Under Sunday's guidance, Selene and Nissa arrived at a virtual imaging room of over 200 square meters. They stood in position for only a few seconds before the room darkened. Beams of light illuminated the surroundings, casting an eerie blue glow that swept through the space.
The two women suddenly found themselves standing in a simulated underground space surrounded by columns.
"Miss Selene, Miss Nissa," Sunday's voice announced, "You are now in the center of the Kremlin's underground structure. If you can recall the path, simply walk in place to proceed."
Selene nodded, recalling fragments of Edward Bailey's memories. She pointed to a passage on her left. "It should be this way."
As they walked, the virtual environment shifted to mimic their movements. For over ten minutes, they walked and paused, occasionally debating or arguing as they retraced their steps. After several attempts, they finally found the storage room both vaguely remembered.
Nissa grew excited, ready to confirm if the red mercury nuke was inside. However, the virtual simulation abruptly disappeared, and the room lights came back on. A portal materialized, and William's voice reached their ears.
"Return to the countryside manor for now. I'll come by later. Make sure to prepare some supper. See you soon."
"Wait, William," Nissa started to ask, but Selene interrupted, pulling her toward the portal.
"Relax," Selene said with a smile. "If he wanted to tell us something, he would. If he's sending us back, that means he's found it."
Indeed, William had located the red mercury nuke, now sitting right in front of him.
With spider robots equipped with tracking capabilities, the portal had opened precisely in the storage room. Within seconds, William retrieved the suitcase containing the nuke and transported it to his secret base in Yellowstone.
He placed the suitcase on a virtual imaging table and instructed Sunday, "Scan it. Analyze the structure and see if it can be safely dismantled."
"Understood, sir," Sunday replied.
Beams of light scanned the suitcase from all angles. After a brief moment, Sunday reported, "Sir, the nuke's circuitry is over 30 years old. Disassembly is feasible, but I recommend you leave the base and allow the robots to handle the task."
"Good idea." William nodded, opened another portal, and returned to London. Wearing his smart glasses, he reclined in his chair, listening to Sunday's updates while observing the dismantling process remotely.
Whether or not a potential explosion might alter Yellowstone's geography was the least of William's concerns.
After nearly two hours of painstaking and cautious work, the robots successfully extracted a single rod of red mercury. The rod was scanned and analyzed for its precise composition.
"Sir," Sunday asked, "Should we place the original red mercury back in the nuke, or would you like me to fabricate a replica?"
"Make a fake," William instructed. "Replace all five rods of red mercury with ordinary explosives. Also, install a hidden control mechanism. Detonation will be up to me. Notify me when it's ready for transport. Now, I'm going to eat supper."
"Understood, sir."
Returning to the countryside manor through a portal, William immediately asked, "Did you see any memory fragments about the second red mercury nuke?"
Nissa, helping him remove his coat, rolled her eyes at his directness. However, she and Selene both shook their heads honestly.
"No. The only thing I remember is Edward Bailey uploading the Dragoncrown Project online and sending some data to an email address afterward," Nissa said, glancing at Selene for confirmation.
"The email recipient was named Mark Steven," Selene added thoughtfully. "It seemed to involve launch codes for a decades-old nuke."
William snapped his fingers, and Sunday responded, "Apologies, sir. With just a name, tracking will take some time. I'll update you shortly."
The next morning, after breakfast, William bid farewell to Selene and Nissa, then used a portal to return to his lab in London. Another portal was opened to transport the fake red mercury nuke back to the Kremlin's underground storage room.
Meanwhile, Frank Church, Marvin, and Sarah flew to London and, upon landing, drove out of the airport. They were intercepted by Victoria Wengs, armed with an APM at a roadside checkpoint.
Using three corpses provided by Victoria, they staged a fake car accident to buy time and avoid pursuit. With the help of MI6 supervisor Felix, Victoria feigned madness to infiltrate Edward Bailey's hospital, where she incapacitated the staff and opened a window for Church to enter.
The group rescued Edward Bailey and immediately boarded the White Ghost's private jet, heading for Moscow.
During their flight, Sunday suddenly reported to William, "Sir, I have located Mark Steven. However—"
"However, what?" William asked.
"I found him because, ten minutes ago, Moscow Railway Station reported to the police that a man named Mark Steven suffered a heart attack and died in the station's waiting room.
"Coincidentally, surveillance footage shows that during the estimated time of death, a chase and shootout occurred both inside and outside the station.
"Six people died: five near the station and one in an alley a kilometer away, shot four times.
"It's clear that at least two or three groups were targeting Mark Steven's possession of the Russian nuke's launch codes."
"Who was the person shot in the alley?" William asked.
"Hannaway Gibbs. Based on my data and Toad's interrogation, there is a high probability he was a CIA operative. If you authorize access to the CIA database, I can confirm quickly."
"Authorized," William replied after brief consideration.
A minute later, Sunday reported, "Confirmation: Hannaway was indeed a CIA agent. He had two companions in Moscow—Jane Carter and Benji Dunn."
Two photographs appeared in William's smart glasses display. He studied them and frowned. "Why did so many people quickly learn about this nuke's launch codes?"
"Sir, Edward Bailey used a guard's phone to send both the email and the Dragoncrown Project. Anyone determined enough could trace the IP address and access the phone's usage records."
William nodded, then asked, "Where are Jane Carter and Benji Dunn now?"
"Tracking them, sir," Sunday replied.
While William awaited Sunday's update, Church and his team, traveling under aliases, arrived in Moscow and took shelter in a safe house Edward Bailey had prepared decades earlier.
Elsewhere in Moscow, Benji Dunn worked at a computer in a modified van parked outside a prison. Jane Carter, fully equipped, slipped into the prison's underground system through the sewers.
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American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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