Chapter 677:
“Oh no! Jareth has already left the outer area of basement level one.”
Clearly, he was already on the move.
In those five minutes of blackout, basement level one had not quieted down. When Jareth first heard the explosion, he accessed the surveillance feed for basement level one.
He saw four people running from the lab entrance toward the workstations, then switched to those cameras, observing everyone huddled under desks and chairs, with no apparent explosion in sight. Nobody had anticipated that the break room would be the target.
“Mr. Williamson, the explosion happened in the break room.”
Upon hearing this, he took a gun from his drawer, opened his office door, and stepped out. But just then, the lab lights cut out once more. Being deep underground, they were shrouded in an oppressive darkness.
The sudden blackout left most people feeling helpless and edgy, except for the seasoned bodyguards, dressed in black suits, who immediately drew flashlights and escorted Jareth toward the break room.
“Mr. Williamson, this way.”noveldrama
A few others had gathered around the microwave, and the beams from several flashlights illuminated the break room like the heart of a cavern.
“Mr. Williamson, the explosive in the microwave was metallic; we suspect it might be the iced coffee from the fridge,” one of the bodyguards reported.
Even before the report, the scorched coffee smell hit Jareth as he entered. A random explosion might be explainable, but a power outage in tandem with it was not so easily dismissed. Clearly, something was out of balance.
Jareth’s voice remained commanding. “Who used the microwave?”
“Not clear at the moment.”
Since the bodyguards weren’t stationed in the break room, they had no answer, and a tense silence settled over the group.
Then, suddenly, Jareth felt a chill crawl down his spine. He recalled the first image from the surveillance: everyone had left through the lab’s main door. Would anyone take advantage of this moment to open the door behind the central control room and sneak in?
The thought froze him momentarily. In an instant of recognition, Jareth barked an order.
“Move, into the lab!”
In truth, the lab’s electronic door had only one physical key. He unlocked it and led the bodyguards into the lab, swiftly and without pause.
Meanwhile, Allison navigated the darkness, her high-tech contact lenses allowing her to see the researchers standing in bewilderment due to the outage.
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