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> Corpo Age [Cyberpunk Progression LitRPG] > Chapter 13: The Way In

Chapter 13: The Way In

Corpo Age [Cyberpunk Progression LitRPG] by RandomBlueCat

998 1 50

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"Rollo, are you free right now? We could really use your help."

"Flo? What's going on?" I put the car back into auto drive to focus on the call.

"An idiot on my team got picked up a few days ago, and we finally located him. The problem is that he is being held in some corp facility, so we can't just go in guns blazing this time."

"I'd love to help Flo but I don't think I can go against some corporation even you're hesitant to antagonize…"

"Look, they aren't some big untouchable corp. They are just some fucked up startup specializing in human experimentation that other corps outsource to. If we went guns blazing, they would activate their fail-safes that would dispose of all their 'subjects' for some bullshit confidentiality contract. Can you take a shot at sneaking in to disable it?"

"Fine… I'll try, but no promises. You guys already have a plan?"

"Great, we'll owe you one. Come on over to Haven and we'll go over the details."

They filled me in on the plan in one of the private rooms inside Haven. There were glass windows in the room that looked out to the rest of the bar, though we set the windows to be opaque.

By the time we finished, the sun was just setting.

We headed out right away, driving circles around a small but normal-looking office building with only a dozen floors and a loading area in the back.

I ensured I had everything I needed before getting out of the car.

"Test, test. Can you hear me alright?" A woman's voice rang out in my head thanks to my SAID.

"Yeah, loud and clear."

"Okay, you can respond by text once you're in, but our connection will break up once you pass into the jammed area and you'll be on your own. Once you get in, you should be able to disable it."

"Yeah, yeah. We just went over it."

"Just wanted to remind you that once you're in, you're on your own. You better do exactly as I instructed, because your shitty intern-level hacking skills ain't going to do shit in their system."

I sent a thumbs-up emoji through my SAID and observed the people going in and out of the building.

The girl was a hacker they brought on for the rescue called Lana. She was apparently the one who tracked down our target, her friend, Leo, who was the hacker for Flo's team.

I waited until the loading area was clear and casually walked as close as I could without entering the camera's view. Once I was in position, I aimed my Suri and shot right at the base of the camera.

*You should get a connection soon.*

"Okay, I'm in, but as we expected, their security systems are air-gapped from the cameras. I'm looping the camera feeds now. You should be good to go, "Lana responded almost instantly to my text, with a symphony of clicking and clacking noises in her background. I couldn't believe someone still used mechanical keyboards when she could do it through her SAID.

I walked up to the door and pried into the panel covering the jack for technicians. Once I plugged in, I didn't have to do my usual hacking and could sit back while Lana did the job for me.

Before long, the door's lock clicked open, and I made my way into the building. I headed for the staircase where the call connection I had with Lana started breaking up as I descended.

I went as far as I could until I reached a floor that required an ID card to access, so I made my way back up to the previous floor. I made my way through the mechanical rooms, searching for the one that was responsible for this building's HVAC.

According to the info we had, the lab where they held Leo was on the bottommost floor, and the security control room was on the topmost restricted basement level, so I had to somehow gain access to that floor.

I eventually found the mechanical room I was looking for and brought out a grenade that looked more like a toy. I pressed the button on it and threw it toward the control panel. After a second, a loud fizzing noise echoed throughout the room.

Within seconds, I heard the machines around me slowing down, making a whining noise that it definitely wasn't supposed to make.

I picked up the spent grenade, then went to conceal myself in a corner of the room, and started praying the plan would work. If no one came, then we would have to abort the mission and go back to the drawing board.

With no connection to the outside world, I spent my time playing around with the settings of my cybernetics and ensured they were in optimal condition. Right now, I relied on official patches to their firmware, so I was going through them as a reference for the day when I would design my own cybernetics.

After 15 minutes, I finally heard someone approach. I watched the door intently while trying to calm my nerves and stay quiet. I watched a man in a dirty technician outfit with a hard hat open the door and walk straight toward the control panel.

I gave it a second to see if anyone else was behind him, but once I was sure there was no one, I made my move. In one swift motion, I covered his face with a cloth I had gotten from Flo and put him in a chokehold. I felt his surprise and struggle, but my cyberarm had him in a tightly locked in place, and soon his struggle weakened until his body completely fell limp.

I quickly dragged his body to the corner where I then swapped outfits. I packed my old clothes into a bag and ensured I had his security card and all my gear before heading back down the stairs.

This time, with the security card, I could pass through. I casually strolled through the empty hallway while searching for the security control room. The entire floor looped around in a circle, so I eventually spotted the room.

I walked up and stood in front of the door, and pressed the button on the intercom.

"What do you want, techy? You better have good news about the cooling, cuz it's getting really hot in here with all the equipment running."

"Yes sir, it should be fixed now, but I need to manually reset each control panel until we get the replacement parts."

"All right, hurry up and reset ours." The door automatically opened.

I walked in slowly and a guard soon came into view. I scoured the room; not that large and had only two guards in total. The other guard had his attention on the screens while he fanned himself with a terminal.

"That's the panel for the AC," The first guard pointed and then crossed his arms while he watched me. He didn't seem like he was going to go away, so I guess it was time to pull one of the oldest tricks in the book.

I placed my bag down beside the panel and then pretended to rummage through it as I grabbed my Suri within. I looked back and locked eyes with the man who still had his full attention on me.

"If this is the AC panel, then what is that one for?" I put on the best show of looking as confused as I could and pointed at the one on the other side of the room.

The moment the man turned, I brought my gun up and placed a well-aimed shot right at his head, then unloaded the rest of the 20-round mag into the remaining guard who was still in his seat until I saw the experience notification.

+10 EXP

+10 EXP

I raced over to the terminal, pushed the body out of the way, and searched for the jack to plug into. After fumbling for a bit, I found the jack and inserted the chip the hacker Lana had given me.

I executed the program as instructed, then it automatically took over with no further need for my input. While I let the program do its thing, I started looking over the screens and the layout of the floors that we didn't have information on.

I could see rooms with about half a dozen people living in them, all wearing simple white gowns. There were also a few rooms with surgical tables, like the one found in Dr. Keyes's clinic.

Outside in the corridors were a few people in lab coats walking around and a few armed guards.

Before I could find Leo, the person we were rescuing, the console in front of me made a ding noise, informing me of the program's completion. A familiar voice then spoke out to me within my head.

"Can you hear me, Rollo?"

"Yeah, loud and clear."

"...I've got full control of their system now, but I can't disable the fail-safes remotely. You've got to go to the head researcher's room and do it from his terminal. I'll send you the floor layout with real-time information on where everyone in the facility is."

"Okay, got it, but you do see how many people are in there, right? Do we even have enough transportation to get them all out?"

"No, we're only here for Leo. The rest of them are going to have to find their own way once they're out."

"Really? At least half of them are going to die or get caught again." I took a deep breath and sighed.

"We aren't charity workers. They can stay there if they want, but if they do, they're guaranteed to be dead within a year or two. A slow and painful death too. We're already giving them a chance to escape. Come on, focus on what we came here for."

She was right, there was no profit to it even if I could save them all. I could only do so much.

I placed the real-time layout in a corner of my vision like a minimap. I then made my way to the head researcher's room after I swapped into the guard's uniform.

With the help of the minimap, it was practically like cheating. I effortlessly hid in the blind spots or avoided anyone in my way. It was really annoying how each set of stairs that led further down was located somewhere different on each floor, but I eventually managed to arrive at the door to the head researcher's office.

I hate whoever designed this place, security be damned. It must suck, having to go through this maze every day to get to work.

I scanned my security card, but the scanner turned red, denying me access.

Seeing no one within earshot, I called out to my helper.

"Hey, I need help getting into the researcher's room, plugging you in now."

"Where's the please?" She sighed, "Give me a second…and you're in."

Entering the room, I found the terminal at the head researcher's desk. I repeated the same steps I went through in the security room, plugging in the chip, and then waited for the program to do its job.

"Okay, the program is done. Can you deactivate it now?"

"That terminal doesn't respond to remote commands, so you will have to be the one to deactivate it."

Following Lana's instructions, I eventually found the command to disable the fail-safe. Even so, once the test subjects escaped, they would still need to visit a cybernetic clinic to remove the physical chip that was forcibly installed in their heads…

I then searched the files on the subjects within this facility and downloaded what they had into my SAID. The information included a file on Leo and where they kept him.

"Okay, I found him, and the fail-safes are off. It's time for you guys to do the heavy lifting."

"Gotcha, Flo's team is coming in hot now. Go secure Leo before the chaos spreads down to you."

Within ten seconds of her words, the entire place violently shook, almost throwing me off my feet.

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> Corpo Age [Cyberpunk Progression LitRPG] > Chapter 14: The Way Out

Chapter 14: The Way Out

Corpo Age [Cyberpunk Progression LitRPG] by RandomBlueCat

972 2 52

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Once I regained my balance, I quickly left the room. The way was clear as researchers scrambled back into rooms and the guards congregated by the entry points.

I carefully approached a group of guards from behind who were fortifying their position against the staircase I had entered from. There were six of them ‌divided into two groups to form a crossfire.

Once their sergeant finished giving out commands, their attention was entirely on the entry point. I took the opportunity to close in with two new toys in hand.

I grasped the tops of the toy and sprung them open like a childproof bottle, then threw the first one at the trio furthest away from me. I gently lobbed the second one without delay at the other group near me before taking cover behind the contours of the corridor.

As soon as I had gotten into cover, the sound of an explosion rang out, swiftly followed by another.

From behind the cover, I saw the six experience prompts.

+10 EXP

+10 EXP

+10 EXP

+10 EXP

+10 EXP

+10 EXP

That was a lot easier than I thought. I should definitely stock up on a few more explosives just in case, even if it doesn't go well with stealth…

Searching the bodies, I found two usable submachine guns and strapped them to my back, along with the chest rigs that carried several spare mags. I double-timed it back to the head researcher's office and issued the command to unlock all the rooms that held the test subjects.

I raced toward the room where Leo was. On the way, I saw several doors slightly opened with people peeking out who quickly hid when our eyes met.

It was the same at the door to room two, where Leo was located, though they thankfully didn't slam the door on me.

The person at the door retreated further in and chatted with the residents of the room while I entered.

"---ones coming." The teenage red-haired girl closest to the door said.

"Calm down, Claire." A voice from the back replied.

The room was only furnished with six beds, with three on each side of the room. There were four other people standing around the girl, and the last person in the back was still in bed. The man turned to face me as I entered.

"So Flo did call in another team for this shit hole." He scanned me from top to bottom.

"I'm not much of a team by myself, but yes, Flo did send me. I'm Rollo." I approached and offered my hand.

"The new guy she met?" He gave me a doubting gaze, though he still shook my hand.

"Leo, as I'm sure you already know. What's the plan?"

"Flo and your team are upstairs—"

"Heh, so I've heard… go on."

"They are upstairs fighting their way down, so we're going to make our way up to meet them. You know how to use one of these?" I said and threw one of the submachine guns at him.

"As if anyone in this city doesn't, proficiency, on the other hand…I'm more of the computer guy than a fighter."

"Well, they shouldn't be expecting us from behind, so just point and shoot."

Leo fidgeted with his new gun as I looked over to the other five, who were eavesdropping off to the side.

"You guys, go gather up everyone else on this floor. We're all leaving…unless you want to stay." One of the older boys, who was about sixteen with short brown curly hair, nodded immediately and dashed out of the room.

In the meantime, I connected a call with Lana.

"I'm with Leo. What's the situation up there?"

"Little busy here, they're past the control room," The sound of her mechanical keyboard continued clacking at a rapid pace.

"Ok, we're heading up from here."

"Roger, stay on the call. I'll keep you updated."

Seeing that Leo was ready, we exited the room and headed toward the stairs. We found a crowd of people wearing white gowns gathered there.

I spotted the one who was in Leo's room earlier and walked up to him.

"Is everyone here and ready to go?"

"Well, almost everyone… Thorne and Claire are still in there." He pointed to a nearby room off to the side that was visible through the glass walls, showcasing what seemed to be an operating room.

At the center of the room was the operating table with a few moveable hospital beds off to the side. Standing still by one of the beds were the teenage boy and girl from earlier. The boy's lively expression was completely gone and the color from his face had been drained.

As I approached him, he continued to be motionless despite my attempts to draw his attention with loud footsteps.

With a better view of what he was looking down at, I grimaced. It was an unzipped body bag with the face of a middle-aged woman poking out. Her features resembled the boy's, though I couldn't say if their eyes were similar as the body was missing eyes.

"Thorne and Claire right? I'm sorry for your loss, but we need to get out of here. Now." I placed my hand on his shoulder.

Thorne replied without looking back, "I don't have anywhere to be… I'll stay here."

"... You think that's what she wanted, staying here with no future?" The girl cried out.

It seemed like the girl who was called Claire had the same objective as me, to convince Thorne to leave.

"...I have no future even if I leave… I wouldn't survive alone…not without Mom. I'd become a beggar at best…and I have nothing to live for." Thorne's voice grew quieter as he went on.

"Idiot! You won't be alone. I'll stick with you, and we'll make it work somehow. As long as we are alive and free, we'll have opportunities. Come on, do it for me. Let's go," Claire said as she started dragging Thorne.

"Well, I just happened to be planning on hiring to start a business. Come work for me. As my employee, I'll make sure you live a life that will make her proud," I offered my hand to him as he glanced over.

"This floor is clear too. I'll go check out the next one now. Shouldn't be long before we rendezvous with Flo."

"Okay! No worries, I can protect everyone!" The red-haired girl cheerfully replied while lifting the submachine gun in one hand.

I was talking to Leo, but I decided not to bother with it and proceeded to the next floor. I gave Thorne and Leo one last look before I headed out.

All the cameras were destroyed by now as they realized someone had breached their security. I made my way up the stairs to the next level and found two guards posted up on the other side of the door.

Lana the hacker had informed me that Flo's team had just made it to this floor, so it made sense they had guards stationed here in case the intruders tried to sneak by. Too bad their communications were a mess and never found out about the intruders from below. We had them sandwiched now.

From where I was, I could hear sounds from the ongoing fighting. Wasting no more time, I slammed open the door, right into one guard, and immediately shot the other. Just as the dazzled guard turned to face me, I sent another bullet right into his eye.

+10 EXP

+10 EXP

As I peeled my eyes away from the experience text, a sword poked out around the corner down the hallway. I brought my Suri up and aimed at the corner when a seven-foot-tall man came into view. From all the visible cybernetics, it was safe to say the man was a genuine cyborg, as all his limbs were cybernetic replacements.

I reflexively unloaded my entire clip at him, only to see it deflect off his armor and synthetic skin.

He grinned and dashed straight at me with inhuman speed. I threw myself back into the stairwell and closed the door behind me. I retreated down to create more space between us.

Just as I made it down the first flight of stairs, a loud impact rang out, and the walls around the door I just closed cracked.

Changing ammo as I made my way out of the stairway, I spotted Leo and Claire down the corridor with their guns at the ready. I double-checked that my connection with Lana was still good.

"Lana, I'm going to need your help really soon. Get ready for a new connection that'll open up in a second. And you two, stay back!"

"What's going on?" Claire said, confused, while Leo glared behind me cautiously.

I ignored them and continued, "Lana, you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just busy getting the corpo nerds outta the security system, but sure, I definitely can help you out even with my hands full. I'll just have to use my third hand."

Standing at one end of the corridor, I aimed at the door to the stairwell on the other side. I took note of Leo and Claire, who hadn't listened to me. They opted to remain, but I didn't have time to care or rebuke them right now.

As I expected, the cyborg showed up behind me, ramming the entire door in my direction as he came into view. He once again dashed forward as soon as he saw us, the three of us unleashed a hail of bullets in response.

This time, he zig-zagged around despite our bullets simply dinging off his body even when they struck.

Once he was halfway toward us, I stopped shooting and tapped on both my ally's shoulders.

"Move back. We need to buy some time."

We sprinted away from the incoming cyborg while sending a text via my SAID to my hacker, *Lana! Did you get the connection?*

We dashed into an empty room because we would've led the threat to the rest of the group if we continued any further down the hallway.

The cyborg followed right behind us, ripping open the door from the hinges and holding it in one hand, like a makeshift shield.

"I'm working on it. It should just take a second. You're lucky this baby corporation's security sucks."

Right when the cyborg started his dash, he seemed to suddenly lose steam before he tripped over himself and fell face-first into the ground.

"I locked his chrome. Hurry, before he restarts his soft." Lana's voice cried out.

Pushing down my instincts that told me to stay away from the menacing cyborg, I quickly unsheathed my dagger and plunged it into the back of his head.

There was some resistance when the vibroblade made contact with him, but it couldn't stop it from piercing through.

+20 EXP

We collectively released a sigh of relief as we stepped over his body and exited the room.

Leo spat at the body as he walked by, "Cyborg fucker. Lucky I don't have any of my gear on me right now."

Thank the heavens I bought the EI rounds and had a hacker on the hotline, because I definitely didn't have the skills or equipment to do any hacking in the middle of a fight.

I swapped my ammo back to my regular rounds and split off from the group again to check on the floor above, but as I was halfway up the stairs, Lana spoke out to me, "Flo's team cleared the floor, I let her know you're on the way."

That was the kind of good news I liked to hear.

Now let's hope the rest of this outing will be smooth sailing.

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