A Second Chance by the System

Chapter 40: Unearthed Secrets

The silence that fell over the wreckage was as thick as the smoke still hanging in the air. Ethan, Lila, and the rest of the team looked at Mara in stunned silence. Dust-covered, eyes burning with a raw urgency, Mara stood before them, every inch of her presence exuding desperation.

“Where have you been?” Lila’s voice was low, guarded.

Mara looked over her shoulder, as if expecting someone—or something—to appear from the shadows. “Not here. We need to move. There are things you don’t know, and if we stay, the System’s reinforcements will be here in minutes.”

Ethan exchanged a look with Lila. She gave him a barely perceptible nod, and they followed Mara into the dimly lit corridors that wound beneath the Nexus. The eerie quiet and sterile walls added a new layer of tension as they moved swiftly, their footsteps echoing through the cold passageways.

As they rounded a corner, Mara stopped, pulling open a hidden door concealed in the wall. The room beyond was dimly lit, filled with old ma