Chapter 15: The Soul Between Door Cracks

  The plan was set, the air filled with tension that seemed almost solid. Every breath felt heavy, every slight beep from instruments like drumbeats.

  Anya Sharma and Leon Schmidt stood side by side at Leon's compartment doorway, datapads and multiple monitoring screens forming a temporary command center. On the screens, the energy flow representing the equipment room door's defense system was visualized as constantly changing complex waveforms.

  "Pulse interval... 3.714 seconds... duration 0.03 seconds..." Anya murmured the data, fingers rapidly adjusting parameters on the virtual keyboard. "The buffer force field must cover the door lock area during the interval period, lasting at least 0.5 seconds to ensure a safety window."

  "Energy output coordination... I'll synchronize..." Leon operated several knobs, eyes focused with terrifying intensity. "Kenneth, you have at most four seconds. After four seconds, whether successful or not, you must retreat!"

  Kenneth Ryder stood before that deadly equipment room door, taking a deep breath. In his hands were several items resembling fine repair tools—metal probes and screwdrivers—eyes sharp as an eagle's, staring intently at the door lock structure. "Understood. Four seconds."

  Irina Petrova and Carmen Ortiz stood back to back, gazes sweeping the entire car area, including every remaining person—Samuel, Charles, and Sophia Rossi, who'd been ordered to stay within sight. Samuel stood slightly forward, able to observe both Kenneth and provide support on either side. Charles clenched his fists, heart nearly jumping to his throat.

  Sophia Rossi leaned against the distant wall, arms crossed, expression still inscrutable, seemingly carrying a trace of theatrical amusement, yet also with a barely perceptible tension.

  "First synchronization attempt... three, two, one... now!" Leon roared, forcefully pressing a button.

  Hummm—

  An invisible energy field spread from a device at Leon's compartment doorway as its center, precisely covering the equipment room door lock area. The residual arcs jumping on the door panel seemed forcibly suppressed, instantly dimming.

  "Now!" Anya shouted.

  Kenneth Ryder moved! His speed was astonishing, fingers stable beyond belief, several probes precisely inserting into the door lock's physical keyhole and several hidden electronic interfaces in a specific sequence and angle.

  Time seemed to stretch.

  One second... faint spring rotation sounds from inside the lock core.

  Two seconds... sweat appeared on Kenneth's forehead, he listened intently to something, fingers adjusting slightly.

  Three seconds... "Click"—a light sound, the physical lock seemed to open!

  Fourth second! Kenneth forcefully inserted the final interface connector into the electronic lock port, the cracking program on his datapad running frantically!

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  "Warning: Illegal cracking attempt detected!" The system alarm suddenly sounded!

  The suppression field instantly became unstable, arcs on the door panel suddenly reigniting with dangerous crackling!

  "Kenneth! Retreat!" Leon roared!

  But a trace of determination flashed in Kenneth Ryder's eyes. He didn't retreat. Instead, he used his body to block the arcs that might shoot toward others, his finger completing the final command on the datapad!

  "CRACK—!"

  The crisp sound of the electronic lock releasing!

  The equipment room door suddenly sprang open a crack inward!

  Almost simultaneously, powerful defensive current erupted again! Blue arcs like angry dragons lashed out, viciously striking Kenneth Ryder!

  "Urgh—!" Kenneth emitted a painful groan, his entire body flung away by enormous force, crashing heavily against the opposite wall, rolling to the ground, body charred, smoking, datapad shattered across the floor.

  "Kenneth!" Samuel and Charles cried out simultaneously, rushing over.

  Leon immediately cut off the energy buffer, face ugly. Anya quickly checked readings: "He... life signs extremely weak!"

  However, no one had time for excessive grief.

  Because behind that door that had sprung open a crack wasn't the imagined mechanical cabin or system interface.

  What lay beyond was an endless, spinning, chaotic data abyss!

  Cold, chaotic, color-distorted data streams roared like a storm behind the door, like an entrance to hell in another dimension. And in the center of that data storm, a humanoid light & shadow bound by countless code chains could be vaguely seen!

  That light & shadow was extremely dim, as if it might extinguish at any moment, but its outline...

  "Boss...?" Charles called out involuntarily. Though distorted and blurred, that outline was extremely similar to the Marcus Wong he knew! His consciousness was indeed confined here!

  Just at this moment!

  "Whoosh—!"

  An extremely subtle, nearly invisible energy pulse, like a venomous snake striking, shot from the direction of the observation car, its target directly at that confined light & shadow behind the door crack!

  It was a killer! They didn't want Marcus Wong rescued, or didn't want him to speak!

  "No!" Charles's fury erupted, instinctively wanting to block it with his body, but it was too fast!

  However, another figure was faster!

  It was Sophia Rossi!

  No one expected that she would move at a speed far exceeding ordinary people, suddenly sidestep and fling something out—a small device similar to her "encryptor" confiscated earlier!

  The device unfolded mid-air into a tiny energy deflection shield, precisely intercepting in front of that deadly pulse!

  "BANG!"

  A slight energy detonation! The pulse was deflected, striking the car ceiling and leaving a charred mark. Sophia's device also fell to the ground smoking, completely destroyed.

  All this happened in a flash!

  Everyone was stunned!

  Sophia Rossi... had saved Marcus Wong (his consciousness)?

  Who exactly was she?

  The attack came from the observation car! The killer was over there! Was it Leon's "Source A" or "Source B"?

  Irina Petrova and Carmen Ortiz almost simultaneously lunged toward where the pulse originated!

  But there was no one there! Only swaying curtains and cold seats.

  The attacker had vanished again.

  The equipment room door, having lost Kenneth's maintenance, began slowly auto-closing. Behind the door, that confined light & shadow struggled painfully in the data storm, seemingly sensing something, finally swallowed again by the endless void.

  The door closed again.

  In the corridor remained only Kenneth Ryder's dying gasps, shattered equipment, and the even more tangled, friend-from-foe-indistinguishable deathly silence among survivors.

  Sophia Rossi looked at the destroyed device on the ground, dusted off her hands, and facing the shocked crowd, especially the iron-gray-faced Leon and sharp-eyed Irina, revealed an even more playful and complex smile:

  "Oh my, looks like... the game just got more interesting, doesn't it?"

  Fifth victim (near death): Kenneth Ryder.

  Unexpected savior: Sophia Rossi.

  Identity completely enigmatic.

  The truth behind the door glimpsed for a moment, yet brought even more mysteries. The waters ran deeper.