Home / System / A Hunter Made from Shadows / 10

Author: Anoushka

2026-02-01 15:44:43

At midnight in People’s Square Metro Station, the last train had already departed. Only the low mechanical hum remained in the vast underground space.

Michael walked alone, his tall figure stretched thin under the pale lights.

Instead of using the public passageways, he turned into a remote corner where an inconspicuous iron door bore a faded warning sign: “Heavy equipment. Unauthorized entry prohibited.”

The door was not locked.

He pushed it open, and a thick smell of dust and rust rushed toward him.

Behind it was a narrow maintenance corridor, with steep steps descending into unknown darkness.

He did not hesitate. He stepped inside.

His leather shoes echoed hollowly on the dusty stairs, the sound amplified again and again in the dead silence of the passage.

The air was damp and cold. Moisture seeped from the walls, leaving them slick and icy to the touch. The deeper he went, the stronger the stale, musty smell became.

This was the fourth basement level of the city, a forgotten world

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10
At midnight in People’s Square Metro Station, the last train had already departed. Only the low mechanical hum remained in the vast underground space.Michael walked alone, his tall figure stretched thin under the pale lights.Instead of using the public passageways, he turned into a remote corner where an inconspicuous iron door bore a faded warning sign: “Heavy equipment. Unauthorized entry prohibited.”The door was not locked.He pushed it open, and a thick smell of dust and rust rushed toward him.Behind it was a narrow maintenance corridor, with steep steps descending into unknown darkness.He did not hesitate. He stepped inside.His leather shoes echoed hollowly on the dusty stairs, the sound amplified again and again in the dead silence of the passage.The air was damp and cold. Moisture seeped from the walls, leaving them slick and icy to the touch. The deeper he went, the stronger the stale, musty smell became.This was the fourth basement level of the city, a forgotten world
9
Lorenzo opened his mouth, but no words came out.Because the insane world Michael described, though impossible for them to truly understand, fit disturbingly well with every action the murderer had taken so far.Michael stopped speaking.He simply stood there, quietly waiting for Ashley’s final decision.He had already given the script.Now it depended on whether the director dared to call, “Action.”Ashley’s gaze swept across every hesitant face in the room before finally settling on Michael’s unfathomable eyes.She knew he was right. They were facing a madman who could not be measured by normal logic. And to confront a madman, perhaps they truly needed another “madman.”“Alright.”The word was forced out between Ashley’s teeth, heavy and resolute. She looked straight at Michael, her eyes holding nothing but determination.“I want a flawless containment plan.”A faint, gentle curve appeared at the corner of Michael’s lips.He walked toward the massive schematic of the subway system.
8
Michael’s consciousness began to spread along the cold lines of the subway map.Each route felt like a rushing river of emotions, carrying the traces of countless lives passing through. He could hear the exhaustion of office workers, the sweetness of lovers, the anticipation of travelers, and the quiet loneliness of drunk late-night passengers.But none of it was what he was looking for.He filtered through the noise, chasing only the core melody.“Heart…”He repeated the word silently.All the lines, all the emotions, were converging toward a single center.The birthplace of the city’s metro system.The first station ever built.People’s Square Station.The moment the name surfaced in his mind, the wave of nostalgia reached its peak.This was it. The “heart of the steel forest” was People’s Square Station.But Michael did not open his eyes. His brows tightened slightly.Something was wrong. It wasn’t enough.He could feel it clearly, the murderer’s true pain and desire did not belong
7
There was no hesitation in Michael’s eyes. “Yes,” he answered silently in his mind.The moment he confirmed, an overwhelming surge of information flooded into his brain.It wasn’t images, and it wasn’t sound. It was pure knowledge and logic.Freud’s psychoanalysis. Jung’s collective unconscious. Neuro-linguistic programming. Erickson’s hypnotic therapy…Countless obscure psychological theories were broken down into their most basic elements and forcefully imprinted deep into his memory.The structure of psychological suggestion. Practical methods of mental induction. Systems for reading the human heart through micro-expressions and subconscious behavior.This knowledge was no longer something written in books.It had become instinct.Michael closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat. His brain tingled painfully, as if pricked by countless needles from the overload of information. Fine beads of sweat formed along his temples.The immersion had begun.Michael’s method of entering
6
“Prepare a new role.”Michael’s voice came clearly through the phone, calm and steady.“Have my assistant send the script immediately.”“The script is called The Hypnotist’s Trial.”Inside the command vehicle, Ashley’s mind stalled for a second.At a moment when every second meant the difference between life and death for a hostage, he was talking about preparing for a role?A chill ran down her spine.She opened her mouth, but her throat was so dry she couldn’t form a single word.Lorenzo, who heard the message through the loudspeaker, froze for an instant, then his shock exploded into fury.“He’s completely lost his mind!”He grabbed the main communicator, his bloodshot eyes locked onto the signal marker that represented Michael.“Michael! Do you even know what’s happening right now?! Cynthia’s life is hanging on that knife, and you’re talking about acting?!”His roar shook the entire vehicle, filled with the rage and despair of an old detective on the edge of collapse.Michael igno
5
“Withdraw the police force? He’s insane!”Lorenzo slammed his fist onto the console, his roar nearly lifting the roof of the vehicle.“This is a trap! A blatant trap! Ashley, you can’t listen to that actor!”Chaos swept through the cramped command vehicle once more. Every officer’s face showed shock and confusion.Pulling back now meant handing the hostages’ lives directly to the murderer.Ashley’s lips had lost all color. Her body trembled slightly. The demand had pushed far beyond what she could psychologically bear.At that moment, Michael’s voice came through her private channel, still calm, still steady.He kept the same low, hoarse, theatrical tone, as if he were continuing a private dialogue with his opponent across a stage.“A good script has rising tension, not mindless pressure.” His voice was slow and composed, gently easing the killer’s heightened emotions.“You want a clean stage. Fine.”“But you should at least tell me what happens in Act Two.”Lorenzo shook with rage wh

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