Barkley gritted his teeth and walked through the ruins with difficulty. The tracker's drone was still hovering in the distance, occasionally hovering down to search for targets. He had to hurry up and find a hiding place, otherwise he would have nowhere to escape once the armed convoys approached.
The fear in his heart was gradually replaced by a resolute belief. He couldn't die here, and he couldn't let his parents' inheritance fall into the hands of the Shadow Council. No matter what, he had to escape and stay alive.
Turning around the corner of a collapsed building, Barkley finally saw a dilapidated underground entrance, which seemed to be a staircase leading to an abandoned subway station. The wasteland was full of wind and sand, and no one cared about this abandoned underground facility. It might be his temporary shelter.
Barkley ran into the entrance of the subway station, and darkness gradually enveloped him. The footsteps echoed in the silent space, as if echoing his rapid heartbeat. The air in the station was dull and humid, and the walls were covered with rusty metal sheets and broken billboards, as if it had been abandoned for decades. The surroundings were covered with thick dust, and it seemed that no one had been here, but he did not dare to take it lightly.
He took a deep breath and slowly walked down the wall. Although the severe pain in his right leg was still tormenting him, he knew he couldn't stop. He had to find a safe hiding place so that he could have time to think about his next move.
The underground part of the subway station was even more desolate. Several rusty subway cars were still parked on the tracks, but there was no sign of power and operation. The dim lights flickered from time to time, like a spark that was about to go out. Buckley wandered on the empty platform for a while, and finally decided to enter one of the dilapidated cars to temporarily avoid the surveillance of the drone.
He walked into the car, closed the door gently, and then lay on the floor, trying to calm his breathing. His whole body was sweaty, and the fatigue and pain made him almost unable to think. However, he had to stay awake, even if it was just a quarter of an hour of rest, it might mean a turning point between life and death.
Buckley closed his eyes, and a series of images emerged in his mind: the faces of his parents, Irene's serious expression, and the secret behind the mysterious chip. All these mysteries were tangled in his mind. He wanted to sort out his thoughts, but fatigue and pain made everything seem blurry.
Suddenly, he heard a slight sound of footsteps. Barkley opened his eyes instantly and became alert immediately. He held his breath, slowly raised his head, and tried to find the source of the sound.
The footsteps became clearer and clearer. Someone was approaching, and this person obviously did not intend to hide his whereabouts. Barkley's heart began to beat wildly, and various possible responses quickly turned in his mind: escape, hide, or fight?
"Don't move, I have no ill intentions." A low voice came from outside the carriage, and then a tall figure appeared at the door of the carriage.
It was a man in a dark coat, his face covered by a hat and scarf, looking mysterious. But he did not carry a weapon, and raised his hands in front of his chest to show that he was not a threat.
"Who are you?" Barkley's voice trembled slightly, and his hand subconsciously touched his waist. Although his weapon had been lost in the previous escape, this action still made him feel a little safe. He stared at the stranger in front of him, constantly calculating his intentions.
"Relax, friend." The man raised his hand slightly, indicating that he had no ill intentions. "I don't carry any weapons. I just... happened to know that you need help."
"Help?" Barkley's eyes were full of suspicion. The fact that this stranger suddenly appeared in an abandoned subway station was suspicious enough. "Who are you? How did you find me?"
The man chuckled, walked into the car, sat on the opposite seat, and kept a proper distance from Barkley. "My name is Blake, and as for how I found you, it was not accidental. You are now a target with no market, and many people are looking for you."
"Including you?" Barkley looked at him coldly, leaning forward slightly, his vigilance undiminished.
Blake shrugged, seemingly unconcerned with Barkley's hostility. "Including me, of course. But I'm different from those pursuers. I'm here to offer you another option."
"Another option?" Barkley frowned.
"Yes." Blake's voice was low, with a certain elusive mystery. "You may have guessed that the things around you are far more than the pursuit and chips on the surface. The secrets hidden in your body are much more complicated than you can imagine. Moreover, it is not only the Shadow Council that can control all this."
Barkley's heart jumped suddenly. He had guessed that his genes and his parents' research might be involved in a bigger conspiracy, but he never expected that there were other forces acting in secret.
"Who are you?" Barkley asked, "Who do you represent?"
Black smiled slightly. "I represent an older organization, an organization that has been secretly observing and manipulating the future direction of the world. We are different from the Shadow Council. We do not exist for control, but for balance."
"Balance?" Barkley repeated, still unable to understand Black's intention.
"Yes, balance." Black's eyes suddenly became serious. "The gene in your body is not just the invention of your parents, its significance is far beyond what you know. It is a technology that can change the future of mankind, and this technology, in different hands, may lead to a completely different future."
Barkley was shocked when he heard it. He suddenly realized that he was involved in not just a simple pursuit, but a game about the fate of the entire human race.
"What do you want me to do?" Barkley asked, with a hint of uneasiness in his tone.
Black leaned back in his chair, crossed his hands on his chest, and said slowly: "We don't want you to compromise with one party. On the contrary, we hope you can decide the direction of the future yourself. But to do this, you need time, resources and information. And I am here to provide you with these."
Barkley stared at him and fell into a brief silence. He never thought that he would become a key figure in a certain "balance" force, let alone that he would have the initiative in this complex game.
"Why me?" he asked in a low voice. Black smiled mysteriously. "Because you are their son, you are the most suitable person to carry this legacy. Your parents chose you not out of emotion, but based on some deep logic. They know that you will make the right decision at the right time."
"But I don't even know what to do." Barkley felt a sense of powerlessness. He has been fleeing and struggling, and the situation in front of him seems to be out of his control.
"This is why I am here." Blake stood up, walked to the window of the carriage, and looked at the dark ruins outside through the broken glass. "You don't need to make a decision immediately, nor do you need to understand everything immediately. In the next time, I will help you solve the mystery, but the premise is that you have to trust me and follow me."
Barkley hesitated for a moment, his heart full of contradictions. The information brought by Blake made it impossible for him to judge whether it was true or false, but at this moment he had no choice. The pursuers of the Shadow Council were still chasing him, and he himself was almost desperate.
"Can I trust you?" Barkley asked, with a last trace of doubt in his tone.
Blake turned around and looked directly at Barkley with a firm look. "You have no other choice, right?"
Barkley was silent for a few seconds, and finally nodded. No matter what purpose this Blake had, he knew that he could not face the next danger alone. If he wanted to solve all these mysteries and find the real truth, he had to take risks.
"Okay." Barkley stood up, holding the seat to support his injured body, "I'll go with you."
Bark smiled slightly, as if he had expected Barkley's decision. He took out a small device from the inner pocket of his coat and pressed the button. In an instant, the air in the car seemed to be still, and Barkley felt that some hidden power was activating the surrounding environment.
"This is a shielding device." Blake explained, "It can temporarily block the signal of the tracker to ensure our safe departure."
The two walked out of the car, and Blake took Barkley to the depths of the subway station. Although Barkley was still full of doubts, he knew that he had no way out. The world behind him was still shrouded in darkness, but he had to keep moving forward.
And somewhere far away, the gears of Barkley's fate had begun to turn.