The crimson glow from the primary console's holographic screen cast sharp reflections across the cold steel walls of the reactor room. Vian Pratama stood tall, his fingers dancing nimbly across the virtual keyboard, finalizing the last lines of code for the protocol of destruction he had spent years preparing.

Behind a nearby steel pillar, Zulfa flashed a silent hand signal to Captain Danu and Naya. He nodded slowly, gripping his assault rifle tight, and began stepping forward quietly from the shadow of the pillar to ambush Vian from behind before the final phase executed.

Three steps... two steps... Zulfa was already close enough to lunge and neutralize the corporate director.

Yet right as Zulfa moved to strike—

BZZZT—CLICK!

Every dim neon light in the reactor room abruptly cut out entirely, replaced by glaringly bright, automated red security laser spotlights flashing into life from the ceiling, locking straight onto Zulfa, Naya, Captain Danu, and the resistance squad behind the pillar.

An automated voice message boomed shrilly from the central speakers:

"WARNING: INTRUDER DETECTED AT MAIN CONSOLE SECTOR. SECURITY SYSTEM ENGAGED."

Zulfa froze in his tracks, his eyes blowing wide in shock.

Vian Pratama didn't look surprised in the slightest. The sharply suited man stopped typing, then slowly pivoted to face Zulfa with a wide, cynical smirk carved across his lips. He lowered his hand from the console, smoothing his suit jacket casually.

"Welcome to the main control center, Engineer Arditama," Vian greeted with a calm, mocking, and utterly triumphant tone. "I've been waiting for you for a very long time."

Zulfa clenched his jaw, lowering his rifle half an inch as he realized they had been locked down by the system. "So... that secret vertical tunnel route... you intentionally left it open?"

Vian let out a small chuckle—a cold laugh echoing across the reactor hall. "Naturally, Zulfa. How else did you think you'd breach our subterranean defenses so easily without hitting a single obstacle? That ancient map belonging to the Arkians didn't leak by accident. We deliberately left the path open so you'd walk straight into the trap of your own accord."

Naya stepped forward from behind the pillar, her face flushing crimson with boiling rage. She glared at Vian with a gaze full of loathing. "You played us from the start?! You turned our struggle into part of your rotten script?!"

"Not just a game, Madam Assistant," Vian replied coldly, glancing briefly at Naya before returning his gaze to Zulfa. "Your presence here actually helps immensely. This reactor's energy conversion system requires the genetic resonance of the 'Architect's' direct descendant to hit one hundred percent stability during the final seconds of activation. And the blood flowing through Zulfa's veins is the absolute biological missing link."

"You're insane, Vian!" Captain Danu barked, snapping his rifle up to level straight at Vian's head. "End this nonsense right now, or this bullet is going right through your skull!"

Before Danu could pull the trigger, a heavy mechanical rumble groaned from every corner of the room.

Clack... clack... hiss-shh!

From behind the steel wall panels ringing the reactor room, dozens of elite corporate special forces troopers clad in jet-black armor appeared simultaneously, leveling their plasma rifles at Zulfa's group from every angle. They were boxed in with zero gaps for escape.

"Lower your weapons, Captain Danu," Vian commanded dismissively, crossing his arms over his chest. "In this room, a single twitch of my finger, and the squad surrounding you will shred your bodies into dust in under three seconds."

Zulfa glanced around. Their position was truly on the razor's edge. Enemy troops ringed the steel bridge and lower floor, while time bled away on the giant overhead holographic screen.

"You won't get away with this, Vian," Zulfa stated calmly yet with heavy emphasis, staring straight into Vian's eyes without a shred of fear. "Even if you kill us here, the data and truth about the Total Purge plan have already been broadcast to the public network."

Vian smiled broadly, looking at Zulfa with a gaze of utter condescension. "Oh, really? Go ahead and check your comms device, Engineer. From the very second you set foot in that underground lift, we jammed all outbound signals completely. Not a single byte of data made it out of this building."

Naya fished into her jacket pocket with trembling hands, pulling out her compact scanner device. The screen was pitch black, displaying the prompt: NO SIGNAL - GATEWAY BLOCKED. Naya's face bleached white instantly.

Vian Pratama spun back around to face the main console. He glanced briefly up at the massive countdown timer overhead, which now ticked down to 30:00 minutes until full activation.

"Your time is up, and your resistance officially ends here," Vian spoke coldly.

Without a moment's hesitation, Vian raised his hand and slammed down a glass-covered red emergency button embedded into the side of the main console.

BZZZT—CLANG!

Instantly, every exit door and emergency hatch in the reactor room sealed shut with a brutal clash of heavy steel. High-strength electromagnetic bolts locked every access point permanently.

"SECTOR LOCKDOWN PROTOCOL ENGAGED. ALL ACCESS PORTS SEALED," the automated computer voice echoed loudly.

Vian Pratama backed up slowly toward the private evacuation lift behind the platform, leaving a final, victorious smile for Zulfa.

"Enjoy your final thirty minutes inside this iron tomb, Zulfa Arditama," Vian said before the steel elevator doors sealed shut, whisking him upward to the tower's highest floor.

Zulfa, Naya, Captain Danu, and the resistance squad were now trapped inside the sealed main reactor room, with the reactor activation countdown ticking down relentlessly toward zero.