Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Farewell
"The valve is broken?!"
The professor and his student were horrified, staring at the reactor before them in utter disbelief.
"I’ll go take a look."
Nathan Trenton didn’t hesitate. He started forward as soon as he finished speaking.
But he hadn’t taken more than a few steps before Joel Quincy snapped at him.
"Nathan, get back here!"
Joel Quincy’s expression was grim, his cloudy eyes fixed on the reactor as its data readouts spiraled into chaos.
He walked over to Nathan Trenton’s side and said slowly, "The experiment has to continue, no matter what. Now, take Chloe and get out of here, immediately!"
He paused, then his tone became resolute. "I’ll go."
Nathan Trenton’s eyes instantly turned red.
The exact source of the reactor’s malfunction hadn’t been identified, and it could release radioactive material at any moment.
If that happened, it would be too late to do anything.
"You two go first. I’ll come out and find you later."
Joel Quincy gave a bitter laugh as he said this.
Even he couldn’t believe he’d just said something so naive.
Everyone knew the consequences of a reactor leak.
That was why, no matter what, he had to protect the lives of these two kids.
Chloe Sinclair was touched. She looked at Joel Quincy’s red, cloudy, yet resolute eyes, took a step forward, and said earnestly, "Professor, I can fix it. Just give me a little time."
Joel Quincy frowned.
If this were some minor issue, he would support Chloe Sinclair’s decision completely.
But in a situation like this, he absolutely could not let the two of them risk their lives alongside him.
Nothing could be allowed to happen to Chloe Sinclair.
"Chloe, you go outside first."
But Chloe Sinclair was adamant. "Professor," she said, "right now, I’m the only one who can fix the reactor."
As she said this, Chloe Sinclair began to feel a surge of panic herself.
With the reactor’s data readouts going haywire, the gas levels in the room were nearing their critical limit.
If she didn’t fix the valve soon, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"Professor!" Chloe Sinclair’s eyes stung. "I value my life more than anyone."
The words had barely left her mouth when an alarm began to blare throughout the lab.
It was even more frantic than the alarm Chloe Sinclair had heard in the hall earlier.
Chloe Sinclair’s heart sank. She knew her worst fears were about to come true.
She quickly moved past the two men and vaulted effortlessly over the railing.
Seeing the plumes of cold gas already venting from the reactor, her spirits plummeted.
’Eight, how much time do I have?’
Chloe Sinclair contacted Eight, her hands never ceasing their work.
She frantically adjusted the dials on the control panel, but nothing worked.
[Three minutes remaining.]
At that, Chloe Sinclair’s hands moved even faster.
Suddenly, the reactor let out a DING, and Chloe Sinclair’s hands froze for a second.
"Nathan, hurry! Drop the readings by fifteen points!"
Nathan Trenton reacted instantly. Without asking why, he rushed to adjust the readings.
Joel Quincy came to Chloe Sinclair’s side and asked in a low voice, "Is it a mechanical failure or a problem with the cooling system?"
"The cooling system."
After speaking, Chloe Sinclair stood up and announced another critical problem. "The valve is loose."
When Joel Quincy heard that, his heart felt as heavy as a stone.
"There’s not enough time..."
The reactor’s valves were designed to be sealed by specialized machinery.
It would take a thousand kilograms of force to turn one.
The three of them combined didn’t have nearly enough strength to budge it.
"Either way, we have to try."
As Chloe Sinclair spoke, she slowly reached for the valve.
Then, to Joel Quincy’s utter disbelief, the valve began to move.
CREAK—
