But getting into Fastboot on a Huawei device, he was about to learn, wasn't like turning on a light switch. It was a secret handshake with the ghost in the machine.

Alex grabbed the phone. The battery was full, which was good. He held down the button. Then he held the Power button. Nothing. The screen just vibrated and restarted the loop.

A small, white text appeared on a pitch-black background. It wasn't the usual EMUI interface. It was raw, technical, and beautiful.

Alex plugged his USB-C cable into his laptop. He held down the button on the Honor 10. Then, with his heart pounding, he plugged the cable into the phone.

He tried . The phone buzzed angrily and went to a black screen. Close , he thought, but no cigar.