I sprint through the steam toward the lower reactor platform.
Wu sees me instantly.
“Hannah!”
Gunfire erupts behind me.
Concrete explodes near my shoulder.
Too close.
But I keep moving.
Because I know this layout now.
Not from conditioning.
From memory.
And memory finally has a purpose.
Wu reaches the secondary terminal near the reactor core first.
Massive coolant towers pulse behind him glowing blue-white beneath emergency containment shields.
The core itself looks unstable now.
Wild surges of energy flashing beneath cracked protective glass.
One wrong move and this entire underground facility becomes a grave.
Wu slams his bloody hand against the secondary console.
Emergency lockdown protocols begin flashing red.
Gabriel shouts from above:
“NO!”
Blast shutters start descending around the reactor core.
Containment isolation.
If those doors close—
Gabriel can’t stop the meltdown.
Wu sees realization hit us.
And smiles.
“There it is.”
That horrible calm again.
“The survival instinct.”
No.
