Chapter 20
1654 Words
The green lights in the corridor flickered erratically. Qin Lie moved along the wall; the soles of his shoes scraped against the alloy floor, emitting a faint, barely audible *shh-shh* sound. The scent of disinfectant, mingled with the metallic tang of blood, stung his nostrils. He did not stop; his fingers grazed the cold surface of the wall, leaving a damp trail in their wake.
Ahead lay the central control console area. Several terminal screens remained lit, their eerie glow illuminating the greasy fingerprints smudged across the keyboards. Qin Lie slipped into the shadows, pressing his palm against one of the main consoles. The screen, previously in sleep mode, instantly sprang to life the moment his fingertips made contact.
A scrolling stream of data flooded his vision.
"Project Chimera."
In the notes section below, terms such as "Forced Obedience," "Neural Suppression," and "Forced Gene Expression" flashed repeatedly. To the side hung a real-time physiological monitoring graph; several curves representing the test subjects fluctuated violently—heart rates spiking into the red alert zone, only to be forcibly driven back down to rock bottom by chemical suppressants.
Not extermination. Domestication.
Qin Lie stared at the anatomical diagram displayed on the screen. A werewolf's skeletal structure had been encased in metal braces, and the vocal cord region was labeled "Sonic Receiver." The Silver Cross Society intended to turn their own living kin into nothing more than dogs that obeyed every command.
His fingers danced across the keyboard. The data transfer progress bar began its slow, steady climb.
Suddenly, a deafening crash erupted from deep within the facility.
The piercing shriek of tearing metal ripped through the silence. It was immediately followed by a series of heavy impacts—*thud, thud, thud*—as if some colossal beast were smashing against the walls. The alarm lights instantly flashed red; rotating beams of light swept across the corridor, elongating and then shrinking Qin Lie's shadow.
Something had gone wrong in the containment zone.
The sound of footsteps echoed from a connecting corridor—rapid, heavy, and bearing the distinctive cadence of tactical boots. Two Silver Cross operatives rounded the corner, sonic rifles at the ready, their muzzles trained toward the containment zone.
Qin Lie lifted his hands from the keyboard. He clenched the data cable tightly in his palm.
Instead of making a break for the exit, he turned and ducked into a nearby maintenance tunnel. The narrow crawlspace was thick with dust; overhead, a tangle of pipes and conduits hung so low that he was forced to hunch over just to squeeze through. Behind him, alarms blared; the roars of the test subjects pierced through the walls, shaking the pipes until they hummed.
Distracted by the commotion, two squad members peeled off to provide backup in the containment zone.
Qin Lie navigated through the pipes. The mental map etched in his memory aligned perfectly with the path unfolding before his eyes. This route led to the old district's main sewage hub—the very path he had taken upon entering. Ahead, the tunnel branched: to the left lay a ventilation shaft; to the right, a drainage channel.
The sound of approaching footsteps grew louder once again. This time, they were closer—barely ten meters behind him.
"Intruder spotted! Secure the maintenance tunnel!"
The shouted command crackled with static interference. Qin Lie did not slow his pace; instead, he accelerated. Up ahead, a squad member emerged from the junction; before the man could even raise his weapon, a dark blur was upon him.
Qin Lie sidestepped to evade the muzzle, his left hand snapping out to seize the man's wrist before twisting with brutal force. A sharp *c***k* of bone rang out. Before the squad member could even scream, Qin Lie's right elbow smashed into his Adam's apple. The man went limp, and his weapon was instantly snatched away.
Another squad member opened fire from behind.
Bullets whizzed past Qin Lie's ear, ricocheting off the metal walls in a shower of sparks. Qin Lie dragged the unconscious squad member into the shadows and tossed him aside, then spun around and sprinted toward the drainage channel.
"Don't let him get away! Call for reinforcements!"
The sound of rushing footsteps intensified. Qin Lie leaped into the drainage channel. Foul water rose past his calves, and the stench of sewage assaulted his senses, yet he paid it no mind, sprinting furiously along the trough. From above, the clatter of a dislodged access grate rang out—there were hostiles up there, too.
He was caught in a pincer attack.
Ahead, the metal piping was heavily corroded and thickly encrusted with moss. Qin Lie spotted a horizontal support beam—its surface riddled with hairline cracks. He halted, spun around, and raised his weapon.
His pursuers appeared ten meters away. Three crimson laser dots locked onto his chest.
Qin Lie did not duck for cover. His sights were fixed squarely on that support beam.
He squeezed the trigger.
The bullet struck dead center within the web of cracks. The metal, pushed past its structural limits, let out a groaning shriek before snapping apart with a thunderous crash. The accumulated debris—discarded equipment and rubble—came tumbling down from above, completely sealing off the passage.
His pursuers were trapped behind the collapsed section. The sound of curses was drowned out by the dust.
Qin Lie turned and continued running deeper inside. The current grew swifter, and the silhouette of a massive sluice gate loomed ahead. This was the exit of the sewage hub, leading into the even deeper labyrinth of the city's underground sewers.
He leaped onto the gate's control console. The manual wheel was rusted solid, requiring immense force to turn. The wound in his shoulder tore open; blood seeped out, staining the front of his clothes crimson. Gritting his teeth, Qin Lie exerted all his strength with both hands. The wheel turned once... then twice.
The sluice gate rose slowly. Murky sewage surged into the passage.
Behind him, the screech of cutting metal rang out. His pursuers were clearing the obstacles. There was little time left.
Qin Lie plunged into the current. It was bone-chillingly cold. He let the flow carry him toward the dark depths until the gate slammed back down, completely sealing off both light and sound.
All that remained was the sound of the rushing water.
Qin Lie swam to a dry maintenance platform and hauled himself up. He was soaked to the bone, and the wound in his shoulder stung with fiery pain after being submerged. Leaning against the wall, he caught his breath and fished a data cable out of his pocket.
It felt hard and solid, pressing against his thigh.
Inside lay the entirety of the data from the Chimera Project—the incriminating evidence against the Silver Cross, and the distress signal from his trapped compatriots.
A faint rumble drifted in from the distance—the sound of traffic on the city streets above. He was now nearing the edge of the Old Quarter.
Qin Lie wiped the water from his pistol. The magazine was still half-full. He checked his communicator; the Silver Cross channel was a chaotic cacophony of orders.
"Lock down all exits in Sector B-7."
"Launch drones."
"Notify the Grand Archbishop: the target has escaped with the data."
The voices on the channel were cold and hard.
Qin Lie switched off his communicator. Silence descended once more. The only sound was the rhythmic *drip... drip...* of water falling from the ceiling above.
He rose to his feet and headed deeper into the darkness. The sewer labyrinth was a tangled maze; only those who knew the paths intimately could hope to find the exit. The map Old K had given him was still etched in his mind—the route, crystal clear.
But this time, things were different.
The location of the laboratory had been compromised. The Silver Cross would not grant him a second chance to infiltrate it. The next time we meet, it will be a head-on clash.
Qin Lie reached back and touched the short sword sheathed against his spine. The scabbard felt cold against his back.
The sound of flowing water echoed beneath his feet. His silhouette melted into the darkness, his footsteps silent. Ahead, at a junction in the tunnel, a faint light appeared—the maintenance shaft leading back up to the surface.
He climbed up to the shaft opening and pushed aside the cover plate.
The night wind rushed in, carrying the distinct scent of urban dust. Qin Lie scrambled out of the shaft and scanned his surroundings. He stood in an abandoned industrial park, overgrown with weeds, while in the distance, high-rises blazed with light.
Pulling the brim of his cap low, he headed toward a narrow alleyway shrouded in shadow.
The data cable in his pocket felt heavy—it was the truth, yet also his death warrant.
Behind him, from deep within the shaft, alarms began to blare once more. The Silver Cross search team had already reached the outlet of the drainage tunnel. Searchlights swept across the ground, their beams dancing amidst the weeds.
Qin Lie paused and cast a glance back.
A beam of light swept over the very shaft opening where he had stood moments before, then moved away. No one had spotted him.
He turned and vanished into the shadows between the buildings.
The night was deep. The city continued its ceaseless rhythm, oblivious to the events unfolding beneath its streets. Only a select few understood that a conspiracy targeting an entire race had just revealed its barest tip.
Qin Lie tightened his grip on the data cable in his pocket, his knuckles turning white.
This was only the beginning.
In the distance, a church bell chimed—midnight.
A new day had begun. In this moment, the boundary between hunter and hunted blurred completely.
- Writer
