Chapter 66 – Tangled Codes and Fractured Trust
Back in Mo Chen's underground command center, silence hung heavy as the team stared at the device labeled Project Silence: Phase 3. It was sleek, compact, and humming faintly with energy—like a sleeping serpent ready to strike.
Meng Zhihao wore latex gloves as he carefully pried it open under the containment scanner. "This is military-grade tech. Not even our government branches have logged this chip configuration."
"Which means it was built in the dark," Mo Chen muttered, jaw tight.
Lin Nuo frowned at the digital schematics. "It's not just surveillance… This thing is a prototype neural disruptor. It can hijack memory traces, trigger hallucinations, and erase digital identities."
Xueqing's eyes narrowed. "So it's psychological warfare."
"Worse," Mo Chen replied. "It's identity warfare."
---
Elsewhere, inside a dimly lit data vault somewhere under District D, the Oracle watched the failed raid footage with eerie calm. His fingers tapped a rhythm on his console.
A masked woman approached him cautiously. "Sir… the team failed. Bai Xueqing was three steps ahead."
"She always is," the Oracle said coldly. "Because she remembers."
"Remembers?"
He turned to her, his voice tight. "She wasn't supposed to retain her past. The reincarnation project was flawed. We underestimated how deep her tether to Mo Chen runs."
"Should we initiate Phase 4?"
The Oracle paused. "No. Not yet. She must lose something first. Something vital. Only then will she break."
---
At the Bai estate, Xueqing sat alone in her study. The firelight flickered across her face, casting soft shadows that couldn't hide the storm in her eyes. In her hands, she held an old photo—blurred, worn.
A family photo from her past life.
A girl who was once a pawn, a phoenix with clipped wings.
Mo Chen walked in quietly, his expression unreadable.
"You knew about the reincarnation files," she said, not turning around.
"I did."
"And you didn't tell me."
He exhaled. "Because I wanted you to become strong without leaning on the past. I didn't want you to chase ghosts."
She turned, fire in her eyes. "But they've always been chasing me."
"I'm not your enemy, Xueqing."
"No," she said softly, voice trembling. "But right now, you're not my ally either."
Mo Chen took a step back. "You don't mean that."
"I don't know what I mean anymore," she whispered.
---
Outside, the wind howled.
And in the far reaches of City A's encrypted networks, the Oracle released a single command line:
> [Awaken: Subject 17 - Xu Yanshang]