Clean room
A few days later, at midnight, all was quiet except for the mountain wind whistling through the villa's windows. The suite was dark, save for the faint, cold glow of the instrument indicator lights. Dr. Alexander Rossi and Mrs. Sofia Rossi had completely shed their disguises; Keegan and Elaine, fully armed, moved like lurking cheetahs, checking their final gear in the darkness.
Keegan knelt before Elaine, expertly reinforcing the brace on her left leg. His fingers were steady and strong, ensuring each buckle was secure. “The pipe is narrow, you can’t put weight on your leg,” he said, looking up. His grey-blue eyes beneath his helmet shone sharply in the dim light, his voice low and pragmatic. “Stay close to me. Safe evacuation is the top priority.”
“I understand,” Elaine nodded, her voice coming through her mask with unwavering determination. “Take me in. Leave the technical barriers inside to me. Once we’re at the control panel, I’ll be your eyes and ears.” Her holster was in the most convenient position. Although her leg injury severely limited her mobility, her gaze was calm and focused.
Keegan didn't speak again, but simply took out a specially made high-strength safety rope, skillfully fastening one end to his tactical belt and the other end firmly to the front attachment point of Elaine's tactical vest. "Keep this distance. I'll know immediately if anything happens," he said softly, a silent promise and assurance.
Hesh's deep, steady voice came through the encrypted headset: "Infiltration team, position established. External surveillance loops are in place. You have a 90-second window to enter the target ventilation duct."
"Shadow Group in position, ready to create chaos at any time." Ghost's response was concise and cold. "Neural Group received, path cleared, countdown begins."
Elaine quickly confirmed. Keegan calmly gave the weapons one last check. "Move." The two slid out of the suite balcony as if blending into the shadows, using a route they had already scouted, avoiding all surveillance cameras, and silently infiltrated a well-preserved, extremely hidden ventilation shaft in the woods behind the hotel.
Keegan entered the cold, narrow pipe first, then immediately turned around, put his hands under Elaine's armpits, and used his strong arms to steadily lift her off the ground, carefully sending her into the pipe entrance, minimizing the weight or impact on her injured leg.
Inside the dark tunnel, which was only wide enough for one person to crawl through, Elaine moved with extreme difficulty, relying mainly on the strength of her forearms and waist to crawl, while her injured left leg was passively dragged along.
Keegan led the way, his pace perfectly synchronized with hers. Each step was extremely steady and slow, the safety harness kept at a moderate tension. He would stop from time to time to look back through his night vision goggles to check on her condition and the safety behind him. In the darkness, only their suppressed breathing and the faint rustling of their clothes against the cold metal walls of the pipes could be heard.
After a grueling forty-minute trek, they finally reached the vicinity of their target exit. Keegan signaled to stop, then silently slid to the side of the grille and carefully pried open a gap with his tools to observe the outside. It was a silent, deserted alloy passageway, faintly scented with disinfectant, bathed in cold, white light; this was deep beneath the monastery.
Once he was sure it was safe, Keegan gently removed the grille and slid out first, crouching low like a cheetah to survey the surroundings. Then he immediately turned back, reached into the pipe, and carefully lifted Elaine out with both hands, placing her steadily on the ground. He quickly helped her stand against the wall for support.
"Are you alright?" he asked softly, his gaze quickly sweeping over her legs. Elaine nodded, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead, but her eyes remained clear and sharp. Following the blueprint Elaine had deciphered from her memory, they moved towards the core area.
This path is equally fraught with danger: when encountering patrolling guards in white protective suits, Keegan will quickly place Elaine in the most concealed corner or behind equipment, signal her to remain absolutely silent, and then sneak out like a ghost to eliminate the threat with precise and deadly silent means, drag the body into the shadows, and finally return to pick her up to continue the journey.
Elaine's leg injury significantly slowed their progress, but it also made Keegan more cautious and vigilant in every move. They successfully infiltrated the backup power distribution room. Elaine quickly connected her portable terminal to the system interface, her fingers flying across the virtual keyboard.
“Bypassing the secondary firewall…accessing the energy monitoring system…” she whispered.
Keegan stood guard at the door, gun in hand, like a frozen statue, only his ears twitching slightly as he caught every subtle sound from the distance.
Elaine quickly turned the screen slightly toward Keegan, displaying a real-time energy flow graph. A private area marked "Archives - Zone 7" underground in the monastery was consuming unusually high energy, far exceeding the standards of a large data center. She lowered her voice: "This energy level... doesn't seem like a normal server; it's more like supporting some kind of high-intensity biological reaction or large-scale physical experiment."
Just then, her hacking program successfully breached the access control system. "The main passage's airtight door lock has been unlocked. However," she frowned, "the core database has independent physical isolation and advanced AI protection. I need to enter the 'clean room' and find the main control console before I can attempt physical access and download."
Using the temporary access granted by Elaine and the fingerprints and iris scans "obtained" by Keegan from a lone researcher, they successfully opened the heavy, airtight alloy door that required dual biometric authentication. The moment the door slid open, a stronger mixture of disinfectant, ozone, and some indescribable, putrid odor wafted out.
The sight before him instantly tensed the battle-hardened Keegan, putting him on high alert. Elaine, meanwhile, turned deathly pale, instinctively covering her mouth as her stomach churned. The interior was vast, divided into several areas by massive bulletproof glass partitions. On one side were advanced gene sequencers, high-speed centrifuges, bioreactors, and cryogenic liquid nitrogen storage tanks emitting plumes of white vapor – clearly a top-tier biosafety laboratory.
On the other side... were rows of transparent isolation pods that looked like prison cells! Each pod contained a person, men and women of different ages and skin colors. Their eyes were empty and desperate, and their bodies were connected to various tubes that monitored their vital signs. Some of them had developed terrible blisters, skin ulcers, or exhibited horrifying symptoms of nervous system disorder!
A huge screen on the wall coldly scrolled real-time data: subject number, injected virus strain type, viral load, physiological indicator deterioration curve... This was not a research institution at all, but a live virus testing ground!
Makarov is using live human trials to verify the lethal effects of the "Night Watch" virus on different genetic markers!
“These beasts…” Keegan’s voice was forced out through clenched teeth, low and hoarse, filled with overwhelming rage and murderous intent. He felt Elaine trembling slightly beside him and immediately reached out to steady her arm, his strength transmitted through his combat suit. “Focus, Elaine,” he tried his best to keep his voice steady, but his taut jawline betrayed the shock in his heart, “We need evidence to stop them, to make them pay the price.”
Despite her extreme physical and mental discomfort, Elaine took a deep breath, broke free from Keegan's grasp, and lunged towards the central control panel in the room. She plugged the data cable into the port and began downloading the core database at full speed. Keegan, meanwhile, quickly took up a favorable position near the door, his gun pointed outside, his eyes sharp as an eagle's. The data transfer bar moved slowly across the screen.
Suddenly, a secondary screen on the main control panel flashed a blinding red light and displayed a warning message: "Physical intrusion detection triggered! Secondary alarm!"
"Oh no! There are hidden weight or motion sensors!" Elaine exclaimed. Almost simultaneously, a deep yet piercing alarm blared throughout the entire "clean room"!
"We've been exposed! Prepare to evacuate!" Keegan growled, grabbing Elaine who was still desperately trying to get the last crucial data and quickly moving behind a set of sturdy cryogenic storage tanks as cover.
The passage leading to the exit was immediately filled with heavy, rapid footsteps. The door was slammed open, and several guards in heavy white protective suits, armed with automatic weapons, rushed in! Intense gunfire erupted instantly, bullets striking metal equipment and bulletproof glass, sending up blinding sparks.
Keegan, with his exceptional combat skills and precise marksmanship, used sophisticated experimental equipment as mobile cover to engage in fierce firefights with the enemy. Every peek, burst of fire, and repositioning was lightning fast.
Elaine crouched behind cover, nervously watching the data transmission progress (which had reached 98%) while firing deterrent shots with her pistol. Although her marksmanship was not as precise as Keegan's, her calm firing effectively deterred the enemy's attempt to flank her.
However, Elaine's leg injury prevented them from quickly repositioning. During a crossfire, Keegan, to protect Elaine's flank from being outflanked, had to expose himself for suppressive fire. A high-speed stun dart grazed his left arm, causing intense numbness, and then another rifle bullet struck the outside of his right leg! He groaned, the powerful impact causing him to kneel on one knee, blood instantly seeping from his torn combat trousers.
"Keegan!" Elaine cried out, trying to move over. "Stay behind cover! What's the data?" Keegan gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain, changed magazines, and continued to use precise bursts to block the approaching enemies, his voice hoarse from the agony.
“Core database download complete! But… it’s encrypted with the highest level of physical encryption! A key is required to read it!” Elaine shouted, her voice filled with despair.
Just then, Keegan's gaze swept over an unusually heavy metal cabinet next to the main control panel, which required a physical key and password to open. In the center of the cabinet door was a chilling symbol—a skull pierced by a ghastly white lightning bolt, below which was a cold label: "Main Sample Database - Highest Privilege." This symbol exuded an aura of destruction and brutality.
“The key might be there!” Keegan pointed to the cabinet, but the guards' fierce fire kept them pinned down behind cover, unable to get close. The situation was extremely critical! Keegan noticed the crisscrossing network of thick ventilation ducts and cable trays above the lab. An extremely risky plan instantly formed in his mind. “Elaine, cover me! Empty your magazines!”
Without hesitation, Elaine leaned out and fired a series of shots at the enemy to draw their attention. Taking advantage of this brief moment, Keegan leaped out from behind cover, enduring the excruciating pain in his leg. Like a nimble ape, he scaled a nearby equipment rack, leaped with all his might, and narrowly grabbed a pipe overhead. Using the momentum of his swing, he swung across most of the room, landing heavily next to the metal cabinet! The piercing pain in his injured leg upon landing almost made him kneel, but he forced himself to stay upright.
"Password!" he yelled at Elaine, leaning against the cold cabinet, while simultaneously trying to pry open the lock with his dagger. Elaine's mind raced, her hands tapping rapidly on the still-operational control panel, retrieving system logs, Makarov's known aliases, project codenames, and combining this with her understanding of his madness: "Try 'Purification'! Or 'NewEra'!"
Keegan typed rapidly, and the cabinet door emitted a sharp, incorrect beep. "No! The last possibility... 'Eden'!" Elaine almost screamed.
With a crisp "click," the cabinet door popped open! Inside were several metal test tubes radiating a chilling aura, labeled "Origin Strain - Prime." Beside the test tube rack lay a strangely shaped USB drive, its surface gleaming with a cold metallic sheen, clearly etched with the image of a skull pierced by lightning!
Keegan grabbed the USB drive and the several test tubes containing the deadly virus samples. At that moment, more guards poured in from the entrance, their firepower intensifying!
"Elaine! Catch!" He threw the USB drive with all his might toward Elaine behind the cover, and she caught it precisely.
“Keegan! The passage is completely blocked!” Elaine cried out in despair as she watched the surging enemies.
Keegen leaned against the cold metal cabinet, breathing heavily, blood dripping from his legs and arms. He glanced at the few virus samples in his hand that could cause a catastrophe, then at Elaine, who was being suppressed behind cover by fire and had a leg injury. A resolute thought arose in his mind.
He slammed the virus sample tubes onto the alloy floor beneath his feet! "Crack!" The sound of shattering glass was crisp and piercing. Aerosols containing a high concentration of the highly infectious "Night Watchman" original strain instantly spread out!
"Virus leak! Highest level biohazard alert! Emergency quarantine! Evacuation!" Terrified screams rang out from the guards, throwing them into chaos as they instinctively retreated to find cover, instantly shattering their offensive.
Taking advantage of the precious chaos, bought with their lives, Keegan let out a final roar at Elaine: "Ventilation ducts! Back the way you came! Now!"
“No! Let’s go together!” Elaine cried, tears streaming down her face, trying to rush over. “That’s an order!” Keegan’s eyes were like burning glaciers, filled with an unquestionable, almost cruel resolve. “Take the evidence out! Hand it over to Price! Go!!” He raised his gun and poured out all the bullets in the magazine into the chaotic enemy, using his body and his last burst of firepower to build a barrier for her to escape.
Elaine's vision was blurred by tears, but she saw the entrustment in Keegan's eyes that transcended life and death. She knew that hesitation at this moment would render his efforts futile. She bit her lip, swallowing the salty taste of blood mixed with her tears, clutching the USB drive engraved with a lightning bolt and skull and the hard drive containing the core data tightly in her hands. She looked at him deeply, as if trying to etch his image of fighting bloody battle, like a guardian angel, into the depths of her soul. Then, she resolutely turned around, dragging her aching leg, and crawled with all her might toward the ventilation duct entrance.
In the last moment before her figure disappeared into the pipe, she heard Keegan's suppressed groan of pain, the popping of gunshots, and the guard's terrified screams behind her... followed by the deafening crash of the heavy emergency isolation gate slamming down!
The pipe was pitch black, cold, and narrow. Only Elaine's suppressed, broken sobs and the sound of her struggling to crawl against the pipe walls could be heard. The USB drive she clutched tightly in her hand, branded with the grotesque lightning bolt skull, was icy cold, yet seemed to carry the warmth of Keegan's blood. This was the key he had given her with his life—the key to the truth, revenge, and her only path to survival—a weight too heavy for her to bear, yet one she had to persevere through.
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