097 THE HEART OF GENESIS CORE
Then, to Damen's horror, the keypad lit up on its own.
Beeps echoed in the cold silence as the lock entered its own code.
He stepped back, his pulse quickening. "Who the hell is helping me…?"
The cabinet clicked. The seal hissed open.
Inside, resting in a cradle of light, was a single vial filled with a strange, shifting liquid—its color changing between silver, crimson, and deep violet, like something alive.
He reached for it slowly. The hum of invisible energy pressed against his skin. Whatever this was, it wasn't ordinary medicine.
He raised his phone and scanned the vial.
Name: Elixir ESP-X
Description: The latest development in meta-psychic science. Animal trials indicate major enhancement of sensory perception.
Side Effects: Unknown.
"Super sense, huh?" Damen muttered. "Sounds fun."
With no listed side effects, he didn't hesitate. "Assimilate."
The liquid rose from its cradle, liquefying into a glowing essence before flowing into him. His vision flashed white.
Then came sound.
A noise was heard from outside the cold room. Damen tensed and bolted toward the corridor, expecting security—but the hall was empty. The sound came from far away, faint yet perfectly clear, like it was happening beside his ear.
"Damnit… is the super sense already kicking in? I can hear across the building," he whispered.
His phone chimed suddenly.
Congratulations — new feature unlocked: Vision Connect.
"Vision Connect?" Damen opened the system menu. A new toggle had appeared beneath Empowerment. He tapped it.
The Empowerment indicator turned off.
"Damn. I can only use one at a time," he grumbled.
Then a glyph flickered before his eyes—digital, translucent, the same symbol that glowed on his phone. He reached for a random vial on a nearby shelf and focused on it.
A string of words appeared in his mind.
Name: Detoxification Elixir.
Description: Purges cellular toxins and repairs organic degradation…
He cut it off with a grin. He wasn't interested in the elixir.
"This new function is so damn cool," he cried in joy. He could use the function in his phone without the need to hold it…. all he needed was his vision.
He returned to the lobby of GenSyn and dropped into a lounge chair just as Director Ambrone and the remaining agents came up from below.
Through his Vision Connect, Damen's sight sharpened. Ambrone was outlined in faint light, his energy signature pulsing like a target.
He whispered in his mind, "Mine him."
Instantly, the mining button flared on his interface—[Mining: Ambrone].
"Hahaha… this is insane," he said under his breath. Then another icon appeared beside it—Drain.
Damen's hair stood on end. The possibilities flooded his mind.
This wasn't just vision—this was Super Op level of Power. He could tag enemies in combat, analyze them, maybe even steal their powers with a glance of his eyes…. All without the need to access his phone.
Having to manage the use of his phone during combat was a hassle and a limiter on his power. With the new function, everything changed.
"What's that boy giggling about by himself?" Director Ambrone asked, frowning in Damen's direction.
Lander sighed. "He's still a kid. How do you explain kids?"
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When Dorin and Lander left to see Director Ambrone off, Damen seized the chance to slip away.
He headed back down into the underground levels of GenSyn Industries.
"I might've missed a lot of good stuff down here without my phone," he muttered, eyes glowing faintly as his Vision Connect scanned the corridors.
Dead synths littered the floor. Some twitched with dying sparks. Others still lived, silent and motionless in their pods. None of them interested him.
Then something did.
His scan picked up a metallic box unlike anything else in the lab. Its surface was covered in fractal glyphs that shifted like liquid metal.
He focused on it.
Name: Genesis Core Heart
Description: The heart of the Genesis Core — the foundation of its power. Drawing upon Annunakin blood, it generates energy sufficient to sustain a city. Primary source of the Core's transmutation processes.
Damen's brow furrowed. "Annunakin blood, huh? I've got plenty of that in me."
The thought came naturally—a reckless and irresistible thought.
He raised his hand. "Assimilate."
The Heart of Genesis Core lifted from its cradle. Sparks leapt across the room, machines flickering as energy surged through the walls.
Technicians nearby froze, shielding their faces. The metallic heart pulsed violently, each beat louder than the last …. and then it imploded into a flash of white light.
Silence followed.
There was no blast or debris—just air trembling with residual charge. But the core was gone.
The crew slowly lowered their arms, unharmed but shaken.
Damen exhaled, trembling with exhilaration. "I've gotten it. The heart is mine now."
He checked his phone, expecting a new notification, but there was nothing.
There were no new features or changes in his system. Even his pulse felt normal.
"Well… we'll find out later," he said with a smirk, pocketing the phone.
With nothing else that caught his eye, he climbed back to the lobby.
Dorin and Lander were just returning when he stepped in.
"Damen, guess what," Dorin said cheerfully. "Director Ambrone's impressed with your performance. You're being promoted to One-Star Investigator."
"One-star?" Damen blinked. "What's that even mean? And what about my reimbursement claim?"
Dorin turned without answering, walking off toward the exit.
Lander shrugged helplessly, palms up. "Don't ask me."
"Damn you, SIA!" Damen shouted after them.
His voice echoed through the empty lobby—half anger, half laughter. He wasn't really angry about the claim anymore- he's got more money now than he'll ever see in his entire life.
Just as Damen was about to leave, his phone beeped.
"Finally—a new function," he muttered, checking the screen.
But it wasn't.
Instead, a message blinked across the display:
SOS: Big Brother, please help me. (Location attached)
He frowned. "What the hell is this?"
He was about to swipe it away when another message arrived.
"Help me, please, Big Brother. I'm the one who helped you unlock the vault."
Damen froze. "You? You were the one who hacked the vault?"
A third ping.
This time, a voice message — faint, ragged, and terrified.
"Yes… please…Big Brother… they're about to kill me—AARGH—!"
Static followed, then silence.
Without hesitation, Damen sprinted out of GenSyn Industries.
The lobby lights blurred past him, his footsteps echoing through the hall.
Whoever this was, they knew too much, and they had just helped him.
He didn't have time to think.
He just ran.
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