The atmosphere inside the main hall of the ruined Arkian headquarters that night was thick with flashes of blue plasma light and the sharp clink of ringing metal. Before the emergency console table unfurling the ancient vertical navigation map, the joint coalition of humans and Arkian kin readied their final gear before the infiltration operation commenced.

Zulfa knelt beside a logistics crate, reassembling his assault rifle by mounting the Aether-Tech wave amplifier module just handed over by the Arkian scientists. The rifle barrel now glowed with faint golden-blue light traces, fusing modern ballistic precision with primordial magic.

Naya approached Zulfa carrying two tactical protective vests layered with organic crystal fibers. The girl handed one to Zulfa, a faint smile gracing her lips though her eyes betrayed a hard-to-mask tension.

"Wear this, Zul," Naya said softly, helping Zulfa adjust the vest straps across the youth's shoulders. "Kaelen says these vests are engineered specifically to absorb the shock of cosmic reactor radiation waves upstairs."

Zulfa paused his work, looking closely at Naya. He raised a hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thank you, Naya," Zulfa said sincerely. He exhaled softly, giving Naya's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "But are you sure you want to come break into the reactor heart with us? That vertical shaft is extreme, and the enemies up top won't hesitate to shoot anyone."

Naya scoffed lightly, playfully swatting Zulfa's hand away with an assertive gesture. "Hey, Engineer Arditama! Don't underestimate an assistant who's already hacked bureaucracy archives and survived colonial sewers. I'm not letting you walk into that lion's den alone."

Zulfa let out a small, light chuckle that instantly melted the tension between them amid the cave ruins. "Alright, Madam Assistant. Just stay behind me, understood?"

Across the room, Captain Danu led the final tactical briefing alongside the resistance commanders and Arkian elite warriors. Twenty handpicked fighters stood tall in a circle, clad in a hybrid of military gear and Arkian organic armor.

"Listen up, everyone," Captain Danu announced in his firm, commanding baritone, sweeping his gaze across the team. "This isn't about running or hiding anymore. This is the decisive counter-attack. We're punching straight into Aethel Corp's reactor heart from an undetected underground route. Once those doors open, neutralize their defense systems and make sure the reactor shutdown master chip is seated perfectly. Any questions?"

"None, Captain!" the entire squad answered in unison, voices burning with fierce morale.

Kaelen stepped forward to join Captain Danu and Zulfa, carrying a small silver signal-emitter cylinder. He handed it to Zulfa.

"Engineer Arditama, this cylinder is the manual access key to the reactor's lower safety valves," Kaelen stated gravely. "Once you reach the terminal on the tower's lowest floor, use this key to trigger the wave reversal. It's the sole path to abort the Total Purge before their forty-eight-hour clock runs out."

Zulfa received the silver cylinder with both hands, tucking it securely inside a dedicated pocket of his tactical vest. "I understand, Kaelen. Thank you for the trust you've placed in us."

"May the guardian deities of the Arkian bless your steps," Kaelen nodded respectfully.

Minutes later, the infiltration strike team advanced toward the eastern edge of the crystal cave, concealed behind a subterranean waterfall. There, a vertical shaft opening three meters in diameter plummeted straight up through the earth's belly—the secret route mapped on the Arkian vertical navigation chart.

Inside the vertical shaft hung an ancient mechanical lift powered by magnetic crystal pulley cables.

"Everyone onto the lift platform! Nobody gets left behind!" Captain Danu commanded, signaling his troops to board the circular iron platform spacious enough to hold the entire team.

Zulfa, Naya, Captain Danu, and the joint squad crowded onto the lift platform. Zulfa gripped the primary drive lever wired directly into the Aether-Tech circuitry lining the shaft walls.

"Ready, everyone?" Zulfa asked, looking back to check his team.

"Ready, Zul! Pull the lever!" Naya urged firmly, gripping the safety railing tight.

Zulfa hauled the drive lever downward.

Bzzzt—Whoosh!

The lift platform shot upward at high velocity through the pitch-black vertical shaft, driven by a immensely powerful yet stable primordial magnetic wave. Underground drafts rushed fiercely against their faces, while the shrieking friction of the pulleys echoed along the stone walls.

They soared upward, passing layer after layer of the earth's strata—venturing past dead magma chambers, the colonial tunnels they had crossed earlier, before finally punching straight into the modern reinforced concrete foundations beneath Aethel Corp's skyscraper.

Following ten tense minutes of vertical ascent, the lift platform's speed tapered off automatically, coming to a smooth halt.

Click... hiss-shh.

The platform stopped directly before a massive airtight steel hatch embedded in the floor of a secret chamber. Above the steel hatch, a corporate security system indicator light glowed a faint green, signaling the surrounding area was entirely unstaffed by enemy patrols who assumed this foundation level remained safe from outside reach.

Zulfa flashed a hand signal to Captain Danu and his troops to lock down into absolute silence. He stepped up to the steel hatch, pulling out his micro-frequency scanner to inspect the conditions beyond the door.

Through the scanner's tiny speaker drifted the roaring, deafening hum of giant reactor cooling machinery, blending with the random footsteps of corporate technicians standing guard in the distance.

Zulfa looked back, seeing Naya, Captain Danu, and the entire squad giving crisp, ready nods.

With supreme care, generating not the slightest friction noise, Zulfa spun the manual locking wheel on the steel hatch.

Click... creak.

The hatch swung upward, exposing gleaming white floor tiles and towering rows of utility cables overhead.

Zulfa crept up first, scouting the room's perimeter before letting out a breath of relief upon realizing where they had actually emerged.

Naya climbed up right behind Zulfa, followed by Captain Danu and his men. Naya swept her gaze across the room with eyes wide in stunned tension.

They weren't standing in a narrow corridor or a standard utility room.

Unbeknownst to Vian Pratama or the corporate guards patrolling floors above, they had successfully infiltrated and stepped foot directly inside the core control room of Aethel Corp's cosmic reactor from its absolute blind subterranean flank.