Light spilled from the twelfth-floor building situated at the fork in the road, where atop it, two soldiers stood patrolling the edge of the wall, looking down below.

  That caused the moonlight to reflect upon their bodies, along with the pitch-black assault rifles in their hands.

  The soldier standing on the right gazed straight ahead at the road before scanning the various buildings, then turned to his right and walked in that direction.

  All of this was reflected within the yellow eyes of Ark, who was currently crouching behind a building in the darkness three blocks away.

  Causing him, who had been looking up, to turn back and look at his own right hand, which was currently gripping a pistol; but after glancing at it briefly, he lowered the gun, pointing the muzzle downwards.

  He shifted his gaze to the right and found an empty road, a road that was blanketed by the light of the moon.

  Unlike him, who was currently sitting beneath the shadow of a building; so, after watching the road for a while, he looked up at the building some twenty meters away.

  The building in front of him was bathed in moonlight, but then, right at that moment, it was suddenly swallowed by darkness, causing him to look up.

  The image of large black clouds moving slowly in this direction made him lower his head, only to find the road being gradually blanketed by darkness.

  This made him lean his body forward slightly while turning to look at the top of the building, and that was when he spotted other soldiers who were currently standing there, looking in this direction.

  Even the soldier who had walked away earlier had returned to his post, turning back and forth before looking back to the right—but this time, it wasn't just him.

  Even the other soldier standing to his left, nearly five meters away, turned in that direction; prompting me, who had turned back to look at the road ahead—now temporarily shrouded in darkness by the clouds—to stand up and sprint out immediately.

  That caused me, having burst out from the building, to run straight toward the structure in the distance; but after making it halfway, I looked back at the building and saw the light from the road on the left shining down.

  And that light was moving along the road, causing me to turn my attention back to the front and immediately take cover inside the building.

  Before glancing at the window on my left, I quickly jumped, grabbed the ledge, and pulled myself up inside.

  Hitting the floor, I performed a forward roll and rose to my feet, raising my gun to point ahead while sweeping my gaze across the entire room.

  But there was nothing but emptiness, causing me to lower my weapon before creeping toward the room’s exit—a doorway with no door—where I poked my head out to take a quick look around.

  I found a small, pitch-black corridor; the right side seemed to connect to other rooms, while the left appeared to lead to a door.

  Seeing this, I sneaked out of the room and moved toward the door on the left, pressing my body against the wall before slowly poking my head out to look.

  Revealing an open, empty room ahead; even the edge of the building, which looked like it once held glass, was now just an opening connecting to the street outside.

  Glancing slightly to my left, I spotted a wooden counter some distance away, so I crept past it toward the window on the wall.

  Then I straightened up and looked out through the window.

  The image of a motorcycle, three blocks away and currently moving toward the building where the soldiers were stationed, appeared in my line of sight.

  The soldier on the motorcycle parked beside the building before cutting the engine and dismounting, grabbing the assault rifle from behind the seat and slinging it over his shoulder.

  Before turning his back to the vehicle and hurriedly walking into the building; seeing this, I crouched down silently, my eyebrows furrowing slightly.

  But after sitting still for a moment, I turned back to the door I had come from and immediately hurried to sneak back inside.

  On the soldier’s side, having dismounted the motorcycle, he was now rushing up to the twelfth floor; climbing the stairs and emerging onto the landing.

  He looked toward the area near the window, revealing a lantern set upon a small table, and to the right of that table sat a woman in a black suit.

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  Seeing this, he walked over to her and stopped behind her; gazing straight ahead with her left hand propping up her face, she spoke.

  “Coming to find me all the way here... what is it?”

  “We lost four men.”

  She went still for a moment, before lowering her left hand and speaking.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We found the bodies of four soldiers; two inside a room on the third floor, and another two on the second floor. One of the soldiers on the second floor was found naked. We suspect the enemy has infiltrated our forces.”

  Hearing this, she looked down before raising her right hand and crooking her finger; the man leaned in towards her right side, prompting her to grab his collar and yank him down immediately.

  The soldier held his breath as she turned and spoke into his ear.

  “Tell me that you caught them.”

  “No—no, ma’am.”

  “No?”

  The soldier nodded, causing her to shove him away before raising her left hand to massage her temple.

  “Have you checked the troops?”

  “We are currently checking them now.”

  He replied while standing back at attention, raising his right hand to adjust his clothes slightly, which made her speak up.

  “Separate anyone suspicious. Have the rest continue the search. We must find the object before the sun rises. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, ma'am!”

  “Good. Then go find it... wait.”

  She lowered the hand from her temple as her eyebrows knit together.

  “You said they took out four of our soldiers?”

  “Yes... yes, ma’am.”

  “...Order everyone to cease the search and spread the entire force to form a perimeter, closing in from that point towards this center. Any soldier who breaks formation and is found alone—bring them to me.”

  “Understood!”

  “Go!”

  He turned around before immediately sprinting back the way he came, while she slowly stood up and walked to the edge of the building, gazing at the sky outside as she took a deep breath.

  “It seems luck is still on our side this time.”

  Inside a building not too far away, the sound of boots striking the floor rang out—short but rapid—as Ark briskly navigated the building's corridor.

  His gun in his right hand was held at chest level, pointed at the floor, while his left hand held a knife in a reverse grip just slightly above the gun; Ark scanned left and right as moonlight streamed in through the window on the left.

  He turned his gaze forward, revealing a wall and a window ten meters away, so he pressed himself close to the right-hand wall and peered out through the window.

  A building appeared about five meters away; he looked up, and seeing nothing, looked down, then checked the wider area to his left before poking his head out to check the right.

  Seeing nothing between the buildings, he jumped out of the window and dropped down, before immediately getting up, sprinting to grab the window ledge of the opposite building, and climbing inside.

  Landing safely on the floor, he scanned the entire room, standing up within seconds before creeping close to the wall to check the corridor to his left and right.

  Seeing the corridor was clear, he stepped out and immediately moved down the hallway at high speed, constantly scanning his surroundings.

  He slowed his pace, raising his gun while shifting his left hand underneath to support his right.

  He turned his weapon to the right, aiming at the stairwell while slowly moving diagonally to the left; seeing that the path up the stairs was clear.

  He approached the stairs, keeping his gun trained upwards as he climbed; passing the first flight, he began his ascent to the second floor.

  He aimed his gun at the upper-left corner while ascending slowly; as his head cleared the edge of the stairwell wall, he found the left side empty.

  Seeing this, he turned his attention to his right, realizing he was currently only a short distance from the right-hand corner.

  He stopped walking and lowered his gun, pulling it tight against his chest, while raising the knife in his left hand above the weapon, positioning the blade slightly ahead of him.

  Continuing his ascent, he pressed his body against the wall before poking his head out slightly, keeping his hands pulled in tight.

  Revealing an empty corridor, he stepped out from the corner and immediately moved down the hallway with speed, his left-hand knife raised slightly in the lead.

  Scanning left and right almost constantly until he reached the far end of the hall, he looked up at the sign above the room on his left.

  It was the men's restroom; he turned to the right and saw a sign indicating that was the women's restroom.

  He walked over and pressed himself against the wall of the men's restroom before using his left hand to push the door open, aiming his gun inside.

  Sweeping his gun from the right corner of the door to the center of the room, he stepped inside and backed away slightly from the entrance.

  In that moment, he suddenly tilted his body to the right, aiming his gun directly into the corner behind the door.

  Seeing nothing behind the door, he quickly closed it and turned to the stalls, opening the first one before checking the second, the third, and finally the fourth one at the far end.

  But all he found was a broken toilet; seeing this, he holstered the gun on his right leg and sheathed the knife at his waist before walking back to the first stall.

  Revealing a broken toilet piled on the floor, he squatted in front of it and used his gloved hand to clear away the debris.

  Only the base of the toilet remained attached to the floor; he quickly peeled away the tiles underneath before pulling the toilet up from the ground.

  The toilet came loose easily; he set it aside to his right, then bent down and reached his right hand inside.

  Thrusting his hand deeper, he pulled his arm back up while pushing himself off the floor; his right arm emerged from the hole, revealing a black plastic box—resembling an ice cooler—in his hand.

  Both the box and his hand were completely dry, so he set the box down, making a soft thud as it hit the floor.

  He raised his right hand and knocked lightly on the box; the sound it made prompted him to draw the knife from his right hip and immediately use it to pry the box open.

  Eventually, the lid opened slightly—just enough to fit a finger—so he inserted his left finger into the small gap and pried with force, causing the lid to pop off suddenly!

  He glanced briefly at the lid in his hand before turning his attention to the contents of the box, but all he found was black foam covering whatever lay inside.

  He slowly lifted the foam, opening a small gap, and a tiny purple light peeked through.

  The darkness that had covered everything was replaced by a small purple glow; seeing this, he peeled the foam back further, revealing a purple light that sparkled even brighter.

  When the foam was completely removed, he froze immediately; the image of a purple crystal, smaller than his fist and currently shimmering with sparkling light, reflected in his eyes.

  Staring at it with furrowed brows, he couldn't help but speak.

  “What the hell is this?”