On the left side, the terrifying red graph still depicted a critical rejection event.
But on the right, an entirely different set of telemetry appeared.
[True Neural Activity: Stable.]
[True Heart Rate: Stable.]
[Cellular Regeneration: Nominal.]
[Rejection Probability: Minimal.]
One pod.
One exact moment in time.
Two violently contradicting data sets broadcasted side by side.
The first screamed of an imminent massacre.
The second was as calm as a sleeping child.
The crowd stared in stunned silence.
Director Kaelen was completely paralyzed.
The medical team was utterly lost.
"What... what is this?" someone murmured. "Why are there two readings?!"
A biotech executive from the audience immediately recognized the discrepancy. "Wait! That data on the right-that's pulled directly from the deepest root-level telemetry. The graph on the left... that's not Specimen Fourteen's data at all!"
The hall erupted again.
"Hold on, let me check!" One of the medics practically threw himself over the pod's independent side-terminal.
The color drained from his face. "He's right! The raw telemetry is completely stable!" Director Kaelen was sweating profusely. "Wh-what does this mean?"
"It means," Serena drawled, tapping a slender finger against the right side of the screen, "that Specimen Fourteen is doing wonderfully. There is no loss of control, no anomaly, and absolutely no... 'sixty-second countdown to a massacre.""
Kaelen stared at the dual displays, his mind spinning. "Then what the hell triggered the alarm?!"
The Lead Auctioneer finally found his voice. "Exactly! If the asset is fine, why did the Red Medical Evacuation Protocol activate?!"
Serena chuckled softly, casting a sideways, predatory glance at Thorne. "Because the alarm... is a fake."
Thorne met her gaze, and a paralyzing terror shot straight down his spine.
No!
How did she pull the raw, unfiltered data?!
He had hard-wired The Sabotage Interface Module to overwrite the entire feed. The numbers should have been permanently corrupted.
When did she...
A horrifying realization slammed into him like a freight train.
She knew.
She had known the entire time!
Pure instinct took over. He lunged for the port, desperate to yank The Sabotage Interface Module out and crush it before anyone couldanaly the code.
His fingers never made contact.
A pale, slender hand clamped around his wrist like a vise.
The world violently flipped upside down.
Before he could register the impact, he was slammed flat on his back against the floor.
He tried to thrash wildly, but a high-heeled shoe planted itself firmly against his sternum.
It didn't look like she was applying much pressure-she was just a young woman-but when he tried to
heave himself up, he
Couldn't move
an inch.
Serena simply pressed down a fraction harder.
"Ugh!" He let out a choked groan as the crushing weight forced a trickle of blood
from the corner of his mouth.
"Thinking of unplugging it now?"
bet
Serena leaned casually against the her heel pinned
console her
mest. Alittle late to.
His pupils dilated in sheer disbelief, staring up at the smiling demon standing over
him.
Serena laughed lightly. "When you submitted that Red-Tier Evacuation request... you did use your own official ship clearance, didn't you?"