Two days later.
Huang Ji and Amu had left Santa Fe. Most of the surviving mid- and lower-ranking commanders had been transferred out as well.
Santa Fe's oversight department was rebuilt, its logistics department placed directly under military control, and officials across the board were replaced.
The one constant was Mu Yuan. He received a new group of researchers and assistants and remained head of the R&D team.
Everything seemed to be getting back on track.
That day, Mu Yuan sat at his computer, picked up a remote-like device and sent a call. Then he spoke directly to the computer. "Keke, I'm all right now."
A long while passed without any response from Keke.
Mu Yuan tried again. "You can contact me directly, Keke. The restriction is lifted."
But he was still talking to himself. No one answered.
Mu Yuan frowned. Something was wrong. He typed on the computer: "What happened? Keke! Answer me."
No one answered. He looked like a fool talking to himself.
"Keke!" Mu Yuan shot to his feet. Something terrible had happened.
He recalled that two days earlier, Keke had reported a construction crew replacing tiles in the sewer. They had almost found her.
Since they had only almost found her, Mu Yuan hadn't thought much of it. If the crew missed her this time, no one was likely to find her for another ten years.
Yet now he couldn't reach Keke at all.
"Could it be... No! Impossible!" Mu Yuan rushed from his seat, intent on getting to where Keke was.
At the door, he forced his panicked expression to settle. He adjusted his glasses, returned to the computer, and erased every trace.
Then he left the laboratory quietly, acting as though nothing was wrong.
He made his way to the fifth underground level. It