My heart swelled with pain as I looked into the television, my soul was shattered. If care is not taken, it will get to Freya's ears and that wouldn't be so good for me. Pain claws in my chest as I stood there, staring blankly. I never believed they could go this far to frame someone. Well, maybe this is how strong their network is. Of course their network was stronger than that.And as it stands now, he had just touched the lion's tail and was going to get it hot from them. His mind was troubled as he thought about Freya. He just hoped they wouldn't find her and the worst part, was he couldn't call her to explain anything to her. He had promised her to stop any illegal or bad business that would get his hand dirty, but here he was, going back to the same thing he promised her he'll stop.He was so pained and speechless because the moment Freya heard about this, he was dead meat. In fact, the peace he has managed to build was over.John walked in and pat him softly, his head heavy wit

The abandoned power station sat on the edge of the industrial district, far enough from the main road that most people forgot it existed. Its tall skeletal towers still reached into the sky, though most of the steel beams were rusted and eaten by time. Inside, the floor was scattered with broken glass and tangled wires, but Lucas saw something different in the wreckage. To him it was cover, it was silence, and it was a place no rival would think to search so soon after the chaos they had left behind.Angela moved through the hall first, her boots crunching on old concrete, her sharp eyes sweeping every corner with the steady instinct of a soldier. She carried herself like the place belonged to her already, but Lucas knew she was marking every weakness and every point of entry. John followed behind her, his arms full of equipment, a tangle of cables draped over one shoulder and a laptop bag pulled tight to his chest. He looked tired but determined, and he kept muttering about needing t

The linguist adjusted his glasses, pointing at the decrypted route on the screen. “This is incomplete. You can’t expect to find the artifact with half a code. You need a century map something that existed when these routes were real.”John frowned. “You mean one of those ancient relics people sell for thousands? How do we even know it’ll help?”The linguist shrugged. “Because these markers don’t make sense without their original reference points. I can only guess unless I see how it overlays on the real thing.”Angela leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. “Or you’re just trying to get us to waste money on junk. Half the maps on the black market are forgeries. Best way to bait idiots desperate for treasure.”Lucas cut in, sharp. “We don’t have time to argue. If a map gets us closer, we’re buying one.”Angela’s voice hardened. “You don’t even want to verify the source first? That’s reckless.”Lucas glared at her. “Everything about this is reckless. The difference is, I don’t freeze wh

The air was heavy with pain. Lucas’s breath was shallow, and his heart thumped hard against his chest. His eyes were cold, and a sharp pain enveloped him. The room was filled with the metallic scent of sweat. He suddenly felt faint.He stumbled toward John. John’s eyes widened in shock and he rushed to him as Lucas dropped to the ground. The soft thud of his body rang sharply in the room.John screamed, his voice strained. Lucas was already still on the floor, and the others rushed to his side. Panic erupted in the room, and gasps flew around. Their hearts pounded, and they fought for breath. They shook his body violently, but he wasn't responding. Their frantic screams filled the air, and confusion rocked their minds."Come on, Lucas, Lucas, please wake up! Don't do this to me, please, I beg you! Wake up, not now, please, not now! Please, I beg you! Wake up! Wake the fuck up!" Angela screamed, slamming his chest hard, but Lucas remained unresponsive.His body was growing cold, and hi

The room was a frenzy, all of them running helter-skelter, trying to save the burning equipment. Lucas’s voice roared in the air, cutting through the tension like a blade. Angela was busy with the water, trying to quench the fire that was burning the servers. The main server room was already in flames and couldn't be saved. All they had to do was save Gean’s server.John turned to Lucas. He knew Lucas knew who was behind this, but he was strangely quiet, acting more like he was planning something devious. And whenever Lucas planned something malicious, it always backfired on them, despite how successful it was for him. But the look on Lucas’s face was calm, deceitful as always. He just smiled and joined them.When the fires were out, he grabbed a laptop and saw the virus that had been implanted and corrupted the system. He immediately tried to fight it. “John, come over here," he commanded. The other hackers joined him too, and they fought brutally with the keyboards, typing their