78: Morpheus's deadly move and Evelyn's crisis

In the Free Confederacy, at the top floor of the "Prophet Foundation" headquarters, which towered into the clouds like a black giant tower, Morpheus Li stood alone in his luxurious office overlooking the brilliant lights of the entire city. The air was filled with a coldness and dead silence that felt almost frozen, with only the low hum of server clusters existing like an eternal background sound. On the holographic interactive desktop in front of him, deep blue data streams flowed and gathered silently, eventually outlining unpleasant report summaries.

The detailed analysis of Evelyn's last mission "accidental" failure, the technical appraisal of the destroyed biological sensor, and the extremely brief and vague warning sent at the risk of exposure by his "dormant" mole, who was buried deep within the National Special Bureau and was extremely expensive and never to be used unless absolutely necessary — "Abnormal high-frequency data flow passing through 'candle dragon' core firewall... triggering deep review mechanism... involving 'Li' surname related files..." — these fragmented pieces of information, like the last few cold puzzle pieces, completely pieced together a reality he least wanted to see but had to coldly accept.

His daughter, whom he had once carefully cultivated and pinned high hopes on, Evelyn Li, had completely broken free from his control. Not only did she fail her mission, but it was highly likely she had already betrayed the family, betrayed The Foundation, and turned the fatal blade against her father and the world she came from. The "gift" she sent out, its content and value, probably far exceeded his initial estimation, to the extent that it triggered such a rapid and violent internal reaction from the other side.

There could be no more hesitation, no more chance for wishful thinking. Evelyn had changed from a potential successor, a useful chess piece, into an extremely dangerous loophole and Traitor that must be eliminated immediately.

Morpheus Li's face was devoid of any expression, his eyes as deep as the cold starry sky, showing not a trace of a father's emotion, only an absolutely rational, almost cruel decision. He slowly raised his hand, his fingertips hovering for a moment over an unmarked, dark red virtual button, and then, without hesitation, pressed it.

The encrypted communication channel was established instantly with the highest priority, connecting to a blurred figure on the other end of the screen who was always kept under shadow and distorted processing. That was the commander of the "Scavenger" team, codenamed "Ghost," who reported directly to him personally and specialized in handling the darkest, unseen tasks.

"For target 'Nightingale' (Evelyn's operational codename), initiate the highest-level 'cleanup procedure'." Morpheus Li's voice was as steady as a calm lake, as if he were stating a daily instruction unrelated to himself, "Requirement: absolutely thorough, zero traces. Handle the scene as an accident, mode... determined by you based on the environment for the best outcome. Execution time: immediately."

The shadow on the other side of the screen nodded slightly, making no sound, but absolute obedience and cold killing intent had already permeated through the screen.

Morpheus Li paused, a deeper and sharper light flashing in his eyes, and continued to issue the second order: "Simultaneously initiate 'Plan B', targeting the core target 'seed' (Excellence), and execute the 'forced retrieval' plan. Since gentle guidance and infiltration methods have been proven ineffective and carry uncontrollable risks, then adopt the most direct and efficient method. Mobilize the 'Lightning' team, authorized to use non-lethal heavy control force and neural suppression technology, break through all obstacles, and bring the target back to the 'ark' (The Foundation's top-secret research institute codename) intact. Operation priority: absolutely highest. I do not accept any failure."

"Understood, 'Prophet'." A highly synthesized, neither male nor female electronic voice finally came from the other end, cold and lifeless. Immediately, the communication screen went dark instantly, as if nothing had happened.

That night, at the top-tier seven-star "Crown of the Firmament" hotel in the capital of the Free Confederacy, the lights were brilliant and the crowd was bustling. A grand charity gala sponsored by a charity organization under the "Prophet Foundation," aimed at supporting "frontier technology and human future," was being held here. Socialites, tech giants, academic leaders, and diplomats gathered here, the light of crystal chandeliers reflecting off the jewelry on evening gowns, the air filled with the rich fragrance of luxury champagne and high-end custom perfume.

Evelyn Li was dressed in a custom-made midnight blue backless gown, wearing a priceless diamond necklace around her neck, her face made up with impeccable, exquisite makeup, like a truly favored Foundation princess, moving among the guests, behaving elegantly and speaking appropriately. However, beneath this glamorous facade, her heart was like it was sealed by polar ice, cold and tense. She knew well that this gala was highly likely a carefully laid death trap for her. She knew her father's methods all too well. But she could not not come; any abnormal retreat or avoidance would immediately confirm her betrayal and invite a more direct, more cruel, and devastating blow. She had to bite the bullet, play her role well, and at the same time, like dancing on the tip of a knife, search for even a glimmer of life.

Midway through the banquet, during a pause in a melodious string performance, Evelyn picked up a glass of champagne handed to her by a waiter and took a light sip. Almost the moment the liquid slid down her throat, an extremely subtle but impossible-to-ignore dizziness suddenly struck her head, accompanied by a faint metallic, bloody sweetness spreading on the tip of her tongue!

"Oh no!" Evelyn's heart constricted suddenly, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on her back. She had been drugged! It was an extremely sophisticated, slow-acting, hard-to-detect neural suppressant! The goal was not to knock her out immediately, but to let her gradually lose the ability to resist, and finally disappear quietly in some "accidental" way!

She suppressed the surging waves in her heart, maintained a decent smile on her face, and nodded apologetically to an ambassador's wife who was holding forth beside her: "Excuse me for a moment, I need to touch up my makeup." Her footsteps were slightly unsteady, but she tried hard to maintain stability as she walked towards the restroom. As soon as she entered the relatively quiet corridor, she immediately tried to take out the emergency rescue beacon that Wang Jianguo had left for her, disguised as a lipstick capsule, from her handbag.

However, just as her fingers touched the cold metal shell, she despairingly discovered — the signal bars on her mobile phone and all wireless communication devices had completely returned to zero, who knew when! A regional signal shielding field, powerful enough to be suffocating, had long since silently enveloped this area! She had completely lost contact with the outside world!

Just as she felt a dizzy spell of despair, her body swaying slightly, almost needing to hold onto the wall to stand steady, two men wearing waiter uniforms, tall and sturdy, but with eyes as cold as machines, appeared silently beside her from left and right like ghosts, "supporting" her arms just right.

"Miss Li, you don't look well. Are you feeling unwell?" The man on the left had a professional, concerned smile on his face, his voice low, but the force with which he gripped Evelyn's arm was shockingly great, like steel pliers, making it impossible for her to break free. "Please allow us to take you to the VIP lounge for a rest. We have already notified your private doctor."

Alarm bells rang wildly in Evelyn's heart! She knew that once she was taken away from the public area and entered those surveillance blind spots or private spaces, she would be completely finished! She tried to struggle, but under the influence of the drug, her limbs began to weaken, and her voice became weak: "Let me go... I'm fine... I can do it myself..."

But her resistance was like a stone sinking into the sea. The two "waiters" still wore perfect smiles, but their actions were forceful and unquestionable, half-supporting and half-carrying her, about to walk towards the corridor leading to the non-public area of the hotel, opposite to the restroom. Evelyn's heart sank to the bottom, and cold despair instantly seized her.

Just at this critical moment!

The massive chandelier in the main banquet hall, made of tens of thousands of crystals, suddenly flickered violently without warning! The light dimmed and brightened, like the gasp of a dying beast, and then with a harsh screech of electricity, with a loud "pop," it went out completely!

It wasn't just the main chandelier! All major lighting systems in the entire banquet hall and even this entire floor of the hotel fell into complete darkness at the same instant! The magnificent space was instantly swallowed by pitch-black darkness and deathly silence, followed by, after a brief silence, the suppressed exclamations of ladies, the confused inquiries of gentlemen, the sound of wine glasses shattering... Chaos spread rapidly like a stone thrown into still water!

Almost at the same time the lights went out, a slight but pungent white smoke, similar to burning circuits or some kind of chemical coolant leak, spread rapidly from either the air conditioning vents or some decorative vase, further intensifying the panic and chaos!

"What's going on?!"

"Power outage?"

"What's that smell?!"

"Watch out! Don't crowd!"

Under the perfect cover of darkness and smoke, the two "waiters" holding Evelyn clearly hadn't expected this sudden change, and their actions subconsciously showed a trace of hesitation and loosening!

Just in this precious, less-than-a-second gap! A powerful hand in a tactical glove suddenly stretched out from the shadows behind Evelyn, accurately and quickly chopping at a certain acupoint on the wrists of the two "waiters"! Both of them groaned simultaneously, their arms numb, and involuntarily released their grip on Evelyn!

The next second, Evelyn felt a warm and steady hand firmly grab her wrist, and a voice, pressed extremely low but exceptionally clear and steady, sounded rapidly in her ear: "Follow me! Head down! Don't look back! I'm 'Shadow'! Sent by Director Wang!"

It was the National Special Bureau's ace agent who had disguised himself as the honest security guard "Old Wu"! He didn't know what method he had used, but he had actually managed to infiltrate this heavily guarded gala!

There was no time for hesitation! Evelyn endured the dizziness and fear, relying on her last bit of willpower, suddenly lowered her head, and let the man who called himself "Shadow" pull her, like an arrow off the string, instantly crashing into a very narrow logistics passage next to her, filled with cleaning tools and tablecloths!

Suppressed and angry roars and rapid footsteps immediately came from behind! The pursuers had reacted!

A heart-pounding, high-speed chase unfolded instantly within the labyrinthine logistics area of the hotel!

The "Shadow" agent clearly knew the terrain here like the back of his hand; he pulled Evelyn along, weaving and changing directions with astonishing speed through dark corridors, clutter-filled storage rooms, and the steam-filled hot kitchen area!

From time to time, he would slam open a heavy fire door, using the delay of its automatic closure to briefly block the pursuers; or suddenly kick over a stacked shelf to create obstacles and noise; he even utilized his familiarity with ventilation ducts and cable shafts to perform short-distance vertical movements, completely disrupting the rhythm of the trackers!

Evelyn was practically being dragged along as she ran, her lungs burning like fire, her legs as soft as cotton; she only stayed upright thanks to a primal survival instinct and the powerful strength transmitted through the arm of "Shadow."

She could clearly hear, not far behind her, the cold and efficient communication jargon of the well-trained killers, the soft thuds of suppressed gunfire hitting the walls, and the sound of footsteps drawing closer!

"Shadow's" expression was cold as ice, his gaze sharp as a hawk's; while moving at high speed, he reported rapidly into the miniature microphone under his collar in an extremely low voice: "Nightingale has taken over! Location: B3 level of the logistics area of the Canopy Crown Hotel! Encountering high-intensity pursuit from a 'Scavenger' team! Requesting emergency extraction support! Repeat, requesting emergency extraction support!"

At every moment that seemed to be a desperate predicament, "Shadow" was always able to dodge the fatal encirclement by a hair's breadth, as if he could predict the enemy's actions.

Evelyn vaguely saw that he would occasionally press a button on his watch, and immediately afterward, a burst of short-lived electromagnetic interference noise or the sound of a small smoke grenade explosion would come from not far away—clearly, he was not fighting alone; there was an outer support team utilizing micro-drones or pre-placed devices to provide remote assistance!

After a fierce chase that lasted for several minutes—a duration that felt as long as a century—and after kicking open the last iron door marked "Freight Exit," cold, fresh air rushed into her lungs!

They had finally rushed out of the hotel's underground loading area!

A matte black armored SUV, ordinary in appearance but emitting a low, powerful engine sound, was parked quietly in the shadows like a dormant beast, its door already open!

"Get in!" "Shadow" growled, practically shoving Evelyn into the back seat before leaping into the driver's seat with lightning speed!

The tires screeched against the ground as the SUV, like a wild horse breaking free from its reins, instantly surged into the city streets under the cover of night!

"Return to base immediately! Highest alert level! We are completely exposed! The 'Scavenger' team is playing for real! Repeat, highest alert level!"

"Shadow" shouted urgently into the communicator while weaving through traffic with astonishing skill, his breathing slightly rapid, with a faint bloodstain on his temple caused by flying debris.

In the back seat, Evelyn collapsed into the leather upholstery, her face as pale as paper, gasping for air, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would tear through her chest; her arm throbbed with sharp pain from the previous tugging, likely a sprain.

A massive wave of fear and lingering dread washed over her, making her tremble uncontrollably.

"Th... thank you..." her voice was weak and hoarse.

"It's my duty."

"Shadow" glanced at her through the rearview mirror, his expression still cold and hard, but a subtle, almost imperceptible softening seemed to flash in his eyes.

"Stay alert; we haven't completely escaped danger yet. Your father... Morpheus Li's retaliation will by no means be limited to this. His 'forced recovery' operation for Excellence has likely already started as well. We must get back as quickly as possible!"

The vehicle sped like lightning toward the entrance of the highway leading to the suburbs.

However, just as their vehicle merged onto the main highway and left the city's bright lights behind, the scene on the road far ahead caused "Shadow's" pupils to constrict sharply!

About a kilometer away, on the main trunk of the highway, a bizarre and chaotic scene presented itself—four or five cars were stopped crookedly in the middle of the road, some even crashed diagonally into the guardrails, forming a deadly blockage line!

Even more chilling was the fact that the drivers and passengers of those vehicles were not getting out to check or wait for rescue; instead, like a group of sleepwalkers or drunks, they were swaying, stumbling, or even collapsing to the ground aimlessly around the vehicles, as if they had collectively and instantly lost control of their bodies and consciousness!

It was a sonic weapon!

Or some kind of wide-area neuro-disruptive non-lethal weapon!

This was a carefully laid interception trap disguised as a traffic accident!

"Damn it!"

"Shadow" slammed on the brakes while furiously turning the steering wheel, attempting to force a lane change before hitting the obstacles!

But it was already too late!

Almost at the same moment he discovered the trap, the piercing threat warning system for armored vehicles inside the car suddenly blared at its highest frequency!

"Warning! Warning! Multi-band high-energy laser lock detected! Model match... 'Spear of Zeus' Type IV man-portable laser-guided missile! You are locked on! Repeat! You are locked on!"

"Abandon vehicle! Quick!"

The Shadow agent let out a gut-wrenching roar!

He didn't even have time to bring the vehicle to a complete stop; he violently unbuckled his and Evelyn's seatbelts, used all his strength to kick open his side of the armored car door, which was somewhat deformed from the impact, and at the same time, grabbed Evelyn, who was nearly scared witless, from the back seat and dove toward the deep green belt drainage ditch beside the highway!

The very next second after they dove out of the vehicle!

A bright white beam, so hot it was impossible to look at directly, as if coming from the core of the sun, descended from the sky like a divine spear of judgment, instantly and precisely striking the junction of the engine compartment and fuel tank of the black SUV!

Boom!!!!!!

A deafening, terrifying explosion suddenly erupted!

A massive fireball soared into the sky, instantly swallowing the entire armored vehicle!

The scorching blast wave, mixed with metal fragments and shockwaves, spread violently in all directions like a tsunami!

"Shadow" used his own body to shield Evelyn underneath him; the two were violently thrown away by the explosion's shockwave, crashing heavily onto the weed- and gravel-covered road embankment, tumbling all the way down!

"Shadow" let out a muffled groan, his back slamming heavily against a hard object; he had clearly suffered a significant injury.

Evelyn was also left dizzy and disoriented, the world spinning around her; her arms and cheeks were scratched with several bloodstains from the weeds and gravel, and the intense pain made her nearly faint.

Thick smoke and flames spread across the highway, and the burning wreckage of the vehicle emitted cracking explosions.

Several armed personnel wearing full-coverage gear, painted with advanced optical camouflage, and clearly enhanced with exoskeletons, emerged like ghosts from hell, holding sci-fi-looking electromagnetic rifles, appearing coldly and efficiently from the ambush points on both sides of the highway.

The red dots from the laser sights on their muzzles, like the eyes of death, precisely locked onto the two figures struggling to get up at the bottom of the embankment, approaching step by step...

Evelyn's heart was filled with cold despair; she knew that this time, they were likely truly doomed...

Just at this desperate moment, where life and death hung by a thread!

A strange, low humming sound, unlike any known engine or aircraft, resembling the sound of a dense swarm of bees beating their wings at high speed, came without warning from the pitch-black night sky!

Immediately following, several flat, diamond-shaped drones, only the size of a washbasin, with extremely sleek designs and surfaces that seemed to absorb light, almost blending into the night sky, appeared silently over the battlefield like phantoms!

They appeared so suddenly, as if they had leaped directly out of the void!

These drones did not hesitate, instantly diving down!

They did not fire lethal ammunition, but instead fired a series of specially loaded non-lethal warheads precisely at the approaching armed attackers and the troop carriers parked in their hiding spots!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

High-frequency electromagnetic pulse (EMP) rounds arrived first!

Small bursts of electric sparks instantly erupted from the expensive exoskeleton armor and advanced weapon systems of the attackers; screens went black, servo systems failed, and their movements instantly stiffened!

Next came high-efficiency compressed smoke grenades and flashbangs!

Thick white smoke, carrying special chemical blocking agents, instantly enveloped the entire area, completely depriving everyone of their vision!

At the same time, the tremendous noise and blinding flashes plunged the attackers into a short period of sensory failure and chaos!

"It's the base's 'Swarm' support drones! Let's go!"

"Shadow," enduring intense pain, with a glimmer of survival erupting in his eyes, suddenly pulled up Evelyn, who had almost lost the ability to move, and, with the perfect cover of smoke and chaos, stumbled and ran toward the depths of the wilderness in the opposite direction of the highway!

The drone swarm circled overhead, continuously dropping smoke grenades to maintain cover, and used their powerful sensors to scan the battlefield, occasionally diving to precisely knock down attackers attempting to regroup with non-lethal kinetic impact rounds, buying precious time for their escape!

Just when the two had almost exhausted their last bit of strength, a large vehicle that looked like an ordinary engineering emergency vehicle but possessed unusually strong off-road performance and a bulletproof body, like a beast in the dark, roared out from a hidden dirt road and screeched to a halt in front of them!

The sliding door opened rapidly, revealing a fully armed support team inside!

"Get in!"

"Shadow" exerted all his effort to push Evelyn into the car, took one last look at the highway behind them, which was still shrouded in smoke and chaos, and at the drones in the air that were maneuvering against any potential follow-up pursuers, then gritted his teeth and scrambled inside.

The door slammed shut, the engineering vehicle roared, and it instantly surged into the deeper darkness, disappearing from sight...

Evelyn Li's defection, along with this top-tier assassination attempt and heart-pounding rescue that occurred in the heart of the Free Confederacy, was like a fuse that completely ignited Morpheus Li's fury; it also irretrievably pushed the long-standing shadow war between the "Prophet Foundation" and the "Candle Dragon" project to the edge of an open conflict.

A storm sweeping across the globe was accelerating its brewing.