Chapter 1300
But the fallout didn’t stop there.
That night.
Several high-ranking members of the Severian Syndicate Council-who had been deeply pocketed by the Prescotts and were plotting to sabotage the Elyndor team— suddenly received anonymous emails.
The attachments contained undeniable proof of their corruption, bribery, cartel ties, and political cover-ups.
There were ledgers detailing the bribes they took from the Prescott family.
There were internal memos proving they had manipulated the tournament brackets
and provided backend clearances to favor Severia.
And most damning of all, there were bank statements showing their direct
involvement in laundering Obsidian’s dirty money.
Every dirty secret they had buried was dragged out into the light.
The emails came with a simple warning: mind your own business, keep your hands clean, and let the tournament proceed fairly.
The council members, who had planned to abuse their home-field advantage to ruin Elyndor, were instantly paralyzed with fear.
They went as meek as mice.
Forget targeting Elyndor; if they so much as saw an Elyndorian team member in the hallway, they took the stairs to avoid them.
Their greatest fear now was that Serena Lancaster might wake up in a bad mood and send them another “gift p>
While the political chaos settled, Serena sat comfortably in her hotel suite.
Her fingers danced across the keyboard, executing the final line of code.
A vibrant green access granted prompt flashed on her screen.
The corners of her red lips curved upward.
Thanks to the vulnerabilities exposed in the Prescott family’s security grid, she had finally cracked the master encryption for the hidden elevator.
“You’re in,” Nicholas said, standing behind her. He glanced down at the screen, noting the final master key. “Are we going tonight p>
“Yeah.” Serena closed her laptop. “The sooner, the better p>
The tournament was nearing its end. They didn’t have much time left to strike.
Jerrick frowned immediately. “We still don’t know what kind of hell they’re hiding down there. Going in blind is too dangerous. Let me go first and clear the path.” Knowing Serena was his sister made him fiercely protective. He couldn’t just stand by and let her walk into an ambush.
“Jerrick, you’re a lethal operative, but you can’t beat me at hacking p>
Serena looked up at him. “Besides, Nicholas and I have already mapped out the structural blueprints p>
Jerrick tightened his jaw. “Then I’m coming with you p>
“More people means more noise.” Serena stood up and patted his shoulder. “I don’t
walk into fights I can’t win. Trust me p>
Jerrick’s scowl deepened. “But p>
Serena tossed him a
micro-communicator. “I need you on
the outside. Monitor all the exit
points and track the
subterranean
signal fluctuations p>
“If we lose contact, or if the technology center’s defense grid shows any anomalies,
you’re the only one out here who can extract us p>
That sentence shut down the rest of Jerrick’s arguments.
Because she was right.
They needed a spotter on the perimeter.
And they needed someone who could single-handedly hold the line if things went south.
Though he hated the idea of letting her go into the dark, Jerrick knew it was the smartest tactical play. He gave
alerant pod. Fine Best
careful. The second something feels off you abort and get out p>
Serena smiled softly. “I know, Jerrick p>
Late that night.
Dressed in sleek, dark tactical gear, Serena and Nicholas slipped out of the hotel and infiltrated the International Technology Center like ghosts.
The facility was dead silent.
They moved swiftly to the hidden elevator.
Nicholas connected his customized decryption device to the port.
Using the authorizations Serena had sliced out of the mainframe, the code processed flawlessly.
With a soft hum, the elevator doors slid open.
They stepped inside, and the metal doors sealed them in.
The descent was terrifyingly fast.
The floor indicators flashed downward.
Sub-level one.
Sub-level two.
Sub-level three p>
It didn’t stop until it hit sub-level ten.