Chapter 437: Everyone with their own ambition [2]
Miles away from the Endless Ocean, beneath a sky that was drowned in distant neon storms, Iron Reef pulsed with life.
At the border of the Eastern districts of the city is the Defense Tower, a colossal black spire stretching nearly 3 kilometers into the sky!
The upper sections of the massive tower vanished into the haze above.
Massive energy shields shimmered faintly around the structure. Railgun batteries protruded from armored platforms, while surveillance arrays constantly scanned the city and the surrounding wasteland.
This tower wasn’t merely just another military base of the Freegrid Army in Iron Reef, it was the military headquarters of the Freegrid Army.
It was the Army’s shield, its sword, and its nervous system, manned 24/7 by a D Rank Ascended who was almost always active to respond to threats.
This is despite the presence of the General at the heart of the Megacity.
Every drone fleet, defense satellite, anti-air battery, patrol unit, and emergency response network in Iron Reef ultimately connected back to the Defense Tower. It was one of the biggest landmarks in the Megacity.
And today, someone was heading there after sending his friends off- a gray-skinned Synth with synthetic black hair, Ghostwire.
He stepped out of a crowded transit station.
Unlike most citizens of the Megacity who wore fashionable augmented clothing filled with glowing patterns, his attire was practical- dark jacket, utility pants, data gloves, and a pair of augmented-reality lenses that he started using after becoming an E Rank NetRunner.
Currently, he was watching the world’s smallest livestream.
Bzzz!
A holographic screen floated beside him as he walked.
[Viewer Count: 1]
[Streamer: Brick]
Ghostwire’s eyes narrowed. ’One viewer,’ he thought, concerned.
His friend’s voice echoed from the hologram. "Looks like we’re not alone after all".
Ghostwire blinked. ’It’s me you idiot’.
Everyone knew him for being taciturn and he really didn’t like talking much, but for what he refused to say out, his mind always debated inside.
His mind was a never-ending court of unsaid words and debates.
Due to his taciturn and cold nature, Ghostwire may seem like he didn’t care much about his friends and his crewmates but he was actually the one who cared most. He just cared quietly.
This was why he felt bad seeing just one viewer on Brick’s livestream, wondering if that would discourage him.
But from Brick’s tone, he didn’t mind at all.
Heck, he was ecstatic.
He sighed in relief, using the opportunity to think about the last member of their crew that missed their last get-together- Kain.
It’s been months since he last saw Kain.
Kain didn’t follow them on Operation Killing Joe due to obvious reasons that were different from his own back then. Though Kain never said it, he knew that his friend was feeling the same way he felt a few months ago.
Leon’s inclusion into the crew changed everything, it pushed the crew and raised its standards so high that some of them were struggling to adapt and keep up. It was crazy.
Though no one pointed it out, Ghostwire knew that this inability to keep up was partly the reason why Brick decided to retire from his career as an agent of the Freegrid Collective.
He also knew that this is the reason why Kain had been drifting further from the crew for months now.
Kain’s situation was even worse since Leon was a Mechanist just like him, being in his company was like a constant reminder of just how incompetent he was. Ghostwire understood him wanting to keep his distance.
He sighed. ’I wish we can return to the simple times’.
Maybe it was a selfish thought, but it was genuine.
But there was nothing he could do to stop it or rewind time. Leon already showed numerous times already that he had no intentions of stopping, and like a magnet, his momentum was dragging the rest of the crew with it and leaving those who couldn’t keep up behind.
Ghostwire didn’t know if it was a good thing or not, but what he did know was that unlike Brick and Kain, he had no intentions of being left behind.
For Talia, he was willing to do everything needed to keep up.
This is why immediately after seeing Talia and Daren off, he stayed behind as he also saw Tyla off to her Trial alongside Leon, then he also saw Brick off alongside Leon before going to a restaurant with Leon.
There, he dropped his pride and asked Leon for advice.
In the end, Leon was still the only D Rank Ascended in the crew and the fastest-growing Ascended that he had ever seen.
Besides, he’d heard from the others that Leon knew ways to help Ascended grow faster to prepare themselves for their Trials, so he came for advice.
Leon didn’t try to prove his superiority as he came out plainly with the NetRunner, telling him that he didn’t know everything and that he learned the rules of the Mechanist Class through theorizing and through trial and error.
In the restaurant, he brainstormed with Ghostwire as they theorized the rules to increasing Ascended Counter for E Rank NetRunners.
After that, Ghostwire thanked Leon and finally left.
He didn’t hesitate, he worked on the advice that Leon gave him immediately as he got prepared before coming here to the Defense Tower.
From what Leon advised him, his fate was tied to this massive tower.
Standing in front of the massive tower, Ghostwire felt small. It was almost overwhelming; the structure seemed less like a building and more like an artificial mountain forged from metal.
Its surface was covered with armored plating and countless glowing data lines carrying information throughout the city.
The holographic livestream remained open beside him; Brick was now showing viewers the ship’s massive engines.
[Viewer Count: 1]
Still just him.
Ghostwire’s lips curled up slightly. ’I wonder who’ll support your terrible content when I’m not here’.
Right then, a notification appeared.
[STREAM LIKED.]
He had triggered the like gimmick without realizing it.
Ghostwire shrugged, then he walked forward to a spot where a security checkpoint blocked the entrance with two armored guards standing motionless.
A scanning gate activated as Ghostwire approached and blue light swept across his body.
The guards glanced at a screen, and one of them suddenly straightened.
"Leroi Vale?"
Ghostwire nodded. "That’s me".
The guard nodded immediately with a look of respect on his face. "You’re expected".
Ghostwire blinked. ’Expected?’
Just like that? No questioning for what he came here for? No waiting? No security review?
The guard gestured toward the elevator. "Floor 82 sir".
Ghostwire stared at the guard dubiously. "That’s it?"
The second guard spoke out. "Authorization was approved specially".
Hearing the term ’special’, Ghostwire immediately knew who was responsible. ’Leon’.
He felt complicated, but it all made sense.
Afterall, though it was still hard to believe sometimes, Leon was a friend to the leader of the Freegrid Collective!
Ghostwire nodded at the guard and stepped into the elevator.
The doors closed and the ascent began as thousands of meters of altitude passed in moments.
His neural lenses activated automatically as a stream of encrypted code appeared before his eyes.
[Network Architecture.]
[Security layers.]
[Quantum encryption pathways.]
[Defense Tower systems.]
The information was breathtaking.
Ghostwire felt his pulse quicken but then a smile slowly spread across his face. Unlike Brick who chased adventure across the Endless Ocean, this was where he belonged.
He would be working here as a professional Hacker of the Defense Tower as the war approached till he was ready to attempt his next Trial.
This was the way he and Leon theorized to accelerate his preparations for his next Trial.
And just like expected, a few minutes later after he sat in the office of the Lieutenant Colonel in charge of the tower, Ghostwire got the job.
...
At the same time, somewhere else in the Megacity, Leon completed his final preparations to also leave to pursue his own ambition.
...
[Special Appreciation to ImperialJadeDragon and byrdseede for the Golden Tickets!]
