The mont Evelyn shrieked my na, the air changed.
There was no hesitation, no tremor of uncertainty in her voice. Just a hard, chanical certainty. Her eyes—normally fierce but full of life—were blank now. Emotionless. Controlled.
And locked straight on .
She launched forward.
"Move!" I barked.
Sienna dropped to one knee behind a support pillar, shielding Camille. Alexis dove to the side. Evelyn didn’t break stride. Her foot planted and she pivoted, recalibrating mid-motion, barreling toward with the speed of soone who knew exactly how much force it would take to kill .
I barely dodged the first blow. Her fist sliced through the air where my head had been. Not wild. Calculated. She was reading every movent, every micro-adjustnt in my balance.
She was using her Psychological Insight skill and predicting .
I grunted, rolling behind a console. "She’s locked in on . Don’t get in her way!"
Evelyn didn’t even glance at the others. Her full attention stayed on , not as a person—but as a target.
"She won’t stop until she loses sight of you," Alexis called. "Block her line of sight!"
Sienna kicked a tipped-over desk toward Evelyn, forcing her to vault over it. I used the mont to duck behind a stack of sealed crates.
A second later, the crates exploded outward. Evelyn had gone through them.
Damn it! I forgot she got the firefighter job when they experinted on her! Her physical body is enhanced.
What’s worse is that she moved like a tactician, not a brawler. Her strikes weren’t about brutality—they were surgical. Every attack was part of a flow, a rhythm of feints and spacing.
"She’s analyzing your reactions," Alexis said, dropping another console screen in her path. "She’s mapping your responses in real-ti."
No kidding.
I threw a tal pole to the left and moved right. Her eyes flicked—she didn’t fall for it. She ignored the noise entirely and adjusted to my body instead.
She was faster than before. Stronger.
Evelyn struck again. I blocked her elbow but the force still jarred my arm to the shoulder. Her foot swept, and I barely caught myself on a pipe before she could capitalize.
"Can we disable her?" Sienna yelled.
"Not without hurting her!" I snapped back. "Maybe if I had all my skills operating at maximum capacity, I could do better!"
Alexis pulled a gas canister from one of the storage shelves and hurled it to the floor. It hissed, flooding the corridor with a thick chemical haze.
"Sight blocked," she said.
It worked—for three seconds.
Evelyn burst through the gas like it wasn’t even there, eyes fixed. I flinched.
Thermal Perception?
She could see heat.
I cursed and ducked behind an active server rack. The hum buzzed through my bones. Evelyn hesitated—just for a mont.
Alexis took the chance.
She darted behind Evelyn, clipped her knee. Not enough to break it, just enough to disrupt her footing. Sienna hurled a tarp from the supplies shelf.
The mont Evelyn stumbled, the tarp tangled her.
"Now!" Sienna shouted.
We moved. I bolted across the hallway, behind a closed gate. Evelyn tore through the tarp but spun too late. I was out of sight.
She paused.
Breathed.
The stillness made my skin crawl. Then— the clarity began to return to her eyes.
"Rember! It’s line of sight," Alexis confird. "Her trigger is visual."
Sienna helped adjust a standing locker, using it as a mobile shield. "We can walk her back. Keep her sight broken, and maybe she’ll stabilize."
We flanked her. Carefully. Deliberately. I stayed out of view while Alexis edged closer. Her voice was gentle now.
"Evelyn," she said. "You know us. You trust . You’re not just a Cain Protocol subject. You’re more than what they made you."
Evelyn didn’t respond.
But she didn’t move either.
"Rember when we would drink tea and coffee together?" Alexis continued. "The penthouse was nice, big and comforting for everyone inside."
Silence.
Her breathing slowed.
She was still. Almost peaceful.
Then—
A clatter behind us.
A shattered screen fell from the ledge making all of us look and when I looked back.
Her eyes snapped to mine.
I had peeked.
I knew better.
Evelyn charged.
The hallway shrank. I moved fast—not to fight, but to lure her. Her movents were tighter now, more aggressive. She was adjusting, growing more efficient the longer the fight lasted.
That shouldn’t be possible.
She threw a jab. I dodged.
She followed up with a hook.
I dodged again.
Too slow.
Her strikes ca faster now. Familiar patterns. Close-range. Ring patterns.
My heart skipped.
I threw a fake cross.
She slipped under it.
Then countered.
Exactly like I would.
I stumbled back.
No. No way.
I fumbled for my interface.
"SCAN."
[Scan Results]
Na: Evelyn rcer
Job: Governnt Evaluator (A-Rank), Firefighter (B-Rank), Detective (B-Rank)
Skills:
Keen Observation (Lv. 7) – Analyzes subtle details in movent, efficiency, and coordination to assess performance with high accuracy.
Situational Analysis (Lv. 6) – Processes multiple variables in high-pressure environnts to determine optimal strategies in real ti.
Psychological Insight (Lv. 8) – Reads body language, tone, and behavioral patterns to gauge intentions, confidence, and emotional state.
Authority Presence (Lv. 6) – Commands respect and compliance with minimal effort, ensuring instructions are followed without resistance.
Thermal Perception (Lv. 5) – Detects and interprets heat signatures through surfaces or low-visibility conditions for tracking or analysis.
Deduction (Lv. 5) – Synthesizes scattered information into accurate conclusions, revealing hidden patterns, motives, or flaws.
Endurance Mastery (Lv. 4) – Enhances stamina managent, reducing fatigue over prolonged activity and improving recovery pace.
Copied Portfolio - Boxer (A-Rank):
Hand-to-Hand Combat (Lv. 5) – Enhances technique and versatility in unard engagents, allowing effective control, counters, and takedowns across a range of styles.
Physical Recovery Efficiency (Lv. 5) – Accelerates recovery from exertion, strain, or minor injury, allowing quicker return to peak physical performance during and between fights.
Muscle Reinforcent (Lv. 4) – Improves the stability and resistance of muscle fibers, reducing vulnerability to strain or fatigue under repetitive stress.
Reflex Calibration (Lv. 4) – Boosts consistency and sharpness of reactive movents, increasing success rate in close-quarters exchanges.
Precision Strikes (Lv. 3) – Improves targeting accuracy and control, enabling clean hits to vulnerable or strategic areas.
Muscle Optimization (Lv. 5) – Balances muscle function for maximum output and minimal waste, improving endurance, control, and force distribution.
Jab (Lv. 4) – A quick, reliable strike used to disrupt rhythm, control range, and create openings through timing and repetition.
Hook (Lv. 4) – A curved, close-range blow designed to bypass linear defenses and deliver montum-driven impact to the side of the opponent.
I froze.
"She copied ," I whispered.
Alexis’s eyes widened. "What do you an she copied you? Like she copied a skill?"
"No, she copied a whole Portfolio!"
Evelyn remained emotionless as she threw a hook at .
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