The night air over Canary Wharf carried the Thames's signature chill, laced with damp and steel. Vita Biotech Tower rose like a cold, grid-patterned monolith, stabbing into London's leaden sky. Glass walls mirrored the neon glow of the docks and the river's shimmer below, a glittering display of capital and technology's cold might. Yet, to Alan's senses, the steel behemoth pulsed with a different rhythm—a cold, ravenous hunger wrapped in layers of technological shielding, echoing the residue at Greenhaven's withered heart, only more concealed, more… vast.
The team rode in an unmarked black panel van, slipping silently into Vita Tower's labyrinthine underground Level 3 dedicated loading zone. The air smelled of tire rubber, oil, and disinfectant. Massive support pillars segmented the space, casting deep shadows. Following Simon's mapped route, they skirted the main loading docks and high-surveillance areas, ducking into a narrow corridor marked "Facilities Maintenance - Authorized Personnel Only."
The corridor ended at a heavy metal fire door secured by a biometric scanner and an electronic keycard slot—a choke point into the building's non-public areas.
"Simon, door." Lena whispered into her micro-comms, voice crisp.
"Copy. Cycling local security loop… now! Injecting biometric spoof signal… 3… 2… 1… Green light! Virtual keycard auth granted… lock disengaged!" Simon's voice held tech-geek focus.
The fire door emitted a soft click. Hydraulics hissed as the heavy slab slid silently inward, opening just enough for single-file passage. Air washed out—chilled by central AC, smelling of new carpet and… a faint whiff of chemicals.
"Stay sharp. Fenrir, rear guard, secure the entry." Lena ordered softly, slipping through first. Alan followed, Fenrir's bulk squeezing in last, pulling the door almost shut behind them, leaving only a hairline crack.
Inside was a corridor floored with grey anti-static vinyl, brightly but not harshly lit. Air handlers hummed steadily. Safety notices and equipment labels lined the walls. They were in the building's guts—the utility and service level.
"Target: Employee Elevator Bank C, fifty meters ahead, starboard side. Direct access to R&D Floors 45-50." Lena's voice sounded in Alan's earpiece. "Simon, blanket corridor surveillance."
"Corridor feeds looped, static playback engaged. Duration: ninety seconds. Move." Simon confirmed.
The team moved like three shadows blending into the background, swift and silent. Their infiltration suits employed advanced optical camouflage, effective when still or slow-moving, less so at speed. Footsteps were muffled by specialized soles to near silence.
Approaching the elevator lobby, Lena raised a fist. She pressed against the corner wall, cautiously peering around. The lobby was well-lit, four elevator doors closed. A black-uniformed security guard stood with his back to them, leaning against a service desk, engrossed in a tablet. Mounted high on the wall beside the desk, a discreet, blue-glowing hemispherical device pulsed faintly—an Anima Flux Detector!
"Security's upgraded. Standard is metal detectors and bio-scans. Anima detection… R&D secrecy? Or… for us?" Lena's voice was tense. Vita Tower's security exceeded normal corporate levels.
"Target floor has heavy energy shielding, dampens standard Anima scans. But entry-point detectors are hypersensitive, especially to anomalous or bleeding energy." Simon warned. "Alan, your passive absorption… you're a firefly in the dark to that thing. It'll key on you like a shark on blood."
Alan's heart sank. His suppressor cuff was set to minimal-power "Cloak Mode," straining to contain his innate Harmonizer ability, as natural as breathing. But at this range to a high-sensitivity detector, he was a magnet with uncontrolled fields—a guaranteed alarm trigger!
"Options?" Lena was terse.
"Two: One, detour. Nearest alternate route crosses main logistics, high surveillance, higher risk. Two, create a brief disruption, exploit the detector's reset window to pass. Time is critical. Alan must suppress completely!" Simon analyzed rapidly.
"Detour takes too long. Disruption plan, specifics." Lena chose decisively.
"Lena, deploy 'Phantasm Veil' rune. Cover detector and guard's line of sight. Pinpoint focus. Duration: five seconds! I'll sync a focused electromagnetic pulse (EMP), fry the detector's core processor for zero-point-three seconds, simulate a 'glitch'! Guard gets rune-confused, detector glitch distracts him! You must cross the lobby and reach the C3 elevator maintenance shaft entrance in five seconds!" Simon rattled off the plan.
The "Phantasm Veil" was one of Lena's Warden runes, creating a small-area, low-intensity visual and cognitive illusion—a sophisticated hypnosis. It taxed the caster and was less effective against strong wills or high Anima resistance.
"Copy. Fenrir, brace for contact. Alan, five seconds, absolute silence! Suppress completely! Cloak hard once in the shaft!" Lena's gaze, sharp as a scalpel, locked onto Alan.
Alan took a deep breath, nodding fiercely. He focused entirely on the suppressor cuff, simultaneously trying to build an internal "dam" against the instinctive pull of his Harmonizer ability. It felt like trying to hold his breath, but for an intangible energy flow.
"Ready… 3… 2… 1… Execute!" Simon counted down!
Lena flicked her wrist, crushing a small jade disc etched with silver runes! An invisible wave of energy, tinged with subtle psychic resonance, rippled outwards, precisely engulfing the elevator lobby entrance, including the guard and the wall detector!
Simultaneously, the overhead lights in the lobby flickered almost imperceptibly! Simon's EMP struck true!
The guard shook his head, eyes instantly glazing with confusion and mild dizziness, as if seeing heat haze or experiencing a sudden vertigo. He instinctively looked up at the Anima detector—its blue light flashed red! A short, low beep sounded! But the red light and alarm lasted less than half a second before snapping back to calm blue, mimicking a momentary equipment hiccup.
"Damn it… glitch again? Piece of junk…" the guard muttered, rubbing his eyes, attention fully captured by the detector's "fault." He bent to check the service desk log, completely oblivious as three shadows blurred past less than three meters behind him!
Alan felt his heart hammer against his ribs! The moment he entered the detector's range, his Harmonizer instinct surged like a predator scenting blood! The ambient, scattered Anima (elevator motors, lights, even the guard's electronics) became tiny streams drawn to him! The suppressor cuff burned hot against his wrist, humming with a vibration only he felt, its power ramped to maximum to barely contain the outward pull!
Five seconds! An eternity! Lena moved like a ghost, Fenrir a solid shadow behind her. Alan gritted his teeth, pouring every ounce of will into "silence," cold sweat beading on his forehead. He could feel the detector's scanning beam like icy fingers brushing over him. The veil of illusion and EMP felt paper-thin, ready to tear.
By sheer luck! Just as the guard started to raise his head and the detector began its next full scan cycle, the three figures slipped like smoke through the heavy door marked "Elevator Maintenance - No Unauthorized Entry" leading to the C3 shaft!
The fire door thudded shut behind them, sealing off the lobby's light and danger. Inside was a cramped, grimy space of metal stairs and service platforms, reeking of cable grease and dust. Only emergency lights cast a dim glow.
"Clear!" Lena's voice echoed slightly in the confined space, carrying a hint of tension released. She leaned against the cold metal wall, breathing slightly faster. Using the rune had taken its toll; her face was pale.
Fenrir growled low, flexing his wrists, alloy claws glinting. "Bloody suffocating! Next time, I rip that damn scanner out!"
Alan gasped for breath, his back damp with sweat. The suppressor cuff cooled. The inner turmoil subsided. Those five seconds had been dancing on a knife's edge. One slip, and the mission would have ended in blaring alarms.
"Well done, Alan." Lena looked at him, offering brief but solid acknowledgment. It steadied him.
"Target floor: 48. Shaft goes straight up. Internal maintenance access connects to R&D labs." Lena caught her breath, pointing up the dark elevator shaft. "Vita's core R&D is up there. Security will be tighter. Simon, scan target floor structure. Pinpoint 'Advanced Biomaterials Research Center' location and security layout."
"Scanning… heavy energy shielding interference. Only basic schematics available." Simon reported. "Research Center occupies east half of 48. Independent access: Iris + palm print + dynamic keycard triple-verification. Internal layout unknown. Energy signatures indicate… multiple high-intensity, high-stability Anima sources. Likely large equipment or… alchemical reactors! Alan, it's on you. Find the most anomalous, most polluted point!"
Alan nodded, closing his eyes, extending his senses upwards. Through cold steel shaft walls, past tangles of cables and pipes… The 48th floor felt like a zone shrouded in thick fog, its Anima shielding immense, impenetrable to normal senses. But through Alan's Harmonizer lens, the fog had flaws.
He could "feel" several large, stable energy nodes—lighthouses in the mist—radiating clean, powerful technological Anima, likely major lab equipment. Yet, deep within this relatively "calm" field, a festering point of pollution snagged his awareness!
Cold! Ravenous! Radiating potent "Decay" and "Deprivation"! The same signature as Greenhaven's core, but more contained, more stable, more… powerful! It pulsed from the northeastern quadrant of the Research Center, a tumor embedded in flesh, radiating malice, cleverly masked by the surrounding tech-Anima.
"Northeast corner… intense 'Withering' pollution source! Energy intensity… far exceeds Greenhaven!" Alan opened his eyes, pointing upwards. "It's… 'feeding'? Feels like the surrounding tech-Anima is being slowly… converted?"
"Converted? Tech-Anima into 'Decay'?" Lena's eyes sharpened to lethal points. "That's his refined matrix core? Not just draining Life Anima, but transforming other energies? 'The Withering Scholar'… is pushing his research forward!"
She looked up into the dark shaft, a flicker of cold fury in her gaze. "Target confirmed. Proceeding. Simon, prep to breach Research Center access. Fenrir, stand by for breach. Alan, maintain sensory guidance. Let's see what rot festers inside this 'Life Science' gilded cage."