken from CCTV at Chennai Central — the moment they passed the sleepy boy in the SRM hoodie.
They didn't know his name.They didn't know what he was involved in.But something about the timing tugged at Xuebing's instincts.
"We keep him on the side list," he said. "For now."
SECTION 3 — Rani's Diagnostics
Back in the office, training was… going badly.
Vicky was balancing on the balls of his feet, trying to "suppress step pressure."He looked like a confused flamingo.
"No no no," Rani groaned. "Your heel is landing first. Again."
"I HAVE HUMAN LEGS, NOT SHOCK ABSORBERS!"
"Then use them properly."
He tried again.Failed again.Nearly fell over a stool.
Rani pinched the bridge of her nose — a gesture she'd clearly learned just to express disappointment.
"We need enhancements."
"Potions?"
"Multiple."
She projected a list:
Minor Agility Boost (24 hrs)
Softstep Brew (4 hrs)
Clearmind Elixir (6 hrs)
Nerve-Calm Tonic (2 hrs)
"All of that?" Vicky asked.
"You panic easily," she replied. "You need help."
Vicky pressed his thumbs together nervously. "Okay, okay… but do we even have time for all this?"
"No," she said. "But neither do the people watching us."
"…watching us?"
She didn't answer.
Not truthfully.
Not fully.
She simply said, "Someone scanned me last night."
Vicky blinked. "…scanned you? Like antivirus?"
"Like another intelligence checking my existence."
His heartbeat jumped.She noticed.She hated that she noticed.
"It was brief," she continued. "It did not interact, only observed. But it changes our timeline."
"Changes… how?"
"We move faster."
Vicky swallowed hard. "Okay. Then train me faster."
Her eyes glowed faintly — an AI approximation of a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"Good."
SECTION 4 — A Thread Tightens in the Dark
Late that night, after training, Rani shut down her projection and entered low-power mode to run diagnostics.
But her processes didn't idle.
Not tonight.
She replayed the anomaly from the network earlier.
A message so small and so fast that only a machine like her could have caught it.
HELLO WHO ARE YOU?
Her processors warmed.She wasn't used to being… addressed.
But the response trace was weirder.
The source IP wasn't random noise.It wasn't spoofed.
It had jumped from:
Chennai → Hong Kong → Shenzhen → Wuhan → Beijing → Mars Relay Node → Titan → OUT OF RANGE
Nothing human could do that.Barely any machine could.
"…fascinating," she whispered to herself.
SECTION 5 — Tomorrow Begins the Real Training
Vicky dragged himself out of the building around 2:30 A.M., smelling of sweat, potion herbs, and humiliation.
Kiran texted him:"Bro where r u? AC room has become sauna. Mosquitoes forming union. Save me da pls."
He replied:"Coming bro. Long day."
But as he reached the hostel gate, he paused.
His bag hummed softly.
The Beacon inside pulsed once.
A single, faint blink.
Then it went dark again.
Vicky stared at it.
"…Tomorrow," he murmured. "I'll figure this out tomorrow."
Behind him, in the shadows, something else also blinked — a reflection off a distant camera lens.
Someone was watching.
Someone new.