Chapter 6
Nothing.
I clicked the next button on the webpage.
Still nothing.
I clicked again, and then my eyes froze on a news headline I had skimmed over multiple times: [Rising Concerns: Investigation Reveals High Accident Rates at the Central Plaza Project]
Something about the project nagged at my memory. I quickly flipped back to the tabs I had open on the Four Clover forum, certain that the project name had surfaced during my previous searches. [Insider Leak: Database Exposes Patterns of Negligence at the Central Plaza Project]
Bingo. I clicked the link and began scrolling through the content.
The post s account owner wasn’t the original source; he claimed he was sharing a leaked database from a friend who had worked on the project and had lost his limbs due to safety negligence.
As I read the chilling details, my heart raced–not with excitement, but with dread.
It was the same paralyzing fear I had felt years ago when I discovered that a high–profile celebrity I had exposed was connected to Wolfheim’s officials.
I bit my lip, grappling with the weight of my next decision.
Was I truly prepared to delve into this leak? I had never experienced the terror that a typical drama would portray. It haunted those who exposed shady deals–no midnight escapes or frantic flights from
home.
Thank the Moon Goddess that I had been spared that fate.
But this was my only lead on Ralph. If I wanted to bring him down, this safety negligence could be the key.
Ping! Pong!
“Curse of Helheim!” I exclaimed, staring at the door in shock. I glanced at the clock–3 PM. Who the heck could that be?!
I rarely had visitors, even when I lived with Ralph, and now? I barely knew anyone here! Ping! Pong!
“Good afternoon! This is Twilight’s messenger staff! I have an urgent message for the resident of Apartment 205B!” a cheerful feminine voice called out from the hallway.
A wave of relief washed over me as I approached the door. I checked the security camera to confirm the staff member‘ s appearance before opening it.
“Ms. Lyka, is it?” she said in a surprisingly low tone as soon as she spotted me. “We have a delivery of food for your apartment. We’d like to bring it upstairs, but…‘
I blinked in confusion. I hadn‘ t ordered any food.”
Steamed lobster, a rolled rice platter, an assortment of fruits, and a selection of cakes–though the order was placed anonymously, it was painfully obvious that this excessive display was from none other than Ralph.
“You can have all of this,” I told the receptionist staff with a wave of disinterest.
“A–are you sure, miss?” she stammered, clearly taken aback.
33
“Yep. One hundred percent.” With that, I turned and headed back to the elevator, eager to retreat to
my room.
Buzz! Buzz!
I glanced at my phone. An unknown number flashed on the screen, but I knew it had to be Ralph.
“Hello, beautiful flower. Do you like-‘
I cut the call immediately and blocked the number without hesitation.
He called again almost instantly, this time from a different number.
“Lyka, why did you end-”
I ended the call again and blocked this number too.
I sighed, frustration bubbling within me.
Ralph was truly ignorant to our dynamics. By now, he should have realized that this wasn’t the first time he’d resorted to this tactic, and I was more than willing to block every new number he tried. Buzz!
Instead of a call, I received a message on my TalkaTo.
Unknown number: [Please, Lyka. Give me a chance.]
[Come home and let me make it up to you 🙁]
I shuddered at the sight of that sad emoji. Ralph had never used such a tone with me before. Was it really him contacting me, or was this some sort of prank?
Then again, who else would reach out? Chief Rein, Portia, and my other colleagues certainly weren’t the types to send me something like this.
I hovered my thumb over the block option, but paused.
Wait a minute. If I went home and played along with whatever Ralph wanted, I could find an
opportunity to copy the data from his personal laptop.
First question was: could I really commit to this?
Second question would be: How would I do this?
I stared at Ralph’s unknown contact for what felt like an eternity before finally typing a reply: [You only have one chance.]
As soon as I stepped into my room, I made a beeline for the travel suitcase. I rifled through its contents until I found the small, nondescript box where I had stashed my most sinister yet coveted treasure. It was a micro copier–ordinary USB in appearance, yet it held a dark power. With just a single connection, it could copy all the data from any device into its tiny physique.
Ah, how technology could be so evil~
I had hesitated to unleash its potential until now, but the moment had finally arrived for this device to
shine.
