Chapter 80 - The White Corridor
The hidden panel slid fully aside.
Unlike every chamber Daniel had explored beneath the Carter property, this passage felt almost unsettlingly modern.
Smooth white walls.
Recessed ceiling lights.
A polished concrete floor without a single crack.
Someone had maintained this corridor continuously.
Samuel knelt near the entrance.
"No dust."
He ran a gloved finger across the floor.
"No footprints either."
Daniel frowned.
"That's impossible."
"It isn't."
Samuel pointed toward narrow vents running along both sides of the corridor.
"Positive air pressure."
"The system constantly pushes clean air outward."
Lily looked toward the heavy security door at the far end.
"It means people still come here."
Elias nodded quietly.
"They never stopped."
Daniel approached the keypad.
Unlike the ancient locks they had encountered before, this one displayed a bright digital screen.
It requested neither a password nor a code.
Instead, one sentence appeared.
WHO ARE YOU PROTECTING?
No keyboard appeared beneath it.
Only four illuminated options.
YOURSELF
YOUR FAMILY
THE RECORD
THE TRUTH
Samuel reached toward the screen.
"Wait."
Daniel stopped him.
"This isn't asking for a password."
"It's asking for a decision."
Silence settled over the corridor.
Finally Lily stepped forward.
Without hesitation, she touched the final option.
THE TRUTH
The screen remained dark for several seconds.
Then new words slowly appeared.
FIRST ANSWER ACCEPTED.
May you like
Deep inside the wall, powerful locking bolts began retracting one by one.
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