"It’s useless for him to come at me. I really don’t know anything." Axel spread his hands, his expression helpless. But the man sitting next to Cross shot him a cold, intense look.

  Cross frowned, clearly losing his patience. He stopped smiling and leaned forward, tapping the table slowly with his fingers.

  "You're really not going to cooperate?" He said, his voice steady but laced with threat. "You’re a graduate of Dune Brookhaven High this year. Do you believe I can make a phone call and stop you from graduating smoothly?"

  It was an overt threat, but Axel, who might have been intimidated by this in the past, was no longer so easily shaken. After today’s test, things were different.

  "I don’t believe," Axel replied, staring back without flinching.

  Cross couldn’t help but chuckle, surprised by Axel’s defiance. This idiot really thought he couldn't do it?

  "There are about 600 students graduating this year, and only around 20 or so in the special training class. I just happen to be one of them." Cross let the words hang in the air, his meaning clear.

  "I was just joking," Cross said with a forced laugh. "How could I do something like that?"

  Axel narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Cross waved his hand dismissively, signaling Frost to get up.

  Axel thought they were about to leave when something unexpected happened. Frost’s cold gaze met his, and in that instant, Axel’s vision blurred. His whole body felt heavy and numb, as if his limbs weren’t his own.

  To an outsider, Axel’s pupils looked empty, distant—as though he were a lifeless shell of a person.

  "What did you take from those four men?" Frost’s voice was flat, but it carried a strange, compelling force. Axel’s heart raced, but his body wouldn’t obey. He had the overwhelming urge to tell the truth, to confess everything.

  This man, Frost, wasn’t just some officer—he was an awakener, and from the way he controlled the conversation, Axel realized that Frost’s ability was a rare one: a spiritual awakener. They had lowered his guard, subtly draining his will to resist. And now, Frost was using his power to manipulate Axel’s mind.

  "I didn’t take anything," Axel muttered, his voice sounding stiff, disconnected from his thoughts.

  Cross visibly relaxed, relieved that Axel had given the "right" answer. Frost seemed slightly more at ease as well. But then, Frost asked the second question.

  "How did they die..."

  Before Axel could respond, Annabelle suddenly rushed forward, practically throwing herself at him. She hugged him tightly, glaring at the two men with fierce eyes. Cross barely had time to react.

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  "Is this how you handle things, huh?" Axel shouted, finally snapping out of the daze. His sister’s sudden appearance had shaken him back to his senses, and now he was fully alert.

  "Hmph." Frost muttered, his cold gaze lingering on Axel and Annabelle for a moment before he turned and walked out, ignoring their presence completely.

  Cross cursed inwardly. These people really do things without scruples. If things had gone sideways, he’d have a hard time explaining himself to his superiors.

  "Axel, thanks for your cooperation. It’s just routine, you understand." Cross forced a smile, his tone casual, before following Frost out the door.

  Once they were gone, Axel let out a breath.

  "Annabelle, I’m fine," he said, ruffling his sister’s hair. If Annabelle hadn’t stopped him in time, he might have been forced to speak under Frost’s influence. The power of an awakener was no joke—it was dangerous and hard to guard against.

  "Brother, are we safe?"

  Annabelle’s voice trembled with worry as she looked up at Axel. He smiled and gently patted her head, trying to calm her.

  "It’s okay."

  But even as he said it, Axel couldn’t shake the unease gnawing at him. It was strange. He’d underestimated this so-called Wolfe. To send an awakener—a rare, spiritual awakener, no less—to investigate him?

  People like that were dangerous. What’s worse, Axel had clearly seen the cold, indifferent murderous intent in Frost’s eyes when he left.

  If Axel had been just another regular student from the slums, he wasn’t sure what kind of tactics they might have used against him today. Luckily, he had revealed his status as a special training class student, which made the two men a little more cautious than they might have been otherwise.

  "Yo, Axel! You’ve gotta protect me from now on!" Drayke’s voice crackled through the speaker, clearly excited.

  "Cut the crap. I need info on someone. You know a guy named Wolfe?" Axel interrupted, getting straight to the point.

  Drayke paused, clearly surprised. "Wolfe? Why the hell are you asking about him? Dude, you really messed with him, didn’t you? You better run while you can."

  "Seriously," Axel said, annoyed. "You really wanna get hit?"

  Seeing Axel wasn’t in the mood for jokes, Drayke quickly switched gears. "Okay, okay, seriously though, I’ve heard some stuff. Wolfe’s one of the top ten entrepreneurs in the city, runs the sanitation company, and pretty much controls the underground. I mean, the guy’s got nightclubs, casinos, black-market boxing rings, you name it."

  Axel frowned, trying to take in everything Drayke was saying. "You know all this?"

  Drayke seemed offended by Axel’s doubt. "Of course, I know! This stuff isn’t even secret anymore. Wolfe couldn’t care less about hiding it. His underground boxing ring alone brings in billions in tax revenue every year for Dune. Who would even bother going after him?"

  "Hold on," Axel cut in, "anything else?"

  "Well, there’s one more thing I’ve heard," Drayke said, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret. "It’s said that Wolfe runs a water prison—a place for debtors. The life there is worse than death. People go in, and you hear the screams for miles. That’s why no one dares owe him money."

  Axel’s frown deepened, but Drayke added, "I heard it from this weird private forum, so take it with a grain of salt."

  Axel hung up, his heart sinking.

  He'd been lucky. The truth he'd confessed earlier had been enough to convince Frost, but damn... Wolfe's background was a hell of a lot bigger and darker than Axel had expected.

  What were they really after?

  Axel didn’t waste another moment. He started tearing through the house, checking every corner, from the floorboards to the seams of the sofa cushions. Nothing was going to be left unchecked.

  "Boss, I've finished questioning him. That kid doesn't know anything."

  "Alright, I used memory interrogation. Got it."

  Outside the slums, Frost and Cross stood by the roadside, speaking with Wolfe on the phone.

  Cross let out a relieved breath and flashed a smile. "So, does that mean we’re done with this kid?"

  Frost stared into the dimly lit slums with an emotionless gaze. "Is it hard to make him disappear?"