TING!
The sharp chime made them all flinch. The panel flashed green, and the iron door slowly slid open, revealing an elevator behind it. Their eyes flickered with a mix of fear and hope.
Ethan stood up, relief and tension blending on his face. "Looks like it worked," he whispered.
They stepped closer to the elevator, its metallic walls gleaming faintly, reflecting their anxious silhouettes. It felt less like a machine and more like a gateway to somewhere they weren't sure they wanted to see.
"Let's hope Kaivan is down there," Radit muttered, almost like a prayer.
One by one, they stepped inside. It felt as though they were walking into the jaws of an unseen beast. Livia gripped Thivi's hand tightly, while Isabel stood in a corner, fighting the tremor in her chest.
Felicia stood at the front, her hand hovering over the single button that pointed only one way, down. She drew in a deep breath before pressing it.
The elevator began its slow descent. The hum of the machinery echoed around them, marking a journey that felt as emotional as it was physical. No one spoke. The tension was too thick.
The night air outside was cold and sharp, stinging like tiny needles against the skin. Beneath the shadow of old industrial buildings, a young man walked forward with a calm, unwavering stride. Kaivan. His posture was firm, his steps steady, like a lone wolf stalking its prey in silence.
Ahead of him rose a modern building, glaringly out of place amid the decaying surroundings, a steel cube plated with bullet-resistant metal, its polished walls catching faint glimmers of streetlight. Light sensors and surveillance cameras clung to every corner, turning the structure into the vigilant lair of a predator.
But Kaivan did not falter. His gaze hardened, jaw tightening as he locked his focus on his target. Behind those cold walls, Vella kept the data that could topple everything.
Then he moved.
His body dipped low, and with a smooth, silent leap, he slipped into the shadows along the perimeter fence. His boots barely made a sound against the gravel. He navigated the darkness like a passing shade, timing each step to the blind spots between camera rotations.
His right hand brushed lightly against his earpiece, activating the silent frequency he had crafted, one designed to blind the detection system.
Inside the Surveillance Room Behind soundproof walls, a woman sat at the center of a circle of glowing blue monitors. Vella. Her wine–red hair was swept neatly back, radiating authority and control. One hand held a glass of wine, her posture relaxed, like a queen observing the board before her next move.
"Ah… so he finally came," she murmured with a satisfied smile, eyes fixed on the screen showing Kaivan slipping past the outer perimeter. She brushed her hair back with a proud flick. "I knew that server leak would lure you in. Now you're inside my game."
Suddenly, Monitor Three flickered. Static lines raced across its surface. "…Huh?" Vella's brow furrowed. One by one, more screens began to fall, 5, 8, 2, collapsing like a line of dominoes.
"What is this?!" Her voice rose sharply. The wine glass slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor. She stood up in a rush, chair clattering behind her.
A man in a black uniform burst into the room, breathless. "Miss Vella! Someone is attacking the network! All CCTV feeds are down. Most likely Kaivan!"
Vella clenched her fists. "Catch him alive! Do not let him leave this building! Deploy every unit, lock down all exits!"
"Yes, ma'am!" He sprinted out, leaving a trail of panic behind.
Vella stared at the dark monitors, each now reflecting only her own face. The gaze looking back at her was no longer triumphant, but alert, calculating. "Don't think I'm unprepared, Kaivan… If you believe this will be easy, you're going to drown here."
In the Underground Secret Lab The large lift stopped with a cold ding. When the metallic doors slid open, Radit, Frans, Ethan, Raphael, Isabel, Livia, Thivi, Felicia, and Zinnia froze at the sight before them.
The vast room was filled with advanced technology, blue–white neon lights, polished metal walls, and long tables covered with complex components and diagrams.
Felicia stepped forward first. Her eyes locked onto a familiar-looking scanner on one of the tables. "That's… the Omnicent Tome scanner," she said seriously. "Kaivan must be here. He would never leave this behind."
Thivi, restless with curiosity, approached a row of metal capsules lined along the wall. She touched one, noticing a digital timer counting down. "Hey, what's this? Why is there a timer?" she asked, voice tightening.
Frans, already anxious, walked into a shadowed corner. There, he found a small pile of cigarette butts scattered on the floor, as if someone had just been there. "Look at this… These are definitely Kaivan's. He must've been here recently," he murmured.
Zinnia and Ethan moved together, inspecting every corner. But the more they searched, the more confusion spread across their faces. "Why aren't we finding him? Isn't he supposed to be here?" Zinnia said, frustration seeping into her voice.
Ethan shrugged, trying to remain calm even as the atmosphere grew stranger. "Maybe he's hiding. We have to check thoroughly."
On the other side of the room, Livia found something atop a small mattress in the corner. A worn, weathered book, its cover looking very much like a personal journal. "This looks like Kaivan's diary," she whispered.
Radit stood frozen in front of a table overflowing with maps and handwritten notes marking specific locations. "Raphael," he called, voice shifting to a serious tone. "You'll want to see this."
Raphael approached, and his face tightened at the sight of the detailed diagrams scattered across the table. Materials, wiring, mixtures, all pointing to one thing. "This… this is C-4," he muttered. "He's making a bomb? Why… why would he need all of this?"
Silence swallowed the room. Even the soft hum of machinery felt distant. Slowly, they began to understand, being near Kaivan came with consequences far heavier than they had imagined.
The underground lab stayed painfully quiet. Neon lights shimmered faintly across the metallic floor. Livia held the diary tightly, walking slowly toward the group as she read.
"He wrote a lot about all of you," she said softly.
Radit glanced over, confused. "About us?"
Livia nodded. "I didn't know Radit used to steal things," she said innocently.
Radit froze. His face tightened. "…What did you just say?"
"Livia, may I see it?" Felicia stepped closer, her hand reaching out, gentle, yet firm. Livia handed the book over without a word. Felicia opened the page Livia had been reading and scanned it carefully.
"This one," she murmured, then read aloud, "Monday, November 2nd. My first friend..."
Felicia straightened her voice, reading with clear intonation:
"Today, Radit told me about his past again. In a quiet voice, he shared how he almost slipped down the wrong path back then. I could only watch him and give a small smile, telling him that everyone deserves a chance to change. Seeing how much he's grown and how far he's come makes me truly grateful. He's not just a friend, he's like a brother to me."
Radit froze. His eyes locked on Felicia, his mind drifting back to a time he rarely revisited. Slowly, he stepped forward and took the book from her. His lips trembled.
"He... wrote about me?" he whispered. "He really didn't have any friends before this?"
No one answered. Silence wrapped around them, giving Radit space to absorb every word. He closed the book and rubbed his face, a faint shimmer gathering at the corner of his eyes.
Felicia gently took the diary back and turned to the next page. "There's more," she said quietly.
"Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009. My first female friend..."
Her voice softened, yet carried a quiet emotion:
"Today, Zinnia remembered the day I helped her search for her lost wallet. She was so close to giving up, convinced no one cared. At the time, I thought it was just something small, but seeing her smile today made me realize how even small acts can mean something big to someone else. I'm happy for her."