The Vault stands like a tomb beneath the city.
No windows. No doors. Just a monolith of obsidian and chrome surrounded by a dome of lethal silence. The world doesn't come here. It forgets this place even exists.
Which makes it the perfect place to bury memories.
And people.
Su Chen stands at the entrance, watching automated sentries patrol the air like vultures. Each one carries enough firepower to vaporize a tank.
[Infiltration Status: Red Zone. Detection = Death. Suggested Tactic: Stealth & EMP Diversion.]
The Locksmith's voice crackles in his comms.
"I bought you 2 minutes of blind time. That's all the bribe got me. After that, you're on your own."
"That's all I need," Su Chen mutters.
He moves.
A blur between motion sensors, crawling into the subgrid pipework like a serpent. The inside of Vault Omega is worse—tight corridors lit with flickering white lights, AI drones whispering above, cameras on every corner. It smells like metal and ghosts.
Every step is a war between silence and urgency.
[Timer: 1:57… 1:43… 1:21…]
He reaches the Mainframe Gate.
It hums with artificial intelligence older than most cities—conscious and cruel. Behind it lies the Memory Core. And Yun Xi's stolen soul.
He pulls out the chip the Locksmith gave him. Custom worm virus.
"You sure this will work?" he whispers.
The Locksmith replies, "No. But if it doesn't, you won't be alive long enough to complain."
Click.
The chip slides into the gate console. Sparks fly.
[System Override Initiated…][Access Granted – Core Data Available for 67 Seconds]
Su Chen sprints inside. The room is massive, filled with floating memory strands—light blue wires of code suspended in air like constellations. Each one is a life, a mind, a stolen soul.
He scans until he finds it.
Subject: Astra [Yun Xi]Project Level: Omega-Class ForbiddenDownload Available: Partial Memory ArchiveWarning: Download Will Trigger Black Response Protocol.
"Do it anyway," he growls.
[Downloading… 12%... 39%... 72%...]
Suddenly—
Boom.
Explosions ripple through the Vault.
Alarms wail.
[WARNING: INTRUDER ALERT. LOCKDOWN INITIATED.]
Gunfire.
Boots.
They're coming.
"Chen! You need to get out—now!" the Locksmith yells through the comms.
[Download Complete: 93% Recovered. Extraction Route: Compromised.]
Su Chen grabs the drive and bolts.
The door seals behind him.
No way out.
But he's Su Chen.
He doesn't look for doors.
He makes them.
He detonates a breaching charge against the wall, dives through the fire, lands in the underground coolant tunnels. Water blinds him, steam scalds him, but he keeps moving.
Because in his hand…
He holds her.
Yun Xi's memories.
Her truth.
Her pain.
Her love.
Meanwhile – Sector 0, Astra's Containment Suite
Yun Xi flinches.
Then screams.
Not a system-triggered scream.
A human one.
Memories flood her mind like a dam breaking.
The rooftop.
The bottle of whiskey.
His voice in her ear. His warmth. His betrayal.
No. Her betrayal.
"I remember…"
Her knees hit the floor.
[ERROR: Neural Containment Failed.][Memory Core Reintegrating. Emotional Spectrum Reactivated.][Initiating Emergency Shutdown—]
But something stops the command.
A new directive appears.
[Override Code Accepted: "Project Fallen Phoenix"][New Directive: Locate Su Chen. Do Not Harm. Synchronize.]
She gasps.
For the first time in months—maybe years—Yun Xi feels again.
Back in Sector 9 – The Rustline Hideout
Su Chen slams the drive on the table.
"Decrypt it."
The Locksmith stares, breathless. "Did you… did you make it out alive?"
Su Chen's eyes are hollow, blood dripping from a fresh cut on his forehead. He doesn't answer.
The Locksmith starts working. Data flickers across the screens.
Then it appears.
A recording.
Yun Xi's face, crying.
Her voice shaking.
"If you're seeing this… I'm sorry, Chen. I thought I was saving you. But I killed us both."
Su Chen clenches his jaw.
He doesn't speak.
He just watches her cry.
Then the screen glitches.
Another face appears.
Cold.
Golden eyes.
High Lord Elion.
"So predictable, Su Chen. I left this message for you because I knew you'd come for her. And now… she's coming for you."
[New Objective: Survive the Astra Encounter.]
End of Chapter 64