All Chapters of The Sterling Accord : Chapter 131
- Chapter 140
200 chapters
Chapter 131
Silent HorizonThe first light of dawn seeped through the narrow gaps in the tunnel’s rusted grates, faint and cold against the damp concrete.Clara stirred awake, her body stiff and sore from the floor. Her clothes clung to her skin, still damp from the night’s chill. For a brief second, she forgot where she was—until the low hum of passing patrol drones overhead brought everything back.Ethan was already awake. He sat a few feet away, leaning against the wall, staring at the faint light bleeding through the tunnel vent. His jacket was draped over her like a blanket.“You didn’t sleep,” she said quietly.He didn’t look at her. “Didn’t feel like it.”Clara pushed herself up slowly, wincing as her shoulder protested. “Any sign of them?”He shook his head. “Not since the helicopters passed. But they’ll sweep this sector soon. We need to move before they lock down the river exits.”She rubbed her eyes. “And go where? You said Tokyo’s the next stop.”“First, we reach the docks,” Ethan re
Chapter 132
The Split PathGunfire cracked through the tunnel, deafening in the confined space. The first bullet ricocheted off the metal wall beside Clara’s head, spraying fragments of rust and dust.“Go!” Ethan shouted, grabbing her arm and pulling her behind a concrete barrier. Another shot whined past, splintering against the wall.Clara’s heartbeat thundered. Her breath came in sharp bursts. “There’s too many—”“I know.” Ethan ducked, returning a few precise shots down the tunnel. The muzzle flash illuminated the narrow passage — dark uniforms, tactical helmets, moving in formation.“They’re cutting us off from both sides,” he muttered.Clara glanced over the ledge — the river surged below, black and fast. “We could jump.”“Too far. The current will drag us under before we hit the surface.”“Then what?”Ethan’s eyes flicked to a metal ladder bolted into the wall a few meters ahead, half-hidden by a broken pipe. “That maintenance shaft—leads up to the old tram line.”He fired again, buying th
Chapter 133
The Disappearing ActThe sea stretched endlessly — a sheet of dark, restless glass broken by white crests and the hum of the ship’s aging engines.Clara stood at the edge of the deck, arms folded against the cold wind. The early sun hung low, pale and distant, painting everything in shades of gray and gold.Her body ached. Her head pounded. She hadn’t slept since the explosion.Ethan was a few feet away, leaning against the railing, his shirt torn and his arm still bleeding through the bandage. He’d refused to rest, claiming they couldn’t risk slowing down until they were certain they’d lost pursuit.“Are we being followed?” she asked, her voice barely audible over the engine.He didn’t look at her right away. “Not yet. But Kane won’t give up that easily.”She studied the horizon — no visible ships, no drones, just empty sea. “You think he knows where we’re headed?”“He knows what I’d do,” Ethan said quietly. “But he doesn’t know what I’ll do next.”Clara gave him a look. “That’s sup
Chapter 134
The Fixer’s GameBy the time they surfaced from the drainage tunnel, the morning had brightened into a harsh, overcast gray. The city loomed ahead — Busan’s industrial edge, thick with cranes, exhaust, and the low hum of trucks.Clara pulled her hood tighter. Her clothes were soaked, her legs sore. “You sure he’ll meet us?”Ethan scanned the street before stepping out. “He doesn’t have a choice.”They blended into the crowd — dockworkers, vendors, early commuters. Ethan kept a hand near his concealed weapon; Clara trailed half a step behind, eyes darting between faces.He led her through a narrow alley that smelled of fried oil and rust, stopping at a nondescript shop with a faded red awning. The sign read Seo’s Repairs.Inside, the place was cramped — walls stacked with old radios, drones, and tangled cables. A man hunched over a desk near the back, cigarette dangling from his lips, typing rapidly.When Ethan entered, the man didn’t look up. “You’re late.”“Your clock’s fast,” Ethan
Chapter 135
No More RunningThe rain hadn’t stopped. It came down harder now, steady and relentless against the cracked windows of the abandoned building. The walls were stripped bare , old posters clinging to concrete, the smell of mildew and rust mixing with gunpowder.Ethan sat on the dusty floor, back against the wall, gun in hand. His shirt was soaked through, his hair dripping, but his focus didn’t waver. Across from him, Clara crouched, watching the window for movement.For a long time, neither spoke. Only the sound of water dripping somewhere in the corner filled the silence.Finally, Clara broke it. “You said we’d stop running. What does that mean?”Ethan lifted his gaze to her — calm, deliberate. “It means we take the fight to him.”She frowned. “How? We barely have IDs. We’ve lost communication with your team. We don’t even know where Kane is operating from.”“I do,” Ethan said simply.Her breath hitched. “You what?”He holstered his weapon and reached into his jacket, pulling out a sm
Chapter 136
Shadows of the CityThe city never truly slept.Even beneath its glittering skyline, where sirens echoed like restless ghosts and the hum of machines replaced silence—life moved in wary rhythm. Clara felt that rhythm now, the pulse of a world she didn’t belong to anymore.It had been five days since the explosion beneath the bridge. Five days since she and Ethan clawed their way out of the tunnels and disappeared into the maze of the underground city.They were ghosts now—two names wiped from the system, living between shadows and abandoned corridors.The safehouse Ethan had found wasn’t much—one of his old contacts owed him a favor. It sat at the edge of the industrial quarter, half a floor above a forgotten printing warehouse, the kind of place no surveillance drone would bother sweeping.Inside, the air smelled faintly of oil and paper dust. The walls were lined with old file cabinets and cracked screens. It was cold, but it was quiet.Clara stood by the window, staring at the neon
Chapter 137
Retaliation PatternsThe morning broke without sunlight.Gray clouds hung low over the city, heavy and silent, turning every rooftop into a mirror of steel. The air smelled of wet asphalt and electricity, like a storm waiting to happen.Clara stood by the narrow window, watching the streets below come alive with quiet movement. Delivery drones. Street vendors. People in coats moving fast, heads down.Normal life.It almost hurt to watch.Behind her, the faint sound of zipping and rustling filled the room. Ethan was packing. His movements were efficient, almost mechanical—a duffel bag on the floor, small compartments lined with weapons, vials, and drives.She turned toward him. “How long do we have before Kane finds us again?”Ethan didn’t look up. “If he’s using a conventional network? A few days. But Kane doesn’t do conventional.”“So hours?”He zipped the bag shut. “Maybe less.”Clara’s stomach tightened. “And we’re running again.”“No.” He slung the bag over his shoulder. “This tim
Chapter 138
CounterstrikeTokyo was alive and sleepless.Rain threaded through the glowing skyline, tracing silver rivers across glass towers and electric signs. The hum of life never stopped—hover trams gliding through midair, vending drones buzzing past alleys, the low drone of the undercity generators.Clara had never seen a place so crowded and yet so lonely.From the high window of their safehouse—a rented capsule flat tucked above a ramen shop—she could see the Shibuya district stretched like a sea of light. Thousands of faces below, each one a moving dot, each oblivious to the quiet war unfolding above them.She turned from the glass. Ethan was at the small worktable, surrounded by holographic projections. His eyes, dark and unblinking, tracked the floating streams of code and data maps.Lines of text reflected off his face like a constellation.Clara crossed her arms, watching him. “You haven’t slept in thirty hours.”He didn’t look up. “Neither has Kane.”“That’s not comforting.”Ethan g
Chapter 139
Shadows of the FallThe world was waking up to fire.Not the kind that burned cities, but the kind that scorched reputations, melted masks, and devoured empires.Screens across the globe flickered with headlines. BREAKING: Maximilian Industries Under Investigation for Illegal Neural Mapping.Kane Maximilian Implicated in Global Surveillance Breach.Anonymous Sources Leak Classified Genetic Control Research.Within hours, Kane’s name went from whispered power to public scandal. The empire he’d built on secrecy was now stripped bare under the light of a thousand digital suns.And somewhere beneath Tokyo, in the undercity tunnels once used by smugglers and forgotten tech rebels, Ethan and Clara watched it happen.Clara sat in front of the old monitor, the pale blue light painting her face in soft shadows. Every new headline made her heart pound—not out of fear, but something fiercer.Vindication.She glanced at Ethan, who stood with arms crossed, watching the cascade of data unfold. He
Chapter 140
CounterstrikeThe rain came down in sheets, blurring the lights of the city outside Ethan’s penthouse. Inside, silence stretched, broken only by the rhythmic hum of the heater and the occasional crackle of thunder. Clara sat by the window, her gaze distant. The skyline reflected faintly on the glass—an illusion of two cities colliding, one of light and one of shadow.Ethan stood behind her, his jacket still damp from the meeting he had just left. “You’re quiet,” he said softly.Clara didn’t turn. “Just thinking.”“About Kane?”She nodded once. “He’s still out there. Watching. Waiting. Every time I close my eyes, I feel like he’s behind them.”Ethan exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He looked exhausted—his eyes slightly red, his jawline sharper from restless nights. But there was a new steadiness in his posture, a decision that had crystallized after the last attack. “Then we stop waiting for him to strike. We go after him.”Her head whipped around. “Ethan—”“No more running,” h