2026-09-04 11:01:55Chapter 9 — The First Clue
The screen went black.
For several seconds, Ethan Vale stood frozen in the underground chamber.
Daniel’s face was gone.
His father’s final words kept replaying in his mind.
Ethan… I’m sorry.
Sorry for what?
For disappearing?
For leaving him alone?
Or for something Ethan had not yet discovered?
“Ethan.”
Adrian’s voice pulled him back.
“What?” Ethan asked.
Adrian pointed toward the wall.
A thin blue light had appeared beneath the dead screen.
Ethan stepped closer.
Words slowly appeared.
HOST 04 IDENTIFIED.
His breathing stopped.
Then another line appeared.
HOST 05 ACTIVATION: SUCCESSFUL.
Ethan stared.
“Host Five?”
Adrian looked equally confused.
“But Daniel was Host Four.”
“I know.”
“Then who was Host Five?”
Ethan’s system activated.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Previous Host Data Detected.
Host 05: UNKNOWN
Current Status: ACTIVE
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Active?”
Adrian moved closer.
“Does that mean someone else has the system?”
“I don't know.”
Before Ethan could investigate further, another message appeared.
WARNING: HOST 05 IS MONITORING YOU.
The lights in the chamber suddenly went out.
Adrian immediately grabbed Ethan’s arm.
“Don’t move.”
A faint mechanical sound came from somewhere in the darkness.
Ethan activated his system interface.
[Night Vision temporarily available.]
The room became visible.
Nothing.
No person.
No movement.
Then Ethan noticed something.
A small red light blinked above one of the surveillance cameras.
Someone was watching them.
“Adrian,” Ethan whispered.
“I see it.”
The camera suddenly turned toward Ethan.
Then the screen beneath it activated.
A single message appeared.
STOP LOOKING FOR DANIEL VALE.
Ethan's expression hardened.
“So they're afraid.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No. They're warning you.”
Another message appeared.
IF YOU FIND HIM, YOU WILL REGRET IT.
Ethan stepped toward the screen.
“I've spent three years believing my father abandoned me.”
His voice became colder.
“I'm done being afraid of what happened.”
The screen changed again.
This time, a photograph appeared.
Ethan stared at it.
It showed Daniel.
But Daniel wasn't alone.
Standing beside him were Victor Cross, Evelyn Cross, Marcus Hale—
and a fourth man Ethan had never seen before.
The image was old.
Very old.
But there was something strange about the fourth man.
His face had been deliberately scratched out.
Adrian stared at the photograph.
“I've never seen him.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Are you sure?”
Adrian's expression changed.
“I said I've never seen him.”
Ethan activated Truth Scan.
[Truth Scan Activated.]
Subject: Adrian Cross
Statement: “I have never seen this man.”
Result: PARTIALLY TRUE
Ethan's eyes widened.
“Partially?”
Adrian noticed his expression.
“What did you find?”
“You know something.”
“I don't.”
“You don't remember something.”
Adrian went silent.
Ethan stepped closer.
The system displayed another message.
MEMORY BLOCK DETECTED.
CAUSE: ARTIFICIAL ALTERATION
Ethan looked at Adrian.
“Your memory wasn't just damaged.”
Adrian's face turned pale.
“It was altered.”
“Yes.”
“By Evelyn?”
“That’s what we were told.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“I remember something.”
Ethan waited.
Adrian pressed his fingers against his forehead.
“A room.”
“What room?”
“A laboratory.”
His breathing became uneven.
“There was a man there.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Try.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“He was talking to my father.”
Ethan's heart raced.
“What did he say?”
Adrian opened his eyes.
“He said…”
He stopped.
“What?”
Adrian swallowed.
“He said the system had chosen the wrong person.”
Silence filled the chamber.
Ethan looked at the photograph again.
The scratched-out man.
The system.
Host Five.
Daniel.
Project Omega.
Everything seemed connected.
Then Ethan noticed something else.
There was a number written at the bottom of the photograph.
17-04-09
He immediately recognized the pattern.
“April seventeenth, 2009?”
Adrian shook his head.
“No. It can't be.”
“Why?”
“That was the year Project Omega began.”
Ethan looked at him.
“You knew?”
Adrian's face tightened.
“I didn't know I knew.”
The system suddenly activated.
[NEW CLUE DISCOVERED]
Project Omega Origin Date: April 17, 2009.
Objective: Identify the first successful system host.
Reward: $5,000,000
Failure Consequence: Host memory corruption.
Ethan stared at the message.
“The first successful host.”
Adrian whispered, “There were hosts before Daniel.”
“Apparently.”
Ethan looked around the chamber.
“If we find the first host, we may find out where my father went.”
A loud metallic sound suddenly came from the corridor.
Both men turned.
Footsteps.
Someone was approaching.
Adrian reached for the emergency door.
“We need to leave.”
Ethan nodded.
They moved toward the tunnel.
But before they could reach it, every screen in the chamber turned on at once.
Dozens of surveillance images appeared.
Ethan saw himself.
Walking into the facility.
Entering the warehouse.
Meeting Adrian.
Leaving the Hart residence.
Even moments from years ago.
Someone had been watching him for a very long time.
Then one final screen appeared.
A live video.
A man sat in a dark room.
His face was hidden.
His voice was distorted.
“You should have stopped after Warehouse 317.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Where is my father?”
The man laughed softly.
“You still think Daniel Vale is the victim.”
Ethan's expression changed.
“What does that mean?”
“You'll understand soon.”
“Who are you?”
The man leaned closer to the camera.
“I am the person who knows why the system chose you.”
The screen went black.
Ethan froze.
The system immediately displayed another warning.
[CRITICAL DISCOVERY]
The current host was not randomly selected.
Ethan Vale was identified as a potential host 18 years ago.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“Eighteen years ago?”
Adrian stared at him.
“You were seven.”
Ethan couldn't speak.
Seven years old.
Before his father's disappearance.
Before the family collapsed.
Before he even understood what business meant.
Someone had already known he might become the system's host.
And if that was true…
Daniel had known too.
Ethan slowly clenched his fists.
“My father didn't disappear because of the system.”
Adrian looked at him.
Ethan's eyes hardened.
“He disappeared because he was protecting me from it.”
A final message appeared on the screen.
NEXT DESTINATION: VALE FAMILY ARCHIVE.
LOCATION: SEALED.
ACCESS REQUIRED: BLOODLINE AUTHORIZATION.
Ethan stared at the words.
For the first time since receiving the system, he wasn't thinking about money.
He wasn't thinking about revenge.
He was thinking about one question.
What did my father know about me that I had never been told?
And somewhere in the city, someone was already waiting for him to find out.
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THE VALE FAMILY ARCHIVE
Chapter 10 — The Vale Family ArchiveRain hammered against the windows of Ethan Vale’s penthouse.He stood before the glass, staring at the city below.Millions of lights illuminated the streets, but Ethan barely noticed them.His mind was somewhere else.Eighteen years ago.The system had identified him as a potential host when he was only seven.That meant his father had known.Perhaps even before Ethan understood what his family truly was.His phone vibrated.Adrian.Ethan answered.“Did you find anything?”“I found the location of the archive.”Ethan straightened.“Where?”“The old Vale estate.”Ethan frowned.“That place was sold years ago.”“Officially.”A pause followed.“Unofficially, the property was never transferred.”Ethan's eyes narrowed.“Who owns it?”“Your family.”Ethan immediately grabbed his jacket.“Send me the address.”“I already did.”His phone vibrated again.Ethan checked the message.VALE ESTATE — NORTH RIDGEHe stared at the address.He remembered the place.
THE FIRST CLUE
Chapter 9 — The First ClueThe screen went black.For several seconds, Ethan Vale stood frozen in the underground chamber.Daniel’s face was gone.His father’s final words kept replaying in his mind.Ethan… I’m sorry.Sorry for what?For disappearing?For leaving him alone?Or for something Ethan had not yet discovered?“Ethan.”Adrian’s voice pulled him back.“What?” Ethan asked.Adrian pointed toward the wall.A thin blue light had appeared beneath the dead screen.Ethan stepped closer.Words slowly appeared.HOST 04 IDENTIFIED.His breathing stopped.Then another line appeared.HOST 05 ACTIVATION: SUCCESSFUL.Ethan stared.“Host Five?”Adrian looked equally confused.“But Daniel was Host Four.”“I know.”“Then who was Host Five?”Ethan’s system activated.[SYSTEM ALERT]Previous Host Data Detected.Host 05: UNKNOWNCurrent Status: ACTIVEEthan's eyes narrowed.“Active?”Adrian moved closer.“Does that mean someone else has the system?”“I don't know.”Before Ethan could investigate
THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS
Chapter 8 — The Man in the ShadowsEthan didn't move.The voice from the darkness echoed through the underground corridor.“Welcome back, Daniel's son.”Adrian immediately stepped in front of him.“Who are you?”No answer came.The lights along the corridor flickered on one after another.At the far end stood a man in a dark coat.His face remained partially hidden by the shadows.Ethan activated Truth Scan.[Unknown Individual detected.][Identity: Unable to determine.][Threat Level: Extremely High.]Ethan's eyes narrowed.“Where is my father?”The man smiled.“You've asked the wrong question.”“That seems to be everyone's favorite answer.”“The right question is why your father chose you.”Ethan's expression hardened.“You knew Daniel?”“I knew him better than anyone.”“Then tell me where he is.”The man stepped forward.“Not yet.”Adrian looked furious.“Enough games.”The stranger glanced at him.“Adrian Cross.”Adrian froze.“You know me?”“I know your entire family.”The man lo
THE ABANDONED FACILITY
Chapter 7 — The Abandoned FacilityThe 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 p
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE MYSTERY
Chapter 6 — The Woman Behind the MysteryEthan drove back to the city with one thought running through his mind.Evelyn Cross knows about the system.That was impossible.At least, it should have been.The system had appeared only after the accident. Nobody had been there when it activated.Nobody except...Ethan suddenly remembered the black car.The person watching him after the accident.His hands tightened around the steering wheel.Could Evelyn Cross have arranged the accident?His phone suddenly vibrated.[Danger Alert.][Host is being monitored.]Ethan looked at the rearview mirror.A black sedan was following him.The same model as the car he had seen the night before.“Of course.”He didn't panic.Instead, he took an unexpected turn.The sedan followed.Ethan turned again.Still following.He smiled.“So they really are interested in me.”The system appeared.[Suggested action: Proceed to the nearest secure location.]“Not yet.”Ethan wasn't ready to run.He wanted to know wh
WAREHOUSE 317
Chapter 5 — Warehouse 317Ethan barely slept.The final words from the system kept replaying in his mind.The Ultimate Wealth System had appeared before.Who had possessed it before him?And what had happened to that person?By six in the morning, Ethan was already dressed.The silver key sat safely in his pocket.He opened the system.[Main Mystery Mission]Locate Warehouse 317.[Mission Reward: $5,000,000][Danger Level: High]Ethan stared at the warning.“High?”[Correct.]“What happens if I fail?”[The system does not guarantee the host's safety.]Ethan smiled faintly.“So basically, you're telling me to be careful.”[Correct.]He grabbed his jacket.“Fine.”Before leaving, Ethan received another notification.[New Ability Available.][Physical Enhancement — Level 1.][Host may temporarily increase physical ability.]Ethan raised an eyebrow.“Temporarily?”[Duration: 10 minutes.]“That could be useful.”He closed the system and left the penthouse.Warehouse 317 was located in an a
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