“Seal all exits of the Medical Department immediately and activate Level-One alert throughout the Tower!”
The emergency order spread rapidly through every corner of the White Tower via encrypted channels.
Amid the sound of soldiers sprinting, the usually solemn military base instantly grew restless, as if something major was happening.
“Did you hear? A female patient mysteriously vanished from her ward. No trace of her.” A guard sentinel said to his colleague.
“The one rescued from Contamination Zone B7 yesterday?”
“That’s right! Apparently an unregistered Awakened.”
They hurried past the entrance of the Medical Department. Inside the ward, the duty adjutant put down his communicator and reported, “Sir, the guard team’s first search came up empty.”
The Chief of Military Affairs, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, frowned.
He had arrived at the scene immediately after issuing the lockdown order. His gaze swept over the messy medical bed at the center of the room, the Carbon Nanotube Restraints binding the limbs had snapped. He ran a fingertip over the broken ends; they showed clear signs of tearing.
He looked up. “What about the surveillance footage?”
“The signal was disrupted by unknown Mental Power as the target passed, so we couldn’t track her movements.”
Silence fell over the room.
“Continue the search,” the Chief of Military Affairs ordered gravely. “Also, convene a secret meeting of the S-Class Guides immediately.”
***
In the command room, the atmosphere was heavy.
“You should all know why I called you here.” The Chief of Military Affairs lifted his eyes, sweeping his gaze over the two S-Class Guides before him, then frowned. “Where’s Lu Feichen? Where has that brat run off to this time!”
The two shook their heads simultaneously.
“What do you need us to do?” one of them asked.
The Chief of Military Affairs suppressed his anger. “There’s been a shortage of Sentinels for years, now we don’t even have a single A-Rank. All signs indicate that the person retrieved from the Contamination Zone may be a Sentinel. Regardless of what her final rank turns out to be, I want you two to earn her trust first and keep her in the military.”
As they were about to leave, the Chief of Military Affairs added another reminder: “Remember, no violent confrontation. Winning her over is the priority. If necessary… any means are permitted.”
The two exchanged a glance, their faces full of disbelief, the world had truly turned upside down. S-Class Guides actually having to curry favor with a Sentinel of unknown origins?
***
East Wing corridor of the White Tower.
Intermittent footsteps echoed through the empty corridor as two members of the guard team carried out their search.
“All units attention.” A burst of noisy electronic alerts suddenly pierced the silence: “Suspected target spotted in the West Wing!” After a brief pause: “Alert level downgraded! All units stand by where you are!”
The moment they heard the order, the two men’s taut nerves finally relaxed.
“We’re done, we’re done!” The sentinel in front stopped and complained to his companion behind him. “What was that all about? Making us tense up for nothing. Activating a Level-One alert over a missing woman that’s way over the top.”
“Can’t blame them,” his companion shrugged. “Awakened are dying out. Now that they’ve finally managed to fish one out, of course they’d take it seriously.” The two turned together and headed toward the exit.
The sentinel in front was completely unaware that someone had quietly joined their group, and he continued on the same topic: “Wonder whether this woman they caught will turn out to be a Guide or a Sentinel?”
“A Sentinel? What’s a Sentinel?”
A strange woman’s voice suddenly rang out from behind them, full of curiosity. “Do you mean the kind of soldier who stands guard at the gates of This Palace?”