Lahat ng Kabanata ng Fearless: Kabanata 161 - Kabanata 170

THE WORLD GOES DARKEvery light in the city went out.Not one by one.All at once.Hazel stood in the ruined chamber, staring at the darkness beyond the broken entrance.For several seconds, nobody moved.Then the silence broke.Sirens erupted somewhere above.One.Then another.Then dozens.The sound rolled through the underground facility like an approaching storm.Miyan looked toward the ceiling."That's not just this building."Elias struggled to stand."No."He looked at the dead monitors."The grid."Jae immediately understood."The Vessel reached the network."Hazel turned toward him."You said it couldn't leave the Lock.""I was wrong.""No more hiding things."Jae met her eyes."I'm not hiding anything.""Then tell me exactly what's happening."Jae took a breath."The Vessel isn't attacking the city."Hazel frowned."Then what is it doing?""It's connecting to it."The lights on the emergency panel suddenly flickered.A map appeared.Hundreds of points illuminated across the

THE ORIGINAL FACILITYThe street collapsed.Hazel, Jae, Miyan, Claire, and Elias fell through broken pavement.They landed in darkness.Concrete surrounded them.Hazel groaned."Everyone alive?"Miyan coughed."Unfortunately."Jae stood.His flashlight revealed a corridor.Old.Abandoned.But not destroyed.Hazel recognized the walls."I've seen this."Elias nodded."This is the original facility."Jae looked around."This place was supposed to be destroyed.""It was."Hazel touched the wall."Then why is it still here?"Elias answered:"Because the Vessel preserved it."They moved through the corridor.There were old photographs.Scientists.Machines.Children.Hazel stopped.One photograph showed her mother.Beside her was a younger Elias.And another man.Jae stepped closer."That's my grandfather."Hazel looked at him."So your family really was involved.""Yes.""No more secrets."Jae nodded."No more."They continued.At the end of the corridor was a large laboratory.Machines l

THE HUNT BEGINSMorning came without sunlight.Smoke covered the horizon.The city had survived the night, but nobody believed the danger was over.Hazel stood on the roof of an abandoned building.Below her, emergency crews worked through the streets.People were alive.That was what mattered.Jae joined her."We found the location."Hazel turned."My mother?"He nodded."North district.""How far?""Two hours."Miyan approached."We have a vehicle."Claire followed."Elias found something."Hazel looked at him.Elias held an old photograph."We discovered where the Vessel's physical core was transported after the original facility was abandoned."Hazel took the photograph.A warehouse.Old.Remote."That's where my mother is.""Probably."Hazel frowned."No more probably."Elias nodded."Yes."Hazel handed the photograph back."Then that's where we're going."Jae looked at her."There's something else."Hazel waited."The Vessel is no longer using the city as its network.""Then wha

THE NORTH FACILITYThe North Facility was hidden beneath an abandoned industrial district.There were no signs.No guards.No visible entrance.Only a rusted warehouse surrounded by empty buildings.Hazel stepped from the vehicle.The air smelled of rain, oil, and rust.Jae checked the surroundings."Too quiet."Miyan looked toward the warehouse."Everything has been too quiet lately."Claire opened the old security panel."Give me thirty seconds."She worked through the damaged controls.The door unlocked.A metallic groan echoed through the empty street.They entered.Darkness swallowed them.Their flashlights came on.Dust floated through the beams.Old machinery lined the walls.Some of it had been abandoned for decades.Some had been used recently.Hazel noticed fresh footprints."Someone's here."Jae raised his weapon.They moved deeper.The corridor descended underground.The walls changed.Concrete became reinforced steel.Then glass.Then white laboratory panels.Hazel's stoma

INSIDE THE VESSELHazel woke to fire.Her lungs burned.Smoke filled the chamber.Jae was pulling her away from the destroyed Recognition interface."Move!"Hazel coughed."I stopped it.""I know.""Did it work?"Jae looked toward the monitors.Every connection had disappeared."No network."Hazel smiled weakly."Then we won."Elias shouted from across the room."Not yet!"Hazel looked up.A warning light flashed.CORE INSTABILITY."What does that mean?""The Vessel's physical core is collapsing."Miyan ran toward them."We have less than four minutes."Claire pointed toward the exit."Then we move."The group ran.Behind them, the facility began exploding.Hazel stumbled.Jae caught her."Can you walk?""Yes.""Don't lie.""I'm fine.""You're bleeding."Hazel looked at her arm.Blood ran down her fingers.She ignored it.They reached the main corridor.A wall collapsed.They turned.The only exit was blocked.Miyan looked around."Alternative?"Elias pointed toward a maintenance shaf