Miguel turned the doorknob. The P4 neon light pierced the room, revealing a calm Eleanor, and Dr. Dark beside her. Time was the enemy now, but Dr. Dark’s gaze snapped his attention.“We were waiting, My Scythe,” Doctor Dark whispered, his voice amplified by the intercom. He brandished a syringe. “The prize for your lifetime of lies is in our hands, and your wife has just been ‘silenced’ by Molserat’s guards. So tell me, does freedom feel so terrible, when you arrive to watch the remnants of your heart die?”The acute pain of this betrayal struck Miguel. It surpassed the ache in his shoulder and leg. But Miguel did not scream in anger or panic. He viewed the scene as a defense simulation that had to be completed.“You possess nothing I love, Dark,” Miguel replied, his voice low and gravelly. He took two quick steps toward the console next to the medical bed.Dr. Dark chuckled, neatly folding the syringe into the pocket of his always-immaculate white coat. “That is the lie you maintain

Miguel felt the pressure of the muzzle pressing against the back of Anya's head just before the clang of the Level 8 Armory door fully sealed shut. Across the thick steel plate he had just breached, the air immediately grew thin. The armory was dark, filled with the silhouettes of tactical weapons, yet all his instincts pointed downward, back to the fifth floor.There, amidst the stacks of smelly inventory boxes, a mechanical, uninflected voice shattered Anya’s false calm.“Step over there, Miss Molserat,” the voice hissed behind her, pressing the muzzle of Molserat’s heavy taser weapon into her spine.Anya froze. Eleanor’s eyes, now wide with trauma-fueled alertness from the Dark injection adrenaline, widened in silent desperation. The orphanage woman sensed its presence: Molserat Security Maintenance Unit, Asset Guard-3 (AG-3), one of Daniel’s stupidly loyal ‘assets,’ activated for this clandestine operation. It stood straighter than a normal human, its tactical uniform reflecting t

Miguel felt a momentary confusion—the shadow hadn't carried Anya up, but down. His heart pounded. It was Anya's piercing intellect. Not an escape; it was a trap.He leaped into the same vertical utility shaft where Shadow had vanished, using the Molserat Gauntlet and the sharp Dark Blade as temporary anchors. The friction of the metal clasps against the cement wall created a high-pitched shriek, shattering the silence on Level Five. Target Nineteen was already gone. The entire rooftop battle scenario, the distraction by Dr. Dark and Mr. X.They were always aiming for the B4 Data Bank, Daniel’s vital core.Daniel. Molserat. Four.The atmosphere in B4 felt heavy and thick with ozone. Hot air met cold abruptly. Molserat's Cross-Continental Data Logistics Center looked like a cold iron tomb, silent, illuminated by amber warning lights. The automated motion sensors were jammed in a deadlock due to the previous EMP blast, but Molserat's manual overrides were still functional.He landed on t

Hot and cold dust swirled around Miguel as he leaped from his drop point into the water-filled concrete chasm. The submerged Molserat Tech sirens echoed overhead, followed by the sound of Eleanor’s muffled scream. Water soaked Anya’s breathing mask, sending painful vibrations across her face.Miguel held Anya tighter, his heart pounding—not from the wound in his shoulder, but from the flashback of Eleanor imprinted in his mind. Her face was pale, her eyes staring blankly—yet behind that emptiness, there was a cold, final decision. As Eleanor lay near Shadow, her body trembling from the Dark injection, there was a moment before Shadow used her as a pawn and then… the moment Eleanor took the initiative.She had taken Shadow’s access card embedded in his arm, pushing Anya out of the range of Nineteen’s cold weapon. The sacrifice flashed through his mind; fragments of understanding, not regret. It was her final sacrifice—her soul taking control.“We… we have to go,” Anya gasped, breathles

Miguel jolted out of the water, dragging Anya with him as she coughed violently onto the slick concrete edge. Their breaths came in ragged bursts, racing against the distant, distorted wail of Molserat Tech sirens, mixed with the rumble of Amphibious Units sweeping through the canal. The freezing water cut deep into their bones, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the impact of the truth about Eleanor.Anya pushed herself up immediately, her face pale, her eyes glassy with tears that had not yet fallen. “She… Eleanor… she sacrificed herself, Miguel. For us. So we could get out.” Her voice trembled, more from shock than the cold.Miguel said nothing. He only nodded, his dull gaze now lit with a colder, deadlier fire. He felt the weight of Eleanor’s sacrifice, not just for him, but for Anya’s freedom.“She did what had to be done,” Miguel whispered, his voice hoarse. He took Anya’s trembling hand. “To make up for… her failures. Just like you.”They staggered along the dark can