2026-04-28 07:33:40
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CHAPTER 116: HEARTBEAT OF STEEL
Westminster Tower groaned violently, a metallic wail that traveled from its stone foundations all the way to the summit of Big Ben's clock tower. The high-frequency vibrations triggered by Pico created a resonance that shook centuries-old dust loose from the massive gears above them. Hot steam burst from cracked pipes, reducing visibility to zero within the narrow, steep spiral staircase.Leo Valdieri gripped Lord Sterling's collar, dragging the old man up the stone steps with strength that should have been impossible for Leo Ravelli's body. Behind them, Silas Vane and Elena advanced with weapons ready, while Lich-One moved across the staircase ceiling like a shadow fused with darkness."Let me go, Valdieri!" Sterling coughed, his face flushed red from the steam and rising blood pressure. "You'll never be able to control that mechanism! It was designed to detect fear. If your hand trembles when you touch the cylinder, this tower will explode!"Leo stopped and spun Sterling around, sla
CHAPTER 115: FOG OVER THE THAMES
The sky above London no longer poured rain. Instead, it exhaled a blanket of soot-laden fog so dense that a person could barely see the tip of their own nose. The stinging smell of coal burning in thousands of emergency furnaces saturated the air, creating an atmosphere that felt Victorian in appearance yet burdened with the suffocating tension of modern military rule. In the silence of the River Thames, its waters black as ink, a Crimson Syndicate hydrofoil sped forward almost soundlessly, slicing through the fog toward a hidden dock beneath Westminster Bridge.Leo Valdieri stood on the vessel's bridge, dressed in a thick charcoal wool coat with a crimson silk scarf wrapped around his neck. Leo Ravelli's body had become remarkably powerful. Every movement radiated the efficiency of a predator that had made peace with its pain."London has always known how to hide its sins behind a veil of fog, Silas," Leo said, his voice calm yet carrying an oppressive resonance.Standing beside him
CHAPTER 114: BLOOD LITURGY IN THE CITY OF FASHION
The basement beneath the Palazzo Ducale no longer smelled of ancient mildew. Instead, the air carried the sharp scent of industrial cleaning chemicals and lingering gunpowder still clinging to Silas Vane's suit.At the center of the room, illuminated only by a single low-hanging halogen lamp, Fabrizio Valdieri sat bound to a heavy iron chair. The face that had once mirrored the glory days of the past was now ruined, blood caked at the corners of his mouth. Yet his eyes still burned with blind fanaticism.Leo Valdieri stood in the shadows, lazily twirling his carbon knife with a hypnotic motion. He had exchanged his tuxedo for a black tactical shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing the increasingly powerful physique of Leo Ravelli's body."You were always a terrible dreamer, Fabrizio."Leo's voice shattered the silence, cold and vibrating with oppressive authority."In seventy-four, you thought you could survive by jumping out of the car before it exploded. Now you think you can p
CHAPTER 113: BLOOD UPON STILL WATERS
The hydraulic gears beneath the Rialto Bridge groaned, iron grinding against iron as the manual floodgates were forced shut by the White Sword faction's sabotage. The canal's surface, usually a scene of romance, had become a corridor of slaughter.Leo Valdieri stood tall at the bow of a tactical speedboat he had just hijacked, his hands gripping the assault rifle of the attacker whose shattered body now lay crumpled in a corner of the deck."Silas! Don't let them turn around at the San Marco bend!" Leo shouted through his wired communicator.From the balcony of the towering Palazzo Ducale behind them, a flash erupted from the muzzle of Silas Vane's sniper rifle, slicing through the darkness.BANG!One of the enemy speedboats in the rear formation exploded when Silas's magnetic round struck its steam engine. A fireball surged into the sky, bathing the facades of the ancient buildings in a horrifying crimson glow."The rear sector is sealed, Don!" Silas's voice came through, calm but he
Chapter 112: Banquet in the City of Water
Three months after radioactive steam shrouded the skies above Pripyat and erased Antonio Valdieri's shadow forever, the world did not suddenly become a paradise. On the contrary, the planet became a blank canvas contested by countless hands hungry to paint it red. In the vacuum left by global power, the Crimson Syndicate underwent a metamorphosis. They were no longer merely an underground guerrilla force. They had become the architects of a new order known as the "Great Family of the World."Venice, the city built upon thousands of wooden pillars, had been chosen as the shadow capital. There, within the lavishly restored Palazzo Ducale, luxury that challenged the passage of time gleamed beneath Murano chandeliers, their light reflecting across the crystal-clear waters of the canals.Leo Valdieri stood on a balcony overlooking the Grand Canal. Leo Ravelli's body now appeared far more mature. He had survived the explosion through an impossible twist of fate after his farewell broadcast.
CHAPTER 111: THE FOUNTAIN OF TRAITORS
The asphalt of Via del Corso beneath Leo Valdieri's feet felt too smooth, too flawless for a street that should have been decades old. Above them, the ceiling of Sector Zero's massive dome flickered, displaying a simulation of the constellations from 1974 that was beginning to distort under electrical interference. Gunfire and explosions from the café still echoed through the artificial city, bouncing off the facades of fake Roman buildings that were now cracking open to reveal the steel framework beneath."Two more blocks to the Trevi Fountain, Don!" Silas Vane shouted as he unleashed a burst of suppressive fire toward an apartment balcony on the left."Leo, the sensors ahead are detecting an abnormal temperature spike!" Elena Ravelli ran beside her brother, her fingers moving swiftly across the scanning device mounted on her forearm. "The water in that fountain isn't decorative. It's the primary coolant for the steam reactor beneath us!"Leo Valdieri ducked as a heated spike round s
