CHAPTER 12: THE FINAL HEAT

Inside the lab, chaos had become routine. Red lights flashed urgently across the walls. Sirens howled. On the large control screen, endless warnings scrolled:

SYSTEM UNSTABLE. REACTOR OVERLOAD. DNA OVERRIDE DETECTED.

“Something’s wrong. That ‘Shut Down’ button wasn’t the end,” Aiman said, breathing heavily.

Liam hammered the keyboard. “This doesn’t make sense. We did shut it down, but the system’s rebooting itself. This isn’t a standard shutdown. It needs a manual override from inside the reactor chamber.”

They exchanged looks.

“I’ll go,” Zara said quickly. “I’m the fastest. If we need to run…”

“No.” Aiman raised his hand. “I started this. I’ll end it.”

No one argued. Not because they agreed entirely, but because they knew Aiman meant every word. Calm. Resolute.

Nico unlocked the metal door to the reactor. “Aiman, two minutes. After that, we’re coming in after you.”

Zara handed him something. The whiteboard eraser Aiman had picked up in the control room days ago.

“Don’t know why, but I feel like you should hold onto this. Might save your life.”

Aiman gave a faint smile and tucked it into the pocket of his hoodie. “If I don’t make it back... tell my mum I finished the school news assignment.”

He entered the reactor room. The air was thick with static. The smell of burning metal was overwhelming. Far ahead, a lone console glowed green in the dark.

His steps were quick but cautious.

“Okay, Aiman,” he whispered to himself. “You can do this. Enter the sequence. 4-2-9-Enter, Liam said.”

Just as his fingers hovered over the keys, a voice barked behind him.

“Don’t do it!” shouted Dato’ Mokhtar.

Aiman turned. Mokhtar stood there, sweating. Pistol in hand. Eyes sharp.

“If you shut it down, all the data will be lost. Malaysia’s greatest discovery. The world’s!”

Aiman hesitated. “If I don’t, Kluang will be destroyed. How many lives are you willing to sacrifice?”

“Science demands sacrifice.”

Aiman’s hand brushed the eraser in his pocket. It felt hard. Heavy. He made a split-second decision.

In one fluid move, he hurled the eraser at the electric control panel on the wall.

Pop!

Lights flickered. Mokhtar’s gunshot missed and hit a steel beam. Aiman lunged for the console and slammed the sequence.

The shaking subsided.

Outside, Zara and the others waited, counting down. “Five... four... three...”

The door burst open. Aiman staggered out, coughing. His face was coated in dust.

“He did it,” Risa whispered in disbelief.

In the chaos, Mokhtar had escaped again, slipping through a hidden service door only he knew. Liam tried to trace him through the CCTV, but the system was already dark.

“He took the pen drive with him,” Liam said quietly.

Zara clenched her jaw. “It’s fine. We saved Kluang.”

Aiman looked back at the reactor room. The once-raging green energy was now a faint glow.

He knew this wasn’t the end.

But for tonight, they had won.