The last CLACK echoed through the pitch-black darkness like a final verdict.
No one moved.No one even breathed.
The warehouse—once merely eerie—had transformed into something else.
Something waiting.
Something awake.
Liu Fang's hand clamped around Lin Wei's sleeve.Master Yu took a defensive stance.Old Zhang's wrench trembled in his grip.Director Li looked ready to collapse entirely.
Lin Wei's system flickered violently in his mind:
WARNINGPrimary Seal Disengaged Hidden Compartment: OPEN Energy Shift Detected: Risk Assessment: UNKNOWN
Unknown.
Even the system didn't know.
The Return of the Lights
A faint hum filled the air—low, deep, almost like breathing.
Then, one by one, faint emergency lights flickered on overhead.
Not the warehouse's lights.
These were deeper.Red.Low-voltage.Ancient.
Liu Fang whispered:
"These lights… they aren't connected to the main grid."
Director Li nodded slowly, horrified.
"They run off internal capacitors. Your father told me they should never turn on again. Ever."
Lin Wei's beam swept the room.
Nothing moved.
Nothing except—
A seam.
A thin vertical seam on the far concrete wall… glowing faintly red.
Old Zhang exhaled sharply.
"Oh hell… that's a door. That's a hidden door."
Master Yu took a step forward, jaw clenched.
"Your father hid something behind that wall. Something powerful enough he needed a stabilizer to keep it sealed."
Liu Fang tightened her grip on Lin Wei.
"If the stabilizer kept it closed… then turning it off—"
"Opened it," Lin Wei whispered.
The Hidden Chamber
They approached the seam.
The closer they got, the more the air seemed to vibrate—like a distant engine.
Lin Wei pressed his ear near the door.
A sound came through.
Not machine-like.
Not mechanical.
A faint murmuring.
Almost… like whispering.
He backed away.
Liu Fang's face was pale.
"Wei… please tell me that's just air circulation."
It wasn't.
He knew it wasn't.
The whispering wasn't wind—it had cadence. Rhythm. Almost like syllables.
They reached the door.
Lin Wei placed his hand on the cold metal.
His system chimed:
Encrypted LockManual Override TriggeredStatus: UNSEALEDPhysical Access: PERMITTED
Permitted.
Why?Why would the system allow it?
Old Zhang swallowed.
"Kid… whatever is in there has been locked up longer than you've been alive. Just because you can open it—"
Lin Wei finished softly:
"—doesn't mean I should."
He hesitated.
But in his chest, something twisted—A sense of familiarity.
His father had touched this door.
Had placed his hands here.Had stood in this exact spot, years ago, alone and afraid.He had written "NOT SAFE" and "NOT STABLE" and "HE WATCHES."
And he had built a stabilizer to keep this sealed.
Which meant Zhao Ruitian wanted the opposite.
He wanted this door open.
Lin Wei whispered:
"If Zhao wants it opened… then I need to know why."
He placed his palm firmly on the metal.
The door responded instantly.
KRRRRR-CHUNK.
Concrete dust rained from above.
The seam widened—
And the wall split silently open.
A wave of cold air rushed out, thick with dust and the scent of old machinery.
And beyond it—
The Room of Echoes
The chamber was small.
Circular.
Walls lined with insulated plating, thick enough to withstand a blast.
At the center stood a single pedestal.
On the pedestal lay a spherical device.Black.Smooth.Featureless.The size of a grapefruit.
But as Lin Wei stepped inside—
The sphere glowed faintly.
A soft pulse.Slow.Steady.
A heartbeat.
Liu Fang gasped.
Master Yu stepped back.
Old Zhang whispered a prayer.
Director Li covered his mouth, shaking.
"That's it… that's what he was hiding… that's what he was terrified of…"
Lin Wei approached carefully.
The sphere pulsed again.
His system flared bright in his mind:
Unknown Artifact DetectedClassification: SIGMA-LevelUser Access: Lin WeiReason: Genetic Authorization Match (Lin Cheng)
Genetic authorization.
His father had keyed the device—this… thing—to respond to him.
The sphere pulsed faster when Lin Wei drew nearer.
Liu Fang's voice trembled:
"Wei… please… don't touch it."
But he had no choice.
Everything led to this.
The blueprint.The stabilizer.The shut-down systems.The hidden room.The surveillance.Zhao Ruitian.
All of it.
He reached out.
His fingers brushed the surface of the sphere.
A shock tore through him—Not pain.Not electricity.
Memory.
Flashes.Images.Sounds.
—his father shouting "TURN IT OFF!"—a blinding light—Zhao's voice: "We need a test subject"—a shaking camera—screams—the sphere vibrating violently—silence—footsteps—his father whispering: "Forgive me, my son."
Lin Wei stumbled backward, gasping.
Liu Fang caught him.
"Wei! What did you see?"
He opened his mouth—
But before he could speak—
The sphere rose into the air.
Floating.Humming.Glowing.
And then—
A mechanical voice filled the chamber.
Cold.Calculating.Familiar.
"USER IDENTIFIED: LIN WEI.ACCESS LEVEL: INHERITED.ACTIVATION SEQUENCE INITIATED."
The walls vibrated.
The lights dimmed.
Director Li screamed:
"STOP IT! TURN IT OFF! THE STABILIZER WAS THE ONLY THING KEEPING IT DORMANT!"
Lin Wei tried to grab the sphere—
It was too late.
The chamber flooded with blinding white light.
And the last thing Lin Wei heard—
was a voice that wasn't mechanical at all:
"…Son."
The light swallowed everything.