It was the live feed for the laboratory currently occupied by The Panacea.
However, the camera had long been thoroughly obstructed by a thick black cloth draped over the lens. Nothing was visible.
No matter how they adjusted the angles or toggled the equipment, all they got was a blur of shifting shadows.
It was impossible to decipher what she was actually doing inside.
Director Kaelen braced both hands against the edge of the control console, staring unblinkingly at the obscured screen.
Even though there was nothing to see, he didn't dare look away.
For some reason, the moment he averted his gaze, the ominous dread pooling in his gut only grew heavier.
Especially since...
...it was absolute chaos out there.
Without any clear explanation, a relentless wave of commotion kept erupting from the cargo hold.
He had initially assumed the security crew would have it under control in minutes. Instead, the situation had escalated into a full-blown frenzy.
The Predator's Den, The Merchant's Quarter-even the elite VIPs who had been sitting quietly in the night auction-were sending their proxies to dig for information.
Everyone was whispering about the exact same thing.
-That deep within the bowels of Project Zero-Transit, there was a special piece of cargo far more valuable than the night's grand finale.
The entirety of Project Zero-Transit seemed to have plunged into unprecedented anarchy over this mythical prize.
Yet, The Panacea's laboratory remained deathly still, utterly devoid of activity. It was as if...
...the room was completely empty.
Kaelen glared at the monitor and checked the time, his complexion worsening by the second as a suffocating wave of despair washed over him.
He didn't know why, but his gut was screaming at him.
He was convinced that the escalating riots outside were somehow inextricably linked to The Panacea.
She had been in that lab for far too long.
Kaelen's gaze turned somber. "How long has she been in there?" he barked.
Toby Adler instantly checked the logs. "Almost two hours."
Two hours?
Kaelen paled.
When The Panacea arrived, she claimed she needed to synthesize a new compound for the night auction.
Bluntly put, she wanted to use Project Zero-Transit's platform to make a quick million dollars.
But the auction was nearly over.
And yet, she hadn't submitted a single
contagistered vial, nor had I a single person in sheet
Med-Tech Quarantine. Content,
Was she truly still in there mixing chemicals?
The more he thought about it, the more his anxiety spiked. His nerves were completely frayed.
Kaelen swallowed hard, abruptly shooting up from his chair. He
slammed a hand onto Toby Sl
shoulder. Can you patch me through to her right now?"
Startled, Toby ducked his head and scrambled to type across the console.
A moment later, Toby shook his head, looking deeply uncomfortable. "No. I can't reach her."
Kaelen's stomach dropped. "What do you mean?"
"When she went inside, she didn't
just blockthe cameras. She
completely severed the Integrated CommLinkToby gulped, "We have zero way to establish contact
through the system."
Zero contact?
Kaelen's face twisted into an ugly grimace. "Then tell me if she's even still in there!
How can you be certain?!"
The explosive shout made Toby flinch violently.
He hurriedly pulled up a secondary diagnostic interface. "She... she should be."
Kaelen glowered. "What the hell does 'should be' mean?"