Extra Chapter: Operation "Crimson Cage"

  Dec 2074, District 5, Neo-Chinatown Metropolis | "Luring You into the Trap"

  The industrial district of Neo-Chinatown Metropolis resembled a dormant steel beast on rainy nights, crisscrossed with pipes and filled with mist. Tonight, an invisible net had been laid here.

  The operation commander's voice came through the encrypted channel, calmly resonating in Valeria's cyberbrain: "Target confirmed entering D11 area abandoned purification plant. 'Crimson Phantom' has been successfully driven to the predetermined route. Cadet Mendoza, report your position."

  Valeria held her breath, perfectly concealing herself in the shadow of a massive cooling tower. Her cybernetic eye adjusted focus, scanning the narrow metal catwalk below—the only passage out of the facility area. This was the endpoint of the plan, and the cage she had prepared for that notorious "Crimson Phantom."

  "Valeria in position. Vision clear, passage locked." She responded in a low voice, tone steady, with a calmness beyond her years. The cybernetic muscles beneath her brand-new RCMP cadet uniform tensed slightly, like a cheetah waiting for the moment to pounce.

  Everything was proceeding according to this model police academy student and excellent cadet's plan. This dangerous individual codenamed "Crimson Phantom" had conducted multiple precision sabotage operations against Garden of Eden Group facilities in recent months, acting cunning as a fox, agile as a ghost. She possessed masterful cybernetic modification techniques, had a stable underground cybernetic supply source, and multiple forged identities that could pass through citizen identification system verification. In short, she could continuously "change appearance" to evade tracking, with the only constant being her apparent preference for red hair. Tonight, they had mobilized vast resources and analyzed countless data to finally corner her in this dead end.

  Footsteps. Light, fast, yet carrying a hint of the urgency of being hunted.

  A figure like a red specter suddenly appeared at the other end of the catwalk. That signature red hair remained striking even in the rain and mist, her posture nimble, vigilantly looking back toward the direction of pursuing forces.

  Now!

  Valeria shot from the shadows like an arrow released from a bow, landing precisely at the catwalk entrance, blocking the only escape route. Her hands steadily gripped the issued enforcement-type pulse pistol, muzzle pointed at the target.

  "Police! 'Crimson Phantom,' you have nowhere to run. Give up resistance!" Her voice was clear and powerful, carrying unquestionable authority.

  The red-haired woman whipped around. A flash of surprise crossed her rain-soaked face, then transformed into that trademark playful yet dangerous smile. "Oh? A new-faced young officer? Truly... impressive operation."

  Just as the two faced off, the atmosphere tense to the breaking point—

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  [Buzz...]

  A completely unidentifiable, yet strangely non-malicious wireless data stream, like a warm tide, bypassed all of Valeria's cyberbrain firewalls and warning systems without warning, directly flooding into her consciousness core.

  Valeria's entire body suddenly stiffened! This was impossible! Her cyberbrain defense level was the highest at the RCMP Academy! How could it be so easily...

  Before she could react, a gentle voice of indeterminate origin spoke directly in her "mind":

  "Valeria Mendoza."

  It called out her full name directly! Her heart nearly stopped. Even more bizarre, though this voice was unfamiliar, it seemed to carry a familiar warmth.

  "Cease action immediately. This target is extremely dangerous, your odds of victory are zero."

  Immediately following, a clear, prophetic simulated combat video began forcibly playing in her consciousness: she saw herself shoot, dodged by the opponent with incredible agility; she engaged in close combat, every move perfectly predicted and countered; finally, the image froze on the "Crimson Phantom's" eyes bursting with a terrifying light of desperate survival, an energy dagger precisely piercing through her cybernetic neck's energy core... Simulation result: death.

  What terrified Valeria most was that in the video, that "self's" tactics, combat techniques, even stress response patterns—such as the reactive movements to each of the opponent's techniques—were completely consistent with her trained muscle memory and tactical logic! This intruder had not only breached her firewall but could accurately predict all her actions, even understanding her better than she understood herself!

  "You... who are you?!" Valeria demanded in her consciousness with shock and fear, while in reality her gun muzzle showed an imperceptible tremor.

  "Someone... who dedicated the 'Spring of Hope' to your childhood." That voice answered gently, carrying an indescribable sadness.

  "Survive, Valeria. Your mission is not here."

  "Spring of Hope" project! This phrase was like a key, instantly unlocking the most precious vault deep in Valeria's memory. That was the turning point of her life, a miraculous survival from desperate straits! According to laws protecting minors, her identity should be absolutely confidential! Except for a very few necessary parties (such as the senior commissioner responsible for the project, and her own parents), no one knew that the person who participated in that "Spring of Hope" project back then was her!

  Enormous shock, confusion, and instinctive fear of that simulated ending poured over her like ice water, extinguishing her fighting spirit. She fell into chaos from this incomprehensible situation.

  In this brief moment of her distraction—

  "See ya, cute little knight~" The red-haired woman chuckled lightly. Though she didn't know what had happened, the opponent's sudden opening was like a lighthouse in the dark to her.

  With a flick of her wrist, a micro smoke bomb dropped to the ground, pungent thick smoke instantly swallowing the entire catwalk. Simultaneously, she leaped like an agile cat onto the catwalk railing, her figure flashing and vanishing into the complex tangle of pipes below, leaving only a teasing farewell drifting in the rain and mist.

  By the time Valeria and the arriving colleagues dispersed the smoke, there is no any shadow of the "Crimson Phantom".

  "What happened? Valeria! How did she break through from your position?" The commander's voice came through the channel, suppressing fury.

  Valeria stood in place, rain sliding down her cheeks. She looked toward the direction where "Crimson Phantom" had disappeared, then unconsciously touched her temple.

  That mysterious voice, that death prophecy accurate to the point of terror, that project she had participated in six years ago... and that existence that conversed with her in her cyberbrain, carrying a warm aura (could even be called divine?)...

  All of this made her far more unsettled than letting a dangerous individual escape.

  For the first time during a mission, she experienced confusion that couldn't be analyzed with logic.

  "Reporting, sir..." She finally spoke into the communicator, her voice regaining calm but carrying a bewilderment even she couldn't explain: "Target... used unknown interference methods. It was my judgment error. I'm willing to accept any punishment."

  But in the depths of her heart, a larger question began to circle:

  That "familiar stranger" who knew about her rebirth experience and sent a warning during an important operation in her career—who exactly was she...