The passageway was narrow.

  Damp.

  Winding.

  No one spoke as they hurried forward—

  only ragged breathing, stumbling footsteps,

  and the distant hiss of steam echoing through the pipes.

  Lin Che used every last bit of strength to support Roan,

  sweat mixing with dust as it dripped from his brow.

  Ahead, Amy held up a simple chemical lamp.

  Its faint green glow barely pushed back the darkness.

  They walked for nearly half an hour before the passage sloped upward.

  A hidden door disguised as a brick wall gave way,

  and they stepped into another underground chamber.

  Smaller than the previous workshop—

  more like a storage room.

  Old mechanical parts and toolboxes piled against the walls,

  dust thick in the air.

  But at least there were no sounds of pursuit.

  “For now… we’re safe.”

  Roan was lowered onto a heap of burlap sacks—

  and immediately doubled over in a violent cough,

  fresh blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

  Without a word, Lin Che opened his medical kit again.

  His face was pale, stamina nearly gone,

  but his hands remained steady.

  After a quick examination,

  his brows tightened.

  “The gel is wearing off.

  I need to treat this properly.”

  This time, he had more time—

  and a slightly better environment.

  Amy fetched the cleanest cloth and water she could find.

  Lin Che disinfected the area thoroughly,

  then began a more delicate round of suturing

  using the absorbable thread he’d brought from the stone chamber.

  He applied his own anti?inflammatory ointment

  and wrapped the wound anew.

  The entire process took nearly half an hour.

  Lin Che worked with full concentration—

  as if back in an operating room,

  just without lights or nurses.

  When he finally tied the last bandage and looked up,

  he found Sunri and Ye Lingyun watching quietly,

  the same admiration in both their eyes.

  Roan’s breathing had steadied.

  A hint of color returned to his face.

  He looked at Lin Che, voice weak but clear.

  “Thank you… doctor. I owe you my life.”

  Lin Che only shook his head, wiped the sweat from his brow,

  and slumped against the wall, closing his eyes in exhaustion.

  Only now did Pardy release his hands from his ears.

  He crept to Sunri’s side

  and buried his small face in his father’s chest.

  Sunri patted his back gently, murmuring comfort.

  Mo?Dou had somehow appeared inside the room as well—

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  curled atop a toolbox, dozing,

  as if it had merely gone for a stroll.

  Silence settled.

  Sunri was the first to speak.

  “Mr. Roan… what do you plan to do next?”

  Roan’s eyes dimmed.

  “I have to find Maya and Lily…

  but I don’t even know where they’re being held.”

  Ye Lingyun gripped his sword hilt.

  “The guards’ headquarters must know! We could—”

  “No.”

  Lin Che opened his eyes, voice calm to the point of cruelty.

  “With our current numbers and equipment, storming their base is suicide.

  And if they truly want to hide the truth, the hostages likely aren’t there.

  They’re somewhere more secret.

  Act rashly, and we’ll only alert them—

  and endanger the hostages.”

  “Lin Che is right,” Sunri sighed.

  “We can’t be impulsive.”

  Roan shut his eyes in pain.

  “Then what am I supposed to do? Just sit here?

  Every moment Maya and Lily spend in their hands… the danger grows…”

  “Maybe…” Sunri said slowly,

  “we should rethink the problem.

  Why go to such lengths to frame you?

  Was it really just because you investigated the energy fluctuations?

  Or did you stumble onto something they absolutely must keep hidden?”

  Roan opened his eyes.

  “The necklace,” Lin Che said suddenly.

  He stood, took the gear?shaped pendant from Sunri,

  and examined it again under the chemical lamp.

  “These patterns… they look like a map, or a symbol.

  I need a stronger light source, but from what I can see,

  it points to a specific location—

  likely inside the power core.”

  “You mean…” Roan’s breathing quickened.

  “They’re not just stopping you from investigating the fluctuations,”

  Lin Che reasoned,

  “but from reaching the place where the fluctuations originate.

  Because something bigger is hidden there.

  Something important enough that they’d frame a senior engineer

  and kidnap innocent family members.”

  “If we uncover that truth,

  we might gain leverage—

  maybe even a way to trade for the hostages.”

  Sunri nodded.

  “Instead of blindly searching for people we can’t locate,

  we strike at the heart of the problem—

  go into the power core

  and find what they’re so desperate to conceal.”

  A sharp light flashed in Ye Lingyun’s eyes.

  “Risky, yes—but far better than flailing in the dark.

  I will go.”

  Roan tried to stand.

  “I’ll… go too—”

  “No.”

  Lin Che pressed him down.

  “You need at least three days of absolute rest before you can even walk.

  If you come, you’ll slow us down—

  and you might die.”

  The words were blunt, but Roan couldn’t refute them.

  He sank back, fists clenched.

  Then Amy spoke softly.

  “I know… I know a way.

  My brother told me once—

  back when the city was first built,

  the early members of the Steel Vein constructed emergency tunnels

  beneath the core.

  One entrance is in the abandoned control room

  of the Seventh Valve Station in the Lower District.

  Almost no one knows about it.

  Maybe not even Jackson.”

  All eyes turned to her.

  “Can you take us there?” Sunri asked.

  Amy nodded hard, eyes shining with a resolve far beyond her age.

  “My brother is missing.

  Roan?uncle’s family was taken.

  Those people are doing something terrible.

  I want to help.”

  Roan looked at her for a long moment, then rasped,

  “Amy… that path is dangerous.

  The core’s defenses and surveillance are the tightest in the city.”

  “But it’s our only chance… isn’t it?” she whispered.

  Silence again.

  The green glow of the chemical lamp flickered across their faces.

  Finally, Sunri stood.

  “We rest for a few hours.

  When night falls completely, we move.

  Lin Che, stay here and care for Mr. Roan.

  Ye?brother, Amy—let’s go.”

  Lin Che hesitated, then nodded.

  “I’ll prepare emergency supplies.

  Come back alive.”

  He knew his stamina and combat ability were the weak links.

  Staying behind was the logical choice.

  Ye Lingyun wiped down the Azure Cloud Sword,

  its blade reflecting his unwavering resolve.

  Pardy clung tightly to Sunri’s coat.

  Sunri knelt and whispered:

  “Pardy… this time, Daddy has to go.

  Stay here and help Uncle Lin take care of Uncle Roan, alright?”

  Pardy looked at Sunri, then at Roan,

  and slowly loosened his grip, nodding.

  He had never been apart from his father—

  but children often understand strength better than adults.

  Mo?Dou yawned, hopped down from the toolbox,

  rubbed its head against Sunri’s leg,

  then leapt back to its perch—

  as if saying: Go. I’ll watch the house.

  The plan was set.

  Night would cover their movements.

  And deep within the roaring heart of the power core,

  the secret hidden in the city’s darkest gears

  might finally reveal itself—

  along with a clue to Lunelle.