Messing With Her? Are You Crazy! novel Chapter 1623

Moving with lethal agility, Serena slipped past every active camera, heading straight for a patrol route along the perimeter of the cargo bay.

Earlier, on her way to The Med-Tech Quarantine, she had caught sight of the security indicator at the junction.

The flashing red light had quietly shifted to The White Protocol Signal.

That was the green light Fenris had left for her.

Since the patrol routes on Project Zero-Transit randomized every thirty minutes.

The white light meant Fenris had leveraged his security clearance to carve out a massive, albeit incredibly brief, blind spot for her.

Serena had already mapped out the ship's entire blueprint and security grid in her mind.

With Fenris running interference.

She practically ghosted into the Abandoned Cold-Chain Corridor.

The decaying climate control system sputtered in the background.

A blast of freezing air, thick with the stench of mildew and rot, hit her square in the face.

Condensation dripped down the steel walls.

The sickly yellow lights flickered wildly overhead.

Bathing the narrow passage in a suffocating, deeply oppressive atmosphere.

Serena glided right through the shadows.

At the very end of the line was The Oxygen Ventilation Sector bordering the cargo hold.

It was somehow even darker than the frozen corridor she had just left.

A chaotic web of silver-grey pipes tangled aggressively across the ceiling.

The putrid stench in the air was so thick it was almost unbearable.

The second Serena stopped moving.

A towering, muscular figure stepped seamlessly out of the darkness ahead.

He was still wearing his black tactical gear. He didn't have a mask on, allowing the harsh angles of his mixed-race features to radiate an overwhelming aura of pure, predatory dominance in the dim lighting.

Jerrick's freezing, low baritone filled the silence. "Specimen Fourteen is currently locked down in the most heavily fortified sector of the inner vault."

"Black Sun's objective is to quietly extract Specimen Fourteen from the inner ring and move her entirely off-grid via The Aft Docking Bay."

Which was exactly what the red line highlighted.

Serena tapped her slender finger against the route. "They picked a hell of a time. Right when the finale piece hits the stage at the auction."

"When everyone's completely distracted... that's their window."

Jerrick gave a short, affirmative hum.

Serena looked up, a genuinely impressed smirk playing on her lips. "To not only pinpoint Specimen Fourteen's exact location and extraction route, but also completely lock down your patrol grid in such a tight window."

"Mr. Fenris, you truly live up to your title as the ultimate mercenary. You're seriously good."

Had it been anyone else.

Receiving such raw praise directly from The Panacea would have triggered some kind of visible reaction.

But Jerrick's stoic expression didn't so much as twitch.