Chapter 222

The Phoenix Grid control center erupted into chaos at 3:47 AM when every screen in the facility turned bright red and began flashing warning messages. Hannah Zhao sat at her workstation, watching months of careful engineering work being attacked by malicious code that spread through the system like wildfire.

“Full system intrusion detected,” she announced, her voice steady despite the panic rising in her chest. “Someone’s released a virus into the Phoenix Grid’s core network.”

Alarms blared throughout Kane Industries as automated safety protocols kicked in, isolating infected sections of the power grid to prevent cascading failures across the city. The emergency lighting cast eerie shadows across the control room where Hannah’s team scrambled to contain damage that could affect millions of people.

Stefan burst through the control room doors, still wearing yesterday’s clothes after spending the night monitoring James’s movements. “How bad is it?”

“Bad,” Hannah