Chapter 1097


    “Miss Bridges and Mr. Leo, pleasee this way!”


    “Mrs. Everett, Miss Bridges has arrived!”


    They stepped into the grand living room.


    In the living room, there were only Joanna and Jaydon, along with Darcy.


    “Ms. Haynes, we’re here.”


    “Aria, Leo, you’ve finally here!” Joanna eximed. Her face appeared somewhat weary, but her


    expression was filled with excitement and anticipation.


    In the heat of the moment, her sole desire was to urgently rescue Bruce, to save him from whatever


    predicament he was in.


    “I want to show you some information. Bruce, he’s truly been taken captive,” Joanna added.


    With eager anticipation, Joanna swiftly opened herptop and presented the evidence to Aria and the


    others


    “Where did you get this information from?” Aria asked.


    “Jay, hurry and exin everything to them in detail,” Joanna said.


    “Miss Bridges, it’s been a while,” said Jaydon with a mesmerizing gaze from his captivating eyes, fixed


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    intently on Aria.


    Aria responded with a warm yet distant tone, giving him a cool nce.


    Unlike their previous encounter’s frivolity.


    In this meeting, Jaydon disyed a noticeable sense of maturity. Of course, with important matters at


    hand, he had no time for frivolous or carefree behavior. “Take a look at this! It’s thetest experimental


    data from District 17,” Jaydon said. Aria and Leo stared at theputer screen, trying to make sense


    of the dense and intricate data disyed before them. It was a bit overwhelming and difficult to


    understand.


    Jaydon had to repeat the words he told Joanna to the others again.


    After the two of them heard the exnation.


    Aria frowned, her disbelief evident in her furrowed brows. She asked, “How did you manage to get this


    information?”


    “Leave that aside for now. In essence, this group of subjects vanished at the same time as Bruce,”


    Jaydon replied. “So, I’m almost certain with 90% confidence that Bruce is among this group of


    subjects.”


    The revtion left Aria and Leo stunned, their breath catching in disbelief.


    Over the past few days, they wondered if Bruce had been captured and taken to District 17.


    14


    08:24


    But their suspicions were merely spective. Now, after hearing Jaydon’s analysis, both of them were


    agitated.


    Jaydon’s face turned serious as he pointed at the data on theputer screen and said, “In the past


    couple of days, I’ve noticed that there have been no updates in the data for No. 804. And about a


    month ago, No. 806’s records suddenly ceased to update. These two experiments were probably


    failures, and there was no need to keep recording their data anymore. Only the data for No. 805 and


    807 are still being recorded. Particrly, the data for No. 807 is being recorded with remarkable


    frequency.”


    Every day, the scientists diligently uploaded the experiment data of the subjects to the database.


    Jaydon breached the scientists’ securitywork with remarkable hacking skills, effortlessly retrieving


    all this valuable information.


    “This…” Aria and Leo leaned in closer to theputer, their faces filled with astonishment and


    disbelief.


    The news was a thrilling and significant breakthrough for them.


    It also offered them a glimmer of hope.


    “With a high probability, one of these two subjects could be Bruce!” Jaydon said with unwavering


    confidence, his analysis carrying a sense of certainty.


    Deep in his heart, he held onto the hope that Bruce was still alive.


    Although Jaydon could not stand Bruce’s arrogance, he could not deny that Bruce was highly skilled.


    Despite their differences, Jaydon respected Bruce’s abilities. With a steadying breath, Aria looked at


    Jaydon seriously and asked, “How reliable is this information?”


    “Absolutely reliable. This dataes straight from District 17’s securework database, so it’s


    unlikely to be false,” Jaydon replied.


    Aria’s face filled with even more astonishment as she heard Jaydon’s response. “Then how did you get


    it?” Aria asked in disbelief.


    Jaydon’s eyes darted around, hesitant to admit that he had hacked into the District 17work system.


    After all, hacking belonged to the realm of cybercrime.


    Joanna quickly changed the subject and said, “These details are not crucial now. What truly matters is


    that we’ve confirmed Bruce’s capture in District 17. We must gather all our strength and rescue him as


    soon as possible. Whether it’s him or not, we cannot afford to give up.”


    Aria nodded instinctively upon hearing Joanna’s words. “Absolutely! If we confirm that Bruce has


    indeed been taken to District 17, we’ll muster all our forces to rescue him,” Aria said.


    Joanna’s heart skipped a beat, and she asked urgently, “Aria, how many people do


    08.21


    you have with you right now?”


    “Alright, we have four people with us,” Aria replied calmly, her voice steady and determined.


    “Only four people?” Joanna eximed, a hint of disappointment crossing her face. “Only four people?


    What can we achieve with such a small team?” Joanna thought.


    She thought that Aria would have arger team can work with.


    Aria took a deep breath, reassuringly stating, “Don’t worry, we have another four agents on their way


    from the homnd. They have strong backing, and they’ll be


    here soon.”


    “Can’t your organization send more reinforcements?” Joanna could not hold back her question, and her


    voice tinged with urgency.


    Upon hearing this, Aria could not help but let a hint of contempt flicker in her


    eyes.


    Joanna’s question seemed oblivious to the situation.


    They were all extraordinary talents, carefully nurtured by the nation.


    Each year, fewer than ten individuals were chosen to join the prestigious ranks of the National


    Intelligence Bureau.


    More than 20 people, including Bruce, had been sacrificed to execute this mission. This deeply pained


    Richard, making it impossible to spare too many more for the


    cause.


    Sending all the people to this mission would leave them unable to handle any other tasks.


    After all, nurturing an exceptional agent requires a great deal of effort and time. Each agent possesses


    extraordinary skills and stands at the pinnacle of their profession.


    With a gentle pat on Joanna’s shoulder, Jaydon reassured her, “Joann, the rescue n doesn’t require


    a massive team. Sometimes, too many people can be a liability. What matters most now is having a


    Leo chimed in, “Exactly! We are also coborating with Eprary’s agents, and they have about seven to


    eight skilled individuals on their side.”


    “With all of us working together, we’lle up with a brilliant n to rescue Bruce,” Leo dered


    confidently.


    “Then let’s start nning and brainstorming ideas. If the need arises, we can hire mercenaries and


    “Direct assault is not an option; the military is stationed near District 17. With our current strength,


    there’s no way we can breach the inner perimeter of District 17.”


    “What can we do?”


    3/4


    08.21


    Aria pondered for a moment, her expression turning grave and intense.


    She had a solution, but it was just as brutal as Bruce’s initial n.


    Aria exined, “We lost tworades before; they were probably captured and subjected to


    experiments. The Eprarian we encountered earlier faced the same fate.”


    “So, what’s your point?” Joanna asked eagerly, unable to contain her curiosity. “So, the thing is, they


    have a peculiar fondness for capturing special agents and subjecting them to experiments. We can


    deliberately reveal our location and bait them into capturing us,” Aria added.


    “Ah, this…” The suggestion left them all stunned, exchanging puzzled nces and unsure how to


    react.


    “Having them capture us deliberately is too risky.”


    “Exactly, it’s too risky. Besides, we have no idea how many guards are inside.” “Even if we manage to


    sneak in easily, getting out will be a real challenge,” Aria shook her head and spoke solemnly, “You


    never know. The Eprarian mentioned something before. There’s an underground dark river that leads


    directly to District 17. He managed to escape through that route.”


    Upon hearing this, Darcy’s eyes lit up with realization as he eximed, “Right! When Mr. Everett and I


    were searching for the microchips, we came across the exit of that dark river.”


    “Perhaps that’s a great idea! We can enter from there.”


    Leo looked conflicted as he voiced his concern, “Isn’t that a bit unrealistic? The distance through the


    underground passage is long, at least nine miles from the entrance to the exit. And besides, who


    knows what dangers lurk inside that underground river? I object to this n. It’s too risky!”


    Indeed, the underground river was too dangerous.


    Traveling in the underground river was more perilous than diving into the depths of the sea or ake.


    The dark river ran deep with treacherous riverbeds, caverns, rocky passages, and forks that made it


    nearly impossible to discern directions. On top of that, navigating through it required donning


    cumbersome diving suits and carrying heavy oxygen tanks. Even seasoned divers might hesitate to


    attempt such a mission.