The ventilation shaft vibrated with the rhythmic thrum of the facility's life support systems. Zeta, his breathing shallow and controlled, crawled through the narrow metal tunnel with Mara secured firmly to his back. The physical toll of the rescue was mounting, his muscles aching from the strain, but his mind remained as cold and precise as the machinery he had spent his life studying. With the physical key—the necklace he had secured—tucked safely against his own chest, the connection to the Singularity Protocol felt like a living, breathing pulse within his consciousness. He could feel the city around him, not as a sprawling urban landscape, but as a vast, interconnected web of data points, sensors, and patrol routes.
He needed to create a distraction that would buy them enough time t
