2026-07-31 07:16:09Ethan quietly stared out of the window.
Across the street…
The black sedan remained parked beneath the streetlight.
Its headlights were off.
The windows were heavily tinted.
From this distance…
It looked like an ordinary parked car.
But Ethan knew better.
The system had never been wrong.
Professor Hayes stood beside him.
“I noticed that car when I left the hospital.”
“It stayed outside for almost two hours.”
“When your Rolls-Royce drove away…”
“So did they.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
“They’ve been following me since the hospital.”
Professor Hayes nodded.
“I believe so.”
“They’re professionals.”
“They never left the vehicle.”
“They simply watched.”
Ethan looked at the old professor.
“Thank you for telling me.”
Professor Hayes smiled.
“I’ve spent years observing people.”
“Old habits die hard.”
He gently patted Ethan’s shoulder.
“Take care of yourself.”
“There aren’t many young men like you.”
With that, he walked away.
Ethan remained standing by the window.
A few seconds later…
Victor Langford entered the lounge.
“You look troubled.”
Ethan pointed toward the black sedan.
Victor’s expression changed immediately.
“You know that car?”
Victor looked carefully through the glass.
Then his face became unusually serious.
“I’ve seen that style before.”
Ethan turned to him.
“Where?”
Victor lowered his voice.
“Ten years ago.”
“A business partner of mine disappeared.”
“He told me someone had been following him.”
“For three days.”
“And then?”
Victor sighed.
“He vanished.”
“No body.”
“No ransom.”
“No explanation.”
“He was simply… gone.”
Silence filled the room.
Victor looked at Ethan.
“I don’t know whether it’s the same people.”
“But don’t underestimate them.”
Ethan nodded slowly.
“I won’t.”
Just then…
The system appeared.
Side Mission Activated
Lose Your Tail.
Objective: Escape the surveillance team without revealing your abilities.
Reward: Advanced Counter-Surveillance Skill.
Failure Penalty: Unknown Organization gathers valuable information about the Host.
Ethan smiled faintly.
“So…”
“You want me to play a game.”
He looked at Victor.
“May I borrow one of your security teams?”
Victor didn’t even hesitate.
“Of course.”
He picked up his phone.
Within two minutes…
Six professional security guards entered the lounge.
Each wore a black suit and earpiece.
Their leader stepped forward.
“Chairman.”
Victor pointed toward Ethan.
“From this moment…”
“Mr. Cole has full authority.”
The guards immediately bowed.
“Yes, Chairman.”
Ethan looked at them.
“I only need one thing.”
“Create a distraction.”
The captain smiled.
“We can do that.”
…
Outside the hotel…
The black sedan remained parked.
Inside sat two men.
The driver quietly ate a piece of chewing gum.
The passenger held a professional camera with a long lens.
Through it…
He watched the hotel entrance.
“The target hasn’t come out.”
“He will.”
“He always has to leave eventually.”
The driver nodded.
“Orders are to observe only.”
“No contact.”
The passenger lowered the camera.
“Correct.”
“Just gather information.”
At that moment…
The hotel’s main entrance suddenly became chaotic.
Three luxury cars pulled up at once.
Dozens of hotel employees rushed outside.
Guests crowded the entrance.
Security guards quickly formed a line.
The passenger frowned.
“What’s happening?”
“I don’t know.”
One of the guards shouted loudly,
“Everyone please move back!”
Another luxury convoy entered the driveway.
Flashing cameras appeared.
Reporters began taking pictures.
The passenger quickly raised his camera.
“I’ve lost sight of the entrance.”
“Too many people.”
The driver cursed under his breath.
Then…
A black Rolls-Royce exited the underground parking garage.
The passenger quickly focused on it.
“There.”
“That’s his car.”
The driver immediately started the engine.
“Follow it.”
The sedan quietly pulled into traffic.
Neither man noticed…
That Ethan wasn’t inside.
…
Meanwhile…
Deep inside the hotel…
A service elevator quietly opened.
Ethan stepped out wearing a simple gray maintenance uniform.
A baseball cap covered most of his face.
Beside him stood the captain of Victor’s security team.
“The decoy worked.”
Ethan smiled.
“They’re following the Rolls-Royce.”
The captain nodded.
“They’ll stay busy for at least twenty minutes.”
Ethan adjusted the cap.
“That’s enough.”
He calmly walked through the employee exit.
No one paid attention to him.
To everyone else…
He looked like an ordinary maintenance worker finishing a late shift.
He crossed the street.
Turned left.
Then entered a small coffee shop.
From the window…
He watched the black sedan disappear into the distance.
Mission accomplished.
The system immediately appeared.
Side Mission Completed!
Reward Obtained:
Advanced Counter-Surveillance Skill.
Host can now detect, evade, and analyze professional surveillance with expert-level precision.
At that exact moment…
A young waitress approached Ethan’s table.
“Good evening, sir.”
“What would you like to order?”
Ethan smiled politely.
“A cup of black coffee.”
“Coming right up.”
She walked away.
A few seconds later…
Another customer quietly sat at the table behind Ethan.
He wore a dark hoodie.
His face was hidden beneath the hood.
Without looking at Ethan…
He spoke in a calm voice.
“That was impressive.”
Ethan didn’t turn around.
“Who are you?”
The stranger smiled faintly.
“The people following you…”
“They’re amateurs.”
A chill ran through Ethan’s body.
The stranger continued.
“If the real hunters had come…”
“…you would’ve never known they were there.”
He stood up.
Placed a small silver coin on Ethan’s table.
Then walked toward the exit.
Before leaving…
He spoke one last sentence.
“The Crown Society has already noticed you.”
“And trust me…”
“They’re not the people you should fear.”
The bell above the café door rang softly.
The stranger disappeared into the night.
Ethan picked up the silver coin.
One side was blank.
The other side bore a single symbol.
A black dragon with glowing red eyes.
The system flashed violently.
Critical Alert!
Hidden Faction Identified.
Name: The Black Dragon Syndicate.
Danger Level: EXTREME.
Current Status: Unknown Objectives.
Recommendation: Proceed with maximum caution.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 109: Legacy Reawakened
The blue screen flickered.It was unstable.Unlike the flawless interface Ethan had relied on throughout his journey, this one was fractured.Tiny cracks spread across its edges as though the system itself had suffered tremendous damage.The familiar mechanical voice spoke again.It was weaker than Ethan remembered.Yet…He smiled.After everything that had happened…It still sounded like home.Legacy System…Emergency Restoration… 7% Complete…Warning… Core functions unavailable…Reason… Legacy sacrificed during the Final Convergence…Ethan’s heart pounded.“So…”“You survived.”The screen remained silent for a moment.Then…A new sentence appeared.Correction…This unit did not survive.This unit… was remembered.The words struck him harder than any attack ever could.Remembered.Not rebuilt.Not repaired.Remembered.The blue screen slowly continued.Human belief…Shared memories…Legacy fragments carried within countless lives…Emergency reconstruction successful.Ethan finally un
Chapter 108: The Sky Breaker
The crack spread across the blue sky.It didn’t happen all at once.Thin fractures crawled outward like veins across glass, stretching from one horizon to the other.Each new crack released a faint silver light.The peaceful meadow beneath Ethan’s feet trembled.Birds that had been singing moments before suddenly took flight.The gentle breeze vanished.An unnatural silence swallowed the world.Ren’s small hand instinctively reached for Ethan’s.His fingers were trembling.“They found us.”Ethan looked down.“Who?”Ren swallowed.“The ones who don’t want us remembered.”Another deafening roar echoed overhead.This time…It was closer.The sky shattered a little more.Chunks of blue light drifted downward before dissolving into countless glowing particles.Ethan had seen worlds collapse before.He had watched stars disappear.Yet…There was something uniquely terrifying about watching the sky itself come apart.Not because it looked destructive.Because it looked…Wrong.Like reality w
Chapter 107: The First Face
Every step echoed inside Ethan’s helmet.Crunch.Crunch.Crunch.The lunar dust compressed beneath his boots as he followed the countless footprints stretching toward the enormous black doorway.Mission Control remained connected through his communicator.“Ethan, your oxygen levels are stable.”“Heart rate elevated, but within acceptable limits.”Dr. Brooks’ calm voice filled the silence.Professor Orion spoke next.“Distance to the structure: four hundred meters.”“Proceed carefully.”“I will.”Ethan answered.He never took his eyes off the doorway.The closer he came…The larger it became.From orbit it had looked massive.Standing beneath it…It was overwhelming.It rose into the endless darkness above him like a mountain carved from midnight.Its surface reflected nothing.Not sunlight.Not stars.Not even Ethan himself.It was as though the doorway refused to acknowledge reality.Back on Earth…Sophia stood inside Mission Control.Her hands remained folded tightly together.She h
Chapter 106: The Man Who Walked Through Silence
By sunrise…Ethan had made his decision.He would go.Not because he trusted the beings beyond the black doorway.Not because he believed they meant no harm.But because he had seen something in the message that no one else seemed willing to acknowledge.They had asked.Twice.First…May we speak?Then…One may come.An enemy didn’t ask permission.An enemy simply invaded.Whatever waited beyond that door…It wanted to be heard.Whether that was a blessing or a trap…Only one way existed to find out.The launch facility came alive before dawn.Floodlights illuminated the enormous launch pad while engineers hurried around the silver shuttle.Unlike the bulky spacecraft used during the early years of space exploration…This one had been built after the Seven Days.Human technology had advanced dramatically with knowledge recovered from the Architects.Its engines were cleaner.Its shields stronger.Its navigation system could cross the distance between Earth and the Moon in less than th
Chapter 105: The Invitation
No one celebrated.Although the footprints had stopped appearing…Although the black doorway had remained closed…Not a single person inside Mission Control believed the danger had passed.If anything…The silence felt heavier.It was the silence of two strangers looking at one another across a great distance.Waiting.Wondering who would speak next.Dr. Elena Brooks stood beside the communications console, replaying Ethan’s transmission.“My name is Ethan.”“You asked if you could speak.”“You can.”She listened to it three more times before finally muting the speakers.“I’ve worked in aerospace for seventeen years.”She slowly shook her head.“I spent my entire career preparing for first contact.”She smiled weakly.“I never imagined it would begin with… permission.”Professor Orion nodded.“Neither did I.”Hours passed.The black doorway did not move.The Moon remained quiet.Scientists continued monitoring every satellite, every telescope, and every sensor aimed toward the far sid
Chapter 104: Beyond the Black Door
The three knocks echoed through Mission Control.Slow.Steady.Deliberate.Every person in the room froze.No one spoke.No one breathed.The sound wasn’t coming from the speakers anymore.It seemed to resonate through the walls themselves.Three knocks…Yet it felt as though something enormous had struck the fabric of reality.Then…Silence.Emergency lights flickered back to life.Rows of monitors rebooted one after another.Technicians hurried to their stations.“Power is returning!”“I’m reconnecting to the lunar station!”“Signal stabilizing!”Dr. Elena Brooks leaned over one of the consoles.“Get me visual confirmation.”The largest monitor flashed.Static filled the screen.Then the image cleared.Everyone stared.The giant black doorway still stood on the Moon’s far side.Exactly where it had been before.Silent.Motionless.Almost…Innocent.Kai slowly let out the breath he had been holding.“I hate doors.”Lyra looked at him.“You hate everything.”“I especially hate mysteri
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