Chapter 54: The Metallic Maze

At five in the morning, Su Wanqing once again stepped into the technical lab of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, carrying a refrigerated metal sample bag in hand. Her face showed exhaustion mixed with determination. The aftermath of the explosion was still unfolding. Although they had identified the existence of the "Phantom Mirror Ring" organization, the origins and scale of the group remained an unsolvable mystery.

She put on protective gloves and carefully placed the metal particles into the spectrometer, her fingers rapidly flying over the control panel. As the machine powered on, a series of complex elemental spectra began to appear on the screen.

"Titanium alloy, chromium, vanadium…" she muttered while taking notes, her brows furrowing. "This isn't standard civilian material."

A few minutes later, the silence of the lab was broken by a low sigh.

"Aerospace-grade alloy," she murmured. "This composition… it's only used in military drones and deep space exploration devices."

She immediately sent the analysis results to Lu Chenzhou, along with a note: "Not consistent with current city industrial usage—trace alloy source."

Less than an hour later, Lu Chenzhou called.

"I checked the special metal circulation database," he said without preamble. "This type of aerospace alloy can only be purchased by five authorized research units nationwide. The only one in our city is called 'Yuancheng Technologies,' registered as a private aerospace materials research company. Half a month before the incident, they bought nearly eight kilograms of this alloy."

"Eight kilograms?" Su Wanqing frowned. "That's enough to make over a dozen miniature bombs."

"And," Lu Chenzhou's tone grew heavier, "within five days of acquiring the materials, they canceled all external research projects and retained only internal experimental permissions."

"They were never doing real research," Su Wanqing said grimly. "It's a terrorist base disguised as a tech company."

That afternoon, the criminal investigation division, special police, and technical forensics formed a temporary raid team and launched a surprise operation on Yuancheng Technologies.

The company was located in a three-story standalone building in an industrial park on the outskirts of the city. It had a modern appearance with sleek glass walls, looking no different from any other high-tech firm. But inside, the air reeked with a scorched chemical scent.

After breaking through three layers of lab locks, the team finally reached the core zone.

"This is… a fully automated bomb assembly station?" a criminal officer whispered in shock.

"And it's equipped with precision temperature controls and a timed programming system," Su Wanqing said as she surveyed the area. "This is an underground factory."

Lu Chenzhou said nothing, his eyes locked on the main control panel in the control room.

"Encrypted data here!" a technician shouted. "But some files were just remotely deleted—someone is trying to destroy the evidence!"

"Cut the main power!" Lu Chenzhou ordered instantly.

With the power cut, the blue lights of the console dimmed and data transmission ceased, but most of the deleted files could not be recovered.

On the right side of the control room, a hidden door was smashed open by SWAT officers. Inside, a middle-aged man sat collapsed in a swivel chair, white foam still at the corner of his mouth, a shattered glass vial on the floor.

"He committed suicide," Su Wanqing stepped forward to examine him. "Cyanide. Highly toxic. Time of death no more than five minutes ago."

The man was identified as Xu Zhengyuan, the registered legal representative of Yuancheng Technologies and a former deputy team leader at a space research institute.

"He knew everything was about to be exposed," Lu Chenzhou said coldly. "He chose death over letting us uncover the mastermind."

As the search continued, the police found multiple batches of undelivered explosives, remote detonators, drone parts, and a large number of electronic chips in the underground warehouse. The designs for these devices were cleverly hidden within ordinary office documents—some even embedded in employee attendance sheets and technical reports.

In a safe in the office, Su Wanqing found a folded A4 sheet with a single symbol—the one she and Lu Chenzhou had grown all too familiar with: Ω.

"It's them again," she said, gripping the paper tightly. "They communicate through symbols, and cut off truth through the dead. This isn't just crime—it's indoctrination."

"Worse—they hide behind technology, create fear, and then vanish without a trace."

"This is the Phantom Mirror Ring," Lu Chenzhou murmured.

As night fell, the lights of police vehicles reflected off the glass façade of Yuancheng Technologies, like a shattered mask—revealing the killing intent and deceit hidden behind the city's lights.

When they returned to the station, the technical team began sending in the collated evidence. A map highlighted three branch locations of Yuancheng Technologies nationwide: the southeastern coast, the northeastern border, and a central metropolitan area.

This wasn't just a company—it was a network.

Su Wanqing sat in her office, staring at the Ω symbol on the paper in her hand, deep in thought."They're not just a band of terrorists… they're a covert organization with long-term planning. Beneath the illusion lies a premeditated plan for destruction."

And this… was only the beginning.