Neon bled across Tokyo's midnight skyline like electric veins. Rain kissed the rooftops and glass towers as the hum of engines filled the narrow alleys. Devon leaned on the hood of a matte-black Skyline GT-R, eyes narrowed behind smart lenses feeding him real-time data from the system.
Target: Black-market auction of prototype AI coreLocation: Beneath Shibuya Crossing, hidden vault facilitySecurity: Ex-military, Yakuza-linked, automated sentries
Devon tapped the comm. "Everyone in position?"
Lacy's voice came back cold and sharp. "North entrance. Sniper nest secured."
Logan, already bored, chimed in. "South. Prepping breaching charges."
Raven was underground, dressed like a street-racer hacker punk, fingers on a ghost terminal in the subway utility tunnel. "I've tapped the auction comms. Uploading feed to the system now. Our AI's in the briefcase carbon-stabilized, two-layer encryption, voice-linked to biometrics."
Devon's eyes flicked as the feed filled with bidders mobsters, ex-generals, rogue scientists, even a bald man with shark-like eyes from Eteon.
"This thing's too hot. Why Tokyo?"
"Because no one here asks questions," Raven answered.
Devon smiled. "Let's change that."
He moved.
Underground Auction Facility, Shibuya Sector 12
The air was dry, recycled through a dozen carbon filters. The AI prototype sat within a transparent casing in the center of the room, flanked by armed guards. The auctioneer, a slim Japanese man in a silk suit, announced bids in four languages.
Devon infiltrated through a side corridor, clad in tactical black, Raven guiding him past motion sensors and patrols. Just as he reached the hallway before the auction chamber
Bang.
A gas canister exploded through the ceiling grate. A flash of movement. Grappling lines. Precision.
Ethan Hunt dropped from the ceiling.
Devon's eyes widened. "No f***ing way."
"IMF agent detected," the system whispered.Ethan Hunt. Status: Active. Threat Level: Apex Operative.
Devon ducked, dodging a flashbang tossed by IMF's Benji Dunn. Logan's voice roared through the comm. "We've got company! Not Eteon. Ghost recon units. Real black ops."
Lacy's voice snapped. "They're IMF. Devon they're trying to lift the AI."
Devon rounded a corner and came face to face with Ethan. The two paused recognition flickering in both of them.
"You're not one of Reyes's men," Ethan said.
"And you're not just another thief," Devon replied.
Their eyes met and then both moved at once.
Devon lunged for the AI crate. Ethan blocked with a knee, kicked back, and reached for his comm.
"Benji, I've got interference."
Devon parried, ducked, and slid across the smooth floor, pressing his palm to the case. "System, initiate transfer. Clone the core's memory now."
Cloning initiated. 30%… 40%…
Raven whispered, "You've got 20 seconds max."
Then the lights cut.
Darkness slammed over the room like a hammer.
An eerie blue flickered on the far end.
Cipher stepped from the shadows, dressed in black chrome, her presence like venom in a velvet dress.
"Gentlemen," she said, voice silky. "Thanks for the warm-up."
Ethan turned. "Cipher !"
She tossed a miniature EMP drone. It pulsed once everything electronic blinked dead. Alarms screamed.
She slid across the ground, snatched the AI case, and activated her own stealth cloak. "I'll be taking this now."
Devon reached for her missed by inches.
Cipher vanished into the smoke.
"System offline," Raven hissed. "She blanked us. She has the real AI."
Devon looked to Ethan. "You were a distraction."
Ethan stood up, jaw clenched. "So were you."
Behind them, sirens blared and Yakuza guards began flooding the chamber.
Devon and Ethan didn't speak again they just moved.
Back-to-back for five brutal seconds.
Punch. Grapple. Shoot. Escape.
Rooftop – Five Minutes Later
Devon vaulted onto the helipad of a nearby tower. His crew regrouped there, battered but intact.
Logan shook his head. "She played us."
"She played everyone," Lacy spat.
Raven sat hunched by her terminal. "I've got partial code fragments from the AI before the EMP. It's a neural adaptive system. Self-learning. Could link to any surveillance grid and control it."
Devon's expression hardened. "So basically... Skynet with a god complex."
Lacy asked, "What now?"
Devon turned toward the Tokyo skyline. "Now we hunt her."
System Online.New Global Objective: Retrieve the AI from CipherReward: Access to Cipher's Personal Datavault & Neural Drift Tech
The rain poured harder now, neon reflecting off puddles like bleeding circuits.
And somewhere in the shadows of Tokyo, Cipher smiled.
The game had truly begun.