Chapter 2

The man turned back around to face the screen, "Blow up three of them, and the entire wall collapses. Zero loves this kind of cave-in scene. Tell him I've learned it too."

With that, he raised his hand and waved it casually.

The next second, a second explosion came from deep in the warehouse. Flames shot up violently, and the camera shook hard. The two kneeling people were knocked over by the shockwave, struggling and letting out piercing screams.

The video cut off abruptly there.

Lena stared at the blackened screen, her chest feeling like it was pressed down by a block of iron.

She had to contact Ethan.

But Ethan had just told her not to trust any phone calls, not to trust anyone.

Lena knew he wasn't trying to scare her—he was protecting her, and also warning her that communications were no longer safe.

Lena gritted her teeth and pulled out an old satellite phone from the drawer. It was one they'd used long ago, with an independent line and an obscure frequency band, only to be taken out when they were completely cut off. She installed the battery and powered it on. The screen flickered a few times, showing weak signal bars.

She dialed Ethan's backup code.

Three rings.

No answer.

She dialed again.

Still no answer.

Lena instantly didn't know what to do. She stood there quietly, her mind completely blank.

She kept telling herself that Ethan must have deliberately cut off his signal to avoid being discovered, to prevent being tracked.

This meant Ethan couldn't be found in the short term.

At this thought, Lena snapped back to clarity. She immediately opened the internal personnel roster, locked onto the S-level clearance list, and checked it line by line.

There were only six people on the list. Lena went through all six, one by one, until the last person.

This person's file showed they'd been stationed at the port for the past three days.

When she saw this person's name, Lena's hands instantly tightened, her knuckles turning deathly pale.

If it really was this person, then Kane wasn't just waiting for Ethan—he might have set up a massive trap for him.

Lena couldn't sit still for another moment. She grabbed her jacket and prepared to rush out.

The instant she reached the door, Lena suddenly stopped.

Ethan had told her to stay, but Ethan didn't know the real situation there. If she stayed, the one most likely to die was Ethan.

Lena stood in the doorway. Before her was pouring rain, the massive sound of it seeming to force Lena to make a choice.

Lena closed her eyes tightly. In just a few seconds, countless images flashed through her mind, but the one constant was Ethan's instructions before he left.

Ethan's words were telling Lena that in this world right now, any unnecessary move could get her killed.

Lena took a deep breath, turned back to the desk, put on the earpiece Ethan had left behind, tucked the needle injector into her sleeve, and formatted the computer. Finally, she opened the bottom drawer and took out an old magnetic card. It was a "Black Gate" pass that Lena had never used.

Lena stared at the card for a few seconds, as if talking to herself, "I can promise not to come looking for you. But I can open the door for you."

Lena stuffed the magnetic card in her pocket, grabbed her car keys, and walked out without looking back.

The harbor fire was still burning, and the rain was heavier. Red lights flashed on and off, as if reminding Lena that time was running out, while Ethan was walking alone toward that sea of flames.

Underground equipment room of the port command center.

Lena pressed the old magnetic card against the reader.

The lock turned, the metal door slowly opened, and she walked in. The door closed automatically behind her.

Then footsteps came from behind her.

"Working late?" His tone was casual. "Lena."

Her heart sank.

The man smiled, "Don't be nervous. I'm just here to confirm something—has Zero already gone to the warehouse?"

Lena's breathing barely moved, but her voice was cold to the point of hardness, "Who are you? Where's Kane?"

"He doesn't need me to answer for him." The man said softly, "He just had me bring a message: you remind him of one of his former 'shadows.' So he's giving you a chance."

"What chance?"

The man looked at her, "Call Ethan. Tell him you've already opened the black gate, and have him take another route."

Lena's voice was almost flat, "And if I don't?"

The man shrugged, "Then you die here today."

After saying this, he raised his hand and pressed his earpiece, as if receiving some instruction. The next second, one of the surveillance screens suddenly switched.

Ethan's car appeared at the port's inner ring intersection.

Lena's pupils contracted sharply.

Ethan didn't go alone? No, his car had been "guided" to this intersection.

Someone was changing road signs, changing signals, changing surveillance, even changing his choices for him.

The man stood in place, his voice pressed very low, but making it even more uncomfortable, "Three hours, now two hours and seventeen minutes left. Lena, it's time to decide."

Lena didn't move, but her hand had already found the needle injector under the desk, her thumb quietly pushing off the safety. She was about to stand up, but just then, another set of footsteps suddenly came from deep in the corridor.

The sound came urgently, clearly not from someone on normal patrol.

The smile on the man's face faded a bit. He turned his head to listen for a second, showing impatience in his eyes for the first time, "Who told you to bring people in?"

The footsteps grew closer and closer. Soon, a soaking wet port technician rushed out from around the corner. His face was terribly pale, his breathing chaotic. He practically lunged at Lena before barely managing to stop, "Lena, the warehouse isn't a normal explosion—they're planning to blow up the entire warehouse district."

Hearing this, Lena's mind immediately sank.

"Zero, do you hear me? I'm leaving you a way out."

Lena jerked her head up, her gaze sweeping toward the surveillance wall.

There was no one on the screens, no camera switches either, but the voice had already come through the system loud and clear.

The technician also clearly heard something was wrong. His face turned even worse, his lips trembling as he spoke, "Lena, this isn't the broadcast line. This voice didn't come from below—it was inserted directly from the master control layer."

Master control layer.

The man standing across from them understood too. His expression changed somewhat, and he looked up toward the speaker, "Where are you?"

The speaker was quiet for less than half a second, then came a very light snort of laughter.

"Someone like you doesn't deserve to ask where I am."

The man's expression immediately turned ugly.

Right after, the leftmost screen on the surveillance wall suddenly went black. The next second, a line of red text jumped onto it.

B3 corridor, access released.

Before anyone in the room could react, a second line lit up.

Audit permissions frozen.

The man whipped his head around to look at Lena, his tone carrying obvious pressure, "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." When Lena answered, her face showed no extra expression, but the injector in her hand had already been quietly withdrawn back into her sleeve.

The man stared at her for a moment, then raised his hand to reach for the gun at his back.

The man didn't even have time to turn around before his right shoulder exploded in a spray of blood. His entire arm jerked to the side, and the gun he'd just pulled out fell straight to the ground.

Lena's pupils contracted. Her first reaction was that it wasn't a bullet.

What had shot into his shoulder was a thin, long steel nail.

In that instant, a name flashed through her mind. Without even thinking, she blurted it out.

"Raven!"