Chapter 57 – The Bunker Beneath District F
City A's nightlife buzzed above ground, but below, beneath a rundown warehouse in District F, silence pressed like a weighted blanket.
Bai Xueqing adjusted her tactical gear, the glow from her wrist tablet illuminating a 3D map of the bunker. "Three levels. One entrance. Two escape hatches, both likely rigged."
Mo Chen stood beside her, gun holstered but hand ready. "We go in quiet. No grandstanding this time."
Xueqing smirked. "You say that every time."
Behind them, Lin Nuo finished unpacking a small drone. "I've hacked into the ventilation system. This baby'll map the corridors. Just don't shoot it, Mo Chen."
"That was once," Mo Chen muttered.
The drone zipped forward, vanishing into the shadows.
Minutes later, a real-time feed began updating. Cracked walls, heavy-duty doors, and surveillance cameras hidden behind false panels lit up on the map.
"There," Lin Nuo pointed. "A central control room. Most guarded. Probably where Mr. Zhen is holed up."
Xueqing nodded. "We split. I take the north corridor, you two flank from the west. We converge at the control center. Ten minutes."
Mo Chen's jaw tightened. "No heroics."
She gave him a sly smile. "Wouldn't dream of it."
---
Inside the bunker…
Mr. Zhen leaned forward as new motion sensors tripped. "Ah. You came."
He stood slowly, slipping on his gloves with the elegance of a surgeon. Around him, screens displayed the team's every move.
"You've made it far, Xueqing. But are you ready to remember?"
He pressed a button on the console, activating a dormant protocol.
A door deep within the bunker hissed open—revealing a sealed chamber marked: Project X – Vault 09
---
Corridor North
Xueqing moved like a phantom, disabling cameras and guards with precise, silent strikes. Her movements felt oddly familiar—too fluid, too sharp.
A flash of a memory assaulted her. A sword, blood, ancient fire. A name whispered in the dark.
"Yuxian..."
She stumbled, gripping the wall. "What the hell was that?"
Ahead, the door marked Vault 09 beckoned.
Drawn by instinct more than reason, she approached. Her hand hovered over the panel, and it… opened. No code, no resistance. Like it was expecting her.
Inside, dust swirled around a cryo-pod.
She gasped.
Inside the glass chamber was… herself.
A clone?
A twin?
Her mind reeled.
Before she could process it, Mr. Zhen's voice echoed through hidden speakers.
"Welcome home, General Bai Yuxian."
---
Meanwhile, Mo Chen and Lin Nuo…
"North corridor's gone dark," Lin Nuo said, worry creeping into his tone.
Mo Chen's face turned stone cold. "Something's wrong."
He drew his gun.
"Forget the plan," he growled. "We're going in."