Awakening and Decision

Dante woke up without knowing how much time had passed. His body ached, and his mind was foggy, but the first thing he felt was a burning anger towards Marcus. However, he soon realized something important: if Marcus had succeeded, he wouldn't have woken up in the same place, and his sister would be with them, which clearly wasn't the case. He looked at the building again, his eyes full of determination. He decided to enter.

Before losing consciousness, Dante remembered there were twelve people inside, one of them his sister. But beyond that, he had no concrete information. He didn't know which part of the building they were in, so he had to be extremely careful. Knowing Kade, he knew the security system must be good. He set out to check all the entrances until he found one slightly open. He didn't know why it was like that, but it was his chance to enter. It was the same door Marcus had used, but he didn't know that.

He entered the building silently, checking that there was no one around. Fortunately, there was no one in sight. He continued searching the building, his senses on high alert. After a few minutes, he heard voices in the distance. Finally, a clue. He approached cautiously, trying to listen to what they were saying.

"Did you see that ArcLight idiot?" said one of the thugs, laughing. "He thought he could enter without us noticing."

"Yeah, it was pathetic" replied another. "He looked so confident, like he had a chance. He didn't expect to find a specialist here."

"Exactly. He thought he could get past us. But with the specialist's movement and thermal sensors, he had no chance."

"And those combat implants he has... he's like a tank. Strength, agility, perfect aim. I don't know how anyone could think they could face that."

"The ArcLight guard thought he could be the hero, but he only got himself captured. He doesn't know what's coming."

Dante was shocked, realizing that if he had entered with Marcus, he would have met the same fate. But he wasn't impatient; he hoped one of them would reveal something about Marcus. As he waited, time seemed to stretch. He stayed hidden in the shadows, holding his breath and trying not to make a sound. His mind replayed every word of the conversation, hoping to get crucial information.

"They have him in the basement, right?" one of the thugs asked with a cruel smile.

"Yeah, he's well guarded. Let's see how long he lasts before they start having fun with him."

Finally, one of them mentioned that Marcus was in the basement. With his heart pounding, Dante moved silently and carefully towards the basement. If he had known that a few minutes later, the thugs would mention a young girl who had been captured several hours ago, he would have stayed no matter the risk. The chance to get information about his sister would have kept him in place, even if it meant facing those criminals. But at that moment, freeing Marcus was his priority.

Upon reaching the basement, he found one of the thugs with his back turned, guarding Marcus. He quickly scanned the area and saw a table full of tools and weapons. Among them, a knife that looked sharp and ready to use. Without making a sound, Dante slid to the table and grabbed the knife, feeling the cold weight of the metal in his hand.

With the knife in hand, he approached the guard, his heart pounding in his chest. Each step was a challenge of stealth and precision. When he was close enough, Dante made a quick and decisive move, stabbing the knife into the guard's neck. Blood gushed from the wound, and the thug barely had time to react before collapsing to the ground, gurgling and struggling to breathe.

A system notification appeared before his eyes:

[Silent kill confirmed. 2 more silent kills to unlock your first skill.]

Dante was surprised by the notification. Could the system grant abilities? Could it be true? At that moment, Marcus coughed and saw him. He was surprised to see a 16-year-old boy capable of killing someone like that.

"How did they catch you?" Dante asked, observing the cuffs that held Marcus.

"The specialist detected me" Marcus replied, clearly surprised. "I never thought I'd find a specialist here. This place is more protected than I imagined. Not only is Kade's gang here, but also Neotech Industries, one of the several companies that buy people for their implant experiments. Neotech is particularly powerful and spares no expense to ensure their 'goods' arrive in good condition."

Dante looked around for something to free him. Marcus noticed his search and nodded towards the table where Dante had found the knife.

"My things are on that table. They used my own cuffs against me. The key should be there, if we're lucky. The knife you used was also mine."

Dante nodded and went to the table, looking for the tool that could free Marcus. As he did, he couldn't stop thinking about the system's notification. Trusting something strange and unknown wasn't typical for him, but he couldn't deny the possibility that, even if he didn't know what it was or how it worked, it could be useful to save his sister.

Finally, he found the key among Marcus's things and quickly returned to free him. Once free, Marcus rubbed his wrists and looked at Dante with gratitude and some amazement.

"Thanks, kid. I didn't expect you to come back for me."

Dante frowned and looked at the cuffs. "Didn't you have any implants that could help you get out of those cuffs?"

Marcus pointed to the cuffs lying on the floor. "These cuffs are special, called NanoLock. They can disable implants in a person, maintaining minimal functionality if any function is necessary to keep vital signs stable."

Dante nodded, processing the information. "I need your help to save my sister."

Marcus nodded, with a new determination in his eyes. "We'll get her out of here, Dante. We have a chance."