Sunlight struggled to pierce the dense canopy of the Nirwana Core Forest, casting stiff, uneven shadows on the blackened wreckage of metal. Four men stepped out of a Mobat vehicle right at the edge of the restricted zone. Their breaths were heavy, laden with suppressed anxiety. Before them lay a chaotic scene: tire tracks gouged deep into the earth, shattered road barriers, fallen trees with snapped branches, and the lingering, acrid smell of burnt debris.

  ?Agi, the leader of the group, walked toward the epicenter of the crash. His sharp eyes scanned the ground until they locked onto something glittering amidst the dust. He crouched, picking up a broken gold bracelet adorned with green stones.

  Agi froze. He ran his thumb over the green gem with a bitter feeling. He recognized this jewelry. It belonged to the person they were looking for.

  ?Suddenly, a baritone voice boomed from hidden speakers, shattering the forest's silence.

  ?"YOU ARE ENTERING A RESTRICTED AREA. TURN BACK IMMEDIATELY!"

  ?The warning was so loud that Agi’s three subordinates flinched, their hands instinctively reaching for their waists. They looked at Agi, waiting for instructions. Agi didn't retreat; instead, he walked calmly toward a leaning barrier post.

  ?The warning voice blared again, sharper this time.

  ?"Whoever you are, we mean no harm," Agi said, his voice loud but controlled, staring into the dense trees as if he knew eyes were watching him. "We are looking for someone who likely wandered into this forest after an accident."

  ?Inside the dimly lit monitor room of the Cygnus headquarters, Zinx sat calmly before a wall of screens displaying various angles of the forest. He observed the man named Agi through the lens of a surveillance camera. With efficient movements, Zinx cut the automated warning and grabbed the microphone in front of him.

  ?"You are wasting your time looking for people here," Zinx’s voice was cold and flat as it was broadcasted out. "The only inhabitants of this forest are the Cygnus. No one else."

  ?"But I am certain the person we are looking for is here. Her tracks end at this spot!" Agi retorted, his voice firm through the speakers.

  ?Zinx scoffed lightly. "I will repeat this once. There are no strangers here. Leave now, before this forest gives you a much worse welcome."

  ?But Agi was not easily intimidated. "We will keep looking," he declared. With reckless determination, he stepped past the boundary line, leading his men into the red zone.

  ?Zinx let out a short sigh. His finger pressed a button on the console.

  Instantly, an arrow shot out at high speed from behind the bushes, flying straight toward Agi.

  ?With impressive reflexes, Agi dodged just in time. His men immediately closed ranks, forming a protective circle around their leader. A second and third arrow hissed through the air, nailing the ground right in front of their toes.

  ?"Your persistence is futile," Zinx said again through the microphone.

  ?On the monitor, Zinx saw a shadow emerge from the trees. The broad back and towering height were familiar to him. It was Fata.

  ?Agi and his men stopped dead in their tracks. The man who had suddenly appeared wore a face covering, but his ferocious, unfriendly glare was enough to make anyone shudder.

  ?"Leave this place immediately!" Fata’s voice thundered, heavy with threat.

  ?"Sorry, we don't mean to intrude," Agi tried to be diplomatic, though his hands remained ready. "But we found clear tracks leading here. If someone gets lost, do you usually find them?"

  ?"We don't care about their fate. That’s not our business," Fata answered curtly.

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  ?"But you are the Cygnus, right? The guardians of this forest?"

  ?"This forest is full of wild beasts and deadly traps. No stranger can survive here. Go!" Fata ignored Agi’s question.

  ?"Even if our Miss is dead, I need certainty. I need physical proof!" Agi persisted.

  ?"Go! Now! No one is allowed to enter!" Fata shouted louder. For him, this was routine procedure. Warning given, threats issued. Now was the time for physical action if they remained stubborn.

  ?"Damn it! We just want to find someone!" growled one of Agi’s men, offended by Fata’s dismissal.

  ?Fata didn't want to waste breath arguing. The fastest way was to instill fear.

  He felt a dry wooden branch under his foot. With a swift, agile kick, he launched the branch into the air, caught it, and in one blurring motion, lashed out at all four men simultaneously.

  ?Fata moved so fast that Agi and his men were frozen like statues for a split second. Only Agi had the reflexes to jump back at the last moment.

  ?The three subordinates gasped, clutching their chests and arms. Blood began to seep slowly from the scratches inflicted by the wooden branch. Agi glanced at his men, then turned his sharp gaze back to Fata.

  ?"That was just a warning. Leave!" Fata barked once more.

  ?The three guards, initially pale from shock, now turned aggressive. The wounds weren't serious, but their pride as elite bodyguards was wounded. Simultaneously, they drew their pistols and aimed them straight at Fata’s heart.

  ?Behind his mask, Fata smiled. The chance to train his agility and dexterity—often considered his weak points in Cygnus—was now wide open. He braced himself to charge and disarm them one by one, adhering to Cygnus defense protocols.

  ?But the tension snapped when Agi spoke in a sharp, undeniable tone.

  ?"Holster your weapons!"

  ?His men obeyed, albeit reluctantly. Agi stared at Fata one last time, as if trying to memorize the figure behind the mask.

  "Sorry for the disturbance... Let's go!" Agi ordered. They turned and left the area quickly.

  ?Fata swallowed hard, disappointed that his training session was cancelled.

  ?"I see someone is very disappointed," Zinx’s voice crackled through a nearby speaker, followed by a short chuckle.

  ?Fata sighed, pulled down his face covering, and returned to his main task: clearing the charred wood and debris from the Mobat incident two days ago.

  ?Back in the control room, Zinx watched Fata through the monitor. His large-bodied friend was cleaning up the debris with lazy body language. Zinx then shifted his gaze to another screen showing a different area. Farezu was busy replacing an alarm sensor damaged by a previous small storm.

  ?"Farezu, did you find anything there?" Zinx asked, seeing Farezu move toward some fallen trees.

  ?Farezu looked agile, cutting through large branches with a single swing of his sword. "No, just found some good material for a wardrobe," Farezu replied with a grin, patting the trunk of a giant fallen tree proudly.

  ?Zinx shook his head. Making furniture in the middle of the forest wasn't easy. They had to send the wood to a processing plant at the forest edge to be cut to size before assembly. Zinx was the type who hated physical crafting; he preferred mixing potions or hunting for rare plants.

  ?"Zinx, I found something strange."

  ?The voice made Zinx jump slightly. He turned to find Kafarupi standing near him. The long-haired youth was wearing glasses; he seemed to have forgotten to take them off after working at the computer.

  ?Kafarupi showed his phone screen to Zinx. There was a blurry image of a yellow box.

  ?"The picture isn't clear, the screen is too small," Zinx commented.

  ?Kafarupi immediately reached for the controls of the surveillance equipment. Although their technology was slightly outdated due to a lack of maintenance personnel, it still functioned perfectly.

  The surveillance camera near Farezu zoomed in on an object hidden beneath a thick bush.

  ?Zinx squinted, trying to identify the partially obscured object. It was a box sealed with yellow tape that looked slightly damaged. There was a glowing red line on it—a digital display showing a small number.

  ?Zinx grabbed the microphone in a panic. "Farezu! Suspicious object two meters in front of you. Ten degrees to your right!"

  ?Farezu stood up straight, scanning for the object. But his attention was diverted. A small animal the size of a rabbit with soft bluish fur suddenly darted out of the bushes and stopped right in front of the box.

  ?"Ucan?" Farezu mumbled, recognizing the creature. It was an Abix, one of Nirwana’s rare animals. It was very young, evident from its small horn which was still pure white with a thin blue line. This Ucan was Winn’s pet.

  ?Zinx zoomed in to the max on the monitor. His heart stopped as he watched the little Abix innocently reach out and touch the yellow box. Now they knew what it was. The red digital line showed the number 01.

  ?"FAREZU! GET AWAY!!!" Zinx screamed with all his might into the microphone.

  ?Zinx and Kafarupi froze in the control room as they watched the number 01 turn to 00 in the blink of an eye.

  ?BOOOMM!

  ?A massive explosion rocked the area. The sound thundered all the way to the control room, and the image on the monitor instantly turned into black-and-white static. Without waiting a second, Zinx and Kafarupi sprinted out of the room, running frantically toward the blast site.