Li Chuan's voice echoed in the deep underground parking garage, carrying a certainty that left no room for doubt. Shen Qiu hesitated for a moment before reacting, lowering his voice as he asked, "You saying this place got link to Li Feng's command center, is it?"
Li Chuan gave a slight nod, his gaze slowly sweeping across the surroundings. Though the walls were worn and weathered, traces of old surveillance equipment could still be faintly seen. The thick layer of dust on the ground might fool most people, but under careful observation, faint tire tracks were still visible.
"This place was supposed to be a secret access point, used only for certain personnel," Li Chuan said in a low tone. "But later, it either got abandoned, or more likely, hidden away on purpose."
Shen Qiu frowned. "If this was Li Feng's escape route, then why he never seal it completely, let it still exist like this?"
"Because it's still useful," Li Chuan replied, his voice carrying a grim weight. "This might be his contingency plan for controlling the city. If his operations aboveground ever get compromised, he could escape from here—or worse, he could use this place to execute another plan entirely."
Shen Qiu sucked in a sharp breath. "So, you mean we actually step into Li Feng's real core area now?"
Li Chuan didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took a slow step forward, his eyes locking onto a hidden iron door at the far end of the garage.
The iron door looked ordinary from a distance, but as Li Chuan crouched down to inspect it, he quickly noticed the lock system was anything but normal. Unlike standard security setups, this one was built with biometric authentication.
"Fingerprint, iris scan, or some specific ID code," Li Chuan muttered. "That's the only way to open this door."
Shen Qiu's frown deepened. "Then how? We totally got no access, bro."
But instead of looking troubled, Li Chuan smirked slightly. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a portable data terminal. Finding a micro-interface near the electronic lock's seam, he swiftly connected his device. His fingers danced across the screen, entering a rapid sequence of commands.
Shen Qiu leaned in curiously. "Eh, you can hack it ah?"
"No need hack," Li Chuan replied calmly. "I just need to create an identity convincing enough for the system to verify automatically."
Shen Qiu blinked. Then suddenly, it clicked. "Wah, you mean… you wanna pretend to be one of Li Feng's people?"
Li Chuan nodded. "This is his backdoor. That means there must be backup access for his trusted core members. Back when we were in the ventilation shaft, I already captured their internal signal data. Now, it's just about using it to our advantage."
As he finished speaking, the progress bar on his device crept up steadily. Within seconds, a soft beep sounded, and the red indicator light on the door lock turned green.
"Done." Li Chuan pushed the door open without hesitation.
Beyond the door, a dimly lit corridor stretched ahead, its walls lined with old pipes. The air was thick with the scent of rust and grease, the remnants of an abandoned industrial facility.
Shen Qiu tensed. "So now what? We just keep going ah?"
Li Chuan's eyes flickered. "We move forward. See where this leads."
They advanced carefully, and before long, they arrived at what appeared to be a control room. In the center of the room sat an aging server unit, its screen flickering with streams of data.
Shen Qiu stepped forward, rapping his knuckles against the side of the machine. A small grin tugged at his lips. "Old liao, but still running. Maybe got some juicy info inside."
Li Chuan wasted no time. Taking a seat before the console, he began navigating through the system. His fingers flew across the keyboard, and soon enough, he accessed the core file directory.
Lines of data scrolled rapidly across the screen. Shen Qiu watched intently—until suddenly, a specific folder name caught his eye.
"Eh… 'Project A'?"
Li Chuan's brows furrowed slightly. Without hesitation, he clicked it open.
A classified document unfolded before their eyes. It contained extensive engineering blueprints, experimental reports, and strategic outlines.
Shen Qiu scanned the pages, his expression growing increasingly grim. "Bro… this looks like… some kinda city control system?"
Li Chuan's gaze settled on a key document. Clicking it open, he revealed a full-scale holographic structural map of the entire city's underground network—power grids, communication hubs, surveillance centers, emergency evacuation tunnels—everything.
Shen Qiu's breath hitched. "Oi, wait. This—this is basically the whole city's brain ah? He controlling this whole thing?"
Li Chuan's eyes darkened. He murmured coldly, "Not just controlling. He's reconstructing it."
Shen Qiu looked confused. "Huh? Meaning what?"
Li Chuan pulled up another set of deeper-level files. Lines of complex algorithmic models flashed on the screen, simulating urban infrastructure changes. His voice turned steely.
"Li Feng is planning something bigger. He's not just trying to monitor the city—he's trying to reprogram its core systems. He wants to reroute all data flow, surveillance grids, and processing centers into a single unified network—one that only he controls."
Shen Qiu's stomach twisted. "You mean… he building some kind of… data prison?"
Li Chuan nodded slowly. "Yes. If he completes this plan, he'll have absolute authority. Every citizen will become nothing more than data points in his system—zero privacy, zero freedom."
Shen Qiu swallowed hard, his fingers drumming anxiously on the console. His voice was tight. "Then we need to shut this thing down. Fast."
Li Chuan exhaled slowly, steadying his focus. "Agreed. But first, we need to know how far along his plan is."
He continued digging through the database. Then, in a hidden subfolder, he found something—an active command log.
Shen Qiu leaned in. When he read the most recent entry, his face drained of color.
"This command… it's targeting the main server."
Li Chuan's expression turned sharp as a blade. He read the words aloud, his voice low and ice-cold.
"Countdown initiated. Estimated execution time—24 hours."
Their eyes met.
Shen Qiu swore under his breath. "Shit. We're running out of time!"