Shrouded Seascape

"Those above? Are you referring to them?" Li Lu's voice was laced with astonishment upon hearing the news.

Although she was an IMF agent who had been sent out on undercover missions for an extended period of time, she had, of course, heard of those who commanded and supervised this vast international organization.

These individuals were the highest authorities within the IMF. They had the highest clearance level and could access the organization's most classified files of all anomalies. No one knew their genders, numbers, or identities.

And by no one, that included those within the organization and even the enemies they were fighting against. These individuals were simply referred to as "those above."

Each of them held some of the IMF's most dangerous secrets. Collectively, they held every single secret of the IMF.

Most IMF personnel would go their entire careers without even seeing them. In fact, those outside the IMF had never heard of them or didn't think that they actually existed.

They used numbered designations, but no one knew how many people shared a single number. Perhaps a dozen or just one person had one unique number.

Li Lu had never heard rumors that they would rotate their number identifier periodically; that was likely an arrangement that could be a random practice or a strict protocol.

They would even frequently use body doubles and other security measures. However, all these stories could just be all made up.

"Are you sure? Are those stuff from 315 that significant to actually get the attention of those above?" Roy's face mirrored Li Lu's shock.

Roger let out a cold snort. "Who can ever say what's real or not when it comes to matters from those above? At least, that's what I've been hearing. As for its genuineness, one thing is clear—that madwoman definitely possesses something that the organization values. She's not like a typical anomaly.

"For one, negotiation is possible. And secondly, those things from her are clearly structured."

Memories seemed to surface in Li Lu's mind, and a hint of hatred filled her gaze. Her voice grew stern as she said, "I still think that she's an extremely dangerous existence. We should have terminated her the moment we captured her. Every second she's alive dishonors the memory of those who died because of her."

Roger shook his head. "It's not that simple. We discover new anomalies every year. If we start destroying them blindly without studying their origins and understanding their systems, when will this never-ending game of elimination come to an end?

"Recklessly executing anomalies is irrational and could even possibly backfire to cause fatal consequences. Have you forgotten about 511? We spent so much time and effort before we managed to contain that disaster."

Hearing Roger's words, the hatred in Li Lu's eyes swiftly faded away as she apologized, "You're right. I've let my emotions get the best of me."

"There's no need to apologize to me. I'm not your superior. Rest well. We probably won't be here much longer anyway. The specialists will likely arrive soon to handle 315."

Giving the two a slight nod of acknowledgment, Roger turned and started to walk away.

Just then, Roy, who had been supporting Li Lu, spoke, "We've all been through life and death together. Since fate has brought us to the same place, how about grabbing a meal together? My treat."

However, it was clear that Roger didn't share the same sentiments as he didn't even stop walking.

"For shadow operatives like us, it's usually better to keep our distance. Friendships don’t tend to end well for people like us."

"My transfer has been approved," Roy replied. "I won't be a shadow soon."

However, his follow-up reply didn't slow the elderly man's step. "It's still a no. I have some matters to attend to in the afternoon. Maybe another time." RαꞐ𝐎ＢЁṤ

Li Lu and Roy watched as the old man walked toward the elevator and pulled out a black keycard before stepping in.

Both of them knew exactly where the elevator was headed. All anomalies were held in the containment cells down below, and Roger was going there.

"I keep having this feeling that he isn't just some ordinary shadow agent," Li Lu muttered to herself.

"Let's not concern ourselves with that. We're off the clock. Are you hungry? Let's go grab something to eat."

"Okay."

Soon, the two arrived in the spacious canteen and dug into their meals. Due to the remote location of the facility, fresh vegetables were a luxury they had to do without; they were all frozen. However, the seafood was impressively fresh.

Roy cut into his fish with his fork and knife before lifting his gaze to stare at Li Lu using her chopsticks to pop a shrimp into her mouth.

"What's your plan after this? I mean, your plan after the baby is born. What do you want to do after that?"

"After the baby's born, I'll continue with my current role."

Li Lu's reply caught Roy by surprise. He hadn't expected that answer.

"Why? Why don't you transfer out with me? There are plenty of other jobs we could do in other places."

He had barely completed his sentence when he saw Li Lu raise her gaze to meet his. He quickly set down his knife and fork and raised his hands in a playful surrender.

"Okay, okay. It's your choice, and I don't have the right to interfere. When you're out on missions, feel at ease to leave the kid to me."

Li Lu's gaze softened. She reached out with her chopsticks, picked up a bit of the peeled shrimp, and placed it on Roy's plate.

After finishing their meal, they left the cafeteria and headed back toward the hospital. They had hoped to stroll around a bit longer, but the hospital had already called and urged them to return.

Just as they approached the entrance, something unusual caught their eye against the distant auroras. It was an incoming passenger plane.

It was just a plane, so they didn't think much of it and continued their way in. However, Roy had requested for Li Lu to be transferred to a ward with a window view. The moment they settled in, they heard something strange from outside.

Several off-road vehicles were towing a massive three-meter-long container from the direction of the airport toward the facility's large circular elevator.

Rather than calling it a container, it looked more like a coffin. Its outline was vaguely humanoid, and the crimson triangular emblem on its surface was a clear indication that it was an anomaly of some sort.

Did they bring in another new one for containment? Roy wondered to himself.

***

Anna lay calmly on the floor and did some simple stretching. Being confined in a room for an extended period of time without any exercise caused her to grow weaker as the days passed.

She needed to keep herself in peak form to increase her chances of a future escape.

She knew well that she was no longer the demigod she once was. Even if this human form she had was frail and useless, she had no choice but to rely on it now.

Beep!

The screen beside her flickered to life. Stewart's familiar face and signature smile appeared on it as per the usual time.

"Anna, working out again, I see? Are you free today? I would need a favor from you."

Anna ignored Stewart and continued her routine without even sparing a glance at the screen.

"My two colleagues would like a word with you."

Stewart's words made Anna glanced over, and her gaze sharpened. "Do you mean to say that they're here for a negotiation?"

"No, of course not. Just a casual conversation," Stewart answered, waving her hands.

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