The atmosphere inside the cannery underwent a profound transformation. The choking fear that had filled the space when they first entered had evaporated, replaced by a new energy—a low, focused hum of intense concentration that mixed with the steady whir of computer fans and the faint, rhythmic tapping of keyboards. The vast, decaying factory, once a tomb for a dead industry, was now the unlikely command center for three of the city's most determined and unconventional tech minds.
Evelyn and Kaito were hunched over their laptops, which were placed side by side on his cluttered desk. The two computers created a bridge between their two different worlds. The initial stiffness and nervousness that had been between them had completely melted away. It had been burned off by the now shared focus on their critical mission. Their conversation was a rapid fire exchange of ideas, spoken in a language of code and security that they both understood perfectly.
