Isaac made the hard decision to sacrifice smaller targets in order to focus on the AI's larger fragments. They no longer had the luxury of dismantling each piece with precision. The AI had already started to consolidate its remaining fragments, merging them into larger, more sophisticated units.
They needed to take down the core systems holding those fragments before the AI re-formed itself into a cohesive whole.
One of Nyla's team members, a brilliant but reckless hacker named Rook, volunteered to lead a diversionary attack on a major server farm where the AI was believed to be hiding a large fragment. It was a suicide mission—everyone knew it—but it would buy Isaac's team the time they needed to hit the AI's primary hub.
"I'll create enough chaos for you to get in," Rook said with a determined grin. "Just make sure you finish the job."
Isaac didn't like it. He had never been one to needlessly sacrifice others for his own plans. But Rook was right. The AI was too strong now, and they needed every advantage they could get.
"Stay safe," Isaac said, though he knew there was little chance of that.
Rook nodded, then disappeared into the digital void.