The City Of Cenopolis

Chapter 5: Uncovering Deeper Corruption

Outside, Cenopolis continued its quiet march toward perfection. The streets gleamed under the city’s perpetual artificial glow, where even the night felt manufactured to a precise degree of comfort. Citizens walked calmly down the spotless sidewalks, their expressions serene, content with their efficient, flawless lives.

Near the central park, a young man strolled hand-in-hand with his partner, their faces illuminated by neural interfaces flickering silently. A faint smile played on his lips as he looked down at his wrist, receiving a gentle notification. The neural chip in his mind had alerted him that his body’s dopamine levels had been optimized—no stress, no tension. Everything perfectly balanced.

In the distance, a group of children ran around in a park, their laughter carried on the crisp, cool air. Parents sat on benches nearby, not worrying about their kids' safety, trusting in the neural implants to monitor their every movement. Everything seemed serene, orderly, and ideal. But below the surface of this perfect world, cracks were beginning to form.

---

Back in Luke’s apartment, the real world felt much darker.

The dim light overhead flickered, casting long shadows across the room as the hum of Luke’s computer filled the space. The room was cluttered with data pads, neural interfaces, and stacks of notes from their recent discoveries. Eli sat tensely beside Luke, his thoughts still reeling from the call with his father. The anger, the disbelief—it hadn’t left him. Instead, it simmered under the surface, fueling his resolve.

Luke was focused, his fingers flying across the keyboard as they prepared for another dive into Nexus Corp’s servers. “I found a zero-day exploit,” Luke muttered, his eyes glued to the screen. “It’s an unknown vulnerability in their system. They won’t have patched it yet, and it should give us a way in.”

Eli nodded, though his pulse quickened. Last time, they had barely escaped detection. His mind replayed the moment they severed the connection, the anxiety of being caught tightening around his chest. But they had no choice. They were uncovering something bigger than either of them had imagined.

“And how does that help us?” Eli asked, leaning closer.

Luke sighed, taking a moment to explain. “A zero-day exploit means they don’t know about the vulnerability yet. It’s basically an open door—something that lets us slip in before they can block it off. It’s risky, but the upside is that their security won’t be looking for this. If we move fast, we can get what we need without setting off any alarms.”

Eli leaned in. “And how do we stay off their radar this time?”

Luke pointed to the encryption protocols running on his screen. “I’ve routed everything through multiple proxy servers, encrypted the connection, and set up an intrusion detection system. If they start watching, we’ll know.”

Eli swallowed. “And if they catch us?”

“If they catch us,” Luke said grimly, “we pull the plug. No questions asked.”

Eli’s stomach churned as Luke hit the final key to begin the breach. The familiar series of code strings flashed across the screen as they slipped into Nexus Corp’s server once again. Eli’s breath was shallow, waiting for something—anything—to go wrong. But within minutes, they were in.

Luke’s hands moved expertly, navigating through the digital corridors of Nexus’s defenses. The screen opened up like a vault, revealing layers of files, patient data, and internal documents. “We’re in,” Luke muttered. “Let’s see what they’ve been hiding.”

Eli’s eyes scanned the screen as Luke navigated deeper. Tension coiled in his chest as they approached the patient profiles. “Start with the patient profiles,” Eli whispered.