"Severia would never do such a thing!"
"Is that right?" Nicholas sat at the computer, his low, magnetic scoff carrying through the microphone for everyone to hear.
His long fingers flew across the keyboard.
The main screen instantly flashed with the Severian syndicate's backend authorization logs.
Every single command, timestamp, approval, and authorization matched perfectly.
There was no denying it.
At the same time, Julian hung up his phone and cast a chilling look at the terrified Severian officials beside him.
His voice was dangerously calm. "My acquisitions team has already locked down the asset chains and server gateways for all your upper-tier operations."
"Every account under your names, every server maintenance link, every data host—all of it is completely frozen."
Julian pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. "I'd like to see how you plan to wipe the databases and destroy the evidence now."
The main control center erupted into absolute chaos.
...
Meanwhile.
In the VIP suites.
The heavy doors to Special Envoy Mordecai's private suite were violently kicked open.
Jerrick and Jasper stormed in, weapons drawn, practically radiating murderous intent.
The Severian Syndicate Council members in the room instantly lost whatever composure they had left.
Some turned and tried to sprint for the exit.
Some lunged for their computers, desperate to delete the files.
Another panicked and reached for his gun.
"You've got a death wish."
A ruthless glint flashed in Jerrick's eyes. He closed the distance in three strides and brutally kicked over a heavy desk.
Crash!
The massive tabletop slammed squarely onto the knees of the technician trying to delete the data.
"Ah!"
The technician let out a bloodcurdling scream, collapsing to the floor with his legs entirely shattered.
The eerie blue liquid was already fully injected.
"Roar!"
Mordecai let out an agonizing, inhuman shriek.
His entire face began to contort. The bones in his body snapped and popped with horrifyingly loud cracks, and his muscles swelled so violently they ripped through his expensive suit, his veins bulging out of his skin.
In just a few terrifying seconds, he had mutated into something out of a nightmare.
However, the mutation was clearly unstable.
Unlike the fully stabilized Apex Augments in Cabin 10, he looked like a grotesque, mismatched, and failed prototype.
But even so, the sheer, explosive power radiating from him was staggering.
Mordecai flipped the heavy control console effortlessly, swinging his massive, swollen arms directly toward the core server rack beside him.
He was going to destroy the data.
And then he was going to slaughter his way out!
"Holy shit!" Jasper's face turned green as he watched the scene unfold, a curse slipping out. "The Obsidian Sun is completely out of their minds. They treat their own people like disposable Lab Specimens!"

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Messing With Her? Are You Crazy!