Ray’s eyes widened. "That’s... clever. But what about physical theft? What if soone just found the devices?"
Es grinned mischievously. "That’s where it gets even more interesting. We developed an app that changed our locations every five minutes. So even if soone tracked us down, we were always on the move, impossible to pin down. And..." She paused, her smile fading slightly. "Even if they did find us or tried to access our data, I had one last safeguard."
Ray leaned forward, captivated. "What kind of safeguard?"
Her tone grew serious. "I developed a system that’s tied to the password. If it’s not , or soone I trust, trying to log in, the entire database gets erased after three failed attempts. Completely gone. No recovery, no backups. Nothing."
Ray blinked, stunned. "You’re telling that even back then, you thought this far ahead?"
Es shrugged, her smile returning. "You have to when you’re an outcast trying to survive in a world where people would do anything to see you fail."
Ray stared at her, admiration filling his gaze. "No wonder they never stood a chance."
Es smirked, leaning back. "Exactly."
.
.
.
As the mories faded, Ray’s smile lingered, but his eyes drifted back to the room. He scanned it idly at first, his gaze brushing past the usual things—the books, the table, the awards. But then, sothing caught his attention.
In the corner of the room, where the wall t the floor, stood a shelf. At first glance, it looked perfectly ordinary, blending into the room’s understated decor. But the longer he looked, the more he realized how out of place it felt.
It wasn’t flashy or strange in a way that scread for attention. It was subtle. Too subtle. The wood, a deep mahogany, seed almost... alive. Its surface was carved with faint, curling patterns that reminded him of vines. The shapes weren’t imdiately noticeable, but as the light shifted, the patterns seed to ripple, as if they were moving just beneath the surface.
Ray frowned, pushing the chair back as he stood. His gaze locked on the shelf, sothing about it gnawing at his instincts. Slowly, he walked over, brushing his fingers against its surface, tracing the edge of the wood. He slid his hand along its corners, moving from the outer fra to the inner panels, but there was nothing out of place. Just smooth, polished wood.
"This doesn’t make sense," he muttered under his breath.
Determined, he began moving the books stacked neatly on the shelves, carefully setting aside the awards and trinkets Es had arranged. One by one, he cleared the surface, but no hidden switches, compartnts, or clues revealed themselves.
"Damn it," Ray cursed softly, running a frustrated hand through his hair. Yet the strange feeling lingered, gnawing at the edge of his mind. Sothing was off. He could feel it.
He stepped back, crossing his arms as he stared at the shelf, his mind racing. Then, it hit him. "Oh, damn it, I forgot," he muttered, a rueful smile tugging at his lips.
Closing his eyes, Ray took a deep breath, letting the mory of Es’s smirk and her constant ingenuity fill his mind. When he opened them again, his irises shimred faintly with a bluish hue. Everything shifted—the world around him beca a network of graphs and grids, layers unfolding before his enhanced vision.
His eyes scanned the shelf, the layers of wood, and the air around it. At first, it seed like nothing, but then, in the faintest of lines, he saw it—a concealed chanism embedded deep within the wood, blending seamlessly into the structure.
Ray’s lips twitched into a knowing smirk. "Knew it," he said, shaking his head. "That woman could never be simple."
He stepped closer, now fully confident. With a quick press on the exact spot his enhanced vision revealed.
Ray’s breath hitched as his eyes turned bluish again, a wave of power surging through him. But with it ca the all-too-familiar pain, sharp and unrelenting, as if his skull were about to crack under the pressure. He staggered slightly, grabbing his forehead and bending down, trying to ease the pounding ache. His breaths ca out shallow, and his body trembled from the effort of keeping himself upright.
"This... again?" he muttered through gritted teeth. It was getting worse every ti. He wasn’t sure if it was because his powers were growing beyond his limits or if his body was simply rejecting the strain. Either way, the toll was undeniable.
Forcing himself upright, Ray’s gaze locked on the wooden shelf, his vision still tinged with flickering blue hues. He blinked hard, trying to shake off the haze, when suddenly the fourth wooden panel of the shelf began to shift.
At first, it was a subtle movent, almost imperceptible. But then, with a quiet whir, the panel twisted, flipping upside down as though guided by an unseen chanism. A faint hiss followed, and a concealed compartnt revealed itself, the edges smooth and precise.
Ray’s eyes widened as he saw what was inside. In the center of the hidden space, encased in a pristine glass display, was a trophy. The golden surface glead faintly under the dim light, its intricate engravings catching his attention.
"What the hell?" he whispered, disbelief evident in his tone. He took a cautious step forward, his heartbeat quickening.
He raised a trembling hand and grasped the award. The glass was cool against his palm, but the mont he touched it, a strange warmth spread through his fingers, sending a faint shiver up his arm. His grip tightened instinctively as he pulled it free, his mind racing.
"Why would anyone go through this much trouble to hide... an award?" he said aloud, confusion lacing his words.
As he turned it over, inspecting every detail, a faint vibration ran through the trophy. His eyes snapped back to it just as a soft light began to glow from the base. The light spread upward, forming intricate patterns in the air like threads weaving together.
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