One week had passed.
Hostel 7 had changed. Students no longer argued when Alexander's people collected protection money. Conversations stopped when Akshat or Alexander walked into hallways. Doors closed quietly. Fear had settled into the campus like fog—exactly how Alexander wanted it.
Akshat didn't interfere. Instead, he gave Alexander a single order: find out everything about the hostels of AUMC. And Alexander had done exactly that.
It was late at night when he finally approached Akshat. His laptop was still open in his hands. His expression was different—not confused, not excited, but disturbed.
Akshat sat near the window of their apartment, watching him.
"Did you find something?" he asked.
Alexander didn't answer immediately. He placed the laptop on the table and ran a hand through his hair.
"Yeah," he muttered. Then he looked up. "And I wish I hadn't."
That got Akshat's attention.
Alexander turned the screen toward him. "Hostel 1 isn't just running illegal businesses," he said.
"I already knew that," Akshat replied.
Alexander shook his head. "No. You don't understand." His voice had dropped. "Drugs… gambling… fake IDs… stolen exams… those are just the visible operations."
He tapped a few keys. A long list of documents appeared on the screen.
"These hostels are connected to politicians," Alexander continued. "Local officials. Police commissioners. Business investors."
Akshat's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Anyone who tries to investigate them disappears."
"Disappears?" Akshat asked.
Alexander nodded slowly. "Or dies."
The room fell silent. Outside, the wind brushed against the window.
Alexander clicked another file. "This is where it gets strange."
A new document opened. At the top was a strange title:
CONFIDENTIAL — AUMC INTERNAL PROGRAM
Akshat's interest sharpened. Alexander frowned at the screen.
"I found this hidden in an encrypted folder connected to Hostel 1's finances." He scrolled. The first page appeared: charts, research notes, funding records—but none mentioned money. They referenced experiments.
Alexander's voice dropped. "This isn't a gang operation."
"What is it then?" Akshat asked.
Alexander swallowed. "I think… it's some kind of research project."
The second page began loading. Strange text and diagrams flashed across the screen. Something about human trials. Alexander leaned closer.
"Wait… what the hell is this?"
Suddenly, the screen flickered. The document glitched. Lines of code flashed across the display.
Alexander froze. "What the—"
The file corrupted. Every page vanished instantly. The folder closed by itself.
Then—the entire directory deleted.
Alexander stared at the empty screen in disbelief. "No… no, no, no."
He quickly searched the system again. Nothing. The file was gone. Completely erased. Even the backup folder had disappeared.
Alexander slowly leaned back. His face had gone pale.
"That's impossible," he muttered. "No file deletes itself like that."
Akshat stood and walked to the table. The laptop screen reflected in his eyes. Empty.
He folded his arms. "Looks like someone noticed you digging."
Alexander looked at him. "You think this was remote access?"
"Maybe." Akshat closed the laptop gently. "But whoever controls Hostel 1…" He paused. "…is watching much more closely than we thought."
Outside, the campus lights flickered in the distance. Somewhere inside Hostel 1, a system had just erased the first person who got too close to its secret.
The room remained quiet after the file disappeared. Alexander's fingers hovered over the keyboard as if the document might reappear. It didn't.
Akshat leaned against the table, thinking. If someone had deleted that file remotely, then the system behind Hostel 1 was far more organized than a simple student gang.
Then a voice broke the silence.
"…There's still something you don't know."
Both Alexander and Akshat turned.
Tae Jin stood near the wall, arms folded, his expression uneasy.
"What now?" Alexander asked.
Tae Jin hesitated. Then spoke slowly, "I don't know if it's true. Most people only hear it as a rumor."
Akshat's eyes narrowed. "Say it."
Tae Jin swallowed. "There's supposed to be a black market connected to the hostels."
Alexander frowned. "A black market? For what?"
"For anything illegal," Tae Jin said, voice quiet. "Fake identities… weapons… drugs… information…" He paused, then added in a lower voice, "And people."
The room fell silent. Alexander's chair creaked as he leaned back.
"People?" he repeated.
Tae Jin nodded. "I've heard stories… students who suddenly disappear… international students who arrive and no one ever sees them again." His hands tightened slightly. "I don't know if it's real. But if something like that exists… Hostel 1 might be connected to it."
Alexander let out a quiet breath. "Great. So now the campus gangs might be tied to organized crime."
Akshat walked to the window again, looking out at the dark campus. Hostel buildings stood silent under the night lights. From the outside, everything seemed normal. Peaceful. But underneath… something much darker was moving.
"And at the center of it," Akshat said quietly, "is still Kuroda Haru."
Tae Jin shook his head slowly. "That's the strange part."
Alexander raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Tae Jin's voice dropped to almost a whisper. "People say even Kuroda Haru doesn't control the deepest parts of Hostel 1."
Akshat turned toward him. "Then who does?"
Tae Jin looked uneasy. "I don't know. But whoever it is… they're the reason nobody ever investigates AUMC. If we want peace…" He trailed off.
"Then we must have a war," Akshat finished, voice sharp. "To win a war, we need bigger alliances. I'm going to take over every hostel in AUMC—starting with the easy targets and moving toward the tough ones."
End of ch 32
To be continue...
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