Chapter 9 · Ghost Signal - Chapter 9: Ten Seconds to Ghost Net

The door opened three inches, and every alarm in my skull screamed at once.

Not the building alarms. Mine.

Red numbers crawled across my vision. 00:10. A black line cut through the center of my display, counting down so fast I almost missed the warning underneath it.

GHOST NET ACCESS WINDOW.

Qin Chuan had one hand on my shoulder and the other wrapped around his rifle. His glove pressed into the torn fabric of my jacket. Warm. Solid. Too close.

“Ten seconds,” he said. “You wanted a way in. There it is.”

Behind the door, something moved in the dark.

Zero’s voice slipped into my ear. Soft. Almost calm.

“Lin, step away from him.”

I looked at the thin gap. “You said Ghost Net was dead.”

“I said it was buried.”

“Same thing when you’re the one being hunted.”

“Not this time.”

The countdown hit 00:08.

Qin’s fingers tightened on my shoulder. “Move.”

I jerked free. His glove scraped over my sleeve, and his eyes snapped to mine. For half a second, neither of us looked at the door.

His face was cut along the cheekbone. Dried blood darkened the edge of his collar.