The mysterious voice coming through the bunker's hidden auxiliary terminal didn't just sound familiar; it felt like a cold needle driving straight into Vivian’s skull.
*"The lockdown is a setup... You have exactly thirty seconds to find the master release lever behind the circuit wall, or he will seal you in that bunker forever."*
Vivian stood frozen in the center of the reinforced concrete bunker, the silver flash drive still gripped so tightly in her palm that her knuckles throbbed. Above her head, the heavy steel structural ceiling shuddered again as another distant explosion rocked the Bedford estate. The crimson tactical lights continued their relentless, suffocating rhythm, bathing the sterile room in a violent, bleeding glare.
*00:29... 00:28... 00:27...*
The internal countdown
