The SUV screeched to a halt at the base of a jagged limestone cliff, a natural scar hidden deep within a forbidden sector of the central mountain range. Above them, the moonlight failed to penetrate the canopy, leaving the world in a state of oppressive, artificial shadow.
"The wolves are neutralized," Mu Feichi said, stepping out of the vehicle and holstering a silenced sidearm. His movements were fluid, his eyes glowing with that predatory violet-grey light as he scanned the treeline. "But the acoustic sensors are live. From this point on, every heartbeat counts."
Xiao Jinglin followed, clutching a ruggedized tactical tablet. "Satellite jamming is at 90%. The Council is blind to our exact location, but they know we've breached the perimeter. Xi'er, stay between us."
They moved toward a section of the cliff that appeared to be solid stone. Shen Xi stepped forward, the glowing slide in her hand vibrating in resonance with a hidden frequency. As she approached a specific indentation, the "rock" shivered. It wasn't stone, but a high-density polymer shroud that retracted to reveal the massive, ancient bronze gates of the Forbidden Zone.
There were no handles, no keyholes—only a shallow circular basin etched with intricate, swirling patterns.
"The blood of the source," Shen Xi whispered. She didn't use the slide this time. She took a small lancet from her kit and pricked her finger, letting three drops of her blood fall into the basin.
The bronze groaned, a sound that vibrated in their very marrow. Heavy gears, silent for decades, began to rotate deep underground. But as the seal broke, a high-pitched, agonizing whine filled the air.
"Sentinels!" Mu Feichi roared, shoving Shen Xi behind a stone pillar just as a beam of concentrated light scorched the earth where she had been standing.
From the shadows of the cave ceiling, four bio-mechanical constructs dropped to the floor. They were terrifying fusions of carbon-fiber plating and organic tissue—the High Council's ultimate enforcers. They didn't breathe; they only emitted a low-frequency hum that disrupted the equilibrium of anyone nearby, turning the world into a dizzying blur.
"I'll take the two on the left!" Xiao Jinglin shouted. He didn't reach for a gun. He pressed a button on his silver cane, and it extended into a weighted tactical baton. Despite his years, the financial giant moved with the brutal efficiency of a man who had survived the world's harshest underground circuits.
Mu Feichi met the other two head-on, his sword-cane flashing in the red emergency lights of the tunnel. The clash of steel against bio-armor rang out like a death knell. He fought with a cold, focused rage, his olive-green uniform a blur of motion against the metallic monstrosities.
"Go, Xi'er!" Xiao Jinglin yelled, parrying a blow that cracked the stone floor beneath his feet. "Open the inner vault! We can't hold them forever!"
Shen Xi didn't hesitate. She ran through the rotating gates, her lungs burning with the ozone-heavy air. The hallway beyond was a cathedral of glass, lined with thousands of glowing blue canisters. She realized with a jolt of horror that these weren't just medical samples; they were the genetic blueprints of the nation's elite, stored here as the ultimate leverage.
She reached the central terminal, where the video of Yun Zi remained looped on a frozen frame.
"Accessing Project YUN," a cold, synthesized voice announced. "Biometric scan: Subject 007 confirmed. Welcome home, Dr. Xiao."
The screen flickered, and a hidden sub-directory opened. It wasn't a research paper. It was a live feed of a cryogenic stasis pod in a chamber directly beneath her feet.
Shen Xi's heart stopped. Inside the pod, suspended in a pale blue fluid, was a woman who hadn't aged a day since the photos in the Shen villa were taken.
"Mother?" Shen Xi breathed, her hand trembling as she touched the cold glass of the monitor.
Suddenly, the voice of the High Council's leader—the "First Elder"—echoed through the laboratory speakers, dripping with a terrifying, detached curiosity.
"She isn't dead, child. But she isn't truly alive, either. She is the anchor for the Ghost Pulse—the biological heart of the network. If you wake her, the pulse detonates, wiping the minds of everyone within a hundred miles. If you leave her, she remains our battery. What does the brilliant surgeon choose? The life of the mother, or the safety of the world?"