The room was colder than before.
—
Not because of the air.
Because of him.
—
Leon stood across the table, arms crossed, eyes locked on Elena like she was a problem waiting to fail.
—
"Let's see if you're actually useful," he said.
—
Elena leaned back slightly.
Unimpressed.
"Didn't we already establish that?"
—
"That was theory."
A step closer.
"This is reality."
—
Adrian stayed silent.
Watching.
—
Always watching.
—
Leon tapped the screen.
A new set of data appeared.
Encrypted.
Messy.
Layered.
—
"Break it," Leon said.
—
Elena glanced at it once.
Twice.
Then—
"…This isn't normal encryption."
—
Leon smirked faintly.
"Good. You can see that."
—
She stepped closer to the screen.
Eyes narrowing.
Fingers moving.
Fast.
—
The room went quiet.
—
Minutes passed.
—
No one spoke.
—
Then—
"Done."
—
Leon didn't react immediately.
—
"Show me."
—
Elena turned the screen.
Clean.
Structured.
Opened.
—
Silence.
—
Then—
Leon walked closer.
Checking.
Scanning.
Testing.
—
Nothing wrong.
—
Not a single error.
—
—
"…Interesting," he muttered.
—
Elena crossed her arms.
"Still think I'm 'not much'?"
—
A pause.
—
Leon looked at her again.
Different this time.
—
Not dismissive.
—
Measuring.
—
"You're useful," he said.
—
Not praise.
But not nothing.
—
—
Adrian finally spoke.
"I told you."
—
Leon didn't look at him.
"Not yet."
—
—
Elena frowned.
"What now?"
—
Leon turned back to her.
Eyes sharp again.
—
"Now we test something that matters."
—
—
The screen changed again.
—
A location.
Coordinates.
Live feed.
—
Gunfire.
Movement.
Chaos.
—
Elena's expression shifted.
—
"This is happening now?" she asked.
—
"Yes."
—
A beat.
—
"You're going to help us fix it."
—
—
She froze.
—
"…I'm not going out there."
—
Leon tilted his head slightly.
"Who said anything about going out?"
—
A pause.
—
Then—
"You'll stay here."
—
He pointed at the system.
—
"And keep them alive."
—
—
Elena looked at the screen again.
—
People moving.
Dodging.
Shooting.
—
One mistake—
They die.
—
—
Her jaw tightened.
—
"This isn't a test," she said quietly.
—
Leon's voice was calm.
Cold.
—
"It is."
—
—
Silence.
—
Adrian stepped beside her.
Close again.
—
"You wanted to understand this world," he said.
—
A glance at the screen.
—
"This is it."
—
—
Elena exhaled slowly.
—
Then—
She moved.
—
Fast.
Focused.
—
Typing.
Analyzing.
Tracking.
—
"Left side—two incoming," she said.
"Blind spot in 3 seconds—move now."
—
On screen—
They moved.
Just in time.
—
Gunfire missed.
—
—
Leon watched closely.
—
Every move.
Every call.
—
—
"Camera 4 is compromised," Elena continued.
"Switch to thermal—NOW."
—
The feed adjusted.
—
Enemies exposed.
—
Taken down.
—
—
The chaos started to stabilize.
—
Slowly.
—
Controlled.
—
—
Minutes later—
—
Silence.
—
The feed stopped.
—
Mission complete.
—
—
Elena's hands stopped moving.
—
She didn't look at them.
—
Didn't celebrate.
—
Just… breathed.
—
—
Leon stepped forward.
—
Closer this time.
—
No smirk.
No mockery.
—
Just—
Recognition.
—
"…You kept them alive," he said.
—
Elena didn't respond.
—
—
A pause.
—
Then—
Leon nodded once.
—
Small.
But real.
—
"You're not dead weight."
—
—
Adrian glanced at him.
—
That was enough.
—
—
Elena finally looked up.
—
"And now?" she asked.
—
—
Leon held her gaze.
—
Longer this time.
—
Different.
—
"You stay."
—
A beat.
—
"Because now you're useful to him."
—
A slight pause.
—
Then—
"…and to me."
—
—
Silence.
—
—
Elena leaned back slightly.
—
"Did I just pass your test?"
—
—
Leon's expression didn't change.
—
"You survived it."
—
—
Close enough.
—
—
Adrian stepped forward.
—
Ending the moment.
—
"For now," he said.
—
—
But Elena saw it.
—
That shift.
—
Small.
Subtle.
—
But real.
—
—
Leon no longer looked at her like a liability.
—
—
Now—
—
He was watching her like an asset.
—
—
And in this world—
—
That changed everything.
—
—
To be continued...