Day 239 - Sunday - 7.45 PM
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My heartbeat was faster than ever.
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I stood at the gate, fixing my hair, straightening my T-shirt collar, trying to look... normal. But inside, I was a storm.
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Ajay, Dev, Kohila, Professor Joe, and the Stormbloods gathered near the main gate beside me. The metal creaked as it opened.
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A modified truck rolled in, dusty and armored with scrap steel. It screeched to a stop.
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Two figures jumped out-Gajan and Ling.
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I scanned the truck, every shadow, every seat...
Valli wasn't there.
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My stomach dropped. I froze.
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Major Prakash immediately asked, "Where are the rest?"
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We were quickly led into a small meeting room. Shanthini sat beside me and whispered gently, "Let's hear them out."
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Gajan took a breath and began explaining. His voice was low but steady.
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> "We were near the Malacca Planetarium, responding to a distress call. A family asked for help. The team split in two. Ling and I stayed in the truck, keeping the engine running. Azrul, Harjit, Shilpa, and Valli went inside to check the building. It was supposed to be a quick in-and-out. They had walkie talkies and body cams. We monitored them from inside the truck."
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He paused.
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> "They reached the room where the family was supposed to be. But it was empty. Just a camera on a stand. That's when it happened-a blast-from the other side of the building. Six vehicles appeared. Surrounded the building."
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My heart stopped.
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Gajan continued.
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> "They weren't survivors. They were wearing dark brown long robes and black masks."
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Gasps filled the room.
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> "Each vehicle had cages... with rottens and bulks locked inside. One of them spoke through a loudspeaker-'Surrender now, or be sacrificed!' We were trapped. We saw everything through the cams. We couldn't fight back-we had no chance. Ling and I decided to retreat. We escaped to call for backup... to bring help."
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The room fell silent.
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Hearing all this, and watching the body cam footage, the Z-Force immediately recognized them.
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> It was The Servants.
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We thought we had killed them. But clearly, there were more.
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Not a single breath. My chest felt tight, like the world was caving in.
All this way. All this struggle. And now she was in their hands.
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The Stormbloods were confused. "Who are The Servants?" one of them asked.
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We explained everything-our past fight, their cult-like madness, the sacrifices, the cages, the moon ritual. Their faces hardened with every word.
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Rashid, a Stormblood tech expert, checked the GPS watches worn by the captured team.
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"They're alive," he confirmed. "The GPS signal is active. It shuts off when the pulse is gone."
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Relief washed over me.
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She's alive.
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I looked at my team. Professor Joe. K-Zhaii. Ajay. Kohila. Even Dev.
They nodded-before I could even speak.
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Professor Joe placed his hand on my shoulder.
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> "We're family. We protect each other. No matter what."
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And I remembered Mr. Amar's words echoing in my mind-
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> "It's okay to be a hero."
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I turned to Major Prakash.
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> "We are the Z-Force. We'll bring them back."
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Major Prakash nodded in respect.
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Then K-Zhaii spoke up.
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> "When I escaped the Servants earlier... I saw a chart. A schedule. They only do their sacrifices on Full Moon nights. That's why they planned to kill us the next morning, back then."
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Rashid quickly opened his survival calendar app.
"Next full moon is Tuesday."
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We all looked at each other.
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That gave us exactly two days.
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Time to plan.
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Day 239 - Sunday - 9.00 PM
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A covert team was formed-Me, Ajay, K-Zhaii, Anthony, Gajan, Ling, and Rashid, the Stormblood hacker.
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We reached the outskirts of the industrial zone.
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We secured a small abandoned plastic factory, elevated enough to give us a clear view of the entire zone. From there, the mission base began.
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We launched Cyclops drones, scanning the area. Rashid hacked into old security systems and pulled up a blueprint of the main factory-the one where they were held.
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What we saw chilled us.
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The factory was turned into a fortress.
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Three layers of defense.
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The outer layer: filled with dozens of rottens-their moans echoing through the night.
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The second layer: bulks, chained and kept hungry.
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The final layer: armed guards, moving in strict patterns with machine rifles, drones, and sniper towers.
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In the middle of it all stood the core structure-the chemical factory.
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They turned it into a human sacrifice ground.
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Rashid stared at the monitors.
His face went pale.
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> "We are doomed."
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I looked at the screen. At the chaos. At the impossible challenge.
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Then I looked at the photo of Valli in my pocket.
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> "No... we're not."
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and then Add to home screen.