CHAPTER 10: THE GREATEST SECRET REVEALED

Their footsteps echoed through the narrow tunnel, lit only by dim flashlight beams and a single headlamp worn by Zara. Aiman led the group, followed by Liam, who quietly recited the security codes they’d retrieved from Mr. Hadi’s file. Nico and Zara covered the rear. They didn’t know how many more guards lurked in the lab, but this was not the time to hesitate.

The large metal door at the end of the tunnel began to hum as Liam connected a USB cable to its control panel. The ancient screen lit up with green text. “ACCESS GRANTED.” They all held their breath.

“Anyone see a camera?” Nico whispered.

“Nope. But I’d say we’ve got less than ten minutes before the system resets. Let’s go,” said Liam.

They stepped into the main lab chamber. The room was huge. Cold concrete walls, smooth cement floors. It felt quiet, but not peaceful. In the corners, several machines still blinked with life, lights pulsing like the heartbeats of some dormant beast.

In the middle of the room was something even stranger. A massive glass capsule, surrounded by thick wires.

“What is this?” Zara asked softly, raising her light toward the capsule.

“Looks like… a cryo-chamber? But old school,” said Liam, stunned.

They cautiously approached. Inside the capsule lay an elderly man with white hair, frail and still. Breathing equipment was strapped to his face. Risa, recently rescued and still weak, suddenly whispered, “That… that’s Dr. Johan.”

Aiman froze. He recognised the face. From newspaper clippings, old footage. But he’d never imagined the man was still alive.

Zara frowned. “He looks… like he’s being kept asleep.”

Nico tapped on the nearby terminal. His fingers danced across the keyboard. “There’s an audio file. Let me play it.”

Seconds later, a raspy voice came from the speaker.

“If you’re hearing this, it means I failed to escape. This project… my project… has been taken over by those who don’t understand the line between knowledge and power. The device we built could stabilise Earth’s energy. But if misused, it could disrupt the magnetic field across the entire region.”

The voice paused, then continued.

“I was forced to continue. My body can’t take it anymore, but they integrated an auto-sync system into this capsule. As long as I live, the machine remains active. If I die, the system could collapse catastrophically.”

Liam fell silent. “Auto-sync. His life… is the system’s power switch?”

Aiman looked at Dr. Johan’s peaceful face in the chamber. A mix of emotions swirled. Pity, anger, fear. The man might have created something dangerous, but he was also a victim.

Zara placed a hand on Aiman’s shoulder. “We have to do something. If they’re keeping him alive against his will, we don’t know what long-term effects this could have.”

Before Aiman could reply, footsteps echoed from the back corridor. An alarm began to hum softly, warning of an intruder.

“Close that file now!” Nico shouted.

They rushed toward the exit, but suddenly, the terminal screen changed. A chilling message appeared: You’ve gone too far.

The lab lights flickered. Systems began shutting down one by one.

“Wait! We can’t just leave him like this,” Aiman protested.

“If the system fully shuts down while we’re here, we could be trapped!” Liam said urgently.

They had no choice. They had to leave Dr. Johan behind for now and come back with reinforcements. But before they left, Risa took a photo of his face.

“If anything happens to him… the world needs to know who he really was.”

They fled into the dark, sirens wailing faintly behind them. In Aiman’s heart, one haunting question echoed.

Had they already come too late to save Kluang?