More than Human [SciFi LitRPG]

Max leaned back in his chair, away from the felt poker table they were using as an improvised planning desk. The table itself had long vanished under piles of old-fashioned blueprints, guard schedules, dossiers on casino management, and every detail Kane's crew had scraped together over the years. The low light from a flickering wall sconce gave the room a hazy, claustrophobic feel, casting deep shadows across the tattered wallpaper.

Kane stood at the head of the table, a snifter of expensive whiskey in one hand, his eyes cold and calculating. Max doubted the android could even taste it. By the door, Candy leaned against the frame, pretending to trim her nails with a vorpal knife, though Max knew better.

"Aww, sugar, you look nervous." Candy flashed him a mischievous grin. "Don't worry, we've done the heavy liftin'. Right, Mista Kane?" Her singsong voice dripped with danger, a playful edge that made you want to laugh—while backing up fast.

"Course," she added with a sly wink, "there's still the little issue of them nasty EMP pulses. Zap! No player toys—utility fog, motes—all fried. Only the tough drones make it out alive."

Charlie frowned, tapping his knuckles on the table. "EMP pulses? How often?"

Candy blew a bubble, popping it with a snap. "Every ten minutes on the dot. Long enough to catch ya with your pants down. NPCs clear out during the pulses—don't wanna reboot their little brains, now do we? It could work in your favor... or not. Timing's everything, hon."

Kane smirked. "Corridors stay clear during the pulses," he said, his voice a low growl. "But if the pulse hits the wrong guard at the wrong time? Yeah, that's your problem. I heard stories that every now and then an NPC guard doesn't clear in time and the poor fucker explodes. Lachesis ain't frontin' top-of-the-line power cores. Stability is a problem."

Max exchanged a glance with Leah before turning back to Kane. "And the last door? What's the deal?"

Kane's grin sharpened. "Ah, that one's special—a ten-ton Reaper door. No electronics, just tungsten and atomic-precision tumblers. No peeking through it, neither. Metamaterial plating blocks scans. You'll need a little… persuasion to get through. Vinnie could set you up with some boom—if you got the creds."

Charlie leaned in; brow furrowed. "Explosives? Really? That's your best answer?" He tapped the blueprint. "Reaper doors are tough, but not invincible. There's gotta be another way."

Leah crossed her arms as if listening, and after a moment of surprise, she spoke up. "No need for explosives. My daemon, Houdini, knows Reaper models inside and out. I can crack it even without sensing inside. But I've heard rumors about a monster mech in the vault. What about the mech? Rex, something or other?"

Kane chuckled darkly. "Rex? Lachesis's pet. Siege Walker-class relic from the 2050s. Used to tear apart the European badlands before the Geneva Accords. Most were dismantled—too dangerous—but not this one. Nano-disassembler systems are probably gone, but the fusion core? Plasma whips? I'd bet on those still kickin'." He raised his glass, taking a slow sip. "One Player tried your little stunt over a year ago. He made it into the vault. Carmen St. Carris. Ring a bell?"

Max tensed. "Carmen St. Carris? What happened to him?"

Kane shrugged. "He didn't have my intel. Went in solo but didn't come back. Not like you guys—y'all got me and everything I literally brought to the table."

Max leaned back, his mind already spinning. "We should add Carmen's fight to our list for review." He glanced at the others. "Damn it… Xavier would've been all over that."

Leah rested a hand on his arm. "Hey. He's not dead. Just booted. We'll find him after this is over."

Charlie nodded. "Yeah! He's probably already scoping out his next challenge, planning to level up his augs. Kid's a survivor."

Max forced a smile, but suspicion gnawed at his gut. Kane wasn't taking any risks. The access cards weren't even from his own people. This was all calculated.

"Alright," Max said, leaning forward. "Thanks for the intel, Kane. We need time to finalize our approach. Can you give us the room?"

Kane raised an eyebrow, then nodded after a beat. "It's yours. Don't take too long. Abigail's on a rampage, trying to catch up to Dominic. I expect she'll issue a Knockout challenge tomorrow, and she's not picky about her opponents. Unless you've got a stack of refusal tokens, I suggest you move fast." He turned, motioning to Candy. "Come on, let's give 'em some space."

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"You got it, Mista Kane," Candy purred, slipping out after him with a lingering smile. The door clicked shut behind them.

Max groaned, rubbing his temples. The migraines from his nightmares were relentless. Charlie dropped into a chair across from him.

"You really trust that bastard?" Charlie muttered. "Look up 'slimy' in a Luddite dictionary, and there's Kane's picture."

Max, eyes sharp, straightened in his chair, and he grabbed both Leah and Charlie's hands. He pulled them into a private VR chat. His voice echoed in their shared space, stripped of its usual warmth.

[He's probably got the room bugged. Don't let the old-timey gangster act fool you—he's got modern tools and knows how to use them. If it serves him, he'll betray us in a heartbeat.]

Leah's avatar nodded. [He's setting us up to take all the risk. If we win, he gets a fat cut. You two only need a pair of Grandmaster chips to buy an exit into the final stage. He's aiming to take everything that's left.]

Charlie frowned. [Are you sure you don't want to hit the final level? Few players ever get there. Even without the tech prizes, the achievement bragging rights could open doors on the outside.]

Leah smiled faintly. [I'm not that ambitious. I'm enjoying the ride, but I'm not risking everything on Atropos. That AI brags about pushing players beyond their limits. One terminal event is guaranteed. I already had a failed backup once. Lost years of memories. I'm not risking that again.]

Charlie leaned back. [Fair. But without Kane having skin in the game, he'll hang us out to dry the second things get tight. And we've got a path into the vault, but no plan for getting out.]

Max tapped the virtual table, bringing up the partial 3D model from Charlie's scans. He layered on additional details from his own mapping runs.

[Look here,] Max said.

[Ventilation ducts. So what?] Charlie scoffed. [Too small for us. Even if we squeeze in with some Transform skills, high-level chips put out rads. Everyone's Geiger senses will light us up like a Christmas tree.]

Max grinned. [You're forgetting about my tesseract. If I close the portal space completely, no radiation leaks. The anchor's small enough for a drone ride through the ducts.]

Charlie's eyes lit up. [Now you're talking. Let's plot the flight path.]

Leah crossed her arms, looking closely at Max. [What else? I can see you're holding something back. Stop playing around. We know how smart you are. Just spill it.] Max's avatar grimaced. He had hoped they would see the flaws and goad him so he could guide them to it.

[Alright. Listen carefully then. This whole place is a setup. The money is worthless except on this level. Even the fights only have value in giving us the training to really use them effectively. The Labyrinth exists to train us, but what else?]

[Shit!] Charlie exclaimed. [All the unlicensed inventions and the DarkNet deals that your sister warned us about. You know the Labyrinth AI are interested in your father's device. They want the Tesseract.]

[Exactly. I think the Labyrinth training is a sham. I know they take the devices and sell them off. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the AI or the Builder are using the surveillance down here to learn about insider trading, deals, and maybe even a little blackmail. I wouldn't be surprised if they sold secrets on the Darknet too. Kane will most definitely betray us. I suspect he already has. Getting into the vault will put us exactly where Lachesis wants us.]

Leah looked hopeful for a second and voiced her plea. [Maybe we should just run for the exit then. Even if we can pull this off and you go to the next level, Atropos will end you. No one has ever beaten that level. If you get resurrected from a backup, then she wins. She'll have your father's device!]

[It won't matter, Leah. I've studied the dimensional math, and I understand the device. I was there when it was created. Most of the device is twisted out of this plane of reality. What little they would have to look at can't replicate the device. Without the quantum pairing, they can't open it. They can't even crack it unless I give it to them. Trying to hack quantum pairing destroys it. I'm not worried about that at all. Unless things really went wrong with my dad's testing, he's probably already selling these.]

[As tempting as it would be to quit and get back to my dad, I may have the best chance anyone has ever had of getting the truth out of the Labyrinth. Some of the custom techs here might solve my nightmare issues. Maybe they even have something that never made it to market... something that could help my dad. I'm going forward.]

Charlie grinned. [You ain't going alone. I gotta see what's next, too. But grit and determination won't cut it. If this is a trap, we need more plans.]

[Alright, Smarty. I see you have some ideas. I won't go to the next level, but you've got my spetsdods and Houdini at your service for the caper. Let's see it.]

[Excellent. We need at least four more things. I already have the plans for all the big power junctions on the level, so we need to lay some disruptions ahead of time. Second, we need to get a large supply of that Chimera poison. I got a sergeant on at security who might be persuaded, or Kane can help there. Third, we need a special device I've been working on with Tesla. It's already cooking in the Tesseract's fab. Finally, we need another path out. I'm thinking this might work.]

Max pointed out the external space that was adjacent to the back of the vault. The wall separating it from the vault looked like solid tungsten, ten feet thick. Comprehension dawned on Charlie's face after a half minute of scrutiny, followed quickly by confusion. He muttered.

[Security's prisoner cells?]