The purplish-blue glare from the giant holographic screen cast a sharp reflection against the curved glass walls of the primary control room. Zulfa and Mr. Darma managed to slip backward in absolute silence, hiding behind the pillars of the upper-floor glass observation balcony shadowed by massive cooling pipes. From that dim hideout, they could clearly see Vian Pratama's back and the core elites of The Foundation Council standing tall on the lower platform.

"Pay attention to the main screen before you," Vian Pratama's calm yet chilling voice echoed across the chamber, cutting through the silence among the founding councilmen.

Upon the colossal holographic display, the city's three-dimensional map shifted entirely to a wash of blood-red. Fast-pulsing energy lines linked every corporate skyscraper with the sub-surface dimensional rift.

A gray-haired council elite wearing a gold lapel pin crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes at the rapidly shifting statistical graphics. "Vian, ensure the frequency synchronization doesn't hit any snags this time like last week's micro-quake incident. The council will not tolerate a second failure."

"You needn't worry, Mr. Council Chairman," Vian answered with a terrifying, confident smirk. He stepped closer to the primary console, tapping several holographic buttons until a massive diagram labeled PROJECT TOTAL PURGE projected into the air.

"The first wave of energy harvesting successfully tested valve stability," Vian continued explaining to the council with the tone of a mad professor showcasing his magnum opus. "And in less than forty-eight hours, we execute the final phase of our master plan: the Total Purge."

Behind the upper glass balcony, Zulfa felt his blood run ice-cold. He clenched his fists so tightly his fingernails bit deep into his palms.

"Total Purge..." Zulfa whispered softly near Mr. Darma's ear, his voice trembling under a surge of overwhelming rage. "What does that mean, sir? Are they seriously planning to wipe out the whole city?"

Mr. Darma, his face bleached white and his breath heaving from exhaustion, shook his head slowly. He fixed Vian with a glare of profound hatred.

"Not just wipe it out, Zulfa... the meaning of the Total Purge is far more horrifying than a bomb blast or an earthquake."

"Explain it to me, sir," Zulfa urged anxiously.

"They don't want to slaughter millions of citizens physically," Mr. Darma whispered brokenly through heavy breaths. "Through dimensional energy conversion spread via the power grid and the air supply, The Foundation Council will convert the consciousness of every city resident into pure entities, harvesting their souls and biological energy permanently to fuel the underground cosmic reactor for eternity. Within forty-eight hours, this city won't crumble into ruins... it will still stand, but its contents will be reduced to a hollow ghost town populated by soulless human husks."

Zulfa stared in horror at the holographic screen down below. The scale of destruction plotted by the syndicate far eclipsed his worst nightmares. They weren't mere corrupt officials or common criminals; they were a civilization-eradicating cult hiding behind the mask of modern technological progress.

"The citizens up top... they know nothing," Zulfa said in a raspy voice, tears nearly spilling from the frustration and rage storming his chest. "We have to stop them right now, Mr. Darma! We have to wreck this system from the inside!"

Mr. Darma stared intently at Zulfa. The old man let out a long breath, fishing into the inner pocket of his tattered inmate uniform with a violently trembling hand. He withdrew a small, copper-coated portable memory circuit chip and pressed it into Zulfa's palm.

"Take this, Zulfa," Mr. Darma whispered softly, planting the portable chip into the youth's hand.

Zulfa looked down at the tiny object. "What is this, sir?"

"That is the master memory chip containing the total deactivation access codes for all underground prison facilities and the emergency reactor power-cut protocols," Mr. Darma revealed with a voice growing steadily weaker. "The only way to abort the Total Purge is to slot this chip into the main terminal console in the isolation sector's basement... right where I used to be locked up."

Zulfa widened his eyes, staring at Mr. Darma anxiously. "Then let's go together right now, sir! We'll head to the isolation sector!"

Mr. Darma shook his head slowly, and an exceptionally peaceful, genuine smile graced his pale lips. He patted Zulfa's shoulder gently.

"No, Zulfa. My legs can't run anymore. My body's been completely eaten away by radiation over ten years in isolation."

"Mr. Darma... don't talk like that!" Zulfa countered, his voice rising, nearly breaching the safety of their hiding spot.

"Listen to me closely, young engineer," Mr. Darma cut in firmly, his gaze sharpening with authoritative weight. "Vian Pratama and his guards won't let the two of us walk out of this room alive. The only way you can reach the main terminal downstairs is by drawing all their attention elsewhere."

Before Zulfa could process the intent behind Mr. Darma's words, the old man plunged his hand into his pants pocket once more to pull out a small mechanical emergency alarm detonator he had swiped from the guard post earlier.

"What are you going to do, sir?!" Zulfa panicked as he saw Mr. Darma begin crawling out from behind the glass balcony partition pillars.

"Finishing my final duty as an engineer who stood for the truth," Mr. Darma said quietly.

Before Zulfa could reach out or hold him back, Mr. Darma sprang up from the shadows of the glass balcony, stepping out into the open before the lower observation platform, and with all his remaining strength slammed the alarm detonator button while shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Vian Pratama! You rotten councilmen! Your game is over!"

Whoop... whoop... whoop!

The emergency alarm blared shrilly, deafeningly, bursting across the colossal control room in an instant.

Vian Pratama and the council elites on the lower platform jolted in shock, halting their meeting to whip around in unison toward the sound source.

"Who's there?! Catch him!" Vian panicked, pointing toward the upper balcony.

Dozens of elite guard troopers pivoted instantly, leveling their assault rifles straight toward the upper balcony where Mr. Darma stood bravely amid the red alarm strobe.

Zulfa, still concealed behind the shadow of the pipe pillars, held his breath. Tears finally broke down his cheeks as he watched Mr. Darma sacrifice himself to carve out a path for Zulfa's escape and the future of the city above.