The feed was dark, as expected. But in the center of the frame, there was a timestamp. It wasn't counting up. It was counting down.
The cursor blinked steadily in the corner of the Discord chat, a rhythmic heartbeat against the neon-blue interface. Above it sat the link, a jagged string of promises: .
Elias let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He began mapping the cameras. One by one, the feeds flickered to life: the front gate, the loading dock, the main lobby. The clarity was haunting. Then he reached Camera 17—the basement utility room.
When he ran it, the fans on his rig didn't ramp up. There was no flashy "Hacked" graphic. Instead, the screen flickered once, a soft grey pulse. Then, the Xeoma interface blossomed across his monitor. All thirty-two channels showed green. Licensed. Professional Version.