Ema's fingers flew across the keyboard in a blur. "Got partial access already. Flight logs from the last 72 hours. They've been circling since two days ago—intermittent passes, never staying too long. Audio's encrypted, but video feed is crystal clear. They saw the entire C-class fight. Every move. Every word. Every time Macker tanked a hit and looked cool doing it." Nix whistled low. "So they know we're coordinated. And strong. And we have matching energy."
Orced's expression hardened slightly, but his voice stayed calm. "They know we're a threat. But they don't know everything. Keep digging. See if there's a remote kill switch, a tracking beacon, or any active listening devices we missed."
Ema nodded without looking up. "On it. Running deep scan now."
The room filled with the soft clicks of tools, Nix's quiet muttering as he pried open panels, Ema's typing, and the occasional groan from Macker when he forgot and shifted too fast.
After about twenty minutes of tense silence broken only by technical chatter, Ema sat back in his chair. "Got it. Full data dump. Flight path shows they launched from a Hedonas carrier off the coast—probably the same one they used last year during the coastal sweep. Receiver IP traces back to their main command hub in Beijing. They've got high-res video of yesterday. Audio's garbled in places, but they definitely heard Orced's speech. 'We're gonna destroy every bit of evil.' They flagged us as a potential rogue S-class group with hostile intent."
Kruna crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. "Great. So they're scared. Good. They should be."
Aftor smirked, flipping his knife again. "They should be terrified. Seven S-class potentials on a forgotten island with no oversight? That's their worst nightmare."
Sano spoke from the window, voice low. "Still nothing outside. Horizon's clear. But the air feels heavy. Like before a storm. I don't like it."
Orced looked at him. "Keep watching. If anything moves—even a bird that looks wrong—call it out."
Nix pulled out a small probe and carefully inserted it into the drone's data port. "Let's see the internal memory. Might have facial recognition data on us. Names, power readings, even psychological profiles if they're feeling fancy."
Ema shook his head. "Not yet. If we trigger a failsafe, it could wipe everything. Slow and careful. We're almost through the last layer."
The group waited, tension slowly building like a coiled spring. Macker fidgeted on his stool. "This is taking forever. Can't we just smash it and be done?"
Kruna shot him a look. "And lose the intel? No. We need to know what they know. How long they've been watching. What they think of us."
Orced paced slowly behind the bench, hands behind his back. "They're buying time too. Watching us watch them. Classic standoff. They're waiting to see what we do next."
Ema suddenly sat up straight, eyes widening. "Got more. They have thermal imaging from yesterday. They know our power outputs. Orced's core strike registered at S-class peak. Nix's explosion hit A+ burst. Macker's tanking absorbed C-level impact without damage. They've got our baseline stats. They know who the biggest threats are."
Nix grinned wide. "They know I'm awesome. Nice. Tell them I said hi."
Aftor rolled his eyes. "Focus. If they have stats, they'll try to counter us. Bring anti-explosion gear for Nix, anti-tank weapons for Macker, something to disrupt Orced's core strikes. We need to change tactics for the B-class hunt. No more predictable formations."
Orced stopped pacing and nodded. "Exactly. No more same roles. We switch. Nix tanks this time, Macker explodes, Kruna goes for core, Aftor flanks, Ema pins, Sano supports, I'll draw aggro and control the field. Confuse them if they're watching. Keep them guessing."
Kruna nodded slowly. "Good. Keep them off-balance. They expect us to be cocky and consistent. We'll be smart and unpredictable."
Ema kept typing. "Almost through the last layer. Just… got it. Full flight log. They've been reporting every six hours. Last report sent at 03:12 this morning—right after you netted it. They know it's compromised. They know we have it."
Orced smiled thinly. "Good. Let them sweat. Let them wonder what we're going to do with it."
Sano spoke again from the window. "Movement. East. Small. Fast. Another drone?"
Everyone tensed instantly.
Sano peered out, eyes narrowing. "False alarm. Bird. Big one. Probably just hunting. But… the air still feels wrong. Heavy. Like something's holding its breath."
Orced looked at him. "Keep watching. If anything moves—even a bird that looks wrong—call it out. We're not taking chances."
Macker rubbed his temples. "I hate this spy shit. Can we just fight curses instead? Punch something. Blow something up. Anything but this waiting game."
Nix laughed. "Soon. B-class hunt after lunch. Then we really give them something to report. Something big."
Orced looked around the room at his team—each one focused, ready, alive with that mix of excitement and danger that had drawn them all together in the first place. "We're ready. They think they're watching us. But we're watching them now. Sky Boys doesn't hide. We fly higher. We hit harder. We win."
Kruna smirked. "Cheesy, but I'll allow it. Just this once."
Ema closed his laptop with a soft click. "Drone's safe to leave powered down. I've got copies of everything on my drive. We can analyze more later tonight. For now… we've got a curse to kill."
Orced nodded. "Good work. Everyone—gear up. Scout in one hour. We leave at noon. No mistakes. No hesitation. We do this right."
The group started moving—gathering weapons, checking gear, the energy shifting from cautious to excited in the span of seconds. Nix was already humming to himself as he packed extra explosive cores. Ema was double-checking his bowstring. Aftor was sharpening his knife again. Kruna was stretching his shoulders. Macker was testing how fast he could walk without wincing. Sano lifted his shield and headed back to the window.
Now they were watching back.
And they were coming for everything.