Milluki ignored the voice outside the door.
All his attention was focused on the motionless black sphere on the screen, and on the young man in another split-screen feed, desperately crawling through a narrow pipe while dragging an injured leg.
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocking sounded again stubbornly, this time with a hint of impatience.
"Mr. Milluki, it's Ella." The woman outside slowed her speech, enunciating every word to make sure the person inside could hear clearly.
Milluki finally rose from his chair. He walked toward the door irritably.
He opened the door only a crack.
An overpowering, pungent perfume scent mixed with the smell of cosmetics rushed in at once. The woman outside wore an exceptionally luxurious evening gown, with immaculate makeup and sharp eyes. There was no trace left of the former "Ella."
She pushed the door open and walked in as though no one else were present, her heels clicking crisply against the floor.
Her gaze swept quickly around the suite. When she failed to spot Bai Zhu, undisguised disappointment flashed through her eyes. Then her attention was drawn to the Experimental Subject scrambling away in pathetic disarray on the huge glowing terminal screen.
Just as she lifted a foot to move closer, a hand pressed down on her shoulder.
"Don't touch my things." Milluki's voice held no warmth.
Camilla stopped walking. She neither turned around nor took offense at his rudeness.
"It seems you're faster than I expected." She looked at the constantly moving red dot on the screen and the geological structure map rapidly refreshing beside it. "You've already chased him underground."
"If you can see it, why are you wasting your breath?" Milluki withdrew his hand and stood to one side with his arms folded.
"Because you're chasing in the wrong direction." Camilla finally