Chapter 439: Breaking a Princess
anwhile, Marx’s jet, the rcury T02, roared over the horizon and descended upon Bleu Island—thirty minutes ahead of schedule. He had pushed the aircraft to its absolute limit, the engines straining so hard they nearly combusted midair.
At the airport, his security detail snapped to attention, quickly escorting him into a sleek black convoy. He was driven straight to a lavish hotel overlooking the sea, where the plan was simple: rest briefly while the rcury T02 was cleaned, checked, and refueled.
But Marx had no ti for rest.
Inside his suite, he imdiately reached out to Ren and Ava. The siblings, frantic and sleepless, had been scouring every digital trail, every backdoor, every surveillance feed they could breach. Yet even with their unmatched skills, the truth was maddeningly simple:
Amaya was gone. She vanished from her chalet room without a trace.
"Ren," Marx said, his tone anxious, "send
all the footage you captured of Amaya the mont she left the airport."
"Uncle Marx," Ren replied tensely, "Ava and I already dissected everything. I’ll forward you the most suspicious clips now. The rest will follow."
Marx gave a terse acknowledgnt, then opened his private terminal. With a few keystrokes, he slipped into the shadows of his infamous alter-ego: Doble X, the world’s most untouchable hacker. His next move shook the digital underworld.
On the Dark Web, a new post appeared under his logo. A task for locating the missing Princess of Lireya.
Chaos erupted instantly. Veterans and novices alike froze at the sight. The untouchable, undefeated top hacker—the ghost who solved puzzles no one else could—was asking for help. Could it an that even he had encountered sothing he could not crack?
The top ten hackers and even the novices scrambled to check on the details of the task. Even if soone had already accepted the job, many hackers abandoned their own projects, flooding toward the task. They were not after the reward. They were after the prestige of accomplishing sothing where the great Doble X had faltered. For the Dark Web, prestige was a greater currency than money.
Marx only stayed on the Blue island for an hour. After rcury T02 had refueled and resupplied, he continued his journey to Lireya - a six-hour flight cut in half.
...
Far below, in a hidden observatory, a young man burst into a sterile white chamber filled with glowing monitors. His face was tight with worry.
"Masters, we are running out of ti. Lireya’s and Albanya’s elite forces are already on the borders. Skylars Intelligence has joined in as well. And just minutes ago, the top hacker—Doble X himself—posted the task."
Two n in their forties with white hair looked at the young man, frowning. "Is the woman that important? Why did you not say so?
The young man clenched his fists, bitterness boiling behind his lips. Haven’t I said it before? She is a princess. Who in their right mind kidnaps a princess?
But before he could speak, the n were already at the consoles, slamming commands into the system. Machines humd, wires crackled, and the room ca alive with chanical urgency.
...
Inside a separate white chamber, a cold, chanical voice slithered into Amaya’s ears:
"Princes, we will stop playing gas with you and ask you directly. We just wanted the location of the stone XX99. Give it to us, then we will set you free." the cold voice made Amaya shiver.
Amaya’s breath quickened, but she held her ground. "I don’t know what you’re talking about. A fragnt of that stone is in the museum—nothing more."
Then, as if rembering, she hesitated. "Unless... unless there are more. On the island. But Miraga had vanished."
The voice hardened. "So stubborn. Very well. Ayns, begin the procedure."
The twins, Ayns and Tayn watched from behind the glass. Both n were rare prodigies, their brilliance teetering on the edge of genius and madness. Ayns, a master of digital illusions. Tayn, an expert in psychological manipulation. Together, they had broken countless prisoners.
Amaya felt that the room shifted once again, and the bed she was on tilted vertically. When the movent stopped, she was chained upright against a crumbling wall. The air grew heavy, damp, and alive with hissing sound.
When her eyes adjusted, the torchlight revealed them.
Snakes. So many of them. A writhing mass of scales and fangs, slithering toward her, their forked tongues flicking in the dim light.
Amaya closed her eyes. She stilled her breath. mories of Miraga flashed. She was seven years old, falling into a nest of vipers. The feel of slick, cold bodies wrapping around her arms. She had survived then. She would survive now because she was not afraid.
The snakes sward, so biting, so coiling around her. She did not scream. She did not move. Eventually, disinterested in a victim so unshaken, they slithered away.
"Damn it!. How can she be so calm and not scared?" The two n cursed, pulling at their hair.
When the last snake was gone, Amaya raised her chin and stared straight at the hidden cara. Her voice was steady, defiant.
"You don’t know who you’re dealing with. Release
now, and I’ll ensure your punishnt is rciful."
Her words were t with manic laughter—two voices intertwining like a chorus of madness.
"You think your na matters to us? Even if we knew, it would change nothing."
Amaya’s eyes narrowed.
"Try the next one," Ayns urged.
The lights died. Red eyes appeared in the darkness—hundreds of them. Squeaks echoed, gnawing filled the air. Then rats poured in from the shadows.
Amaya gritted her teeth. Her heart pounded. She despised rats. But she would not break. Not for them.
Closing her eyes, she rembered her father’s training. She drew on her core, summoning an aura so sharp and cold it seed to cut the air itself. The rats scattered instantly, terrified, vanishing into the corners.
In the observation room, chaos erupted. The twins scread, smashing everything within reach.
Then the door opened. A new voice entered—smooth, soothing, unhurried and dangerous.
"You’re approaching this the wrong way, my friends. You’ve forgotten sothing."
The man wearing a hooded cloak, stepped into the light, smiling faintly.
"That girl grew up in the wild. No beast, no matter how slimy or savage, can frighten her."
Ayns and Tayn turned desperately. "Then what do we do?"
The newcor’s eyes glead.
"Simple. If nature cannot break her... mory will. Give her new mories. In her mind, let her father despise her. Let her family reject her. Make the ones she loves the very source of her despair."
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