Chapter 6: The Rusted Blade

  Location: Science Castle, Central Skyway

  Time: Fourth afternoon after energy investigation

  Science Castle's calm was like a thin layer of ice. When Old Chen gripped that heavy-duty multitool wrench and charged toward Dr. Alex Yang—a young mathematician with considerable achievements in viral propagation models—that thin ice was violently shattered.

  The incident occurred on the Central Skyway connecting the residential and research areas. It was peak personnel flow time. Thunderhawk happened to be patrolling nearby when his electronic eyes captured Old Chen pulling the wrench from his toolkit, his gaze abnormally resolute yet filled with despair. No shout, no warning, just heavy footsteps and the dull sound of the wrench cutting through air.

  "Dr. Yang! Watch out!" Thunderhawk's roar was almost simultaneous with his movement. He lunged like an eagle at prey, tackling Old Chen from the side. The wrench grazed Dr. Yang's shoulder and crashed into the alloy wall with an ear-piercing impact. Dr. Yang collapsed to the ground in fright, his shoulder already injured.

  Old Chen staggered from the impact but immediately lunged again like a maddened beast, his target still Dr. Yang, mouth emitting unclear, hatred-filled muttering: "...murderer... you... executioners..."

  Thunderhawk grappled with him. Old Chen's strength was surprisingly great, the power accumulated from long-term manual labor, carrying a desperate madness. But Thunderhawk had professional training and superior combat skills. After several exchanges, he used a precise joint lock to disarm Old Chen's wrench and pin him firmly to the ground.

  The entire process took less than a minute. The surrounding crowd cried out in alarm as panic began to spread. The security team quickly arrived and secured the scene. Dr. Yang was rushed to the medical center—injuries without life-threatening.

  Old Chen was taken to the isolation interrogation room. Before being led away, he looked back at Thunderhawk once, his gaze holding not fear of arrest but a bottomless grief and... a disturbing sense of relief. Thunderhawk noticed that beneath Old Chen's work uniform sleeve, exposed on his wrist, was an old-style digital watch with a heavily worn band.

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  While assisting with scene cleanup and checking Old Chen's abandoned toolkit, Thunderhawk's "eyes" quickly scanned. The tools were all standard maintenance equipment, but in a hidden compartment, he discovered a crumpled then carefully smoothed photograph. In the photo, Old Chen stood shoulder to shoulder with a sunny-smiled young man, the background an ordinary city park. The young man's features bore an eighty to ninety percent resemblance to someone recorded in files—a junior programmer who had unfortunately died in the first outbreak of the "Devourer" virus.

  Son.

  In a flash, Thunderhawk understood the meaning of Old Chen's cry of "executioners." He blamed his son's death on the scientists researching the "Devourer" virus, or rather, on Chaldea Tech directing Project Noah. This was a long-brewing act of revenge by a desperate father.

  Before submitting the toolkit as evidence, Thunderhawk's finger seemingly casually brushed Old Chen's ID card among personal items. His cyberbrain interface warmed slightly as a pre-set Black Cat program triggered, completing a quick scan and copy of the card's data. In the chaos, no one noticed.

  Director Graham arrived quickly, his expression darker than ever. He glanced at the detained Old Chen and the wrench on the ground, then told Thunderhawk tersely: "Control information spread. This matter must be characterized as an isolated mental breakdown incident. Understand?"

  Suppression again. Thunderhawk nodded in acknowledgment, yet the chill in his heart deepened. Graham's reaction seemed less about maintaining stability than urgently covering up some truth that might emerge.

  Old Chen was held in isolation. According to regulations, he needed to await internal investigation and possible police intervention. However, just two hours before the scheduled interrogation, terrible news arrived.

  Old Chen had died mysteriously in the isolation room.

  Preliminary examination: cause of death was cardiac arrest. But Thunderhawk was almost certain this was no accident, but silencing. Because Old Chen's mad act, like a stone cast into calm water, would inevitably draw outside attention and internal scrutiny, which would undoubtedly destroy the "order" and "stability" that Science Castle's surface depended upon.

  Thunderhawk stood outside the empty isolation room, the air seemingly still carrying Old Chen's final despair. He thought of Isabella Chen's worried eyes in the cafeteria. Soon, she would learn of her father's death. The ripples of this tragedy were only beginning to spread.

  And the ID card authorization data he had copied from Old Chen, after preliminary analysis by Black Cat, returned a brief yet shocking message:

  "Card contains core protocol with authorization level: temporary 'Omega' (highest level). Interesting—a maintenance worker, how could he open all of Science Castle's doors?"