TIC 92

 Chapter 92

“Your request has been approved.”

Meanwhile, within the Interrogation Unit, Major General Hiti stared at a holographic screen and let out a soft chuckle.

“The day has finally come.”

In the corridor of the Interrogation Unit, a middle-aged man clad in a gray trench coat strolled leisurely down the passageway; trailing behind him were over a dozen “Tide” assassins clad in combat uniforms. A gentle smile played upon the man’s lips, even as an entire squad of armed soldiers stood before him, their cryogenic rifles leveled directly at him.

The man tilted his head ever so slightly. Instantly, the assassins behind him surged forward—utterly heedless of their own lives. As the front-most assassins were struck down by the cryogenic fire, those following close behind seized the split-second before the armed soldiers could pull their triggers a second time, slaughtering them all.

A soldier, lying in a pool of his own blood, gazed up at the man standing before him—a figure who seemed to tower over him like a deity. The smile on the man’s lips appeared innocuous, yet it inspired a terror that chilled one to the very bone.

“You... You... Who are you?”

“Valentine Sheen.”

Valentine lifted his leg, stepping over the piles of corpses as he made his way toward a specific holding cell.

Inside the cell, the woman looked up, staring at him with utter astonishment.

“My dear, don’t make a face like that. You were once my most cherished daughter—Claire. And of course, you still are. All you have to do is tell me where Jane has gone, and I will take you away from this place.”

Fear welled up in Claire’s eyes, yet ultimately, she shook her head.

“The truth is, just like you, I’ve never truly known what Jane was thinking,” Claire managed to force a smile onto her lips, though her shoulders were trembling uncontrollably.

“Sigh... My children have all grown up; they are always yearning to leave home in pursuit of unfettered freedom. But the world outside is not nearly as wonderful as you imagine it to be.” Valentine’s fingers brushed gently against Claire’s cheek, his touch filled with a profound, sorrowful tenderness.

“You could enter my mind and read my memories...” Claire attempted to pull back, but Valentine held her head firmly in his grasp. “Actually, had I managed to secure Xiao Yan, my plan would have been flawless. But as things stand, Xiao Yan commands the entire armed might of Shire; you, however, are a different story. Take that boy, Jane—don't let his usual devil-may-care attitude fool you into thinking he’s indifferent to everything. In truth, he places an immense value on emotional bonds; the moment anyone places their hopes in him, he adopts those expectations as his own personal responsibility. Consequently, he lives an exhausting, weary existence—forever denied true freedom. And you... you are one of those responsibilities.” With a sudden, swift motion, Valentine snatched a blade from a nearby assassin and severed Claire’s legs, which were bound in titanium shackles.

“Agh!” Claire let out a piercing scream as blood gushed forth, staining the floor a vivid crimson.

Valentine tapped the tip of her nose with an air of languid disinterest. “That is your punishment; I know you’ve been trailing Jane all this time. Now, it is time to pay a visit to the illustrious Major General Hiti.”

Humming a tune by Bach, Valentine arrived at Major General Hiti’s office. The music played on, and the aroma of coffee permeated the air; seated at his desk, Major General Hiti rested his head in his hand, regarding his uninvited guest with a steady gaze.

“Welcome to the Interrogation Corps.”

“You are the first person in all of Shire to offer me a welcome. Therefore, I have decided to treat you with the courtesy one extends to a friend, Major General Hiti.” Valentine perched sideways upon Hiti’s desk, leaning in as if to scrutinize the man before him.

“So, will you be inviting me to join the Tide?” Hiti’s smile remained composed, betraying not a hint of fear.

“I admire your capabilities. However, Major General, your talents are simply *too* exceptional—which leaves me with no choice but to...”

With those words, Valentine lunged suddenly at Hiti’s neck. Yet, in that very instant, Hiti’s figure began to crackle and distort with a buzzing static. Valentine paused, momentarily stunned, as the realization dawned upon him: the Hiti standing before him was not a physical entity, but merely a holographic projection.

He violently shattered the illusion, finally grasping the truth: Major General Hiti had already retreated into the emergency escape tunnels, having successfully evacuated the Interrogation Corps. “Remarkable—I actually fell for your trick. But no matter; I’ve already achieved my objective.” Valentine raised his wrist, wearing an expression of eager anticipation as he spoke into the communicator strapped there: “My dear Xiao Yan, our last encounter left me with a profound admiration for your intellect. This is my most sincere—and final—invitation to you.”

Valentine’s image materialized on Xiao Yan’s communicator; the bastard had actually hacked into Char’s communication frequency!

Trapped inside the research lab, Xiao Yan’s lips curled into a helpless, wry smile: “Perhaps you are God; but regrettably, I cannot be the angel by your side.”

That answer seemed to be exactly what Valentine had expected. “You are too quick to refuse, my boy. I shall hold onto your answer for now. Just don’t die in there.”

“Don’t die in here? What the hell does that guy mean?” Lauren raised an eyebrow.

In that very instant, a deafening explosion rocked the facility; the entire research lab shuddered violently, and everyone instinctively clapped their hands over their ears.

The blare of alarms was incessant.

“That bastard Valentine—surely he doesn’t intend to blow up the Central Academy of Sciences, does he?!” Ritz shouted.

“If that’s the case, we have to get out of here—now!”

Xiao Yan looked toward Hein; at this moment, they had no way of knowing exactly what was happening. Just then, Wynn initiated a communication link with Hein.

“Boss! You have to get everyone out of there! Valentine Sheehan has planted particle bombs throughout the Central Academy of Sciences, the Special Task Force headquarters, *and* the Presidential Palace!”

“What?!”

The news left everyone utterly stunned.

Particle bombs were no larger than grains of sand; they could rapidly adhere to metal surfaces, react with the metal, and instantly unleash a burst of intense heat, triggering a catastrophic explosion. Particle bombs were known as the nemesis of high-density titanium. Until now, however, the issue of particle bomb stability had remained an unsolved challenge for the Central Academy of Sciences—yet today, it appeared that Valentine Sheehan had finally succeeded in producing a fully functional version.

“If they really are particle bombs, this place won’t hold out for long. We have to leave!” The half-dazed, dreamy look on Loch’s face vanished, replaced by an expression of grim seriousness. “Let’s go,” Hein said, looking at Xiao Yan.

“We went through so much just to get in here... and now we have to leave again?”

The research supervisors began murmuring amongst themselves.

Everyone looked toward the door in terror; the faces of mutated zombies were pressed against the glass, attempting to smash through the sliding doors and burst inside. Their bloodshot eyes stared out, and every so often, their teeth scraped against the glass, leaving behind repulsive, slimy streaks.

“Oh... God...” Ritz clutched his head. “I’m not sure I can go through that again...”

Without a word, Xiao Yan opened the sample storage unit, retrieved the serum, and deftly loaded it into an injector gun. He then calmly surveyed the colleagues standing before him.

“Gentlemen, this is ‘Sharon-3.’ According to the data, I have successfully extended the virus’s efficacy from temporary to permanent. However, viruses are inherently volatile; I cannot guarantee that once it enters each of your bodies, the effects will manifest exactly as intended.”

Returning to his laboratory, Xiao Yan’s primary objective had been to retrieve the Sharon-3 serum samples.

No sooner had the words left his lips than Ritz unhesitatingly took the injector gun from his hand. “The worst-case scenario is just kicking the bucket, right?”

Xiao Yan had initially worried that the others might hesitate—yet in this critical moment, time was their most precious commodity. Ritz’s decisive action quelled any doubts the others might have harbored; when Xiao Yan looked at him with gratitude, Ritz merely shrugged with an air of nonchalance.

The moment the sliding doors parted, everyone held their breath. The zombies surged inside; several researchers squeezed their eyes shut tight, opening them again only after the horde had shambled past them without stopping. The shuffling mass of walking corpses swayed listlessly, appearing to be searching for something. One particular zombie approached Lauren, fixing him with a deathly stare; its fetid breath practically misted against his face. Lauren tensed his shoulders in alarm, casting a pleading glance in Xiao Yan’s direction.

Xiao Yan, too, felt a surge of anxiety, terrified that the Sharon-3 serum might prove ineffective on Lauren.

But his fears were unfounded; as the sound of another explosion rumbled from somewhere overhead, the zombie turned away and left Lauren alone.

“What are you standing there gawking for?! Move it!” Ritz shouted. Hein charged at the very front, slicing through zombies and clearing a path alongside the remaining special forces operatives; Xiao Yan followed close behind.

The sensation of being completely ignored by the zombies felt novel to them, yet the ceaseless explosions thundering overhead frayed their nerves with an overwhelming sense of urgency.

With a particularly close blast, the resulting concussion left many of them reeling, their balance lost. A massive section of titanium paneling tore loose and plummeted downward. Reacting with lightning speed, Xiao Yan yanked Ritz toward himself just as the metal wall crashed to the floor. The impact sent tremors through the structure, triggering a chain reaction of explosions; overhead, every remaining metal panel now hung precariously, on the verge of collapse.

"Don't stop!" Hein's low voice cut through the chaos with piercing clarity.

In that instant, a massive slab of titanium burst through the ceiling of the corridor and came hurtling down—moving too fast for anyone to possibly react in time. Unable to dodge, Xiao Yan shoved Ritz to the ground with one hand while raising the other in a desperate attempt to brace against the falling metal plate. But the sheer weight of the high-density titanium was enough to crush him completely. Just as Xiao Yan closed his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable pain, a groaning screech rang out overhead. Xiao Yan’s palms suffered nothing more than bruising from the glancing impact; turning his head, he saw Hein kneeling just a short distance away, his hands straining to hold the massive metal plate aloft.

"Hurry!" Hein’s entire body trembled, every muscle taut with exertion; in the struggle to support the metal plate, he too had sustained injuries.

Xiao Yan wasted no further words, simply signaling for Ritz to follow him and scramble out.

They pressed onward, leaving behind a corridor that had now completely collapsed; there was no turning back.

Ritz nearly stumbled and fell, but Loch, right behind him, reached out and steadied him.

"Can't you even run fast when your life depends on it? You really need to hit the gym!"

For once, Ritz didn't argue back; he simply regained his footing and continued moving forward.

The corridor was now sloping steeply downward. If they failed to reach the exit in time, they would slide—along with this entire section of the passageway—into the lower levels, to be buried beneath the collapsing structure.

The hovercraft piloted by Liv and Mark had already reached the corridor's exit. The hatch hissed open, and Wynn leaned halfway out, stretching his arms wide, ready to haul them out one by one. Hein was the first to reach the entrance of the access tunnel, yet he immediately hoisted the trailing Xiao Yan onto his shoulder; Wynn then scooped Xiao Yan up and tossed him into the cabin.

“The military command is to extract Xiao Yan at all costs! If any of you want to live, then move your fucking asses!”

Loch braced himself against Ritz, boosting him upward. Compared to the flustered Ritz—who was fumbling to haul Loch aboard—Xiao Yan remained far more composed.

He gripped Loch’s hand and spoke coldly to Ritz: “Let go!”

In the split second before Ritz could grasp the meaning behind those words, Xiao Yan had already hauled Loch inside. As Loch tumbled forward, he landed squarely atop Ritz; Ritz’s head slammed against a seatback, nearly knocking him unconscious. Working with flawless synergy, Xiao Yan and Hein proceeded to haul the remaining personnel aboard.

The access tunnel was tilting at an increasingly steep, near-vertical angle. Just as Hein hauled the final Major into the cabin, Lauren—who had been trailing behind him—lost his grip on his handhold and plummeted downward.

“Lauren!” Xiao Yan lunged forward, stretching out his arm. Just as he was on the verge of leaping out the cabin door, Hein slammed his hand against the doorframe and shoved Xiao Yan violently back inside.

Lauren, meanwhile, stared wide-eyed as he plunged downward alongside the collapsing access tunnel. In that moment, sheer despair seemed to make his very eyeballs burst.

In a flash, a figure swiftly clipped a safety line to the doorframe and leaped out into the void. Just as Lauren closed his eyes, bracing himself for the arrival of death, the figure gritted their teeth and seized his arm with brutal force. The sheer power of that grab was enough to dislocate a wrist; amidst Lauren’s piercing scream of agony, the access tunnel broke away completely and plummeted into the depths below, while the aircraft ascended—leaving Lauren dangling precariously in mid-air, held aloft solely by his rescuer.

“Agh!” The excruciating pain completely eclipsed Lauren’s fear of death; the searing sensation surged along his nerves, shooting straight to his brain.

Xiao Yan—who had been physically restrained by Hein at the cabin entrance—finally let out a breath of relief. “Thank God... Wynn...”

Giving a cold snort, Wynn looked down at Lauren and snapped: “You’re not dead yet! What the hell are you screaming about?”

It was only after Wynn had hauled Lauren safely back into the cabin that Hein finally lowered the arm he had used to block Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan gazed at Hein’s stern, unyielding face and swallowed hard; it had been a long time since he had felt the crushing pressure of Hein’s presence—a pressure so intense it felt as though it might grind his very bones to dust. This man would sooner endure his hatred than allow him to undertake anything even remotely dangerous.

Aboard the hovercraft, constantly swerving to dodge the plummeting sections of the dome, everyone stared out the windows in stunned disbelief.

Residents were scattering in helpless panic; the speed at which the high-density titanium fragments were falling rivaled that of a comet striking the earth. The city’s once-bustling commercial district was now shrouded in the smoke and debris kicked up by the shattering titanium, and even the massive holographic display screens had been utterly obliterated. The iconic luxury residential tower—a landmark of Char—teetered precariously. Xiao Yan didn’t even need his terminal to calculate that this building—usually a beacon of splendor, hailed as the "Underground Tower of Babel"—would not last another three minutes before being reduced to dust. The upper-class elites, typically so elegant and composed, were now fleeing in utter disarray. The Central Plaza was a scene of absolute chaos, packed with citizens who had nowhere left to run. The armed forces had been fully mobilized, yet the designated emergency shelters simply lacked the capacity to accommodate the entire population. Many people were screaming that Char was on the verge of total collapse, demanding to be taken to the surface. In reality, however, the military possessed nowhere near enough hovercraft to evacuate everyone; and even if they could transport them out, those citizens would merely become a delectable feast for the zombies awaiting them above.

Gazing toward the Presidential Palace in the distance, they heard nothing but a ceaseless succession of explosive blasts. The Federation flag—a symbol of "hope and freedom"—was being buried beneath the rubble, and the terrified populace cried out in panic: "The President is dead! The President is dead!"

Even the armed forces currently engaged in their mission instinctively turned their heads to look in the direction of the Presidential Palace.

Amidst the swirling dust and debris, several hovercraft emerged; Xiao Yan recognized them as Ling Xiao’s unit. Xiao Yan let out a breath of relief; Ling Xiao would never have taken off without first extracting the President and the General. As the titanium fragments rained down, Ling Xiao piloted his craft through the maelstrom, weaving and dodging with constantly shifting trajectories—every single moment was utterly heart-stopping. The sky—which had supported this city for over two centuries—continued to tremble. In that instant, the illusory azure heavens and their capricious drifting clouds gave way to cold, high-density titanium; like a lie that had been pierced through, the sky revealed its true, unvarnished nature.

People craned their necks in terror, awaiting the moment of total annihilation.

"If... if all thirty-six of the dome's support pillars snap... then Char will plunge entirely into the earth..." Ritz’s voice quivered.

Char was hailed as a miracle in the history of human architecture. Two centuries ago, countless architects questioned the feasibility of constructing such a massive underground city—until a breakthrough was achieved in the research of high-density titanium. This metal possessed incredible load-bearing capacity, was highly resistant to corrosion, and was exceptionally stable. It became the primary building material used to construct Char. As technology advanced by leaps and bounds, ultra-density titanium was developed and subsequently utilized to reinforce the thirty-six support pillars upholding Char’s dome. From that day forward, architects declared with absolute confidence that—barring the actual explosion of the Earth itself—Char would endure forever.

But today, that confidence was shattered by Valentine Sheen.

The presidential aircraft hovered above the plaza; with the square teeming with citizens seeking refuge, there was nowhere for the craft to land.

The so-called "Central Plaza Monument" was, in fact, the sturdiest of the thirty-six pillars supporting Char—yet no one could be certain whether that monument, too, had been rigged with a particle bomb.

At that moment, a message from the President flashed across Hein’s communicator.

"Colonel Burton, the situation is critical, and I have no time for pleasantries. By the authority vested in me as President of the Char Federation, I hereby order you: take the researchers aboard your aircraft and evacuate Char immediately. Rendezvous with Colonel Shen Bing! I am issuing orders to all Special Operations Forces units to escort your team out at any cost!"

This order signaled that Char was doomed to destruction; the President regarded the researchers aboard this aircraft as humanity’s final hope.

A sudden uproar erupted within the cabin.

"And what of you, Mr. President?" Hein’s voice remained calm and level, devoid of any inflection—as if he had foreseen this outcome all along. “I am the President of the Char Federation. Without Char, there is no me. I will remain with my people. And—I am sorry—your father is right here by my side, and he, too, has decided to stay.” The President offered a faint smile as he asked to speak with Xiao Yan.

Liv and Mark piloted their craft, dodging the ceaselessly falling titanium debris as they headed toward the few remaining flight corridors still operational for exiting Char.

“Xiao Yan... may you have a safe journey.”

Xiao Yan had expected the President to voice his hopes regarding what he might accomplish; yet today, every word the President spoke was so concise—so stripped down—that it stood in stark contrast to the rumors surrounding him.

“Your Excellency! I request permission to requisition Major Ling Xiao’s unit and dispatch them to the military chemical plant! There is nearly a ton of coolant stored there! Spraying the coolant onto the structural support points would utilize the extreme cold to dampen the activity of the particulate bombs!”

“I appreciate your suggestion! However, you must—immediately and without delay—evacuate Char!”

The communication link was severed.

Xiao Yan wanted to say more, but Hein placed a hand firmly on his shoulder.

“He is the President; he would never abandon any method that holds the potential to save his people.”

And just like that, the craft carrying Xiao Yan departed from Char.

The President cast a glance at Admiral Sharif. “Did you understand what Xiao Yan said just now?”

“I did.” Admiral Sharif issued the necessary orders to the armed forces.

Meanwhile, Maya was attempting to drag Major General Gordon away, trying to pull him out of a corridor that was on the verge of total collapse. Yet Major General Gordon stubbornly thrust his arm deep into the metal wreckage, desperately trying to grasp something as he shouted Aivel’s name with reckless abandon.

“Your Excellency! You must leave—right now!”

“No! Aivel is still inside!” Major General Gordon showed absolutely no intention of giving up.

“Major General...” Maya raised her hand, preparing to knock him unconscious.

“If you do that, then even if I survive, I will simply use my sidearm to blow my own brains out.” Major General Gordon’s silhouette—seen from behind—appeared calm yet unyielding; it was a posture that radiated an unshakable resolve.

“Your Excellency!” Maya’s eyes grew red-rimmed. Moments earlier, as they had attempted to make their escape, the corridor had collapsed, trapping Lieutenant General Aivel on the other side of the wreckage. Now, however, they had absolutely no time to clear the debris and extract Lieutenant General Aivel—to say nothing of the fact that they could not even be certain if he was still alive. “Did you not hear Admiral Sharif’s orders? All armed forces units must transport coolant to lower the temperature of the particle bombs! Do you not understand a direct order?”

“Sir, you are a member of the armed forces as well!”

“My arm is pinned,” Major General Gordon replied coldly, though Maya knew full well that his hand was completely unharmed.

“Sir, your current conduct constitutes dereliction of duty!”

The sounds of explosions continued to ring out incessantly. Although their current location was the most structurally sound section of the entire building, it would soon be cut off by collapsing rubble.

“Listen, Maya—I am not indispensable. So go and do something that truly matters. In every life, there are certain things that simply *must* be done. Just as, in this moment, I absolutely cannot abandon Aviel—and you absolutely cannot die here for nothing. Major, leave this place. Go assist the other units in transporting the coolant. That is my order to you.”

Maya clenched his fists. Finally, he raised his hand and executed a sharp, forceful salute to Major General Gordon, then swiftly departed with his subordinates in tow.

Silence descended upon the scene—save for the ceaseless sounds of explosions and collapsing structures.

“Aviel? Are you there? I know you’re still here.” Major General Gordon spread his fingers, reaching out as if to grasp at something.

It was not until the path behind him had been completely sealed off—and every last glimmer of light had vanished—that he finally heard Aviel’s voice.

“...Why... didn't you leave...?”

Aviel’s voice was faint and feeble; looking down, Major General Gordon could see crimson blood seeping through the seams of the metal plating.