[Author's Note: I couldn't post at 6 or 7 today, I'm sorry guys.]
Brazil | Renovas Residence | Present Time | 7 hours after the Cronus'Gaze
Sirius was in his room, his injuries nearly healed, and the emptiness in his heart had diminished once again despite Merkana's harsh actions. He was sitting and staring at his Holo-System (HS), with several programs running simultaneously—an internet browser, a personal VPN he had developed that could genuinely redirect and hide his IP, among others.
It had been about two hours since he got a ride back home.
The first thing he did upon arriving? Use his HS to access the company's database using the employee ID he obtained during his infiltration.
This would allow him to find out who the most important employees were and start drafting a plan to infiltrate the facility.
After a few minutes of trying to locate important files despite poor naming conventions, he finally found something intriguing: the employee list managed by the Resources of Beings department. Needless to say, this file contained all the employee information he needed.
Notable employees included: Karlia Santos, Ana Quirdia, Jerenero Nends, Joam Zerbal, and finally Marriah Silva. Respectively, they were the CEO's secretary, the head of the administrative sector, the general technician, the homophobic night guard, and the automated cleaning manager.
These individuals were of interest to Sirius due to the areas they could access or the parts of the company's system they had clearance for. With modern encryption, it was far better to infiltrate by pretending to be one of the employees and using their credentials than using brute force or subtle external hacking—methods that could take years to reach critical areas.
(What's better, virtual or physical access?) Sirius pondered internally, debating whether to infiltrate the facility again or work remotely from home. (Ah, virtual is so much more comforta—... No! Physical it is!) He slapped himself, the sound echoing throughout his room.
"What was that? Did you fall in the bathroom?" his father, Raimundo, called from downstairs.
"What kind of hearing is that…?" the younger Renovas muttered, bewildered.
"The kind that brought you into this world!" Raimundo shouted again from downstairs.
"That doesn't even make sense! And stop yelling, old man. The whole neighborhood can probably hear you!"
"Hypocrite!" Raimundo retorted, his voice carrying a faint tone of amusement.
(Urgh... Alright, Marriah will be my target. It's an invasion of privacy, but it's for a greater good!) Sirius thought, trying to convince himself with determination blazing in his eyes.
What was Sirius after? The personal security key—a small device resembling a black cylinder or disk that contained a code encrypted with multiple security layers. He only needed to borrow it for a while, as copying it was impossible.
"How can I do this…?" Sirius muttered aloud without realizing it, immersed in thought.
In his mind, he had three options: access satellite imagery, use a drone, or follow her in person. Since hacking a satellite was difficult due to the aforementioned security levels and could leave traces that might attract unwanted attention, he ruled it out.
(And I'm terrible at stealth. The recent infiltration made that painfully clear… Yeah, I'll have to use a drone.) Rising from his chair, he stretched and quickly descended the stairs.
"Can I use the printer?" he asked his father suddenly, who was facing a wall, seemingly talking to it before Sirius arrived.
"How old are you again?" Raimundo asked abruptly, leaving the younger Renovas frozen for a second.
"Nineteen. Why?"
"Hmm. I didn't think your puberty would arrive so late…" Raimundo pretended to wipe a tear from his left eye, though it was unclear whether it was from sadness or pride.
"If I were to print whatever you're thinking about, at least I wouldn't be impotent…"
"Hmph." Raimundo let out a puff of air as a response, accompanied by a small smile. "Alright, go ahead."
"Thanks! See you later, I'll be busy for a while," Sirius said, descending the stairs. Reaching the printer, he turned it on, and the solid light began forming something.
---
One Day Later
Gathering information isn't the hardest thing in the world when you're a tech genius.
The previous day, Sirius had used the printer to create a small, customized drone. The technical aspect wasn't too difficult, but the aerodynamics... Ah, the aerodynamics. In total, it took over 20 failed drones before achieving the final result.
Returning to the main task, gathering information this way was simpler than finding data within the company's system, which only included names, ages, and specializations. Another problem was locating such information online, as all employees had a consistent pattern of only sharing personal photos with no mention of the company.
(Also, the last time I tried this with a company, the bastards planted a virus that almost destroyed my Dermadata…) he thought bitterly.
Using social media, Sirius could learn the basics about each person, but hidden addresses were another consistent trend across all profiles.
To overcome this small obstacle, Sirius deployed his little "Amilton" to investigate the personal lives of these key employees. He stationed himself near the company during their departure times, keeping at least 100 meters away from his targets.
To his surprise? He thought they would be much better protected, but it seemed the company had forgotten that technological means like social media weren't the only ways to obtain valuable information about someone.
Most of the time, simply tailing your target without being detected was sufficient.
After a long day staring at a screen and operating a control, Sirius allowed himself a break to enjoy a delicious chicken pastel with catupiry and his beloved Hawk Soda.
(Yes… Catupiry is a brand, not just the name.)
Even during his break, Sirius didn't allow himself to relax—something genuinely difficult for someone who had done nothing meaningful with his life in recent years.
He analyzed an investigation board in front of him, which was starting to take shape with all the information he had gathered so far about each employee's family.
Little did he know he would come to regret this... but not for the right reasons. He had no intention of harming them; he wasn't a generic villain with a fetish for cats.
Marriah Silva, the cleaning assistant who coordinated and sometimes operated the robotic workforce, had a husband and two children—a 16-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl.
Jerenero Nendes, the maintenance technician, had a wife, a son, and his mother living in the same household.
(Man, I really feel like a supervillain…) Sirius thought to himself with a twinge of guilt while staring at the personal data he had collected about the employees and their families.
He knew he wouldn't do anything to harm these people, but merely gathering this data made him question his morality.
Looking at the investigation board, he saw photos of Marriah Silva with her children, a man named Jerenero Nendes with his family, and other targets with their loved ones. The duality of his situation was clear: he was preparing to manipulate lives to achieve his goal.
Even though it was necessary, the ethical breach weighed on him. With a deep sigh, he forced himself to focus on the bigger purpose, trying to calm the unease in his heart.
---
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Japanese laughter echoed through a futsal court.
"Come on! It's not funny!" Sirius snapped angrily.
"How is it not?! You literally gathered useless information and felt guilty for nothing, thinking you were acting like a supervillain but not realizing you were just being stupid!" Hirofumi's voice came from the floor, where he lay clutching his belly, which ached from laughter.
Sirius definitely regretted it… and not for the right reasons.
[Author's Note:
Yes! I made you read all of that just for this joke! Feel Sirius' pain, suckers!]
... To be continued.