Finian sat up on the long couch, still half-asleep. Ron and Kai sat on the nearby sofas.
Both of them looked worried.
"Is everything alright?" Finian asked.
"Curfew has been established," Kai said.
"Why?"
"Someone infiltrated the main mansion and stole some important information."
"Really?"
Kai and Ron nodded.
Someone infiltrated? Don't tell me… Finian thought as he looked at Ron. Ron was already looking back at him.
"Early in the morning, Kai went to buy groceries," Ron said. "But the guards caught him. They didn't let him go for an hour."
"Hahaha!" Finian burst out laughing. "I wish I saw it."
"Do you have a death wish?" Kai said, walking over and staring down at him.
Finian immediately cleared his throat and sat quietly.
"Finian," Ron said calmly, "we'll let things calm down first. Then we'll infiltrate."
Suddenly, the entire world shook.
"What is happening?" Finian said.
"An earthquake?" Ron muttered.
"Let's go," Kai said.
Kai and Finian were about to run outside, but Ron grabbed them from the backs of their shirts and instantly teleported them into an empty alley.
People had rushed out of their houses in panic.
Ava and Liora also ran outside the building they were staying in.
The ground continued shaking.
The tremor lasted for nearly an hour.
Eventually, it stopped, and people slowly began walking back into their homes.
Meanwhile, Ava and Liora overheard people whispering.
"Last night someone infiltrated the main mansion."
"Yeah, I heard they took some secret information."
"So that's why the curfew was established."
"No. My friend works in the mansion. He said they actually captured them, but suddenly a strange fog appeared and everything turned black. The soldiers don't remember anything."
"Oh!"
Liora and Ava exchanged a glance.
Ron and his team had also heard the rumors.
Two women… and they stole secret information. Ron thought.
His eyes scanned the crowd and suddenly landed on Ava and Liora.
Ron's eyes narrowed slightly.
I think one of those women was Liora. She's a former Eclipse member… she could definitely pull something like that.
Ron then looked at Finian.
"What?" Finian asked.
"I think you know something," Ron said.
Finian sighed.
"I'll tell you back in the room."
Ron nodded.
"Hey, buddies," Kai said, raising a hand. "Don't keep me out of it."
"I'll tell you everything in the room," Ron said.
At the Main Mansion
"How can two unconscious women escape from more than twenty trained soldiers?" Seraphina said calmly.
Her calmness was terrifying.
Every soldier in the room held their breath. No one dared to speak.
Suddenly, the door opened.
Kruex walked in.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Two women stole secret information," Seraphina replied.
"Oh. No problem," Kruex said casually. "I checked the files. What they took is of no use to me."
"That's not the point," Seraphina said coldly. "I'm not angry about the information. I'm angry because two unconscious women escaped well-trained soldiers."
"You're right. Punish them," Vincent said from behind.
He was covered in bandages and walking with a stick.
Kruex walked toward a nearby table and picked up a katana. He slightly pulled the blade out, looked at it for a moment, then slid it back into the sheath.
He placed the sword back on the table.
In the next instant—
Twenty heads fell to the floor.
Silence filled the hall.
"Father," Seraphina said, "what information did they take?"
"It was a research volume about a man named DA," Kruex replied.
"What a strange name," Vincent scoffed. "Probably another loser."
DA… I think I've heard that name before. Seraphina thought.
A faint memory surfaced in her mind.
A Memory
Seraphina was jumping across rooftops in the middle of the night.
Suddenly, she noticed a masked man lying in an alley, barely conscious.
She quickly went to him.
The man was murmuring something repeatedly.
"DA… DA…"
His voice slowly faded.
Seraphina turned him toward herself and placed his head on her thighs. She checked his pulse.
He was alive.
She secretly took him to a safe place and treated his wounds.
She had also removed his mask.
The man was none other than Jake Jacobs.
Back in the present—
"DA… I heard that name from Jake's mouth once," Seraphina said.
"Is he some kind of powerful person?" Vincent asked. "More importantly, is he a threat to us?"
"Maybe," Kruex said.
"I don't think so," Seraphina replied.
"And why is that?" Kruex asked.
"I don't know… hearing the name 'DA' doesn't feel like that kind of threat. Father, where did you get those papers?"
"In an abandoned school in Atliop City," Kruex said.
"An abandoned school?" Seraphina and Vincent frowned.
"Seraphina," Kruex said slowly, "do you remember when I took you to Atliop City almost twenty years ago?"
"Yes," Seraphina replied. "You went there to meet someone named Thomas. We stayed in an incredible mansion. I've never seen a house better than that in my life."
"Yes. Professor Thomas," Kruex said.
"And the mansion we stayed in… it belonged to him."
"Thomas? But something else was written on the gate," Vincent said.
"That's not important," Seraphina said. "The research papers are."
Kruex nodded slightly.
"Yes… that's where I found them."
"But what surprised me the most…"
He paused.
"That man, Professor Thomas… vanished."
"No one remembered him, not even his own colleagues till this date."
"It's as if he never existed."
Seraphina nodded, "Then, what should we do?" She said.
"What if they come again? We need to be prepared." Vincent said.
"I don't think so, they had a lot of time and when I met them they were already leaving." Seraphina said.
"Which means they got what they came from. And that means they are still here. Vincent, go check very single human being in this colony and bring them to me." Kruex said.
"They were both women. And I know them." Vincent said.
"What if they are more of them." Kruex said.
"So, search everyone related to them." Seraphina said.
"Okay" Vincent said.