“Hannah.”
“Gabriel.”
Lucas protests instantly.
“Hell no.”
“You’re injured,” Russ says flatly.
“I can still fight.”
“And you can barely stand.”
Tension spikes hard between them.
But Lucas knows Russ is right.
Even if he hates it.
Gabriel grabs portable drives from the terminal station.
“If we reach the core, I can download Ascension files before detonation.”
Hannah looks toward him sharply.
“You still want evidence?”
Gabriel’s face hardens.
“We expose all of it.”
Yes.
Because if Wu dies alone—
someone else eventually replaces him.
But if the world sees Ascension?
Sees what they did to children?
Maybe this nightmare finally burns completely.
The bunker shakes violently again.
Ceiling lights flicker.
Concrete cracks somewhere deep below us.
The reactor is getting worse.
Wu’s voice returns softly through the speakers.
Almost disappointed now.
“You truly believe humanity will care?”
Silence.
