The holographic display flickered, casting an ethereal blue glow across Victor Qinzu’s chiseled features. His dark eyes, rimmed with exhaustion, scanned the intricate schematics of the fusion engine hovering before him. Thousands of hours had led to this moment, each molecule of air a potential source of limitless power.

  Victor's fingers danced across the interface, tweaking variables and adjusting parameters. "Just a few more calculations," he murmured, his voice barely audible in the silent room. The weight of his deadline pressed down on him like a physical force.

  As if on cue, a call came in with the ID: Ryo Durand. With a sigh, he tapped to answer.

  "Victor, hey bro!” Ryo's exuberant voice filled the room. "The night is young, and adventure beckons! What say you to a little thrill tonight?”

  Victor pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting back a smile despite his exhaustion. "Ryo, you know I can't. This fusion engine design—"

  "Bah! Work, work, work! Life is for living, buddy mine!”

  "I appreciate the offer, but I have a deadline. This design could revolutionize energy production."

  Victor's mind wandered as Ryo continued his enthusiastic pitch. He imagined soaring through the night sky, the wind rushing past him, adrenaline coursing through his veins. For a moment, the allure of adventure tugged at him, threatening to overcome his sense of duty.

  Ryo's voice crackled through the phone, undeterred. "Ah, but my man, I haven't even revealed the pièce de résistance! A plan so audacious, so thrilling, it will make your fusion engine seem like child's play!"

  Victor's fingers paused over his holographic keyboard. Despite his exhaustion, a flicker of curiosity sparked in his steel-gray eyes. "Sure, what's the plan?" he replied dryly, his attention still half-focused on the complex equations before him.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "Picture this," Ryo began, his voice dripping with excitement. "We leap from a plane at 35,000 feet, no parachutes, no gliders. We hold our breathe for half a minute or use a hand held oxygen canister. We soar through the air at 200 miles per hour, approaching a floating platform from different angles. A drone marks our turning point, and then, my brother Victor, it's up to you to engineer our landing at opposite approaches with NO parachutes! We must touch down at less than 5 miles per hour. Incredibly risky, right?”

  Victor's mind raced, calculations and possibilities flooding his consciousness. The engineer in him couldn't resist the challenge. "That's... ambitious," he murmured, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten. "A wingsuit's glide ratio is roughly 3:1. We'd need to account for—"

  "Ah, I can hear those gears turning!" Ryo interrupted gleefully. "Come, Victor, let the numbers dance in your head under the open sky!"

  Victor's fingers twitched, itching to start designing. He knew a wingsuit pilot could perform a flare maneuver to reduce speed, but landing at under 5 mph with no parachute or glider? That would require precision engineering.

  "We'd need a specialized platform to land on,” Victor mused aloud, his mind already sketching designs. "Something to absorb impact at potentially 15 mph, and mobile in case we veer off course. And big enough, we don’t slam into each other.”

  "Exactly!” Ryo exclaimed. "A challenge worthy of your brilliant mind!"

  Victor glanced at his fusion engine schematics, then back at the phone. The responsible part of him urged focus on his deadline, but the thrill-seeker in his blood sang with excitement.

  Silence hung in the air for a moment, broken only by the faint sound of Victor's fingers drumming on his desk. His mind raced, weighing the risks against the exhilaration of the challenge.

  "Victor, are you back? Are you in?" Ryo's voice crackled through the phone, a mixture of anticipation and impatience coloring his words.

  "Ryo, give me five minutes," Victor said, his voice low and intense. He was already mentally cataloging the equipment they'd need, the variables they'd have to account for. "Are you on the roof?"

  There was a brief pause before Ryo's voice erupted from the speaker, jubilant and wild. "Wooohoooo!"

  Victor couldn't help but grin, picturing his friend's exuberant dance on the rooftop. He pushed back from his desk, his 7-foot frame unfolding as he stood. "I'll take that as a yes," he murmured, reaching for his jacket.