Chapter 17: Confrontation

  Location: Science Castle, Behind Temporary Defensive Line in Central Hall

  Time: Minutes after android riot temporarily subsided

  The lights in the central hall continued their sickly flickering, the power system's unstable humming like the gasps of a dying beast. The air was thick with ozone, burnt circuit boards, and a faint metallic scent of blood. Android wreckage lay scattered everywhere, some still twitching neurotically, joints sparking. The wounded's low moans and the distant thuds from outside the reinforced doors composed a desperate symphony.

  After the intense life-or-death struggle came suffocating silence.

  Valeria Mendoza broke it first. She replaced her stun gun's energy cartridge with practiced movements, but her gaze never left Cassandra Walker. Though her gun barrel dipped slightly, her entire body remained taut, ready to react at any moment.

  "Dr. Walker," Valeria's voice was hoarse from earlier shouting, yet carried unmistakable interrogation, "now, don't you think it's time for an explanation? National Scientific Research Ethics Oversight Committee special envoys don't practice frontline combat techniques, and they certainly don't carry... that kind of thing." Her gaze swept over the short-handled electric lance still crackling with ghostly blue arcs in Cassandra's hand.

  Thunderhawk stood at a slightly angled position, seemingly vigilantly observing the hall's remaining androids, but his every sense focused on the conversation behind him. He needed answers too. Cassandra's displayed agility, precision, and cold ruthlessness moments ago was utterly inconsistent with her identity as an elegant, intellectual inspector.

  Cassandra Walker slowly straightened, the electric lance's glow reflecting on her impassive face. She didn't immediately put away the weapon, maintaining it behind her—a posture that reduced direct threat while preserving readiness for immediate attack.

  "Constable Mendoza, Mr. Morningstar," she began, her voice maintaining peculiar calm yet slightly faster-paced, "my public identity is genuine—the committee's delegation letter and credentials are verifiable at any time. But before accepting this assignment, my career... wasn't always in ivory towers."

  She paused, seemingly carefully choosing her words. "I once served in frontline crisis response teams for many years, handling more than one incident of AI system failure or cybernetic rampage. That experience taught me deeply that in certain situations, ethical clauses written on paper require... actual force to uphold." She glanced at the android wreckage on the ground. "The committee sent me not only because of Science Castle's research ethics issues, but because higher-ups received... anonymous early warnings about Science Castle's AI system stability. My 'extraordinary skills' and this non-standard 'sidearm' were preparations for this. Regrettably, the warning came true."

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  This explanation sounded reasonable, even carrying a tinge of tragic duty. It attributed her abnormality to past secret experience and precautionary measures, skillfully skirting the core issue of "why she was targeted."

  Valeria wasn't fully convinced. Her sharp eyebrows arched. "Anonymous warning? About AI stability? Why didn't I receive any related notification?"

  "Different permissions and channels, Constable. Some intelligence, to avoid unnecessary panic or... alerting targets, is only shared within extremely limited circles." Cassandra met Valeria's gaze unflinchingly. "As for why they prioritized attacking me? Perhaps my investigation touched some core vulnerability, or perhaps I carry some identifier they're programmed to prioritize eliminating... like an external, high-authority monitoring signal. This precisely proves this riot wasn't accidental, but a premeditated elimination operation!"

  She cleverly redirected questioning toward conspiracy theory, transforming her own suspicious aspects into evidence accusing the enemy.

  Thunderhawk listened silently. Cassandra's explanation seemed logically self-consistent, but his instinct screamed alarm. Black Cat's warning still echoed—"The real purge has begun." This android riot was either targeting her, or using attacks on her to create greater chaos, masking deeper schemes? Like preventing Valeria's search of Graham?

  Just then, the hall's main lights flickered violently several times before stabilizing in a dim backup power mode. The distant thuds suddenly ceased, replaced by a deeper, more sinister low-frequency vibration emanating from within the building's structure, like some massive entity awakening underground.

  "The power system is being prioritized elsewhere," Thunderhawk said lowly, touching his slightly painful neck interface. "The core area."

  Valeria also sensed the environmental change. She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her doubts about Cassandra. The immediate crisis remained unresolved, internal enemies still lurked.

  "Dr. Walker, I'll record your explanation for the case file." She finally said, her tone softened slightly but vigilance undiminished. "Now, the priority is assessing casualties, stabilizing the situation, and finding the source of this attack. Your... professional experience might prove useful."

  Cassandra nodded slightly. "Of course, this is also my responsibility." She stowed the stun spear into the hidden compartment of her briefcase, with her movements smooth and natural.

  The temporary alliance maintained itself amid suspicion, but fissures had formed. Cassandra Walker was more dangerous than those rampaging androids—a blade wrapped in silk. And where her blade-point aimed remained shrouded in mystery.

  Thunderhawk gazed toward the reinforced door leading to the living quarters. Verdandi and other survivors sheltered behind it. This temporary safety was merely illusion. Black Cat's warning, abnormal energy flows, Graham's "Echo Protocol," and now this unfathomable inspector... all clues pointed toward Science Castle's dark core depths—the area called "Cornerstone."

  The storm had only just begun.