Techno Fever [ONC II Round 1 WINNER | Asian Scifi | Complete]

Chapter 9

"Here."

The Shennong caught Karman's wrist jerk before Meiha's eyes even noticed. One hand shot up to snatch the round car keypod out of the air.

"Use my car. It's parked about two streets away because some pok-gai stole my parking space downstairs before all this blew up. Get yourself to Chai Wah's headquarters."

In her own body, Meiha would have struggled to keep up with Karman's long legs and strides, but the Shennong had no problem maintaining even breaths and a graceful gait. Her fingers curled around the keypod, which had a tiny electronic keyring attached, depicting a baby panda rolling over and over. Karman took her down a side corridor, narrow and devoid of the fancy displays of Fubao's inventions, before punching the button to a silver lift. The door slid open. They stepped in.

"I don't--"

"The Shennong has a program that allows it to sync with systems that don't have a particularly sturdy firewall -- which, because it's Tselong who designed this, is pretty much most systems -- so as long as you don't get too distracted, it doesn't matter if you can't drive. If you focus on the road, the Shennong can pilot for you."

Meiha could only stare as the lift descended. "Wow."

"Don't rely on the automaticity too much, though," Karman added, inclining her head at Meiha, her arms crossed and slender fingers doing a small dance on the crooks of her elbows. "This is still a prototype. I can't guarantee there won't be any unexpected quirks."

Another rumble shook through the building. The lift shuddered. Panic surged through Meiha, dampened within seconds by the Shennong's cooling system. Clutching the handles attached to the opaque metal walls, Meiha linked the Shennong to the building's security system. Light blue lines criss-crossed, forming the layout of the headquarters before her mind's eye. Floor after floor panned out from the car parking spaces and generators underground to the reception area at ground level to the offices, laboratories, testing chambers, and living areas further up. Green dots detected Bod Mod signatures from those who were registered with Fubao. Red dots at ground level detected those who were not. Meiha widened the scope. The scanner panned to just the edge of Fubao's ground area outside. Including those who'd blasted their way in, there were at least thirty -- and counting.

"There--"

"I see them," said Karman, her voice deadly quiet. Her modified Wenchang must have a similar accessibility to Meiha's Shennong. Her arm transformed into a blast cannon. "I can buy you some time, but this lock Tselong made to stop our Bod Mods from blowing up has seriously dampened down my Yandi's blasting power. Maybe it can chip a nail or something." Her scarlet lips quirked at the corners.

The lift shook again. The light panels overhead flickered before switching off. Their descent stopped at two floors above ground. Karman swore. Meiha placed a hand against the lift panel. There was some sort of damage done to the floor below so the safety mechanism to the lift has kicked in, locking them in place. It also meant they were stuck.

The Shennong linked to the lift's program, overriding the door lock. The door slid open. Angry yells and the acrid scent of melted plastic and smoke filled the air. A familiar, high-pitched whistle reached Meiha's ears. She slammed her back automatically into the lift. A boom shook the ground, making the lift tremble. Rubble tumbled onto the ground.

"Diu," muttered Karman, raising her Yandi and storming into the smoke, her vision unaffected due to her modified Wenchang. Her first blast caught the nearest intruder in the shoulder. Instead of taking out a chunk of his flesh as an unleashed Yandi would have done, it merely sent him tumbling to the ground, the material of his shirt barely singed. The walls around them depicting Fubao's creations were cracked, some weeping clear liquid from the damaged screens and others emitting smoke. Glass crunched beneath Karman's and Meiha's feet, their Qinshi jet boots protecting their flesh. Karman's Yandi whirred to life with a second charge, the blue tendrils of smoke from its edges dissipating, and she pointed it at her next target. She jerked her head to her left for Meiha.