Hero packed his things quickly. His hands did not stop moving, but his heart was hurting. He looked at the table where the compass and the old documents were spread out.
He placed the compass on his chest and closed his eyes.
"Dad… I don't know if you can hear me," Hero whispered softly. "But I'm going to find the truth. I'll finish your mission. I'll find the Yamashita gold. And I'll make sure the people who killed you will pay."
For a short moment, the room was silent. Then Hero stood up and walked away.
Hours later, Hero landed in the Philippines. The air was warm, and the city lights were bright, but nothing distracted him. He followed the address written in his father's old notes — a small hotel, the place where Jack stayed before he died.
Hero pushed open the glass door of the lobby and walked to the counter, holding the old room card. But before he could speak, a man stood up from the sofa nearby.
"You… you look exactly like Jack," the man said, shocked.
Hero stared at him. "You know my father?"
The man nodded slowly. "I'm Jade… Jack's closest friend."
Hero's breath stopped for a second. He finally met someone who knew the truth.
They sat down at the lobby chairs. Jade's hands were shaking as he talked.
"Jack found the real clue… the final one. But the moment he solved it, people started hunting us. He gave me the map to hide, but I failed. I couldn't protect him."
Hero clenched his fists. "Do you know who killed him?"
Jade looked down at the floor. "A powerful group. Treasure hunters, but not like your father. They kill to claim gold and power. They want the Yamashita gold at any cost."
Silence filled the air for a moment.
Jade stood up. "Room 203. It used to be ours , mine and Jack's. Everything we worked on is inside. Continue what he started."
He patted Hero's shoulder, then walked away without looking back.
Hero entered room 203 slowly. The smell of old paper and wood filled the air. He turned on the lights and froze. The room was full of memories , notes, maps, photographs of Jack and Jade smiling together after finishing missions.
Hero touched the pictures quietly, studying the life his father once lived. Each photograph showed moments of adventure—smiles, mountains, caves, and places Hero had never seen before. They felt distant, unreal, like memories that didn't belong to him.
Then one photograph caught his attention.
Jack and Jade were standing side by side, laughing, and a young woman stood beside them. She looked happy, confident, familiar with them… but her face was blurred by time. The picture had faded right where her features should have been. It was impossible to recognize who she was.
Hero leaned closer, searching for clues — a name, a date, anything.
Nothing.
The girl in the picture was just a ghost of a memory, erased by age.
Hero stared a little longer, feeling a strange curiosity , but it wasn't the time for questions.
He clicked his tongue softly and put the frame back.
"Not important now," he muttered, turning away and forcing himself to focus on the mission ahead.
He searched through the drawers and found a necklace hidden under old documents. His father's necklace. Hero held it tightly and slowly placed it around his neck.
"This will keep you with me," he said softly.
Night came fast. Hero lay down on the bed, exhausted. The room was quiet… until he heard a loud crash.
Glass shattered.
Footsteps rushed outside the hallway.
Hero sat up instantly. Before he moved, Jade suddenly opened the door and whispered urgently:
"They're here. The same people who killed your father. They found you."
Hero and Jade quickly hid inside the wardrobe cabinet. Hero's breathing was quiet but heavy. The metal handle of a gun shook in his hand.
The door slammed open. Armed men entered the room.
"Search everything. The son must be here. And he has the files."
Hero's heart beat so loud he could almost hear it. The footsteps were getting closer… and closer. The cabinet door shook. Someone was about to open it.
Jade looked at Hero and nodded once , a silent decision.
The cabinet door swung open.
Hero and Jade burst out at the same time.
A hard punch to the first attacker.
A kick to the second.
Gunshots fired and broke the lights.
The whole room turned into chaos.
Hero moved fast , not because he was strong, but because he had something to protect. He slammed one man into the wall and hit another using the metal lamp. Jade grabbed a fallen gun and fired toward the ceiling to scare the others.
The attackers began to fall back, injured and confused. One of them tried to grab the bag of documents, but Hero pulled him down and forced him to the floor.
"Never touch my father's legacy!" Hero shouted.
Minutes later, the room was full of defeated men. Hero and Jade were sweating and breathing heavily.
"We need to go," Jade said. "They'll send more."
Hero grabbed his bag full of his father's notes and placed his hand on the necklace around his neck.
"Then we'll keep moving," he replied. "No matter what."
They ran out of the hotel into the dark streets of Manila. Hero didn't know where the next clue would take him, or how many enemies were waiting, but he didn't stop.
Because the hunt had already started.
The world would soon discover who Hero truly was.