As soon as Adam left the street, Pratham quickly went to work, disabling every CCTV cara in the area.
Any trace of Adam's presence had been ticulously erased; there would be no record left behind.
Once everything was set, Pratham left Victor's lifeless body lying there, abandoned in the desolate street.
He knew that, eventually, soone would stumble upon it, and it would make its way to the police. This delay would buy Adam the ti he needed.
anwhile, the remaining six n in the factory began to grow uneasy.
They looked around at one another, wondering out loud, "Where's Victor?"
Yet, not one of them had any idea where he could have gone.
Mikasa, monitoring their movents from her Internet with the help of satellite, noted their growing suspicion.
Her cold, focused gaze didn't miss a beat, every shift in their posture a hint at their growing worry.
Suddenly, one of the n's phones rang. Startled, he picked it up and put it on speaker.
Mikasa seized the opportunity. As the call connected, she began tracing its location.
She knew from past encounters that these calls often jumped between different locations.
But she was prepared this ti; she had already identified the true source of their communication.
With swift fingers, Mikasa hacked into their system via the call, disconnecting it abruptly as she injected a virus that would activate on the next call.
The gang mbers exchanged confused glances as one of them asked, "Why did you cut the call?"
The man holding the phone protested, "I didn't! It just...cut off."
Just then, the phone rang again. He answered it, and the virus Mikasa had planted activated, slipping silently into their boss's device.
In a mont, the call connected to their enraged boss, his voice thunderous with fury.
"Who dared to cut my call? Give a na!" he demanded.
The n were visibly terrified as they pointed fingers, each blaming another until one of them, in a trembling voice, said, "Sir, it was Tony..."
Without hesitation, the boss roared, "I want you to kill Tony. Now."
The gang mbers looked at each other, horror dawning on their faces.
The boss's voice bood again through the speaker. "If you don't obey, I'll have every last one of you killed."
One of them pulled out a knife, and as two others restrained Tony, he looked into their eyes with a mixture of terror and betrayal.
The knife-wielding man took a deep breath and, with a swift movent, plunged the blade into Tony, silencing his protests.
Another took Tony's phone, as the others quickly stepped back, distancing themselves from the bloody scene.
While the factory scene unfolded in brutal silence, Mikasa continued her work from her remote station.
She was downloading as much data as possible from the boss's device, even as he destroyed his phone in a fit of rage.
Her mind flew over the virtual connection, transferring files before his fury could cut her off completely.
Unfortunately, his recent paranoia had limited her access to critical information, but she'd managed to pinpoint his city. It was a starting point, if nothing else.
The boss's voice crackled through the remaining n's devices. "Bring the girl by tomorrow, no excuses. I want results, or there'll be consequences."
With that, he disconnected, smashing his phone to bits in his rage. By then, however, Mikasa had completed her download.
She leaned back, a small, satisfied smile on her face. Though she hadn't gleaned much, she had a foothold in his network—a step closer to identifying this elusive foe.
---
Adam finally arrived ho, his body weary and mind strained from the day's events.
Every step he took felt heavier than the last. As he opened the door and stepped inside, he called out, "I'm ho." His voice sounded hollow to his own ears.
His mother appeared from the kitchen, her face lighting up montarily before she noticed the exhaustion etched across his features. "You look tired, Adam," she said softly, worry glimring in her eyes.
Adam forced a small smile, chuckling slightly. "Yeah, it's been...a long day. I think I'll freshen up first."
A warm shower helped wash away so of the day's weight, and by the ti he erged, his father had co ho as well.
His mother was bustling around in the kitchen, preparing dinner, while his father settled on the couch, quietly observing Adam as he flipped through TV channels in an attempt to distract himself.
His father caught his wife's eye, silently asking if she knew what was wrong. She simply shook her head, her own face shadowed with concern.
With a sigh, his father sat beside him. "You look more exhausted than usual," he said, his voice gentle but probing.
Adam shrugged, keeping his gaze on the screen. "Just a tough day. Lots of work...took more out of than I expected."
They sat in silence for a few monts, his father patting his shoulder in silent understanding. Adam appreciated the quiet, the normalcy of it, even if it felt like a faint echo of his old life.
Adam continued flipping through channels, searching for sothing—anything—to occupy his thoughts.
He paused as a news channel appeared on the screen, the footage startling him into attention.
A video was playing, depicting a man in broad daylight. As he stepped into the sunlight, his skin began to char and smolder, until he burst into flas, collapsing into ash.
The reporter's voice was somber, detailing the disturbing scene. "This viral footage has sparked wild speculation online. It's claid that, the mont he entered the sunlight, his body began to burn. Witnesses allege that he seed desperate to find shelter from the light but was trapped by the crowd. So witnesses believe he was a vampire, though authorities dismiss this as pure fantasy."
Adam's mind raced, trying to process what he was seeing. His father, hearing the report, scoffed. "It's probably fake. People have such wild imaginations these days—vampires? Really?"
Before Adam could respond, his mother called them to the dinner table, breaking his train of thought.
He followed them to the table, a quiet tension lingering in his mind. He ate in silence, his thoughts drifting back to the man in the footage, the eerie way he had combusted in the sunlight.
Was it possible that others out there possessed strange abilities, just as he did?
Later that night, Adam retreated to his room. As soon as he closed the door, he summoned Pratham. Pratham's voice answered swiftly, "Yes, my lord?"
"Do you know anything about that video?" Adam asked, his voice low but tense. "Can you confirm if it's real?"
Pratham hesitated. "I cannot confirm it entirely, my lord, but from what I've gathered, it seems the incident did happen. I've traced the location to a city that matches the video's origin. It's unlikely to be completely fake."
Adam frowned, his mind racing. He then summoned Mikasa. In an instant, she was by his side, her dark eyes locked on him, awaiting his command.
"Mikasa," he said, "I need you to keep close watch on any news reports like this one. If anything similar cos up, make sure it reaches imdiately."
Mikasa nodded, her voice as smooth as ever. "As you wish, my lord."
Adam watched her leave, his thoughts swirling. 'If I possess powers, there's a chance others do too. Assuming I'm the only one would be a mistake. I'll have to proceed cautiously, keeping my abilities hidden.'
With a final, weary sigh, Adam lay down, preparing for sleep.
The shadows of his thoughts lingered, reminding him of the ever-deepening secrets he'd uncovered, the dark world of power he was now part of.
And with that, he drifted off, ready to face whatever would co next.
To be connected....
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