Next Lucas walk a few doors. Opening with an access card.
Lucas stepped in first, slower this time. Not cautious—contemptuous.
Ava followed, and her first thought wasn't about what she saw. It was what she didn't. No noise. No guards. No cameras.
A vault inside a vault.
The lighting was museum-grade—cool, soft, casting deliberate shadows on rows of artifact pedestals and reinforced display cases.
Each pedestal displayed something different. Not labeled. Not explained. Just left there, as if to whisper if you know, you know.
Ava's system lit up instantly.
[SCANNING ENVIRONMENT…]
[TECHNOLOGICAL SIGNATURES DETECTED: 73]
[THREAT LEVEL VARIANCE: LOW TO EXTREME]
[BEGINNING BLUEPRINT TRACE—]
[ERROR: DATA ENCRYPTION UNSTABLE]
[UNABLE TO PROCESS: UNREGISTERED SYSTEM BIND]
[BEGINNING DECONSTRUCTION ON AVAILABLE FILES…]
Ava blinked.
"Half of these shouldn't even exist."
Lucas didn't respond. He was standing still in front of the far-left display, jaw set tight, eyes narrowed.
