The car moved smoothly through the city, the soft hum of the engine blending with the distant noise of traffic, but inside, the silence felt heavier than anything outside, like the air itself had thickened after what had just happened.Sofia leaned back in her seat, staring up at the ceiling for a long second before letting out a frustrated breath. “Okay, I am sorry, but I cannot just sit here and act like that was normal, because that was not normal in any way, shape, or form,” she said, turning her head toward Ethan. “You just stepped out of a car, got surrounded, and handled it like you were late for a meeting instead of possibly getting attacked.”Ethan did not look at her immediately, his gaze still fixed ahead, his expression calm in a way that felt almost unnatural after everything. “They were not trying to attack me,” he said.Sofia blinked. “Oh, that is supposed to make me feel better? Because it really does not,” she shot back.Shen Fei spoke from the front seat, her tone st

The room stayed quiet long after the glow from the rings disappeared, but it was not the kind of quiet that felt peaceful or empty. It was the kind of silence that pressed down on everything, heavy and unavoidable, like something had just shifted and there was no way to pretend it had not.Sofia stood near the couch with her arms folded tightly across her chest, her fingers gripping her sleeves like she needed something to hold onto. Her eyes moved between Ethan and Shen Fei, searching for hesitation, for doubt, for anything that suggested this plan might not actually happen.But there was none.Ethan stood by the desk, still and composed, his fingers resting lightly against the surface where the glowing pattern had just been. His gaze was distant, focused on something only he could see, like he was already walking through that place in his mind.Sofia exhaled slowly, trying to steady herself. “Okay,” she said, her voice quieter but still tense, “I just need to hear you say it clearly

The moment Ethan stepped past the threshold, the atmosphere shifted so sharply that it almost felt physical, like walking into a space that rejected the outside world entirely.Sofia felt it immediately, her steps slowing as her eyes scanned the narrow metallic corridor ahead of them. “Okay, I need to say this out loud because maybe hearing it will make it less creepy,” she said, her voice echoing faintly. “This place feels wrong, like actually wrong, not just abandoned or old, but like it was never meant for normal people to walk into.”Ethan did not slow down.“That is because it wasn’t,” he replied calmly.Sofia blinked, then quickened her pace to keep up with him. “You saying that so casually is not helping,” she said. “Like at all.”Shen Fei walked beside him, her movements controlled and quiet, her eyes scanning every detail with sharp precision. “Stay focused,” she said. “We are not here to react to atmosphere.”Sofia let out a quiet breath. “Easy for you to say,” she muttered.

The screen went completely black, not fading or dimming but shutting off so abruptly that it felt intentional, like someone had decided the conversation was over before anyone else was ready for it.For a few seconds, the room remained completely silent, and even the hum of the machines seemed quieter, like the entire control center had paused to watch what Ethan would do next.Sofia was the first to move, shifting her weight as she let out a slow breath. “Okay,” she said carefully, her voice tight with tension. “I feel like we should all take a moment to acknowledge that we just talked to someone who clearly knows you, clearly has been waiting for you, and clearly enjoys being mysterious in the most annoying way possible.”Ethan did not respond immediately.He was still staring at the blank screen, his eyes focused like he could still see something there that the others could not.Sofia frowned and stepped closer. “Ethan,” she said, a little firmer this time. “You are doing that thin

The words did not just hang in the air—they pressed down on them, heavy and suffocating, like the room itself had decided to take Victor’s side.“The kind you cannot walk away from this time.”Sofia let out a slow, uneasy laugh, but it sounded forced, like she was trying to convince herself she was not already panicking. Her fingers curled tightly at her sides as she glanced between Ethan and Victor. “Yeah… I really do not like the way you said that,” she admitted, her voice tight. “That did not sound like a warning. That sounded like a threat with extra confidence.”Victor did not even look at her.“It is both,” he replied calmly, like he was discussing something ordinary.Ethan’s expression stayed controlled, but there was something colder in his eyes now, something sharper that made it clear he was no longer treating this like a conversation. “Then stop circling around it,” he said, his voice steady but firm. “Say exactly what you are planning.”Victor smiled faintly, like he had b