Chapter 186 The Fortress Falls, Rainforest Escape

Chapter 186 The Fortress Falls, Rainforest Escape

The silver-black chip hovered in midair, unfolding a holographic display.

On screen, a man in a dark gold robe stood on a black platform, his face shadowed by a hood, revealing only a pale chin. He lifted his head, exposing a pair of golden eyes.

"Liam's dead. Shame. I thought he'd last a few more minutes."

David stared at the image, his long blade still dripping blue fluid.

Mia's voice crackled through his earpiece: "Tracing the signal source—damn it, seven relay jumps. South America, Europe, lunar orbit satellites... They've scattered the chain all over."

"Pink-haired little hacker, don't waste your energy. What you see is only what we let you see."

Mia's tone turned cold: "That outfit is hideous. You look like a medieval cult reject from community theater."

The man's smile deepened: "David, let me introduce myself. Benjamin, one of the administrators of the Soul Sanctum."

David spoke flatly: "You want to die too?"

Benjamin chuckled: "Liam called himself an Aberrant, but to the Soul Sanctum, he was just a failed experiment. Arrogant, inefficient, drunk on power."

He raised his hand, fingers tracing through a genetic chain projection that appeared in midair: "We've never pursued ordinary immortality. Higher-dimensional technology, soul vessels, corporeal ascension, imperishable memory—that's the direction humanity should take."

Golden eyes locked onto David through the display: "And you, David. You didn't collapse after the K serum injection. You perfectly integrated the meteorite energy and even awakened telekinesis. You're not a monster. You're a vessel."

"The prison, the Dusk Cathedral, the Nevada slaughterhouse, the floating fortress—all selection processes. You survived. Beautifully."

Mia's voice cut through the earpiece: "You guys really know how to make kidnapping sound like a job fair."

Benjamin laughed. "David, you'll soon understand—the people around you, your company, your bloodline—they'll all become our pathways to you. Next time we meet, I'll personally welcome you back to the sanctum."

David brought his blade down, splitting the silver-black chip in two.

The ship's broadcast suddenly blared: "Core death confirmed. Sanctum asset purge protocol initiated. High-explosive self-destruct sequence engaged. Countdown: ninety seconds."

Mia's voice rose sharply: "The entire fortress is overloading! The reactor's connected to the ammunition bay—they're turning this place into a fireball!"

Outside the control room, isolation doors sealed layer by layer. The floor grew hot, sparks fell from the ceiling, and distant explosions echoed through the halls.

"Get out. Don't worry about me." David's tone was urgent, nothing like a joke.

"Don't be ridiculous! The recon craft just dodged two debris fields—you need to get out!" Mia refused to abandon David and save herself alone.

"Mia." His voice dropped. "Listen to me."

Half a second of silence in the earpiece. Mia bit down: "You better not die. If you die, I'm making a memorial website with all your most embarrassing moments."

The corner of David's mouth twitched: "Wait for me."

Seventy-two seconds on the countdown.

He looked up at the reinforced glass wall ahead. Outside: storm clouds and thirty thousand feet of open air.

David sheathed his blade, left hand pressing against his chest. The Crimson Tear was still hot, and the telekinetic energy inside him began to compress inward—not expanding, but condensing. An invisible force field wrapped tight around his body, forming a sphere, its outer layer rotating with dark red patterns.

He charged forward, shoulder slamming into the bulletproof glass. The entire reinforced panel exploded, shards flying into the howling wind.

David launched himself out of the floating fortress.

Behind him, the central control zone erupted in a chain of explosions. The steel behemoth began to tilt. Outer turrets broke away, hangar decks collapsed, and the ring defense grid went completely dark.

Mia yanked the recon craft into a steep climb, eyes locked on the tracking beacon: "I see you. Below you—northern Amazon rainforest. Altitude ten thousand meters. You really do look like a meteor this time."

The floating fortress detonated overhead, a massive fireball lighting up the cloud layer, shockwaves rippling through the sea of vapor.

David, wrapped in his spherical shield, tore through the thunderclouds and plummeted toward the dark earth below.

The rainforest spread beneath him, canopy like a deep green ocean, rivers winding and gleaming in the moonlight.

"Three thousand meters! Shield's cracking!"

David clenched both hands. Telekinetic force compressed again, dark red lines flaring bright.

He twisted midair, aiming for the thickest section of canopy. The first layer shattered, the second tore open, massive trees snapped, branches flew.

BOOM. The ground exploded into a crater, mud and broken wood scattering in all directions.

Seconds later, the scrape of metal echoed from the bottom of the pit.

David stood, jumpsuit shredded, shoulder wound seeping blood, fresh gashes along his left arm. He ripped off the tattered mask and touched his earpiece.

Heavy static. Mia's voice came through in fragments: "David... can you hear me?"

"I'm fine. Still alive."

Her relief was audible: "You landed deep in the Amazon rainforest. Ninety kilometers from the nearest town. I'm plotting an extraction route."

The rainforest was dark, humid air thick with the smell of decaying leaves and wet earth. Insect songs wove through the night, water sounds in the distance, and farther still—the mechanical hum of rotors.

David narrowed his eyes: "No rush."

Mia immediately went on alert: "What's wrong?"

He looked down at his palm. Half the broken silver-black chip was still wedged in his glove seam, a faint red dot pulsing on its surface. "The chip sent out a signal."

Keys clattered rapidly: "There's a squad moving toward you. Twelve operatives, high-grade equipment, no identification markers, comms format matches Soul Sanctum internal channels. It's the Wraith Directive squad."

David drew his long blade, the dark red glow compressed to a faint shimmer, and vanished into the depths of the rainforest.

Five minutes later, the Wraith Directive squad reached the impact site.

Twelve operatives in black light armor, helmets dark, shoulder patches bearing the Wraith Directive insignia. Suppressed weapons, thermal imaging scopes, neurotoxin injectors, short blades. Armed to the teeth.

The squad leader crouched at the edge of the mud crater, touching the warm earth: "Target survived."

The second-in-command checked his wrist display: "Chip signal stopped here. Heat signature gone."

"Three-man teams. Crosshatch advance. Sherman has telekinesis—stay away from metal objects, don't go solo."

The twelve split into four groups and fanned out. Boot soles pressed into wet mud nearly soundless, night vision sweeping through undergrowth, thermal imaging constantly refreshing.

The first team moved through the broad-leaf plant zone.

The man at the rear suddenly stopped, hand reaching for his neck. A leaf had stuck to his throat.

Next second, the leaf's edge hardened into a blade, slicing through the gap in his neck guard. Before blood could spray, a vine stuffed his mouth. He was dragged into the brush. His weapon didn't even hit the ground.

The front two sensed something wrong. As they turned, the vines overhead snapped taut, looping their necks and yanking them upward. Their weapons were pinned by telekinetic force, triggers frozen.

David dropped from behind a tree, blade flashing horizontal. Two bodies stopped struggling.

"Team One, report." The comms channel went silent.

The squad leader's expression darkened: "Tighten formation!"

Team Two had just turned when long palm fronds flew from both sides, driven by telekinetic force, slicing into armor joints—knees, elbows, necks, all weak points. Three operatives fell at once.

One managed to reach for his flare gun. His wrist snapped under invisible pressure. The flare gun jerked free and plunged into his eye socket.

David had already changed position.

"Fall back to the river! Sonic sweep!"

The remaining six retreated. Two micro-drones rose to canopy height, then suddenly veered off course, colliding midair and bursting into sparks.

Mia's voice came through: "I'm in."

The six neared the riverbank. The current was swift. The squad leader raised his weapon, sweeping the area: "Suppressing fire!"

Six weapons opened up simultaneously, bullets raking the foliage. Masses of leaves shredded, tree trunks pocked with holes.

David was already underwater. He heard where the bullets entered, heard the rhythm of six magazines being reloaded—three-second gap. Enough.

The river surface exploded. David surged from the water, left hand grabbing the nearest operative's ankle and dragging him under.

The man was tangled in river weeds the moment he submerged, sinking into darkness. Two others swung their weapons. David raised his hand—river water mixed with broken stones slammed into their visors. The instant their vision blurred, the blade was there.

Two more down.

The squad leader and second-in-command both retreated, micro-grenade pods popping from their shoulders. David looked up. The grenades stopped mid-flight, reversing direction.

The explosion consumed the second-in-command.

The squad leader was thrown by the shockwave, slamming into a tree root. He drew his short blade and ran—this mission was wrong from the start.

He tore through mud, sprinting toward the extraction point. Just two hundred meters to the beacon. The stealth transport would come for him.

No footsteps behind him. Ahead, a tree trunk suddenly split, vines lashing out, wrapping his waist, slamming him to the ground.

The squad leader's helmet shattered. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, looked up to see David standing ahead, long blade held low, tip dripping water.

"The Soul Sanctum will find you. You can't run."

David stepped closer: "Who said I'm running?"

The squad leader reached for the self-destruct device on his chest. His fingers barely touched the switch when his entire arm was twisted off by telekinetic force. He screamed.

David pressed down on his comm terminal: "Mia."

"Working on it." Her voice came fast. "Don't let him die too quick—terminal has new orders."

The squad leader gasped, mouth full of blood: "You're too late."

Seconds later, Mia swore under her breath: "David, we've got a problem."

"Talk."

"I intercepted orders from the enemy squad leader—the Soul Sanctum is using commercial proxies to aggressively short Summit Enterprises Ltd stock. They're trying to strangle us economically!"