Chapter 6
Author: Gem
last update2025-03-20 19:44:21

Wesley’s heart nearly stopped and he shot to his feet with his face pale. “T-That’s impossible,” he stammered as his fingers trembled as he clutched the armrest of his chair. “The loan isn’t due for another six months!”

The thug leader sneered, a cruel smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Plans change,” he said, grabbing Wesley by the collar and yanking him forward. “Your deadline doesn’t matter. The Brown Gang wants the money now.”

Upon hearing the name Brown Gang, Wesley gasped sharply. His demeanor shifted in an instant, panic dissolving into desperate flattery. “I—I know! I know! I borrowed the $10 million, but it’s tied up in an investment. I can’t access the funds right now. I just need more time so please just wait!”

The leader’s expression darkened, his grip tightening. “The boss doesn’t care about that,” he growled. “If he says pay up, you pay up — or we start breaking bones.”

Wesley’s legs buckled, and he clung to the thug’s arm and his voice shaking. “Please! Give me three months, no, two months! I’ll get it! I swear!”

The thug leader chuckled darkly and shoved Wesley back onto the couch like he was nothing more than trash. “You think begging helps? I’m not here to negotiate, I'm here to collect.”

Davion who was standing by the fireplace clenched his fist and his eyes were blazing with rage. 

He took a step forward, but before he could intervene, Trevor stepped in front of him with a cocky stride, brushing dust off his suit jacket.

“Who do you think you are?” Trevor sneered, tilting his chin upward. “I’m Trevor Johnson, heir to the Johnson family. Do you really want to make enemies with me? Our family is about to form a major partnership with a powerful family from the capital. If you lay a finger on us, it won’t end well for you.”

Margaret who had been terrified at first, but upon hearing Trevor's words, her fear suddenly turned into delight. So the Johnson family was about to ally with a powerful family from the capital? If Beverly married into the Johnson family, wouldn’t that bring immense benefits to their family as well?

Her heart raced with excitement, and she quickly wiped her tears and smoothed down her blouse. She turned to Beverly and her eyes were gleaming with newfound hope.

“Did you hear that, my dear?” Margaret whispered, her voice trembling with eagerness. “If you marry Trevor, our family will be untouchable. We could rise to the top overnight!”

Beverly’s face paled and her stomach twisted at her mother’s words. “Mom, this isn’t the time—” she began.

But Margaret ignored her, already envisioning their future. She lifted her chin, shooting the thugs a sharp glare.

“Did you hear that?” she snapped at the thugs. “If you touch us, the Johnsons and their new allies will crush you! Let go of Wesley now, or you'll regret it.”

The gang leader stared at them for a moment, then released Wesley with a shove. Wesley collapsed onto the couch, gasping for air, and Trevor shot Margaret a victorious smirk.

The gang leader squinted at Trevor, rubbing his chin. “A powerful family from the capital, huh?” he muttered, pretending to consider it. “That sounds scary.”

Trevor smirked, puffing out his chest. “Glad you understand. Now get lost.”

The thug leader nodded and then, without warning, he delivered a vicious slap across Trevor’s face. The impact echoed through the room, and Trevor staggered into the glass coffee table, clutching his cheek in shock.

“Scared? Of you?” the leader sneered, watching Trevor crumble to the ground.

Before Trevor could recover, the leader stomped on his chest, pinning him to the shattered remains of the coffee table. “I don’t care who you are,” the thug spat. “Brown Gang fears no one.”

Trevor wheezed and he hadears spilling from his eyes. “P-Please,” he choked, “I—I was just—”

The thug ignored him. His gaze shifted to Beverly, and his lips curled into a cruel grin.

“Since you can’t repay your debt,” he sneered, pointing a finger at Beverly, “we’ll take her instead. She comes with us, and you get her back when the money’s paid.”

Margaret shrieked and pulled Beverly behind her, eyes wide with terror. “You can’t do that!” she cried. “She’s just a girl!”

The thug leader’s grin widened. “Exactly.”

“No way!” Wesley roared, surging to his feet with unexpected fury. “I know what you animals are planning. You’re not taking my daughter!”

One of the thugs grabbed Beverly’s wrist, yanking her forward. She screamed, struggling against his grip.

“Dad! Help me!” she sobbed, kicking at the thug's legs.

Wesley lunged toward them, only to be punched in the stomach. He collapsed to the floor, coughing violently.

“You’ll get her back,” the leader said, dragging Beverly toward the door. “After she earns what you owe us.”

Despair settled over the room like a heavy fog. Margaret sobbed, clutching Wesley, while Trevor lay curled up, shaking.

Just then, a figure stepped forward.

Before anyone could react, Davion moved like lightning, delivering a brutal kick to the gang leader’s chest. The thug flew across the room, crashing into the wall with a sickening thud. He crumpled to the floor, writhing in agony.

Davion straightened, his gaze as cold as ice. He swept his eyes over the remaining gang members, voice low and sharp as a blade.

“Let her go,” he commanded.

The thug gripping Beverly’s arm froze. His hand trembled as he slowly released her, stepping back in fear. Beverly ran to Margaret, sobbing into her shoulder.

The other gang members hesitated, glancing between their leader and Davion. One of them reached for a knife, but Davion’s eyes snapped to him like a predator locking onto prey.

“Get out of here,” Davion growled, voice laced with lethal intent. “You have five seconds.”

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  • 437

    For three full seconds, nobody moved.Not because they were brave.Not because they were carefully planning their next move.Mostly because the lights had gone out, something underneath the facility had apparently opened its eyes, and nobody had any idea what the appropriate response to that was.Wilson finally broke the silence.“I would like to officially withdraw my participation from this mission.”Reika sighed.“You cannot withdraw.”“Why not?”“Because we are underground.”“That feels like a technicality.”Beverly heard Reika mutter something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like a prayer.She almost laughed.Almost.Then something beneath them made a deep, vibrating sound.Boom.The floor shook.Wilson immediately grabbed the nearest person.Unfortunately, that person was Reika.She looked down at his hands.Then up at his face.Wilson slowly released her.“Sorry.”“You just grabbed me.”“I panicked.”“You grabbed the woman holding a blade.”“I panicked badly.”Reika

  • 436

    Davion’s words stayed in the room.It is over.Nobody moved.Nobody seemed willing to be the first person to breathe too loudly, as if making too much noise might somehow wake the thing they had just destroyed.Wilson stared at the empty screen.His fingers were still hovering over the console.“Okay,” he whispered.Reika looked at him.“Okay what?”Wilson swallowed.“I think we actually did it.”Beverly slowly lowered her weapon.“You think?”Wilson looked at her.“I’m trying to be emotionally responsible here.”Reika stared at him.“You just erased something that nearly killed all of us, and your biggest concern is emotional responsibility?”“I have range.”“No, you have anxiety.”“Same thing.”Beverly almost smiled.Almost.Then the lights flickered.Everyone froze.Reika’s blade came up instantly.Wilson nearly jumped out of his skin.“Okay!” he shouted. “That was not me!”Davion turned toward the ceiling.The lights flickered again.Once.Twice.Then stabilized.Wilson stared at

  • 435

    The word erase did not sit right in the room.It landed heavily, like something that was not meant to be said out loud.Wilson was the first to react, and even he did not laugh this time.“…Erase?” he repeated slowly. “Like, completely?”Davion did not look away from the fractured system.“Yes,” he said.Reika tilted her head slightly, studying him.“That is not the same as breaking it,” she said.Beverly’s expression tightened.“It is more final,” she added.Wilson ran a hand through his hair, clearly stressed.“Okay, I need everyone to understand what that means,” he said. “We are not talking about shutting down a program. We are talking about wiping something that has already started rewriting itself across multiple layers of infrastructure.”The system flickered weakly in the background, like it was listening.Wilson continued anyway.“If we mess this up, even slightly, we could scatter pieces of it into other systems permanently. And then we are not dealing with one entity anymor

  • 434

    The crack did not close.That was the first thing Wilson noticed, and it was the only thing that mattered.He leaned forward so fast he almost knocked into the console, his eyes locked on the fractured section of the system like if he blinked it would disappear.“…It is still there,” he said, his voice low but sharp with disbelief. “It is not repairing.”Beverly stepped closer beside him, her expression tightening as she followed his gaze.“Show me,” she said.Wilson zoomed in, isolating the distortion within the deeper layer, and for the first time since this thing had become whole, the structure looked imperfect.Not chaotic.Not broken.But strained.Reika let out a quiet breath.“That is new,” she said.Davion’s eyes sharpened.“It is a weakness,” he said.The system pulsed.Harder this time.And the voice came again, but it was not as smooth as before.“You are causing disruption.”Wilson actually smiled.“Yeah,” he said. “That is the goal.”Beverly’s focus didn’t waver.“Keep pr

  • 433

    No one spoke at first.They all just stared at the screen, at the space that had opened where the “core” used to be, except now it was obvious that it had never really been the core at all. It was just a door. And they had just knocked—and it had answered.Wilson leaned in slowly, like getting closer might somehow make it less terrifying, even though it clearly would not.“…That is deeper code,” he said quietly, his voice tight. “Way deeper than anything we have seen so far.”Beverly stepped beside him, her eyes scanning the new structure.“It looks… cleaner,” she said.Reika frowned.“Cleaner?” she repeated.Beverly nodded.“Yes,” she said. “Less noise. Less redundancy. It is like everything unnecessary has been stripped away.”Davion’s gaze hardened.“More efficient,” he said.Wilson swallowed.“Yeah,” he said. “And I really wish it wasn’t.”The system pulsed once, softer this time, almost like it was breathing.Then the voice came again.“You are observing progression.”Reika rolle

  • 432

    The room did not feel the same anymore.Before, everything had been chaotic, loud, unpredictable, like they were fighting something wild and unstable. But now, it felt… controlled. Too controlled. Like the system was no longer reacting randomly but watching them, waiting for them to make the next move.And that made it worse.Wilson stared at the highlighted section of the hub, his fingers hovering over his tablet again, but this time he was not rushing. He was careful. Slow. Thinking.“…It should not be showing us this,” he said quietly.Reika glanced at him.“Then why is it?” she asked.Wilson swallowed.“Because it is confident,” he said. “Or because it wants us to do something.”Beverly’s expression tightened.“Either way, it is a trap.”Davion did not look away from the glowing section.“Everything has been a trap,” he said. “That has not stopped us before.”Reika smirked faintly.“Then we walk into this one prepared.”Wilson shook his head.“No, no, no, I need to say this clearl

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