Chapter 264: Chapter 264 Last Location

Liam’s fingers danced across the keyboard once more, the faint blue light of the screen casting shadows over his sharp features. The surveillance program he had cracked was now moving deeper, peeling back layer after layer of encryption like skin. On the screen, a loading bar slowly began to appear—marked: “Tracing Last Origin Point – Progress: 0.1%”

“Good,” Liam muttered under his breath. “By morning, I should have it fully cracked. We’ll know who the last unknown person is.”

He leaned back for a second, eyes narrowing at the screen. Whoever had masked that signal had gone to extreme lengths—hidden nodes, cloaked tunnels, even dummy servers bouncing through ghost satellites. But now… their identity was a matter of time.

Beside him, Lana let out a long yawn. “Ughhh… can we sleep now?” She rubbed her eyes. “It’s already 1:00 AM.”

Vanessa, who had been quietly watching them both, stretched her arms and reached toward a smaller keyboard embedded into the side of the console. She typed in a short sequence of commands.

Click.

A low mechanical sound echoed through the chamber as part of the metallic wall slid open with a smooth hiss. Behind it was a hidden room—small but cozy. The lighting inside automatically warmed to a gentle glow, revealing a thick, queen-sized bed with grey sheets, a soft rug, and a digital temperature panel on the wall.

But there was one issue.

Only one bed.

Liam blinked, surprised. “Uh… you two can take the bed,” he said. “I’ll sleep on the medics’ table.”

Vanessa, already standing, shook her head. “No chance. That table’s cold and stiff. You’ll regret it within ten minutes.”

She gestured toward the bed. “Besides… it can easily fit all three of us.”

Liam paused, unsure what to say.

Lana walked toward the room and pointed to the left side of the bed. “I’ll take this side with Liam. You,” she said, looking at Vanessa, “can have the other side.”

Vanessa raised her hands in surrender. “Fine by me.” She moved toward the bed without hesitation, practically collapsing on the right side of the mattress. She didn’t even bother removing her boots—just laid back, closed her eyes, and sighed.

It took her less than a minute to start drifting.

Liam stood there awkwardly. He thought of insisting again—sleeping elsewhere just to avoid making things weird—but when he turned to Lana, her look shut him down before he even opened his mouth.

She tilted her head slightly, folding her arms like she was daring him to try her. That familiar, no-nonsense glare she gave when she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Without a word, she removed her jacket—the same one that still had Vanessa’s dried blood on it. Instead of flinging it over a chair like she usually would, she folded it neatly and placed it down.

Liam arched a brow. That was… unusual. Lana never folded anything.

Still quiet, she walked to the bed, lifted the blanket, and slid under. Then she patted the spot beside her. No room for argument.

With a soft sigh, Liam followed. He moved carefully, lying down at the very edge of the bed, his legs crossing over each other. His gaze drifted to the ceiling for a moment, and for once, he allowed himself to breathe.

Lana slid closer until her head rested on his chest. Her breathing calmed almost instantly, soft and steady, like she was exactly where she belonged.

He tilted his head to glance at her.

Her eyes were closed.

She was already asleep.

The chaos of the day faded little by little.

****

Liam stirred faintly.

It wasn’t the sound that woke him, nor the pressure of the bed. It was something softer—warmer. A little poke… then another, like the soft tap of fingers against his chest.

His eyes fluttered open. The dim light of the underground chamber gave everything a calm, bluish hue. He blinked twice and looked down.

Lana.

She was staring up at him, head on his chest, eyes wide open like she hadn’t even slept.

Liam rubbed his eyes slowly, his voice still groggy. “How long have you been looking at me like that?”

Lana tilted her head slightly, eyes still locked on his.

“Just thirty minutes,” she said casually.

Liam blinked.

His brain caught up.

“Thirty—Thirty minutes?!” he asked, his voice a little too loud.

She smiled, the way she always did when she knew she’d gotten under his skin. “I could go on for hours,” she added, her voice soft but teasing.

Liam groaned playfully and lifted a hand to gently caress her head. She winced slightly as his fingers brushed against a tender spot on her scalp.

“Still sore?” he asked.

“A little.”

He sat up slowly, and she moved with him, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Liam glanced to the right side of the bed, expecting to see Vanessa still lying there.

But the spot was empty.

He stood up, stretched his back with a satisfying crack, and then held out a hand for Lana. She took it, and together they stepped out of the room.

The moment they stepped into the chamber, the low hum of the machinery returned to them—the whirring of machines, the silent buzz of hidden servers. And standing before the main console was Vanessa, wide awake, her arms folded as she stared intensely at the large screen.

Her face was set in concentration.

Liam and Lana stepped up beside her.

“You’re awake early,” Liam said.

Vanessa didn’t turn around. “Perfect timing,” she replied, her voice calm and sharp.

Liam’s eyes trailed toward the monitor. The main screen had changed from the blinking lines of encrypted code to a different interface entirely. At the top-right corner, a small progress bar glowed brightly:

99.8%

The room fell into silence. The only sound now was the faint ticking of the system, the soft hum of something vast preparing to reveal its secrets.

Lana crossed her arms. Liam folded his behind his back. No one said a word. They all just watched.

Three minutes passed.

Then, the screen blinked.

100%

The progress bar faded away.

Suddenly, a smooth, circular holographic interface emerged from the screen’s center—rising like a dome into the air. A fully rendered globe hovered in the middle of the chamber, slowly rotating. High-tech and glowing in soft blue, the Earth looked like it was suspended in space.

Then—ping.

A red dot appeared, blinking rapidly.

Liam stepped closer. The red dot glowed steadily from a specific area, waiting.

Vanessa raised her hand and swiped the air gently. The hologram responded like liquid—zooming in closer and closer to the red dot.

The curvature of the Earth shrunk as the dot expanded into a region, then a country.

The outline sharpened.

Lana exhaled slowly.

Liam narrowed his eyes.

Vanessa’s fingers hovered, then dropped.

One word appeared beneath the red mark:

Germany.

⸻

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