Chapter 114: A Choice Already Made
The rooms were now silent. There were no flashing lights or warnings, only the faint crackling of burned-out circuits and the distant hum of dying power systems. The tension from the previous several minutes hung like a ghost, and the air still smelled of dust and ozone.
We paused for a while, Anthony and I, to collect our breath.
He then gave me a shoulder clap. "Not bad, boss."
I exhaled. "You either."
"Come on, let's get out of here before this place decides to fall apart anyway."
With our footfall resonating across the chilly metal floor, we began walking back the way we had come. The structure itself was still remarkably intact—too intact, given that it had been left unoccupied for more than ten years.
As we proceeded, I rubbed my fingers over the wall, feeling the smooth, intact surface beneath the dust. "This place doesn't make sense."
Anthony glanced at me. "You noticed too, huh?"
I nodded. "Even by today's standards, this technology is cutting-edge. Some of these systems look more advanced than what's commercially available now. And this place is how old?"
Anthony shrugged. "Future Vision was always ahead of its time. The stuff they developed was supposed to be classified, years ahead of the public sector. But this?" He kicked at a loose panel on the floor. "This looks like it belongs to the next generation of tech, not something from a decade ago."
I frowned. "That means whoever built this facility was working on something big. Something that never saw the light of day."