CHAPTER 40: The Fragility of the New AllianceThe residual rainwater clinging to the iron railings of the 4th Floor balcony slowly evaporated under the pale rays of the morning sun. Post-storm Metropolitan looked like a concrete giant just waking from a nightmare. Down below, on the streets of Sector Three—usually teeming with the chaos of public vehicles and the rogue patrols of The Syndicate’s paramilitaries—nothing remained but the barbed-wire blockades of the Military Police.The special presidential decree signed just hours ago had officially transformed the Sanctuary Apartment into a special autonomous territory. On paper, Colter Burke was now the supreme authority over the two-hectare property. Yet, Colt knew all too well that a piece of paper bearing a wet state seal was never enough to stop a bullet or halt human greed.Inside the living room, the sharp scent of antiseptic from the presidential medical team still lingered, blending with the aroma of strong black coffee freshl

CHAPTER 42: STORM AT DRYDOCK NUMBER FOURThe underground corridor coded B-12 felt like an endless iron labyrinth. The sound of Colter Burke and Ines Mercer’s tactical boots echoed softly, mixing with the hiss of steam leaking from ancient hydraulic pipes along the concrete walls. Three dockworkers leading the way moved with surprising efficiency; they knew every turn, every pipe joint, and every iron staircase that had begun to corrode with age.“Twenty meters ahead is the main air filter room of Drydock Number Four,” whispered the oldest man leading the group, named Joko. He stopped right beneath a vertical ladder leading to an iron manhole cover. “Above that is the dry logistics container storage area. Nikolai Vance has placed a backup sniper squad on top of those containers.”Colt climbed the iron ladder carefully, making sure every movement didn’t create a metallic clank that could trigger enemy acoustic sensors. He pushed the cover above his head slightly, leaving a gap of just a

CHAPTER 43: OATH OVER THE DRYDOCKThe concrete floor of Drydock Number Four was now wet with a mixture of leftover rainwater, leaking engine oil, and the blood of The Iron Vanguard operators. Nikolai Vance lay sprawled on the floor of the steel railcar, his left hand completely destroyed by the .50 caliber round from Colter Burke. His breathing was ragged, gasping under the cold muzzle of Ines Mercer’s assault rifle pressed against his chin.Colt stepped into the railcar. The solid thud of his tactical boots rang out against the steel plate flooring. He looked at Nikolai without a trace of emotion — a blank stare that was far more terrifying than overflowing rage. Behind him, Joko and the dockworkers quickly helped Sarah Floyd out of the car safely, guiding the elderly woman toward the tactical vehicle waiting outside."You... you think you've won, Burke?" Nikolai groaned, his teeth chattering from the excruciating pain in his wrist. Fresh blood quickly soaked through the fabric of hi

CHAPTER 45: ENVOY FROM THE GLASS TOWERThe sun rose high over Sector Three, shining down on the North Water Treatment Complex which was now fully under the control of the joint militia of dockworkers and Sanctuary Apartment security guards. The faint smell of leftover explosions from the tanker truck still lingered in the air, but the constant roar of the massive water pump turbines running normally again brought a sense of security that the lower district’s hundreds of thousands of citizens hadn’t felt in a long time.Colter Burke stood on the facility’s concrete courtyard, brushing cement dust off his jacket. Beside him, Linus Floyd was packing the cables of his portable console back into his tactical backpack. Silas, still unconscious, had been hauled away by Gideon’s men in a logistics truck to be detained in the eastern port district alongside Nikolai Vance."The clean water distribution system to the entire sector is stable, Colt," Linus said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I’

CHAPTER 47: INFILTRATING THROUGH THE FOGOne week after The Board of Directors imposed the economic blockade, Sector Three showed an anomaly that frustrated the upper district analysts. Instead of riots breaking out from starvation, activity at the main market in the west district remained stable under Madam Chen's strict supervision. Supplies of fresh hydroponic vegetables and pure water continued to flow constantly from Basement Level Two of Sanctuary Apartments, distributed through underground sewer networks guarded by Gideon's dockyard worker militia.Seeing their grassroots logistics boycott fail, Evelyn Vance no longer had the patience for legal bureaucratic channels.That night, the digital clock in the 4th Floor control room read 1:30 AM. It wasn't raining, but the air temperature in Sector Three dropped sharply, triggering a thick, deadly fog that engulfed the entire Sanctuary Apartments structure. Visibility in the outer courtyard shrank drastically to less than three meters