With all of Vis’ enhancements came a significant increase in Intelligence and situational adaptability. To achieve those increases there needed to be an enhancement to the neurons that were responsible for sending signals to the brain. The nanites in Vis’ body served to artificially enhance the responses of the neurons in her body.

The processing power of Vis’ brain was altered to some extent in order for her to adjust to the Blue Swan Implant and to adapt to her new memories. There was a limit to the amount of information the normal human brain could process and absorb. Vis’ brain was altered by the nanites which increased her efficiency in processing and absorbing knowledge.

It had to be noted, while her overall intelligence was increased it wasn’t to a ridiculous extent. Minerva was wary of her becoming too intelligent which would be problematic to the process of creating a living weapon. The nanites were programmed with the intention of balancing that factor out but not interfering with the Neural implant.

In short, Vis could learn how to do things noticeably faster than others. It may take weeks or months to become a skilled marksman, but for Vis, the time would be reduced significantly.

…………….

“Amazing…” Rachel muttered. It was nothing short of amazing, not only did Vis become proficient in using the double barrel shotgun, but her strange ability allowed her to reduce the cone of fire. It had to be said, the more the spread of the shotgun was reduced the deadlier it became.

Charlie, being nearly the same age as Vis took interest in her powers. Due to her childish nature, Rachel had to warn her many times not to tell anyone about Vis.

“Wow!” Charlie clapped as she looked at Vis’ latest shot through a plywood target.

A hole was formed from the pellets being concentrated in one area, even Charlie knew how amazing it was. She also learned how to shoot, although it was still tough for her. When Charlie first saw Vis use her powers, she was shocked, but quickly adjusted.

Vis silently nodded, she didn’t have anything in particular to say. Efficiency was instilled into her brain and she would likely always follow the most efficient path.

“Hey Vis, what else can you do?” Charlie asked with curiosity.

“I have no grasp on my full capabilities,” Vis responded in an empty voice.

She could only adapt to situations as they developed, her current lack of imagination was possibly her greatest weakness. That and the fact that overuse of her powers rendered her helpless.

“What about...A magic bullet?!” Charlie suggested. It was a thought drawn from one of the stories she read, about a lone hunter who killed the Corrupted with a single bullet that had magical properties. While it was a far-fetched concept, Vis’ abilities could make it a reality or at least, that’s what Charlie was willing to believe.

“Magic...bullet? I am not familiar with such a concept.” Vis expressed her confusion.

Rachel raised her eyebrows as if she was struck by inspiration, “You said your...psionic...ability allows you to move things, right?”

“Yes, that is the simplest explanation,” Vis answered.

In basic terms, she could move things with her mind. In the most complicated, she could produce fields of Psionic energy and manipulate anything within those fields to an extent.

“So what if you moved that energy...like a bullet?” Rachel said in a questioning tone. She herself wasn’t very sure about Vis, so it was far-fetched for her to be able to instruct her on how to use her powers.

“I will try,” Vis responded.

She placed the shotgun on a nearby stump and then raised her hand before extending a finger and attempting to force energy into a compressed point. The tip of her finger showed a glossy shimmer that was barely noticeable. Meanwhile, Rachel and Charlie looked on with expectant eyes.

Vis’ arm began to lightly shake, but she used her free hand to brace it. After a few moments, the Psionic energy was compressed and fired with a loud whistling noise.

The Psionic bullet was too fast to be spotted and even if it could be spotted it was nearly invisible. It went through the plywood and continued on, only stopping after the Psionic energy bore through three other trees and then dissipated.

Rachel and Charlie carried the same expression. Their jaws dropped after seeing such a display.

“Wow, Vis that was‒” Charlie stopped mid-sentence as she looked at Vis’ lying unconsciously on the ground. Blood spilled out of her nose and her head quickly became covered in sweat.

Rachel came to her side and felt her forehead. It was clear Vis was feverish.

“Help me get her inside.” Rachel said. Charlie nodded her head and grabbed Vis’ legs. They carried her inside and placed her on a bed.

……...

After Vis’ condition had somewhat stabilized, Rachel decided to head into the town and find an identity for her, while Charlie stayed behind to take care of her.

While towns were relatively safer than smaller congregations of civilians, they lacked the security of the 20-foot concrete walls that cities surrounded by. They only had an electric fence for protection.

Normally people didn’t stay out too long and most establishments were closed by evening. Rachel would occasionally pass by someone and say a few polite words of greeting before moving on. She came upon the Department of Records, which recorded the history of the residents inside of the town. There were strict requirements for entering cities and a proof of identity was the bare minimum needed.

Rachel snuck around the building and opened a window with a broken latch. Of course, the only reason she knew of the broken latch was due to the fact that she was an employee there. She needed to be extra careful as trespassing and forging records carried harsh penalties. She climbed into the building and headed to a back room filled with filing cabinets. Instead of forging a completely new identity, Rachel decided to alter an old one. She looked at the deceased and thought to be deceased section, towns and cities would occasionally suffer attacks from the Corrupted and there was no way to confirm if they were dead or not. After searching for some time, she came upon the file of a missing girl, Lisette Thales. Thirteen years old with no next of kin, it was perfect. She took the file and went to a nearby computer terminal.

The computers on Novo Prime were similar to the computer’s on earth but were far more simplistic in their public use. They had a few main uses, online encyclopedias, news reports, military use, and file storage. There wasn’t much entertainment value other than reading a few books. T.V was also around, but it also didn’t have much for entertainment, only news reports, music, recruitment propaganda, lectures, and a few plays were all that were currently available. After all, the market for entertainment was low since there was the threat of being attacked by the Corrupted at any given moment.

After turning on the computer, Rachel searched the file number and began to edit the details. Lisette Thales was changed to Visette Thales. Her “missing thought to be dead” status was changed to “missing thought to be kidnapped”. Since Rachel assumed it was the truth anyway, she had no problem changing it. As for the name change, she had already given Vis the name “Vis” and wasn’t too happy about changing it so she changed one letter. Then, Rachel entered the details of Vis’ appearance and removed the picture from the database, that way she could bring Vis to get her picture taken the next day.

Rachel erased the activity log and powered off the computer before departing without a trace.

...