Chapter 1097
Chapter 1097
“Miss Bridges and Mr. Leo, please come this way!”
“Mrs. Everett, Miss Bridges has arrived!”
They stepped into the grand living room.
In the living room, there were only Joanna and Jaydon, along with Darcy.
“Ms. Haynes, we’re here.”
“Aria, Leo, you’ve finally here!” Joanna exclaimed. Her face appeared somewhat weary, but her
expression was filled with excitement and anticipation.
In the heat of the moment, her sole desire was to urgently rescue Bruce, to save him from whatever
predicament he was in.
“I want to show you some information. Bruce, he’s truly been taken captive,” Joanna added.
With eager anticipation, Joanna swiftly opened her laptop and presented the evidence to Aria and the
others
“Where did you get this information from?” Aria asked.
“Jay, hurry and explain everything to them in detail,” Joanna said.
“Miss Bridges, it’s been a while,” said Jaydon with a mesmerizing gaze from his captivating eyes, fixed
intently on Aria.
Aria responded with a warm yet distant tone, giving him a cool glance.
Unlike their previous encounter’s frivolity.
In this meeting, Jaydon displayed a noticeable sense of maturity. Of course, with important matters at
hand, he had no time for frivolous or carefree behavior. “Take a look at this! It’s the latest experimental
data from District 17,” Jaydon said. Aria and Leo stared at the computer screen, trying to make sense
of the dense and intricate data displayed before them. It was a bit overwhelming and difficult to
understand.
Jaydon had to repeat the words he told Joanna to the others again.
After the two of them heard the explanation.
Aria frowned, her disbelief evident in her furrowed brows. She asked, “How did you manage to get this
information?”
“Leave that aside for now. In essence, this group of subjects vanished at the same time as Bruce,”
Jaydon replied. “So, I’m almost certain with 90% confidence that Bruce is among this group of
subjects.”
The revelation left Aria and Leo stunned, their breath catching in disbelief.
Over the past few days, they wondered if Bruce had been captured and taken to District 17.
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But their suspicions were merely speculative. Now, after hearing Jaydon’s analysis, both of them were
agitated.
Jaydon’s face turned serious as he pointed at the data on the computer screen and said, “In the past
couple of days, I’ve noticed that there have been no updates in the data for No. 804. And about a
month ago, No. 806’s records suddenly ceased to update. These two experiments were probably
failures, and there was no need to keep recording their data anymore. Only the data for No. 805 and
807 are still being recorded. Particularly, the data for No. 807 is being recorded with remarkable
frequency.”
Every day, the scientists diligently uploaded the experiment data of the subjects to the database.
Jaydon breached the scientists’ security network with remarkable hacking skills, effortlessly retrieving
all this valuable information.
“This…” Aria and Leo leaned in closer to the computer, their faces filled with astonishment and
disbelief.
The news was a thrilling and significant breakthrough for them.
It also offered them a glimmer of hope.
“With a high probability, one of these two subjects could be Bruce!” Jaydon said with unwavering
confidence, his analysis carrying a sense of certainty.
Deep in his heart, he held onto the hope that Bruce was still alive.
Although Jaydon could not stand Bruce’s arrogance, he could not deny that Bruce was highly skilled.
Despite their differences, Jaydon respected Bruce’s abilities. With a steadying breath, Aria looked at
Jaydon seriously and asked, “How reliable is this information?”
“Absolutely reliable. This data comes straight from District 17’s secure network database, so it’s
unlikely to be false,” Jaydon replied.
Aria’s face filled with even more astonishment as she heard Jaydon’s response. “Then how did you get
it?” Aria asked in disbelief.
Jaydon’s eyes darted around, hesitant to admit that he had hacked into the District 17 network system.
After all, hacking belonged to the realm of cybercrime.
Joanna quickly changed the subject and said, “These details are not crucial now. What truly matters is
that we’ve confirmed Bruce’s capture in District 17. We must gather all our strength and rescue him as
soon as possible. Whether it’s him or not, we cannot afford to give up.”
Aria nodded instinctively upon hearing Joanna’s words. “Absolutely! If we confirm that Bruce has
indeed been taken to District 17, we’ll muster all our forces to rescue him,” Aria said.
Joanna’s heart skipped a beat, and she asked urgently, “Aria, how many people do
08.21
you have with you right now?”
“Alright, we have four people with us,” Aria replied calmly, her voice steady and determined.
“Only four people?” Joanna exclaimed, a hint of disappointment crossing her face. “Only four people?
What can we achieve with such a small team?” Joanna thought.
She thought that Aria would have a larger team can work with.
Aria took a deep breath, reassuringly stating, “Don’t worry, we have another four agents on their way
from the homeland. They have strong backing, and they’ll be
here soon.”
“Can’t your organization send more reinforcements?” Joanna could not hold back her question, and her
voice tinged with urgency.
Upon hearing this, Aria could not help but let a hint of contempt flicker in her
eyes.
Joanna’s question seemed oblivious to the situation.
They were all extraordinary talents, carefully nurtured by the nation.
Each year, fewer than ten individuals were chosen to join the prestigious ranks of the National
Intelligence Bureau.
More than 20 people, including Bruce, had been sacrificed to execute this mission. This deeply pained
Richard, making it impossible to spare too many more for the
cause.
Sending all the people to this mission would leave them unable to handle any other tasks.
After all, nurturing an exceptional agent requires a great deal of effort and time. Each agent possesses
extraordinary skills and stands at the pinnacle of their profession.
With a gentle pat on Joanna’s shoulder, Jaydon reassured her, “Joann, the rescue plan doesn’t require
a massive team. Sometimes, too many people can be a liability. What matters most now is having a
comprehensive strategy and approach.”
Leo chimed in, “Exactly! We are also collaborating with Eprary’s agents, and they have about seven to
eight skilled individuals on their side.”
“With all of us working together, we’ll come up with a brilliant plan to rescue Bruce,” Leo declared
confidently.
“Then let’s start planning and brainstorming ideas. If the need arises, we can hire mercenaries and
launch a direct assault…”
“Direct assault is not an option; the military is stationed near District 17. With our current strength,
there’s no way we can breach the inner perimeter of District 17.” This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
“What can we do?”
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Aria pondered for a moment, her expression turning grave and intense.
She had a solution, but it was just as brutal as Bruce’s initial plan.
Aria explained, “We lost two comrades before; they were probably captured and subjected to
experiments. The Eprarian we encountered earlier faced the same fate.”
“So, what’s your point?” Joanna asked eagerly, unable to contain her curiosity. “So, the thing is, they
have a peculiar fondness for capturing special agents and subjecting them to experiments. We can
deliberately reveal our location and bait them into capturing us,” Aria added.
“Ah, this…” The suggestion left them all stunned, exchanging puzzled glances and unsure how to
react.
“Having them capture us deliberately is too risky.”
“Exactly, it’s too risky. Besides, we have no idea how many guards are inside.” “Even if we manage to
sneak in easily, getting out will be a real challenge,” Aria shook her head and spoke solemnly, “You
never know. The Eprarian mentioned something before. There’s an underground dark river that leads
directly to District 17. He managed to escape through that route.”
Upon hearing this, Darcy’s eyes lit up with realization as he exclaimed, “Right! When Mr. Everett and I
were searching for the microchips, we came across the exit of that dark river.”
“Perhaps that’s a great idea! We can enter from there.”
Leo looked conflicted as he voiced his concern, “Isn’t that a bit unrealistic? The distance through the
underground passage is long, at least nine miles from the entrance to the exit. And besides, who
knows what dangers lurk inside that underground river? I object to this plan. It’s too risky!”
Indeed, the underground river was too dangerous.
Traveling in the underground river was more perilous than diving into the depths of the sea or a lake.
The dark river ran deep with treacherous riverbeds, caverns, rocky passages, and forks that made it
nearly impossible to discern directions. On top of that, navigating through it required donning
cumbersome diving suits and carrying heavy oxygen tanks. Even seasoned divers might hesitate to
attempt such a mission.