With no one nearby watching him, Ethan moved through the forest darkness, feeling the impatient urge for combat course through his body. He pulled his pistol from the inventory, prepared the magazine, and, with a sigh of resignation, pulled out one of the blue spheres and squeezed it.

His hands began to turn transparent, blurring against the air. There was no time to lose, so he sprinted toward the cabin. The guards outside heard strange noises—crunching branches, the sound of hurried boots—and spun their heads around, their flashlights cutting through the night, but saw nothing. Ethan ran, taking advantage of his imperfect transparency and the darkness to slip undetected inside the cabin.

Once inside, Ethan walked the first floor. The cabin, despite its imposing size from the outside, was deceptively simple inside: a single, vast space with high ceilings that gave it a luxurious, open appearance. He found neither guards nor any indication of a second floor.

He continued searching until his eyes focused on a small hatch in the floor that seemed to lead downward. Although time was running desperately short, he decided to take a moment to wait, praying he wouldn't be discovered.

He was lucky. A few seconds later, the hatch latch turned with a click. It opened, and Congressman Vance ascended, closely followed by two burly, grim-faced men. Ethan slipped aside and plastered himself against the wall, ignoring them despite the uncontrollable urge to empty the entire magazine into them.

As soon as Vance and his guards exited the cabin and the hatch was left open, Ethan quietly slipped into the underground room.

Upon descending, the concrete room felt cold and empty. In the center, tied to a metal chair, was Cassandra.

Ethan froze. She was severely battered; her face showed large, swollen purple bruises, her lip was split, and her clothing was ripped and disheveled. Seeing the extent of her suffering, Ethan's fury boiled over like searing lava, drowning out any thought of invisibility or caution.

He spun around, ready to go back up and massacre Vance. But a voice stopped him, freezing him in his tracks.

Cassandra's face was still looking down at the floor, but she had heard Ethan's steps on the stairs. She thought, mistakenly, that her captors had returned to continue the torture.

"No matter what you do to me," Cassandra spat out, her voice hoarse and broken by the pain, but charged with iron willpower. "I will never tell you where he is, you damn idiot."

Ethan's rage vanished, replaced by a desperate urgency. He rushed forward and embraced her. Cassandra flinched violently, but Ethan covered her mouth before she could scream.

"Shhh... I'm here, calm down. It's okay, it's me... it's me," Ethan whispered into her ear, his voice thick with emotion.

She was startled to see him, her eyes clouded by pain and disbelief. Instantly, she completely broke down, relief flooding the room. Silent tears ran down her bruised face as she clung to him. "We don't have time," she managed in a faint gasp. "We have to get out of here."

"System, give me another invisibility stone for her."

[It won't work on her, Champion,] the System responded coldly. [The items are exclusive to you. They are tools for the Host.]

Ethan was astonished. He hadn't anticipated that answer; he mistakenly assumed he could simply give her the other sphere, use his own, and leave without firing a shot. It seemed the situation had gone even further down the drain. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

[You should see your face, it's pure gold,] the System joked with a mental laugh.

"You bastard, someday...!" Ethan didn't finish the sentence, only looking down at Cassandra.

The sound of the hatch above scraped open. Someone was about to enter.

Miles away, Jason cursed loudly, slamming his hand against the steering wheel of his armored Cadillac Escalade. He was furious for having taken so long to get out of the city, forced to take circuitous routes to evade police checkpoints.

"Damn police bureaucracy! I swear I'll burn it all to the ground when this is over!" he yelled.

Behind him, the convoy was an intimidating sight. A pair of identical Suburbans, carrying the key men—Falcon One and Falcon Two—led the column, followed by more than twenty additional vehicles, packed with gang members and mercenaries armed to the teeth. They brought nearly one hundred men, more than enough to sweep away any enemy that wasn't the army itself.

They drove to the approximate location Ethan had given them. Jason stopped the Escalade and got out, scanning the edge of the forest.

"Damn it!" he yelled, not seeing the yellow delivery van that was supposed to serve as their landmark anywhere. "Where the hell are the boss?"

"Hey, over here!" a voice shouted at them from the trees to the right.

Jason, Falcon One, and Falcon Two spun around, drawing their weapons. They saw a young woman was sarah next to a woman in a police uniform the Agent Sparks with her hands cuffed. Jason didn't know Sarah, but he approached cautiously.

"Who the hell are you?" Jason asked Sarah, his gun aimed slightly toward her.

"My name doesn't matter," Sarah said hastily, her voice urgent and full of adrenaline. "But Ethan is infiltrating and he is in serious trouble. They have his friend in the cabin over there!"

Jason glared at the handcuffed police officer standing beside Sarah, his hand trembling over his holstered pistol, ready to draw and silence the witness forever.

"Who is she," Jason demanded, his voice a low growl, "and why is she in cuffs?"

"She's an officer who tried to arrest us," Sarah explained quickly, standing slightly in front of Sparks. "But now she's here as a witness. Ethan agreed to turn himself in once all of this is over."

Jason looked intently at Agent Sparks, who met his stare with a mixture of fear and professional indignation while he was thinking. "I should kill her right now. It would solve all our problems."

His hand tightened over the butt of his pistol, prepared to end her life, but Sarah's words stopped him cold. Jason thought "If the boss said he would surrender, I have to wait for his orders. I can't be rash. It's not my decision; I'm just the boss's man."

Jason let out a slow, controlled breath and lowered his weapon, accepting the absurdity of the situation.

"Understood," Jason finally said, his gaze hard. "Get into my truck, both of you. Guide me."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.