Was this just pure, terrifying genius?
Or did she already hold the missing pieces that Obsidian Sun had been desperately hunting for?
The Raven's eyes narrowed into slits.
They had only managed to scavenge roughly a third of Aria Wynn's original research. The absolute core variables the foundation of her work-remained hidden away, stashed somewhere only she knew.
Those technological dead ends had constantly throttled their progress in perfecting the Obsidian Augments.
They had previously theorized that those crucial final pieces were entrusted to Aria Wynn's granddaughter, Serena Lancaster.
But what if... The Panacea was Serena Lancaster? What if she literally possessed the missing core data?
If she could patch those final theoretical gaps, she could push Specimen Fourteen past the threshold and forge the ultimate, perfect living weapon...
The Raven's breathing hitched.
If he dragged The Panacea back to headquarters, if he forced her to finalize the creation of the perfect Obsidian Augments.
Then Obsidian Sun's decades-long dream of an unstoppable army could be realized years ahead of schedule!
To this day, he had never dropped his suspicion that The Panacea was Serena Lancaster.
In fact, he was growing increasingly convinced of it.
The Raven-Plume Pass he had personally issued had never been activated. Serena Lancaster's name was nowhere to be found on the passenger manifest. Yet, at the exact same moment she was supposed to board, The Panacea had stepped onto the ship via a transit hub in Vaelion City.
She was far too intimately acquainted with Aria Wynn's research.
Every single move she made was specifically engineered to decimate Obsidian Sun.
If he could capture her, prove she was Serena Lancaster, and drop her alive at The Overlord's feet...
Then this staggering defeat could still be spun into an absolute victory.
He might actually survive this.
The Raven looked back out the window.
The towering white structures piercing through the fog were drawing closer by the second.
The seething rage in his eyes solidified into a predatory, desperate focus.
He couldn't afford to lose anything else.
This was his final lifeline.
The ship's notification clearly stated
that The Panacea would overseene Specimen Fourteen's handover as thecialized Medical Consultant.
That meant she would definitely be present at the final drop point.
As long as she set foot on Pier Seven, he had a shot.
He had to find a way to secretly contact The Reception Team.
He would secure Specimen Fourteen without a scratch.
And he would ensure The Panacea fell into his hands alive.
A vicious, icy determination settled over him.
Just then, a microscopic vibration pulsed against his left arm.
He froze, his gaze dropping to his cuff.
The sensation came from an old, fully healed scar on his forearm.
Buried beneath the tissue was a subcutaneous receiver chip.
It was incredibly thin, crafted from synthetic biomaterials that mimicked human tissue perfectly.
Since it had been implanted years ago, the surrounding flesh had entirely encapsulated it.
It remained dormant most of the time, allowing it to easily bypass the ship's intense security scanners.
It was programmed to awaken only
when bombarded by a highly
specific encrypted signal generated within Obsidian Sun's secure sectors.
Project Zero-Transit had finally entered Whitecliffe Controlled Waters.
The syndicate's proprietary network had activated the chip.
The Raven turned slightly, casually resting his arm against the window frame.
To the security cameras, he merely looked like a defeated man staring thoughtfully at the approaching ports
In reality, he subtly aligned the location of the chip directly with his eye...