Chapter Three: Ninety-Three Lives and One Drop of Metal

Zhou had no time to celebrate. Swarm units turned red on his display one after another. Their downgraded shells were burning away. Eight minutes remained. Ninety-three people were still inside. “All evacuation routes are broken,” Lin said, working across her tablet. “Thirty-one on fifty-two, twenty-six on forty-nine, the rest scattered. Firefighters need fifteen minutes to break upward from forty.” “Send them to the east side of forty-nine.” Zhou pulled up his hood. “I'm going up the outside.” Lin blocked him. “You have one suit and one life.” “That's why I need you watching the structure from here.” The ladder rose to its limit. Zhou crossed its rail and caught a hanging cable. “You owe me an explanation,” Lin said through his earpiece.