With Lin and Du out of the pressure chamber, Yan and Wei followed Gu’s map to the control room above it. The route climbed through a narrow stair. Yan’s ribs protested at each step, so he kept his pace even and did not take the lead.
Wei walked behind him. “Do you need to stop?”
“I can keep going.”
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
Yan paused on the landing and took one careful breath. The bruise held at his side, but he could breathe without catching. “I need the stair not to move.”
“Then we’ll take the next flight slowly.”
The control room was low and dusty. A metal plate sat beneath a rail, hidden by a layer of gray powder. Gu found the edge with a probe and eased it up using Yan’s sword tip.
The etched words read: SUBJECT RESPONSE RECORDED.
