Chapter 155

Chapter 155

Anthony's hands trembled uncontrollably, cold sweat sliding down his forehead and dripping onto the frigid floor.

He dropped to his knees before Jack with a heavy thud, his voice cracking with sheer terror. "Mr. Carter! I swear I had no idea! Layla's been with me for three years. She always seemed completely normal. I... I never imagined she'd do something like this!"

"Normal?" Jack let out a cold laugh that echoed harshly in the deathly quiet hospital room. With a sudden violent motion, he hurled Layla to the ground.

Layla crashed hard into a medical cart with a dull thud.

She curled up in pain, but her eyes held no trace of pleading—instead, they locked onto Jack with unwavering intensity.

Jack slowly crouched down.

He grabbed her wrist and yanked up her sleeve.

Right there on her wrist.

A strikingly lifelike eye was tattooed in vivid detail.

Jack's gaze fell on the eye, his pupils constricting slightly.

The tattoo was exceptionally intricate—the pupil filled with dark crimson ink that looked like congealed blood. Even more unsettling, the eye was surrounded by delicate geometric lines forming a perfect equilateral triangle.

The Illuminati.

Jack slowly rose to his feet, looking down at Layla from above.

"So that's it!"

Jack's voice was terrifyingly calm. "No wonder you infiltrated this military hospital. No wonder Anthony didn't notice anything off for three years. You're not a nurse—you're a planted operative."

Blood seeped from the corner of Layla's mouth, yet her smile only grew more manic.

She tilted her head back, her eyes devoid of fear, filled instead with an almost fanatical devotion.

"Jack!"

"Don't think your power and position make you untouchable!"

Her voice scraped from deep in her throat. "The Illuminati's reach is beyond your imagination. Back down now—you can't win against us!"

"To us, you're just a fish, and we're the net!"

Jack crouched down to meet her gaze at eye level.

"The net?"

Jack chuckled softly. "Whether I'm the fish remains to be seen. But even if you are the net, I'll tear through it—even if we both go down."

"Joseph!"

"Sir!"

"Take her away. I want to know who's pulling her strings!"

"And from this moment on, Lucia gets round-the-clock protection."

"Anyone not personally authorized by me—even a fly—doesn't get through that door!"

"Yes, sir!" Joseph's voice rang out with crisp efficiency. He seized Layla by the collar and dragged her up like a sack of garbage, striding toward the exit.

The hospital room fell silent once more, save for the monotonous beeping of the heart monitor echoing through the space.

Anthony remained collapsed on the floor, his face ashen as death.

He stared at Jack's ramrod-straight back, knowing full well that in this sudden storm, he'd become nothing more than a disposable pawn.

"You can go." Jack didn't blame him.

He knew this wasn't Anthony's fault—it only proved how far The Illuminati's influence reached, extending even into military hospitals.

"Yes, sir."

Anthony responded respectfully, scrambling to his feet and backing out of the room.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." After Anthony left, Jack returned to Lucia's bedside and spoke to her.

Lucia looked at Jack and shook her head gently, then said, "Pen..."

"What?"

Lucia had just woken up—her body was still extremely weak.

"Pen..." Lucia's voice was faint as smoke about to be scattered by wind, heavy with congestion. "Give me... a pen..."

Jack's eyes flickered with understanding.

He immediately turned and grabbed a pen and paper from the nearby desk, then hurried back to her bedside.

He carefully supported Lucia's back, letting her lean against him, then pressed the pen into her hand—skeletal and frail from prolonged bed rest.

"Take your time. No rush." Jack's voice was low and gentle, like soothing a frightened deer.

Lucia took a deep breath and used what little strength remained to grip the pen.

Her hand shook violently as the pen tip traced shaky, crooked marks across the white sheets.

Jack didn't hurry her—he simply stayed by her side, using his body to shield her from the harsh sunlight streaming through the window.

Finally, Lucia managed to write down an address and a passcode on the sheet.

"What's this?"

Jack's brow furrowed slightly as he studied the address.

Lucia's weak voice replied, "Before the data was destroyed... I backed it up on a computer at another place I keep..."

Jack understood immediately.

"Lucia, thank you for everything. I promise you won't regret this."

After reassuring Lucia, Jack left the military hospital.

Then he headed to the address Lucia had written down.

When he arrived, he discovered it was an apartment.

And inside, it was more like a safe house.

The place was equipped with highly professional counter-surveillance equipment and an independent ventilation system.

As someone who'd spent years navigating the dark web, Lucia had clearly prepared her exit strategy long ago.

The apartment looked unremarkable from the outside, but its security level rivaled a military vault.

Jack walked to the entrance and felt along the wall behind a decorative painting. With a soft click, a hidden door slowly opened, revealing a concealed control panel inside.

He pressed the activation button, and the entire room lit up with an eerie blue glow.

There was no excess furniture—only rows of server racks with blinking indicator lights and a high-end computer on an electromagnetic-shielded desk.

Jack approached the computer and pressed the power button.

The screen lit up, displaying a complex password input box.

Jack entered the password from the paper Lucia had given him.

Correct password.

Soon enough.

Jack found exactly what he was looking for on the computer.

Jack opened the files and began reviewing them.

However.

When Jack saw the contents inside.

He froze completely.

Everything here was related to consciousness transfer and human experimentation.

Similar to what Seraphina and Freya had given him before.

But there were far too many technical terms—Jack couldn't understand it all. He could only copy everything onto a drive.

Afterward.

He left the apartment.

After leaving the apartment.

Jack immediately called Robyn.

"You haven't left yet, have you?"

The voice on the other end was somewhat noisy.

"I'm at the airport right now," Robyn replied.

"Don't go to Imperial City. I'm in Viridis State right now—come meet me instead."

After giving Robyn his address, Jack hung up the phone.