Chapter 14 : 72 hours before launch

After reading the message sent by Yuan Qi, Xiao Mei did not waste another second. She quickly retrieved the USB drive hidden in a custom-made compartment inside her shoe and exited through the back door of her house. As the door closed behind her, she could hear the distant roar of a car engine approaching—the people searching for her had arrived.

Despite the danger, Xiao Mei managed to slip away undetected. She navigated through dark alleyways and hidden paths until she reached the secret hideout arranged by Yuan Qi, Zhang Rui, and Lu Zeyan. It was an old, abandoned building on the outskirts of the city, repurposed into a temporary lab. Inside, the group had already gathered. Yuan Qi was hunched over a laptop, working to break through the encryption protecting the files on the USB. Nearby, Zhang Rui held up his tablet, displaying breaking news: the government had publicly denied the existence of Project Aegis and accused a rogue group of cyber terrorists of spreading false information.

Lu Zeyan stepped forward with a grim look on his face. "We have less than 72 hours," he announced. "Project Aegis is scheduled to go live in three days. Once it does, they'll shut down all open access to the Internet. Every communication, every platform, every device will be routed through a centralized control system."

The gravity of the situation sank in. The clock was ticking.

The group agreed: their first mission had to be executed now. They would expose the truth about Project Aegis to the world. Xiao Mei volunteered to be the public voice. She would record a video message detailing the conspiracy, providing undeniable evidence from the USB. The video would be distributed to international media channels.

Yuan Qi's task was to upload the data onto decentralized networks using hidden servers. Zhang Rui, meanwhile, would reach out to trusted journalists who could help validate and spread the information.

However, things were not as smooth as they seemed. Beneath the surface, an invisible threat loomed. Someone among them had been leaking information to the enemy. Lu Zeyan was the first to suspect it. His eyes often lingered on Zhang Rui, whose nervous glances and subtle shifts in tone raised alarms.

"We need to consider the possibility that we've been compromised," Lu Zeyan whispered to Xiao Mei. "I think there's a mole among us. Possibly Zhang Rui."

Before they could investigate further, Yuan Qi's screen lit up with flashing alerts. "They've found us," he said urgently. "I just intercepted a signal pinging our location. We have less than ten minutes before they get here."

Without hesitation, the team split up. Xiao Mei and Lu Zeyan took the USB—its contents too important to risk losing. Zhang Rui and Yuan Qi gathered the portable server equipment, loading it into a small duffel bag. Their plan was simple: split the data across two locations, increasing the chances of survival and exposure.

The building echoed with footsteps and hushed commands as they prepared for their escape. Every second mattered now.

As Xiao Mei and Lu Zeyan slipped into the shadows, the weight of the mission pressed heavily on them. The countdown had begun: 67 hours and 15 minutes until Project Aegis would be launched.

And the world still had no idea what was coming.