Both men in black suits winced as Winston's sister's voice screeched through their headsets at a painfully high pitch. They looked at each other and sighed. One of the men, whose hair was slicked back, rubbed his ear in irritation.
A third man in a black suit walked into the room holding a cup of coffee. He glanced at the two men sitting behind a desk covered with recording equipment.
"What happened? Did you find his supplier?"
One of the men sighed and touched his ear. "No. He was just speaking with his sister. That high-pitched voice was practically deafening through the headset."
"Oh." The newcomer pulled out a chair and sat opposite them. "Then let's keep waiting. Maybe he'll call his Divinity Pill dealer."
He took a sip of his coffee. Just as he lowered the cup, his phone rang from inside his suit.
He quickly pulled it out. "Hello? Yes... Mmm-hmm... I understand."
He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his suit, "Well, that was a waste of time. Apparently, he only needed to make a phone call home."
One of the men in black suits frowned, "I don't understand why we need the tester to reach one hundred percent before we act. Isn't this the perfect opportunity to take him? He's already within our grasp."
The man with the coffee leaned back in his chair, "I don't think it would be that easy."
He took another sip before continuing, "Most of the players and employees here don't know anything about this research. If Winston suddenly disappeared, they would start asking questions. We live in the era of social media. One youth player's disappearance could create a massive uproar. Who knows what these new generations would do if they started believing there was something suspicious happening here?"
He placed his coffee on the desk, "And that's not even considering our enemies. The big corporations and underground organizations are also searching for a breakthrough with the Divinity Pill."
His expression became serious, "Imagine the news getting out that we have a Divinity Pill tester here. A player who was involved in that incident in Arseley, took four or five doses of Divinity Pills, survived, and is now playing inside our academy."
The other two men remained silent.
"If word gets out, every major player I just mentioned would infiltrate this academy and try to take Winston by force." He picked up his coffee again, "So, in the end, I think the chairman is simply waiting for the right time to act. Besides, judging by how this player has been behaving, he's bound to make a mistake eventually."
The man adjusting the recording equipment nodded, "Thank God for the chairman's strategy. But I have another suspicion."
The other two looked at him, "I think we might have a spy among us."
"Really? Who would want to spy on us? Aren't we getting paid far more than we normally would?"
"My friend, it isn't always about money." The man with the coffee took another sip, "Just like us, some people are loyal to their own bosses."
The younger man frowned. "Wait. I understand that it might not be about money, but what do you think the motive could be? And how do we even know this person works for one of the Football Federation's enemies?" He shook his head, "Isn't this spy not afraid of this information being leaked to the outside world, wouldn't they also be afraid of the trouble it could cause for the innocent players in this academy?"
He glanced toward the recording equipment, "Why don't we just contact the police and have them arrested?"
The room fell silent.
The man with the coffee slowly lowered his cup.
The man took another sip of his coffee, smacked his lips, and sighed.
"I forgot you were recently transferred here. Listen carefully. When we introduced the academy to the world, the Football Federation received a lot of backlash from both social media and traditional media. We were bombarded with questions, and our enemies are waiting for us to make a mistake so they can use it as an excuse to attack us."
He leaned back in his chair, "And don't forget that we never publicly announced the academy's location."
The newly transferred man frowned, "So, who do you think the spy is?"
The man who had been neatly arranging the recording equipment shook his head, "It's better not to ask. Our profiles aren't public, and you don't want to be approached by the Football Federation's enemies. Most of us have been approached before. Some even disappeared and were never found."
The newly transferred man swallowed hard. The other man sitting across from him finished his coffee and placed the empty cup on the desk. "Don't worry. The Football Federation has one of the best cybersecurity companies in the world. They hide our digital footprints, both online and on our phones."
"I didn't realize the Football Federation had such dangerous and powerful enemies," the newly transferred man admitted. "I only took this job because I wanted some extra work."
"If you knew all of this, then how did you know about the Divinity Pill?" the other man asked casually. The newly transferred man glanced at him.
"I caught up after my screening and background check was completed." The man packing away the recording equipment paused.
"Wait. Were you suspecting me?"
"No. Don't mind him. He likes acting like that."
He looked toward the man packing the equipment.
"Isn't that right, Q?"
Q smiled, "You sure know how to ruin the fun."
The other man rolled his eyes as he finished putting the last piece of recording equipment into the black suitcase.
"I'm going for a smoke."
"Okay. You should slow down with those things, otherwise you'll die young," Q said, swinging lazily in his chair with a smirk. The man ignored him and walked out of the room.
"Mr. Q," the newly transferred man said, "where did this Divinity Pill come from?"
Q leaned over the desk, "If I tell you, that means I have to kill you."
The newly transferred man's eyes widened. Q stared at his terrified expression for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter, "Hahaha! You make the same face as that player!"
He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye before continuing, "We got it from a doctor on the black market. They proposed a new pill that could supposedly turn any human who consumed it into a superhuman." The newly transferred man stared at him in disbelief.
"All the large corporations you can think of have a stake in the development of this pill. Whoever manages to achieve a breakthrough through the testing will become an extremely powerful company."
"And the government just allowed this to happen?"
Q laughed, "Who said the government isn't part of it?"
The newly transferred employee's face turned pale, he slowly looked toward the window. Outside, the other man was leaning against the railing, smoking his cigarette. When the man in black had first explained what he would be doing at the academy, the newly transferred employee had assumed they were simply investigating a player who was taking drugs. But now, after Q had given him a glimpse of the reality behind the academy, he realized how dangerous his new job truly was.
His expression had mixed emotions, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the player who was about to be caught up in all of this.
"Oh, yeah. you forgot to answer my question. Who is the spy?"
Q's smile faded slightly, "That's a secret. We suspect he—or she—isn't working alone in this."
Q stood up and stretched his body, "Come on. Let's go get breakfast. I'm hungry." He walked over to the window and tapped on the glass.
Meanwhile, Winston quickly made his way toward the Building D, football field. The heaviness in his heart had gradually subsided. Hearing his sister's voice and learning that both of his parents were safe back home had lifted his mood considerably.
He increased his pace, eventually breaking into a light jog toward the football field. Along the way, several youth players looked at him with strange expressions. Some of them stared at him with pity.
What's going on? Why are people giving me these looks? Winston slowed down when he first noticed them.
But after a few seconds, his curiosity got the better of him. His heart began beating faster, and he increased his pace again. Soon, the familiar training ground came into view. When he arrived, he found all of his friends already there.
They were happily training as though nothing unusual had happened. Winston slowed to a stop and looked at them. For a moment, he wondered if he had simply been imagining the strange looks from the other players.
But the uneasy feeling in his chest remained.