2026-09-04 11:00:57Chapter 8 — The Man in the Shadows
Ethan 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 looked at Ethan again.
“Especially your father.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“If you know him, prove it.”
The stranger reached into his coat and threw something onto the floor.
A small metal badge slid across the ground.
Ethan picked it up.
His eyes widened.
It belonged to his father.
Daniel had worn it everywhere during his time at Cross Research.
Ethan turned it over.
There was a number engraved on the back.
04.
The system appeared.
[Object confirmed.]
[Belonged to previous host: Daniel Vale.]
Ethan looked up.
“Where did you get this?”
The stranger smiled.
“Your father gave it to me.”
“Before he disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“Then he's alive?”
The man didn't answer.
That silence was enough to keep Ethan's hope alive.
Suddenly, the facility alarms began screaming.
Red lights flashed across the corridor.
Adrian looked around.
“What is happening?”
The stranger's expression changed.
“They found us.”
“Who?”
“Everyone.”
A loud metallic sound echoed from above.
Someone had entered the facility.
The stranger turned toward a door.
“There's no time.”
He pressed his hand against a scanner.
A hidden passage opened.
Ethan followed.
Adrian hesitated for only a second before following them.
They entered a narrow tunnel.
Behind them, the main door to Level B4 exploded open.
Several armed security personnel rushed inside.
“Find them!”
“They can't have gone far!”
Ethan looked back.
“Who are those people?”
The stranger answered calmly.
“Cross International security.”
Adrian's face hardened.
“My father sent them?”
“No.”
The stranger looked at him.
“Your aunt did.”
Adrian stopped.
“Evelyn?”
The man nodded.
“She's here.”
The tunnel opened into a large underground chamber.
Ethan stopped.
The room was filled with computers.
Unlike the abandoned laboratory above, these machines were modern.
Several monitors displayed financial transactions.
Others showed maps.
And one screen displayed a list of names.
Ethan walked closer.
His own name was at the top.
ETHAN VALE
Underneath it were several numbers.
Adrian looked over his shoulder.
“What is this?”
The stranger answered.
“Surveillance.”
Ethan stared at the screen.
“How long have they been monitoring me?”
“Three years.”
Ethan's face tightened.
“Three years?”
“Your father knew they would eventually come for you.”
“Then why didn't he warn me?”
“He tried.”
The stranger pointed toward another monitor.
A series of old video files appeared.
Ethan clicked the first.
His father appeared.
Daniel Vale stood inside the same facility.
But this recording was older than the one Ethan had seen at the warehouse.
Daniel looked directly at the camera.
“If you're seeing this, something has gone wrong.”
Ethan moved closer.
“I discovered that the system is not simply a source of wealth.”
Daniel paused.
“It changes the person who possesses it.”
Ethan looked at the system interface floating beside him.
Daniel continued.
“The system rewards ambition, intelligence, and courage. But it also tests character.”
Adrian looked at Ethan.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel's video continued.
“The previous hosts became powerful.”
A list appeared behind him.
“But power attracted enemies.”
The screen changed.
Several photographs appeared.
Some faces were blurred.
Others were completely missing.
Daniel's voice became quieter.
“I was Host 04.”
Ethan's eyes widened.
“But I wasn't the first.”
The video suddenly distorted.
The stranger stepped forward.
“We have to go.”
Ethan ignored him.
“Who were the first three?”
The stranger looked at him.
“That answer is exactly why your father disappeared.”
Ethan stared at him.
“Tell me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you're not ready.”
Ethan's patience snapped.
“Everyone keeps telling me I'm not ready. My father disappears, people try to kill me, and now you're standing here telling me I should wait.”
The stranger remained silent.
Ethan stepped closer.
“I've waited three years.”
The man studied him.
Then slowly nodded.
“Good.”
He pointed toward another computer.
“Then prove you deserve the truth.”
A new screen appeared.
[System Trial Activated.]
Trial One: Identify the traitor.
Time Limit: 30 minutes.
Reward: $2,000,000.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“Who are the suspects?”
Four photographs appeared.
Victor Cross.
Marcus Hale.
Evelyn Cross.
Adrian Cross.
Adrian immediately stepped backward.
“You can't be serious.”
Ethan looked at the four names.
One of them had betrayed his father.
But which one?
He activated Truth Scan.
The system analyzed the information.
[Insufficient data.]
Ethan frowned.
“Then give me more.”
[Host must investigate.]
The timer appeared.
29:47
Ethan began searching the computers.
Financial records.
Messages.
Security logs.
Everything flashed across the screens.
Adrian watched him.
“What are you looking for?”
“Something your family forgot to hide.”
Ethan opened a file belonging to Marcus Hale.
The records showed several suspicious transactions.
He rejected him.
Too obvious.
Next was Victor Cross.
There were secret meetings.
Large transfers.
But nothing directly connected him to Daniel's disappearance.
Ethan moved to Evelyn.
Her files were almost completely empty.
That was suspicious.
Then he opened Adrian's file.
Most of it contained ordinary information.
University.
Business meetings.
Charity events.
Nothing unusual.
Then Ethan noticed one hidden file.
PROJECT OMEGA.
He opened it.
The screen displayed a photograph.
Evelyn Cross.
Daniel Vale.
And a young Adrian.
Ethan stared at the date.
It was taken four years ago.
Before Daniel disappeared.
A document appeared underneath.
PROJECT OMEGA — PRIMARY CANDIDATE: ADRIAN CROSS
Ethan looked at Adrian.
“What is Project Omega?”
Adrian's face went pale.
“I don't know.”
Ethan activated Truth Scan.
[Statement probability: 34%.]
“You're lying.”
Adrian stepped back.
“I swear I don't remember.”
The stranger interrupted.
“He's telling the truth.”
Ethan turned.
“What?”
“Adrian was involved in Project Omega.”
Adrian looked confused.
“But he doesn't remember because his memory was altered.”
Silence filled the room.
Ethan looked at Adrian.
“Who altered it?”
The stranger didn't answer.
Instead, another alarm sounded.
The security team was getting closer.
The timer continued.
08:12
Ethan quickly searched Project Omega.
A final document appeared.
Objective: Determine whether the system can be transferred between hosts.
Ethan's eyes widened.
The system could be transferred?
His father had been studying whether it was possible.
Then the next line appeared.
Test Subject: Adrian Cross.
Adrian stared at the screen.
“No…”
Ethan looked at him.
“Your father used you.”
Adrian shook his head.
“My father wouldn't do that.”
“Maybe not.”
The stranger looked toward the door.
“He didn't.”
Ethan turned.
“Then who did?”
The man answered quietly.
“Evelyn.”
The door suddenly shook.
Someone was trying to break through.
The stranger looked at Ethan.
“Your trial is almost over.”
Ethan looked at the timer.
02:31
He studied the four suspects again.
Victor.
Marcus.
Evelyn.
Adrian.
Then he noticed something.
A financial record connecting Marcus to Evelyn.
He opened another file.
A secret payment had been made three years ago.
The recipient was hidden.
But the authorization code belonged to Evelyn.
Ethan's eyes widened.
“The traitor is Evelyn.”
The system went silent.
Then—
[Correct.]
[Trial completed.]
[Reward: $2,000,000.]
Ethan exhaled.
But before he could celebrate, the system displayed another message.
[Important discovery.]
Evelyn Cross was not acting alone.
Ethan's smile disappeared.
A final name appeared on the screen.
UNKNOWN.
The underground door finally broke open.
Security personnel rushed inside.
The stranger grabbed Ethan's shoulder.
“Now you understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Evelyn is only the beginning.”
He pressed a hidden button.
A second passage opened.
“Go.”
Ethan hesitated.
“Where is my father?”
The stranger looked at him.
“Closer than you think.”
Then the lights went out.
When they returned, the stranger was gone.
Ethan and Adrian stood alone in the underground chamber.
On the screen, one final message remained.
[Next Mission: Find Daniel Vale.]
[Location: Unknown.]
Ethan stared at the words.
Three years of searching had brought him here.
And now, for the first time, he had proof.
His father was alive.
Somewhere.
Waiting.
Ethan looked at Adrian.
“We're finding him.”
Adrian nodded.
But neither of them noticed the small screen behind them.
A live camera feed showed Daniel Vale.
He was sitting inside a room somewhere far away.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Ethan…”
He smiled sadly.
“I'm sorry.”
The screen went black.
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