2026-09-04 10:59:31Chapter 7 — The Abandoned Facility
The old Cross Research Facility stood at the edge of the city like a forgotten monument.
It had been abandoned for three years.
No lights.
No employees.
No security guards.
Just a massive concrete building surrounded by overgrown grass and rusting fences.
Ethan parked his car several hundred meters away.
He looked at the building through the windshield.
The system appeared.
[Target location confirmed.]
[Cross Research Facility.]
[Mission: Discover records belonging to previous system host.]
[Reward: $10,000,000.]
Ethan stepped out of the car.
“Let's find out what Dad was hiding.”
He approached the entrance.
The main door was locked.
But the silver key in his pocket suddenly became warm.
Ethan pulled it out.
A small blue light appeared on its surface.
The system responded.
[Compatible access key detected.]
The lock clicked.
Ethan stared at the door.
“This key was made for this place.”
He pushed the door open.
Darkness greeted him.
He switched on his phone's flashlight and stepped inside.
Dust covered almost everything.
Old desks.
Broken computers.
Abandoned laboratory equipment.
Several posters had been torn from the walls.
Ethan walked deeper into the building.
Then he noticed something.
A photograph.
It was attached to a wall beside an old security terminal.
His father stood in the middle.
Victor Cross stood beside him.
Evelyn Cross stood on the other side.
But there was another person in the photograph.
A young man.
Ethan looked closer.
It was Adrian.
He couldn't have been more than twenty-two.
Ethan frowned.
“Why was he here?”
The system appeared.
[Photograph contains historical significance.]
[Analysis available.]
Ethan activated it.
A message appeared.
Date: Three years, four months ago.
Location: Cross Research Facility.
Individuals present: Daniel Vale, Victor Cross, Evelyn Cross, Adrian Cross.
Ethan stared at the date.
That was several months before his father's disappearance.
So Adrian had been involved long before Ethan knew.
He continued walking.
A faint sound came from somewhere nearby.
Ethan stopped.
“Who's there?”
No answer.
He waited.
Then footsteps echoed from the hallway.
Ethan activated Physical Enhancement.
A figure appeared.
Ethan prepared himself.
The figure stepped into the light.
It was Adrian Cross.
Ethan lowered his hand.
“You.”
Adrian looked around.
“You actually came.”
“You told me not to trust you.”
“I told you not to trust anyone.”
“Why are you here?”
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at the old facility.
“This place was supposed to be destroyed.”
Ethan frowned.
“Supposed to be?”
“Yes.”
“By whom?”
“My father.”
Ethan moved closer.
“Why?”
“Because your father used this facility to develop something.”
“The system?”
Adrian looked at him.
“Yes.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“You knew about it.”
“I knew your father was working on something unusual.”
“That's not what I asked.”
Adrian sighed.
“I knew.”
Ethan activated Truth Scan.
[Adrian Cross.]
Statement probability: 89% truthful.
Ethan relaxed slightly.
“What exactly was my father doing?”
Adrian walked toward an old laboratory.
“Your father wasn't creating the system.”
“Then what was he doing?”
“He was studying it.”
Ethan followed him.
“Why?”
“Because he wanted to understand why it chose certain people.”
Ethan stopped.
“Certain people?”
Adrian nodded.
“There were records of previous hosts.”
“How many?”
“We don't know.”
“Who was the first?”
Adrian looked at him.
“That's the problem.”
“What problem?”
“The records were erased.”
Ethan's expression changed.
“By who?”
“We believe someone inside the facility destroyed them.”
Ethan looked around.
“Then why bring me here?”
“Because not everything was destroyed.”
Adrian walked toward a wall.
He pressed a hidden switch.
A section of the wall opened.
Behind it was a narrow staircase.
Ethan stared.
“You knew about this?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me before?”
“Because I wasn't sure I could trust you.”
Ethan gave him a look.
“You weren't sure you could trust me?”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“You suddenly became extremely wealthy overnight, disappeared from everyone's radar, and somehow knew about V-Prime Holdings within a day.”
Ethan's expression remained calm.
“You've been watching me.”
“So have you.”
They entered the hidden room.
Inside were rows of old servers.
Most were destroyed.
But one remained active.
A blue light blinked repeatedly.
Ethan approached it.
The system appeared.
[Previous Host Data detected.]
[Accessing archived records.]
Ethan waited.
A list appeared.
Host 01 — Unknown
Host 02 — Unknown
Host 03 — Unknown
Host 04 — Daniel Vale
Ethan stared.
“Only four?”
Adrian stepped closer.
“What?”
“My father was Host 04.”
Adrian's face changed.
“So the first three records weren't erased completely.”
Ethan looked at the screen.
“What happened to them?”
The system responded.
[Data corrupted.]
[Cause: External interference.]
“Can you recover them?”
[Partial recovery possible.]
Ethan nodded.
“Do it.”
The screen flickered.
A damaged photograph appeared.
A man stood beside a young woman.
The woman's face was hidden by distortion.
The man's face was also unclear.
But one detail was visible.
A silver ring.
Ethan recognized it.
He had seen that ring before.
On Victor Cross.
His expression changed.
“Victor.”
Adrian looked at the image.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
The room suddenly became silent.
Then the system displayed another line.
[Connection detected.]
Previous Host Investigation: Daniel Vale
Primary Subject: Victor Cross
Ethan looked at Adrian.
“Your father was being investigated by mine.”
Adrian shook his head.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“Why?”
“My father helped Daniel.”
“Maybe that's what he wanted everyone to believe.”
Adrian looked angry.
“You don't know my father.”
“And you don't know mine.”
Before either man could say more, the facility lights suddenly came on.
Ethan turned.
A voice echoed through the building.
“That's enough.”
Victor Cross walked into the room.
Ethan's expression hardened.
Adrian stepped forward.
“Father?”
Victor looked at his son.
“I told you to stay away from this.”
Adrian's face was pale.
“You knew Ethan was coming.”
Victor ignored him.
His eyes settled on Ethan.
“You have your father's stubbornness.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Where is he?”
Victor said nothing.
“Where is Daniel Vale?”
“You're not ready to know.”
Ethan laughed.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Victor's expression changed.
“You think money has made you powerful.”
Ethan smiled.
“It has.”
Victor looked at him for a long moment.
“You don't understand the kind of world you've entered.”
“Then explain it.”
Victor shook his head.
“Not yet.”
He turned toward Adrian.
“Come with me.”
Adrian didn't move.
“No.”
Victor's eyes hardened.
“You're my son.”
“And Ethan is my friend.”
Ethan looked at Adrian.
The Golden Boy had just chosen a side.
Victor's expression became cold.
“Then you've made your decision.”
He turned and walked away.
But before leaving, he stopped.
“Ethan.”
Ethan looked at him.
“If you continue searching for Daniel, you will eventually discover why he disappeared.”
“That's what I want.”
Victor's voice became quieter.
“And when you do, you may wish you had stopped.”
He left.
Ethan watched him disappear.
The system suddenly appeared.
[Major Character Conflict detected.]
[Relationship: Victor Cross — Threat Level: Extreme.]
Then another message appeared.
[New clue unlocked.]
Daniel Vale's final known location: Cross Research Facility, Basement Level 4.
Ethan looked toward the floor.
“There are four basement levels?”
Adrian nodded.
“Officially, there are only three.”
Ethan smiled.
“Then we're going to find the fourth.”
Adrian stared at him.
“You really don't know when to stop.”
“No.”
Ethan looked toward the hidden elevator.
“Not until I find my father.”
The elevator doors opened by themselves.
Inside was a single button.
B4.
Ethan stepped inside.
Adrian followed.
As the doors closed, neither of them noticed the small camera hidden above the doorway.
Somewhere else in the city, Evelyn Cross watched the feed.
She smiled.
“Finally.”
The elevator began descending.
Level B1.
B2.
B3.
Then—
B4.
The doors opened.
A cold voice came from the darkness.
“Welcome back, Daniel's son.”
Ethan froze.
He had never heard that voice before.
But whoever was standing in the darkness knew exactly who he was.
And they had been waiting for him.
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