The sea air was thick with salt and rust, and the old shipping terminal loomed like a skeleton of steel against the night sky.
Alpha team crouched in the shadows just outside the perimeter fence: Luce, Sayaka, Avni, Damien, Ishaan, and Dev.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxWPvhdc1o
A faint red glow swept over the cracked concrete every few seconds — automated sentry drones making their lazy circuits.
ARGUS: “Thermal signatures: three drones, predictable patrol pattern. Window of safe entry — six seconds after drone two passes east corner.”
Sayaka’s hand brushed her holster. “On your mark, ARGUS.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnso065dFrt
Ishaan muttered, “Six seconds. What are we, sprinters?”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrWF5F5yyD
Damien didn’t even glance at him. “Run faster.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2unmGaFrup
Dev smirked. “You two arguing or running?”
Across the city, Bravo team — Raiden, Erik, Saira, Lev, Veer, and Isolde — were stepping into the cold, echoing hall of the Archive Tower. Rows upon rows of dusty servers blinked dimly in the darkness.
ARGUS: “Bravo, connect uplink node seven. This will allow simultaneous data sync with Alpha’s progress.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWOfjW2vpu
Veer knelt by a rusted terminal. “On it. Just don’t fry my brain through the headset.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlP9xHoRbn0
Erik grinned faintly. “Tempting.”
Back on the dock, Alpha slipped through the fence during the exact gap ARGUS had calculated. The interior smelled like wet concrete and old oil.
Avni tapped her wrist screen, overlaying ARGUS’s 3D map against reality. “There — main storage bay. That’s where any surviving manifests would be.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXBTCpTJVX
Luce moved ahead, scanning the darkness with quiet focus. Sayaka noticed — he’d been locked in since the briefing.
Bravo’s feed lit up on the shared channel.
Saira: “Found something. Shipping logs — multiple containers flagged as ‘biohazard containment units’ routed here over the last two years. All under Rokuro’s shell companies.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZIYDAJ7Id
Damien: “Matches our lab theory. Alpha, confirm physical evidence on site.”
Alpha reached the bay doors. Ishaan crouched by the lock, pulling out a compact override kit. “Let’s see if I remember my break-in class…”
ARGUS: “Probability of triggering security alarm with your current technique: 42%.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsDANeiM1h
Ishaan froze. “…Fine. ARGUS, you do it.”
A soft click later, the door slid open just enough for them to slip inside.
Inside, the bay was cavernous — rusted cranes hung overhead like dead spiders. Stacks of shipping crates were arranged in a grid, most marked with faded hazard symbols.
Avni moved to one crate and brushed dust away from a barcode. “Scan this.”
ARGUS: “Contents: classified. Encryption level — Valgrave clearance.”
Damien frowned. “That’s impossible. Even I don’t have access to live Valgrave seals.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqqTHDWo6m
Luce’s gaze lingered on the crate longer than necessary before he turned away. “Then we take it back.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFzpctHvBP
Dev knelt beside him, running a portable scanner. “Yeah… but whatever’s inside? Not something they’d just leave lying around.”
Meanwhile, Bravo was digging deeper.
Lev: “Cross-referencing these manifests… there’s a gap. Containers unaccounted for — exactly around the time the first Valgrave head was killed.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWR24LHxv8
Isolde: “Which means whatever came in then… never left here.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0slrLP9wWu
Raiden’s jaw tightened. “Or it left, but not on any official route.”
Back in the bay, Ishaan froze mid-step. “Uh… guys?”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8A8j2IoFaO
From behind a crate, a low metallic hum started to rise — followed by the slow, deliberate sound of something heavy dragging across the floor.
ARGUS: “Unidentified entity approaching. Movement pattern inconsistent with drones. Alpha team — caution.”
Sayaka raised her weapon, scanning the shadows. “Talk to me, ARGUS.”
ARGUS: “Size estimation: two meters tall. Thermal signature — not human.”
The thing stepped into view. For a moment, it looked almost human — pale, angular features, golden hair catching the dim light — but its eyes were wrong, glowing faintly like molten metal.
Avni’s breath caught. “That’s… what.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNC7nd3dyd
Damien’s voice was low. “i don't know.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROjXMbNe24
Dev muttered, “Can anyone tell me what the hell it is.”
Bravo heard the tension spike in Alpha’s channel.
Saira: “What’s happening over there?”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3BcRcoBrK
Ishaan: “Uh, just your everyday creepy lab clone wandering the dock, nothing to worry about.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxEPM1QjSw
Veer: “Yeah, sounds totally normal.”
The figure tilted its head at Luce, as if studying him.
ARGUS: “Identity scan… error. Subject shares 92% facial structure with Luciano Moretti. Remaining 8% mismatch — unknown source.”
Luce’s pulse kicked hard in his chest. He didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvfBq3mNew
Sayaka took a step forward, weapon steady. “Alpha, fallback plan?”
ARGUS: “Recommendation: retreat. Entity’s muscle density suggests extreme close-quarters lethality.”
Damien’s hand twitched toward his sidearm. “If we kill it now—”
ARGUS: “Kill probability at current readiness: 17%. Retreat probability of survival: 76%.”
Avni swore under her breath. “Fine. We move.”
They began to back toward the bay door — but the figure smiled, slow and unnatural, before stepping back into the shadows and disappearing without a sound.
ARGUS: “Entity disengaged. Tracking lost.”
On the comm, Raiden’s voice was sharp. “We need full cross-match of that thing’s face. Bravo will run the data.”96Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0FOqLS1BP
Isolde added, “And we lock down every lab record tied to Rokuro. If that thing came from here, it’s just the start.”
As Alpha slipped out into the night, Luce couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever that golden-haired doppelgänger was… it had been waiting for him.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.