When the words "Face Archive" came through the iron door, everyone around the shaft fell silent.
Xu Zhihan stood in the wind, his coat stirring slightly. He stared at the red glow on the screen, his gaze unmistakably cold.
Song Zhixia said quietly, "This isn't an ordinary place to hide captives."
Xu Zhihan murmured in agreement.
"He's treating these people as spare identities."
The Deputy Captain looked grim. "Twenty-four people, all Shells?"
"Living Shells," Xu Zhihan said. "They haven't been fully taken over yet."
Down in the shaft, Lu Wenchuan stood before the door without moving any closer. The red light spilling through the gap shone on his face. The wound on his right wrist grew hot beneath the gauze, and the Small Talisman inside his cuff began heating up too, noticeably so.
He glanced down.
Xu Zhihan's voice came through his earpiece.
"Does it hurt?"
Lu Wenchuan said, "A little."
"That means you're standing too close."
Lu Wenchuan took half a step back.
The heat inside his cuff eased a little.
He asked quietly, "How about now?"
Xu Zhihan watched the monitoring feed, his tone still cold. "Barely acceptable."
Standing beside the shaft, the Deputy Captain couldn't help glancing at Xu Zhihan.
Lu Wenchuan had actually backed off.
Fake Shen Cheng's laughter came from behind the door.
"Captain Lu, you're so obedient now?"
Lu Wenchuan looked up. "Jealous?"
Fake Shen Cheng didn't answer.
The gap in the iron door suddenly widened a little.
The view inside became clearer.
Beyond the door lay a long underground maintenance corridor, with transparent isolation bags hanging along both sides. A person lay inside each bag. Thin threads suspended their wrists, a thin White Membrane covered their faces, and their chests still rose and fell. Fang Yan leaned at the outermost edge. She had