Chapter 79

Chapter 79 – Storming the Ghost Fortress

Rain hammered down as lightning cracked across the sky, painting Helix's dark exterior in eerie white. Bai Xueqing crouched low behind a ventilation bulkhead, droplets streaming from her hair. Across from her, Mo Chen signaled with two fingers—movement, ten meters ahead.

She nodded once. Her earpiece crackled.

> Lin Nuo: "Bravo Team secured the starboard hatch. No resistance yet. That's not a good sign."

> Yanshang: "It means they're watching. Waiting."

> Xueqing: "Let them. The longer they wait, the more control we gain."

Mo Chen moved like a phantom, disabling external cameras with swift cuts from his EM knife. Mirage and Lin Nuo scaled the main deck from opposite ends, synchronizing entries into the bridge.

Xueqing's heart pounded—not with fear, but with razor-sharp focus.

---

Inside, Helix was colder than expected. Metal corridors hummed softly, pulsing with digital life. The team split into designated paths—Xueqing and Mo Chen to the control nexus, Mirage and Lin Nuo toward the core server, and Yanshang to track the silent figure seen in Qiao Lan's recordings: the gloved man.

Time was short.

In the control chamber, they found no guards.

Instead, a screen flickered on—static blurring the image until it resolved into a masked figure with distorted voice.

> "Welcome back, Bai Xueqing. You're as predictable as ever."

She stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "And you're as cowardly."

> "Ah, but I'm many things now. Oracle… was just the beginning."

Behind her, Mo Chen activated a device that began uploading a virus into the core systems. "Stall him," he whispered.

Xueqing smirked. "How's your spy doing? Qiao Lan? She flipped, by the way."

The figure chuckled, modulator warping it into a dry rasp. > "You think I cared about her? She was noise. The real weapon was built long ago—closer to your heart than you realize."

Xueqing stiffened. "What do you mean?"

But the screen fizzled out.

Mo Chen's voice was grim. "Virus is in. We've got five minutes before the place starts auto-purging."

Sirens wailed suddenly.

> Lin Nuo: "They're waking up drones—twenty, maybe thirty. Mirage's team is pinned!"

> Yanshang: "I'm on pursuit. I saw the gloved man—heading toward the inner chamber."

Xueqing's fists clenched. "We finish this now."

---

Outside, the deck was chaos. Drones with glowing red eyes swarmed like angry hornets, but Mo Chen's EMP traps cleared their path.

Amid smoke and steel, Xueqing chased after Yanshang. They reached a sealed door—behind it, faint footsteps and a single trail of black gloves.

She turned to Yanshang. "Ready?"

He gave a rare smile. "After you."

Shall I continue with Chapter 80 – The Man Behind the MaMask