The conduit was a river of filth. Lin Mo moved like the spider he'd killed – silent, multi-limbed contact points. [TOXIN LOAD: 17%] The ring filtered poisons into usable sludge. [ENERGY +0.3 UNITS… +0.3…]
He emerged into a service chamber beneath Level 2. The Ki-Dampening Field hit him like a wet blanket. His Void Fist sputtered. [EXTERNAL KI MANIPULATION: DISABLED]
Guards patrolled above. Two. Bored.
"...Boss lost an arm…"
"...kid's spine is jelly…"
"...that monster Lin Mo…"
Lin Mo flowed up a conduit pipe. His spider-emulation let him cling to the ceiling. He dropped between them.
No ki. Just reinforced bone and stolen spider-reflexes.
CRACK. A reinforced elbow shattered Trachea One.
THUD. A palm-heel strike drove Nose Cartilage into Guard Two's brain.
He stripped their keycards and bio-scanners. [ENERGY: 3.1 UNITS]
The Vault door was a circular slab of black alloy. No keypad. A recessed handprint glowed. Chen Bailong's print. Or…
Lin Mo pressed the severed arm of Guard One (roughly Chen's size) against the scanner.
[ANALYZING… BLOOD TYPE MISMATCH]
[ADJUSTING RING OUTPUT: BIO-MIMETIC SIGNAL - 5 UNITS]
The ring warmed. The dead guard's fingertips rippled, skin shifting color and texture.
SCANNING…
ACCESS GRANTED.
The door hissed open. Cold air smelling of ozone and… flowers washed over him.
Inside, floating in a stasis field: a crystalline blossom, petals shifting through impossible colors. The Bloom.
And between Lin Mo and it, standing with his back turned: a man in an immaculate white lab coat.
"Took you long enough," the man said, turning. His eyes glowed faintly blue – machine implants. "I'm Dr. Silas. And you're stealing my specimen."