However, just as she was approaching a critical checkpoint controlled by 1515, her heart sank abruptly.
The inspections today were particularly stringent, the atmosphere tense and lethal.
Vehicles queued in long lines, progress was slow. From a distance, it was visible that the checkpoint had more than doubled its troops, featuring not just machine-gun equipped pickups as deterrents, but also several individuals dressed differently from ordinary soldiers.
These people appeared to be internal members of the 1515 Armed Security Department. One of them held a mobile phone, constantly peering at the screen, then conducting extremely meticulous facial recognition and document inspections on every car and every person, with a rough and suspicious demeanor.
Sarah's heart raced, and cold sweat broke out on her palms.
She quietly took out a small cyanide poison capsule hidden in the pendant of her necklace, gripped it tightly in her palm, the cold touch being her last bit of autonomy.
