chapter2

I huddled in front of the control panel, my teeth chattering uncontrollably. The temperature had dropped to zero degrees, and my breath condensed into white mist in the air.

"In your dreams," I answered through clenched teeth.

The comments on the livestream screen scrolled frantically:

[Just agree already! We're all waiting to see how this ends!] [I'm adding five thousand, betting she'll give in!] [This woman is ridiculously stubborn]

Each comment was like a whip lashing against my already frozen body and mind. But I only bit down harder on my jaw and began searching the control panel for a way to manually override the temperature control.

"Very stubborn, isn't she?" Derek said to Chloe, loud enough for me to hear. "But she won't last much longer."

Chloe responded with false concern: "I really wish she would understand sooner that we're doing this for her own good."

Memories flooded back like a tide. It was six months ago, during a project meeting when I had pointed out serious safety hazards in Chloe's design. She burst into tears on the spot, and Derek threw down his folder in front of everyone. "Nora, you're always shooting down other people's creativity! Chloe's design is forward-thinking, while you just cling to those outdated standards."

"Outdated standards?" I couldn't believe my ears. "These are basic requirements to ensure the safety of divers' lives!"

Derek sneered as he put his arm around the sobbing Chloe. "At least she's willing to innovate, instead of being stuck in a rut like you."

The bone-chilling cold pulled me back from the memory. The thermometer showed it had dropped to minus five degrees Celsius. My fingers were losing sensation, barely able to feel the touch of the buttons.

But I didn't stop. Among the rows of control buttons, I finally found the manual operation interface for the environmental control subsystem.

Just as I was trying to input commands, all the screens on the control panel suddenly went black.

"Looks like the system has a small malfunction," Derek's voice showed no surprise whatsoever. "Chloe, is this normal in the design?"

"Of course, Derek," Chloe replied. "Under extreme conditions, the system automatically enters protection mode."

I froze in place, the bone-chilling cold coming not only from the continuously dropping temperature, but from this cruel truth: Derek and Chloe didn't care whether I lived or died. They just wanted to see me submit, to prove they were right.

"Beg me, Nora," Derek's voice burrowed into my ears like a venomous snake. "Just say 'Chloe is a genius designer,' and this will all be over."

The memory froze on the last board meeting. Chloe had presented a proposal plagiarized from my early designs, and Derek led the applause. "This is the innovation we need!" he said in front of all the directors. "Nora, you should learn more from Chloe."

Just when I thought I was about to freeze to death, a backup indicator light on the control panel suddenly began blinking. An independent emergency system seemed to still be running. With my nearly numb fingers, I struggled to crawl toward that control module.

Derek's voice rang out again, this time with a barely perceptible tension: "Nora, give up. As long as you admit your mistake, it will all be over."

I didn't answer, just continued crawling forward. With every inch I moved, my frozen joints protested with pain. But only one thought filled my mind: the Winters family never gives up easily.

Finally, my fingers touched the ice-cold control panel. Relying on memory of the design schematics I had seen, I blindly input a string of commands.

A slight vibration came, followed by an almost inaudible hum. A small section of the control panel's screen lit up, displaying a line of text: Backup heating system activating.

A weak warm current began flowing beneath the floor. Though not enough to drive away all the cold, it was enough to stop my shivering.

I raised my head, looking directly at the livestream camera, and said word by word: "Derek, your game has only just begun."