The large metal double doors of the 16th basement floor of the Ann Estate thud open. Polished concrete, fluorescent lights that ran along the ceiling, and three coloured lines on the floor, red, orange, and yellow. On the wall, red meant critical security, orange stood for standard Aurian cells, and yellow had just the word “mundane” on it. If anything, the ‘prison’ Rachel had named it looked more like a hospital than the gritty iron bars and cobblestone walls Gale was expecting.

“Not what you pictured?” Rachel asked.

Gale nodded. Definitely not what he was picturing from a super secret rich family.

Rachel chuckled. “Grandma updates the security systems every few years. Says tradition is for museums, not for things that actually matter.”

They walked down the corridor, following the orange line on the floor. There were no windows, just security cameras and white painted concrete walls along with the hissing of the vents that they passed by every now and then.

“The cells are reinforced with special materials,” Rachel turned right at the junction where orange and yellow split from the floor. “They block ether up to Harmonic level.”

Harmonic, four levels above Awakened on the human scale, which would mean also four levels above him. In other words, don’t mess around with the Ann family, though he already knew that from their battle butler.

“How many people know about this place?” he asked.

“Just family and a few trusted staff. It doesn’t officially exist.” Rachel stopped at a door at the corridor’s corner. The yellow line kept going to the right. Placing her palm on the red lit panel beside the door, blue light spilled from her hand, shifting the red to green. “We’ve had these cells for decades, but they’re rarely used.”

“Until now?”

“Until now.”

The door slid open. A small room with two glass-fronted cells on opposite walls. Each cell had a bed, toilet, and sink. Nothing else.

Rodriguez sat in the left cell on his bed, staring at the floor. Right arm in a sling, face covered in bruises. He didn’t look up when they entered.

Victor Wang sat in the opposite cell, completely looking like he was at home, lying back, balancing on the chair, feet up on the table. Other than him not wearing his blue glasses, he looked untouched. Even his feet that were sliced off by Gerard were put back together.

“Well, well. If it isn’t the hunter himself,” Wang said through the metal grill placed in the glass. “Come to see your trophies?”

“Is his behaviour normal?” Gale asked.

“Of course not.” Rachel crossed her arms. “He’s been smug since he got here.”

Gale walked up to Wang’s cell, stopping a few feet from the glass. Rachel followed him, closing the grill.

“You know how to do this?” Rachel asked.

He nodded. Of course he had no idea how to do this. All he had was the unappeasable anger of the dark hunter against the smiling asshole behind the glass. But that was just an excuse. He had to at least try and not bother Rachel too much. Opening the grill, he began, “The case at the airport, what was it for?”

Wang sat up slowly, still smiling. “You went through all that trouble, and you don’t even know what it does? Glory’s standards must be slipping.”

“I know it’s prototype Mystic-grade containment tech,” Gale said, slamming his fist against the glass. Surprisingly, it was solid. Not even a slight shake. “What was it planned for?”

“We were going to sell it to the highest bidder. That’s how business works.” Wang laughed. He stood up and walked to the glass with a limp, stopping just inches from it, enough to fog the glass with his breath. “But of course, you already knew that.”

Right. Of course, he knew that. Dad always said vendors in Egypt would give in if you just don’t show your cards, which currently, he had none except.

“Look at you, playing detective. Do you even know who you’re working for? What side you’re on?” Wang pressed a hand against the glass. His eyes flicked to Rachel, then back to Gale. “They sit in their mansions and castles while the real world burns. They make rules they never follow themselves. Hypocrisy personified.”

“And you’re different?” Gale asked.

“At least we’re honest about what we are.” Wang’s smile widened. “We don’t pretend to be saints while our hands drip blood.”

Rachel stepped forward. The room temperature began to increase, but Gale put his hand on her shoulder, stopping it. She said, “You traffic dust to mundanes. You use people like they’re disposable. Don’t talk to us about morality.”

“Oh, the fire princess has a temper,” Wang said. “Did daddy teach you that before he disappeared? Or was it mommy?”

Rachel’s eyes glanced to beside her, turning to Gale.

He pulled her away softly and stepped forward in front of her.

“The fire princess taking orders from the hunter. That’s quite a sight.” Wang’s eyes returned to Gale. “You won’t get anything from me. I’ve been interrogated by professionals before. You’re nothing.”

At this point, dad said he should smile at the vendor, but he hasn’t practiced his smile yet. Whatever! It’s do or die.

Gale smiled wide, making Wang flinch backwards, but then stood straight back up with a smile. Let’s think about this for a minute. The whole trap they set up was never about a high importance artifact, or whatever Aurians called it; however, it still needed to be something important enough for Ollie to want it. In just a few days, the Silver Lions are preparing for a transport of something that the Anns want. And the mystic grade was a transport case for something, then wouldn’t that mean…

“Who said anything about interrogation?” Gale leaned closer to the glass. Dad always said to talk with confidence to get the cheapest price. “I’m just here to confirm a few things I already figured out.”

Wang’s smile dropped for a second.

“See, I’ve been putting pieces together,” Gale continued. “That Mystic-grade container wasn’t just about blocking ether, was it? It was about containing something that leaks. Something that doesn’t stay put.”

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

“The hunter playing smart? Neat.”

“Then there’s Esther Ann wanting her daughter’s knuckle guards back from the Silver Lions. Strange coincidence.” Gale paced slowly in front of the glass, eyes looking away from Wang. “You work for Spotlight, who’s connected to the Silver Lions. And you could be a Silver Lion yourself.”

Wang’s face stayed neutral. No read on this guy. Gale was never good at reading, but he couldn’t stop now. Tendrils pushed through the glass wall and into Wang’s heart. Steady rhythm. Basically, he had nothing to go off of.

“Then there’s dust. Big problem, especially for mundanes who get exposed. But if dust could be contained within certain boundaries, preventing exposure…” Gale stopped pacing. “That container would be perfect for that. But why steal weapons too? Why the knuckle guards?”

Gale turned back to Wang, whose smile was gone now.

“Unless it’s not just dust you’re trafficking. It’s artifacts. Weapons infused with… dust. Special items that work like magic for those who can’t naturally use ether.”

Rachel gasped.

“The knuckle guards with the red orb. They’re a weapon with some kind of power. Something valuable enough that the Silver Lions wants them.”

Wang smirked. “You’re guessing.”

“Maybe,” Gale shrugged. “But it’s funny really. In my eyes, I was just a mundane a couple of months ago.”

Wang glared at Gale. “You’re playing with fire, hunter. This isn’t about dust deals or petty turf wars. There are things happening that would turn your world inside out.”

“Try me,” Gale said.

Wang stepped back from the glass.

“You think you’re clever because you’ve connected a few dots. But you’re still blind to the big picture.” He sat back down on his bed. “Come back when you have real questions.”

Gale watched him for a moment, then turned to Rachel. Her face had gone pale, eyes wide with shock.

“Let’s go,” he said quietly. “We’ve got what we need.”

“Enen.” Rachel led the way out. The door closed behind them. Both of them didn’t talk until they reached the elevator.

Once inside, Rachel turned to him quickly. “How did you figure all that out?”

Gale leaned against the elevator wall. “I didn’t. The dots just connected themselves and his answer proved everything.”

The elevator shuddered, then rose up.

Rachel stared at Gale, mouth slightly open.

“You just flat-out lied to his face,” she said. “All that stuff about connecting dots and knowing more? You made it up.”

“I didn’t make it up. I was out in the streets dealing face first with those affected by whatever they’re doing,” Gale said. “One of them even had a little sister that he had to take care of. To me, it’s just weird why the Silver Lions would do so much for that case.”

“Seriously though. It had me even scared when you first smiled at Wang,” Rachel sighed.

“I had a good teacher.” Gale coughed, clearing his throat. On second thought, maybe a bad smile was a good thing. If it even scared Rachel enough, then maybe he shouldn’t practice smiling. Or maybe practice both. Better to practice both, get best of both worlds.

The elevator doors opened to the main floor. They stepped out into the familiar hallway.

“So what’s your theory?” Rachel asked.

“You want the reasonable version or the crazy one?”

“Give me both.”

Gale ran a hand over his face. “Reasonable version: the Silver Lions stole your mom’s artifact because it’s valuable and they’re thieves.”

“And the crazy version?”

“Maybe your mom’s artifact has an effect that they want and are studying it to create weapons of mass ether destruction to arm mundanes with Ether-tech that could potentially cause the major factions and world governments to collapse.” Gale laughed. “But that’s some mad scientist shit, like a B-movie plot.”

Rachel didn’t laugh. “What if it’s not that crazy?”

Gale stopped walking. “What do you mean?”

“The knuckle guards… they’re not just heirlooms.” Rachel looked left and right before continuing. “There’s a reason my grandmother wants them back.”

“Why?”

“I can’t. Not yet. Family oath.”

“The same oath that keeps me out of the library?”

“Something like that. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. You’ll tell me eventually, right?”

“R-right.” Rachel nodded, not meeting his eyes.

Gale pulled out his phone. “I need to update Ollie about this anyway.”

[Gale: Just talked to Wang. He cracked fast when I mentioned artifacts and knuckle guards. Definitely a connection between Silver Lions, dust, and artifact weapons.]

Rachel stepped closer, trying to see his screen. “You’re really texting Ollie? It looks too long.”

“Ollie.”

“Really?” She angled her head to get a better view, her head almost blocking his view of his own phone.

Gale turned the phone toward her. “See? Just Ollie. Why? Who’d you think I was texting?”

Rachel stepped back quickly. “No one. Just curious.”

[Ollie: Nice work, Detective Hunter. Wang’s just a messenger boy playing dress-up. Classic middleman syndrome. He’s Spotlight’s errand runner, nothing more.]

[Gale: So Wang definitely works for Silver Lions? Not just connected?]

[Ollie: Oh yeah. Silver Lion through and through.]

[Gale: If Spotlight is directing Silver Lions?]

[Ollie: More than you know. We’ll discuss when you’re freed from the Ann family dungeon. When’s your release date, by the way? Should I send a cake with a file?]

Rachel, who’d been reading over his shoulder, made a clear disgruntled pouting hmph. She pulled out her own phone and started typing furiously.

“What are you doing?” Gale asked.

“Nothing.” Her thumbs tapped at the same spot repeatedly.

Gale looked back at his own phone.

[Gale: Soon. Need to do a job for them first. Retrieve a stolen artifact.]

[Ollie: Ah, paying your debt to society. Noble.]

[Ollie: BTW, can you tell your fire-breathing shadow to stop sending me knife emojis? She’s up to fourteen now and it’s getting concerning.]

Gale turned to Rachel, who was still typing with intensity. “Are you sending knives to Ollie?”

Rachel didn’t look up. “He deserves it. ‘Ann family dungeon’? Seriously?”

“But you do have a family dungeon. And there’s even more levels down the elevator.”

“Big deal! The Baker family has a bigger one.” Rachel put her phone away, pouting. “Are you done reporting to your boss now?”

“He’s not my boss.”

“Whatever. I need to check on the library visit arrangements. Grandma wants me to supervise your first session.”

“When?” Gale’s tone rose significantly.

“Whenever after you’re done the mission,” Rachel said.

“Sure.” Gale glanced back at his phone as it buzzed again.

Gale put his phone away as Rachel began walking ahead down the hall. When he caught up to her, he asked, “What’s in this library anyways?”

Rachel slowed but didn’t turn around. “Books, obviously.”

“Funny.”

“Some questions are better left unanswered until you see it yourself.” She smiled at him. “Get some rest, Gale. You’ll need it.”

“Any fantasy books in there?”

“Some, but are you seriously going to waste your visit for fantasy books?”

“Yes,” Gale said with no hesitation. “Think about it. A fantasy book in a fantasy library would be even more fantastical than the ones in normal libraries.”

“Well, you got me there.” Rachel chuckled.

His phone buzzed one last time.

[Ollie: Good work with Wang. We’re closer to finding Spotlight. Stay sharp at the Lion’s den.]

He typed a quick reply.

[Gale: Will do.]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep