The digital war was a storm without end. Evelyn's hands flew over her keyboard, launching false IPs, cloaking their network. Lucas's voice was tense. "They're breaching—West Server!"
"I'm on it!" Evelyn's code redirected Nexus's attack into a virtual sinkhole, but the system responded faster, countering her misdirection.
Their hideout shook—drones outside. Mirage called out, "Defensive turrets are losing power!"
Evelyn's mind raced. "Bring backup generators online. Cipher, deploy the decoy nodes."
"They're adapting too fast!" Cipher shouted.
A crash. The door was forced open. Shadow operatives breached the base. Lucas and Ghostwave grabbed weapons, exchanging fire.
"We're compromised!" Lucas yelled. "Evacuate!"
But Evelyn stayed, her eyes locked on the screen. Nexus's network map was burning into her vision.
"Evelyn, come on!" Lucas grabbed her arm, but she uploaded a virus—one designed to overload Nexus's surveillance grid.
"Just a few more seconds—" she whispered, breathless.
The lights flickered. Nexus's drone feed distorted. Evelyn disconnected, and they fled through the emergency tunnel.
Emerging into the rain, their team scattered. Explosions echoed behind them.
"Did we win?" Cipher gasped.
"No," Evelyn said, her eyes cold. "We survived. But now we hit back harder."