The luxury convoy sped through the rain-soaked streets. Inside the lead car, Wolfe sat comfortably, puffing on a cigar while a beautiful woman beside him catered to his every need. Across from him, two middle-aged men were deep in conversation.

  Axel had seen them both. One was Frost, an awakened man who served Wolfe, and the other was Steel—the same Steel who had visited his school earlier that day.

  "Is everything taken care of?" Wolfe said, his voice slightly tired from a few days in the interrogation room. But when he thought about the look of shock on Skye’s face, he couldn’t help but smirk.

  "Master, everything’s done. A few people are dead, and the two witnesses have been cleared," Frost reported, his voice raspy. He had a bandage over one eye, clearly still recovering from his injuries.

  "And you, Steel?" Wolfe asked, turning his gaze toward him.

  Steel, still wearing the sharp suit he’d donned earlier, with his hair perfectly combed, gave a small nod. "The mark has been placed. I can track him anytime. He didn’t notice it, but… the situation is a little different from what we thought."

  Wolfe raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

  Steel paused before speaking. "He’s a top student at the school, highly valued. For now, we haven’t taken any action. But we’re keeping an eye on him."

  Wolfe took a slow drag from his cigar, blowing out a long, steady smoke ring. His mind raced as he thought back to how everything had gone down. At first, when Skye had snatched him up, he’d been thrown off balance, but fortunately, everything he’d planned was already set in motion. The back-up plans were working flawlessly.

  He should’ve known better than to have Frost approach Axel. The guy must’ve sensed something was wrong and gone to Skye for help.

  Wolfe shook his head. "Deal with him today." A campus genius, sure, but he was still just showing potential. After the test day, if he got selected by one of those war academies, they won’t have it so easy.

  .....

  In the dilapidated district C, not far from Axel’s rundown house, Kieran stood atop an old clock tower, smoking a cigarette. His gaze kept flicking toward the small, modest home below. A soft chuckle escaped him.

  What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I taking this so seriously?

  "Maybe this kid's just been through too much," he muttered under his breath.

  From the vantage point of the clock tower, Kieran had a clear view of Axel's home and the grim neighborhood surrounding it. The area was rife with crime and violence, Axel must have faced many hardships, living here with his sister, Annabelle.

  If Axel didn’t have the level of vigilance he did—constantly aware, constantly prepared—he probably wouldn’t have made it this far.

  Inside Axel’s home, Axel and Annabelle were packing their bags with brisk efficiency.

  Annabelle had grown used to this kind of life, the constant packing and moving. She didn’t need Axel to tell her what to do; she just followed along, doing what was needed.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Ten minutes later, Axel paused for a moment, looking at Annabelle—her small, delicate frame weighed down with an assortment of bags. Axel couldn’t help but laugh softly, then reached over to pat her head gently.

  "Soon," Axel said, his voice warm with a mix of hope and determination. "Once we get one million, everything will change. We'll be able to live a better life."

  Annabelle flashed a bright, innocent smile, holding his hand tightly. "Let’s go, brother."

  Axel took a quick look around, realizing that, for just a five-day trip, they didn’t need all this stuff. But he wasn’t planning to return until the mark issue was dealt with.

  His eyes flicked to the TV cabinet in the corner of the room.

  "Huh?"

  He remembered then that there was another crystal in the TV cabinet, one he had almost forgotten about. The ones he brought with him were obtained by him during the gang fight that day. Annabelle used them very sparingly, and now there are four left.

  He’d gotten the green crystal a while back… it had been found with Skye at the mansion deep in the slums. But he hadn’t used it, leaving it behind to serve as a backup for Annabelle, just in case.

  Axel set his luggage down and picked up the dusty crystal stone from the table.

  "Granger... an unlucky awakener who had a habit of stealing, was killed right at doorstep by another awakener who preferred living in the slums."

  The moment the information flashed in his mind, Axel froze, his pupils narrowing in shock.

  Granger? Killed at his doorstep? By a resident?

  The crystal in Axel's hand nearly slipped from his fingers as his mind raced.

  This... doesn’t make any sense!

  Axel’s thoughts were jumbled, but he quickly started sorting through the details. He’d always assumed that this crystal came from the person who had written "reject" on Wolfe's list.

  From what he and Skye had pieced together, anyone who rejected Wolfe had been killed by him.

  But now, after receiving this new information, Axel realized—his and Skye's assumptions had been completely wrong.

  The person who rejected Wolfe was still alive.

  "Skye’s in trouble."

  Axel exhaled sharply, his thoughts in disarray. He thought everything had been settled, but now, it felt like everything had just unraveled. If their assumptions had been wrong from the start, how could they investigate anything that followed?

  His mind snapped back to earlier that evening when he had tried to reach Skye. The phone had gone unanswered—just busy signals, over and over.

  “Shit.”

  Without wasting another second, Axel grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.

  Outside, Kieran yawned lazily, checking his watch. It was already 7:30 p.m.

  Kieran brushed the dust from his hands, ready to climb down from the clock tower. But before he could move, two masked figures appeared in the distance.

  "Thieves?" Kieran muttered, not thinking much of it at first. If it was really a robbery, he’d handle it—no big deal.

  But as the figures got closer, he noticed something off. The two men moved with unnerving speed, their daggers already drawn. And their path... it was clear they were heading straight toward Axel’s location.

  Kieran’s expression changed instantly.

  “Shit. Could the kid have been right?” He cursed under his breath, tossing the cigarette to the ground, not caring if it stained his clothes. Without hesitation, he jumped down from the clock tower.

  His face hardened as he picked up a nearby brick and started running.

  The rain-soaked streets of the slums were slick with mud, and a thick fog hung in the air, making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead.

  Axel and Annabelle rounded the corner just as they spotted a man in black standing there.

  He wasn’t even trying to hide the knife in his hand, and the only thing visible above his mask were his cold, murderous eyes.

  "Time to go, kid."

  Axel felt Annabelle’s hand tighten in his, and the bloodshot in her eyes spread.

  “No rush,” Axel muttered, keeping his voice low and calm. He wasn’t about to expose Annabelle unless it was absolutely necessary.

  The man in black tilted his head, a slight smirk tugging at the edges of his lips, clearly amused by Axel's words.

  “Not in a hurry, huh?” he said, his tone laced with curiosity.

  The next moment, the sound of wind howling filled the air, followed by the sharp *whoosh* of something flying toward them. A red brick slammed into the spot where the man had been standing just a second ago.

  The man’s eyes narrowed as he turned toward Axel, then glanced over at Kieran, who was sprinting toward them from the left. Surprise flashed in his gaze, mixed with a little confusion.