Chapter 186: Investigating Daniel

Night arrived.

Nathan Industries became quiet. Most employees had already gone home. The massive building stood beneath the city lights, its glass walls reflecting the darkness.

Inside a small apartment several streets away, Nobody stood in front of his bedroom mirror. His office clothes were lying on the chair. He stared at his reflection.

Then he smiled. "Time to work."

A familiar system window appeared.

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[Identity Change Available]

Daytime restriction lifted.

Crimson Bunny Biker identity restored.

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Nobody raised an eyebrow. "Finally."

A dark crimson suit formed around his body. The familiar helmet appeared in his hand. He placed it over his head.

The playful appearance disappeared. The ordinary office worker was gone. Crimson Bunny had returned.

Nobody stepped onto the balcony. The city stretched endlessly before him. "System."

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[System]

Yes, User?

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"Show me the nearest CCTV connected to the northern district."

A pause.

Then another window appeared.

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[CC Eyes Activated]

Searching surveillance network...

Location identified.

Northern District.

Last known target route acquired.

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Nobody’s vision changed. Suddenly, hundreds of camera feeds appeared in his mind. Traffic intersections, parking lots, buildings, store entrances, side streets. He focused. "Find the guy in the black jacket."

The feeds moved rapidly.

One camera. Nothing.

Another. Nothing.

Then... He saw something. "There." The man entered an alley.

Nobody watched carefully.

The footage continued. The man removed his jacket. Underneath was a gray shirt. Then he entered a vehicle.

Nobody memorized the license plate. "Follow the car."

The system connected to another camera. Then another. The vehicle moved toward the eastern industrial area.

Nobody smiled. "Interesting." He stepped onto the railing. The wind pushed against his suit.

Then he vanished.

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Zig Zag Teleportation.

Level 2.

Trajectory Adjustment.

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His body appeared on a rooftop several buildings away. He didn’t stop. Another teleport. Then another. Each movement was precise. Unlike before, his teleportation no longer felt like blindly jumping between locations. He could control his trajectory. The new ability made his movement smoother.

After several jumps, he reached the industrial district. He landed silently on top of an abandoned warehouse.

The vehicle from the CCTV footage was parked below.

Nobody crouched near the edge.

Three men stepped out. One of them was the man he had followed. Another carried a small metal case. The third looked around carefully.

Nobody smiled beneath his helmet. "Well, well..."

The System appeared.

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[Potential Mission Detected]

Objective:

Investigate hostile activity connected to Daniel Cross.

Additional Objective:

Recover the missing information.

Reward:

Unknown.

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Nobody rubbed his chin. "System."

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[Yes?]

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"Does this mean I get a reward or not?"

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[System]

User’s priorities are concerning.

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"Answer the question."

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Possible reward.

Something epic grade

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Nobody grinned. "Then let’s investigate."

He jumped from the rooftop. But instead of attacking immediately, he landed behind a large stack of shipping containers.

The three men entered the warehouse. Nobody followed. Inside, the warehouse was almost completely dark. His Night Vision activated. The men walked toward a table.

The metal case was opened.

Inside were several documents.

One of the men spoke. "Daniel wasn’t supposed to keep copies."

The second man replied. "He was careful."

The third man looked around. "He knew something was wrong."

Nobody’s eyes narrowed. They were talking about Daniel. He moved closer.

"Did he tell anyone?"

"No."

"Then why did he leave the notebook?"

"He probably intended to."

The man carrying the case slammed a document onto the table.

"That’s exactly the problem."

Nobody focused on the paper. Even from a distance, he could make out several words.

Nathan Industries. Contract Review, internal Access, Eclipse Corporation. His expression became cold. So the notebook wasn’t the whole story. There were more documents.

The three men continued talking.

"Once the notebook is recovered, we destroy everything."

"Everything?"

"Every copy."

"What about Daniel?"

Silence.

Nobody’s eyes narrowed.

"What happened to him?"

The man finally answered. "He asked too many questions."

Nobody clenched his fist. The System remained silent. For once, it didn’t make a joke. Nobody looked at the three men. He could attack them now. But that wouldn’t give him the information he needed. Evidence came first.

He quietly activated CC Eyes. The cameras inside the warehouse appeared in his mind. There were four. One near the entrance. Two above the main floor. One in the office.

Nobody smiled. "Perfect."

He didn’t need to risk himself. He could simply watch.

But then...A strange distortion passed across his vision. For less than a second, one of the camera feeds turned black.

Nobody froze. That wasn’t normal. His CC Eyes had never behaved like that before. A faint sensation crawled across his mind.

The same strange feeling he had experienced during the enhanced enemies. External interference, reality distortion.

Nobody slowly looked toward the far end of the warehouse. Something was there.

Not one of the three men. Something else. A faint black haze clung to the wall. It moved like smoke. But there was no wind.

Nobody’s expression became serious. "So..." He whispered. "This isn’t just about Eclipse." The black haze suddenly vanished.

The three men looked around.

"What was that?"

"I don’t know."

Nobody stepped backward into the darkness. He needed to understand what he was dealing with before making a move.

Then his System appeared.

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[WARNING]

Unknown external influence detected.

Source:

Unable to identify.

Similarity to previous reality distortion:

High.

Recommended action:

Observe before engaging.

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Nobody stared at the message. "Higher Being..." The words escaped his mouth. He wasn’t sure why he said it. But something deep inside him told him that this strange presence was connected to the same force.

The force that had transformed ordinary humans into monsters. The force that had interfered with reality itself.

And now... It had appeared near the notebook.

Nobody looked back toward the men. This investigation had just become much bigger. He slowly raised his hand.

A tiny white bunny materialized beside him. Blossom Bunny floated in the air, its little ears wobbling happily. "Atta ta!"

Nobody glanced at her. "Keep quiet."

"Atta..." The bunny covered its own mouth.

Nobody almost smiled. Then he looked toward the warehouse. "Let’s find out what they’re hiding."

He disappeared into the darkness.

None of the three men noticed. But high above the warehouse, on the roof of another building, someone was watching.

A figure stood motionless beneath the moonlight. His eyes followed the empty rooftop where Nobody had disappeared.

A quiet voice escaped him. "So you came." He smiled. "You really don’t know what you’re dealing with."

The wind moved across the rooftops.

Far below, the city continued its ordinary life. Nobody knew none of it. Toma knew none of it. Aiden knew none of it. But somewhere in the shadows, the past was beginning to move.

And this time... It wasn’t waiting for Nobody to find it. It was coming for him.

......

The abandoned warehouse was silent.

Nobody remained hidden behind the stack of containers, watching the three men standing around the table.

The documents were still spread across the surface.

[Nathan Industries]

[Eclipse Corporation]

[Internal Contract Division]

The words were enough to confirm that Daniel Cross had not imagined anything.

Someone inside Nathan Industries had been cooperating with Eclipse long before Aiden’s arrest.

But Nobody already knew that. What he didn’t know was why Daniel had disappeared. And why the same strange distortion that had appeared around the enhanced enemies was now present here.

Nobody carefully shifted his position.

Blossom Bunny floated beside him. The tiny white rabbit stared toward the three men with its pink eyes. "Atta ta..."

Nobody placed one finger against his helmet. "Quiet."

Blossom Bunny nodded seriously. "Atta."

Nobody almost laughed.

Then one of the men suddenly picked up a folder. "We’re wasting time."

The other man looked at him. "We can’t destroy these yet."

"Why not?"

"Because we still need the access records."

"What access records?"

"The ones Cross copied."

Nobody’s attention sharpened. Nobody in his mind said,"Cross copied something?"

The man placed the folder down.

"Daniel wasn’t just reviewing contracts. He discovered the internal access route Eclipse was using."

The room became quiet.

"He found out how?"

"He noticed the same authorization code appearing on multiple altered contracts."

Nobody’s eyes narrowed.

The man continued. "Every suspicious contract had been approved through a different department. Different employees. Different signatures. But the authorization pattern was identical."

The third man whispered, "So he figured out someone was coordinating them."

"Exactly."

"And then?"

"He started digging."

Nobody slowly clenched his fist.

Daniel Cross had discovered the conspiracy before Aiden’s arrest. He had probably tried to expose it. But someone stopped him.

The first man opened another folder. "Where are the access records now?"

"We don’t know."

"Then why are we here?"

"Because Cross left a clue."

Nobody’s eyes moved toward the documents.

"What clue?"

The man pointed toward a page. "His notebook."

Nobody froze.

So the notebook wasn’t simply a warning. It was a key. The three men were looking for something hidden through Daniel’s notes.

Nobody whispered, "System."

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[System]

Yes, User?

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"Can you enhance the document I’m looking at?"

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[System]

CC Eyes can analyze visual information.

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Nobody focused on the page.

The letters sharpened. There were several handwritten numbers beside a contract reference. Nobody memorized them.

Then something else caught his attention. At the bottom of the page was a tiny symbol. A circle. Inside it were three short lines.

Nobody’s expression changed. He had seen that symbol before. Not in the warehouse. Not in Eclipse. During his previous investigations. His breathing became slower. "This isn’t coincidence."

Blossom Bunny tilted her head. "Atta?"

Nobody didn’t answer.

The three men suddenly heard something. A faint movement came from behind the containers.

All three turned. "Who’s there?"

Nobody remained completely still. The warehouse fell silent again.

One of the men reached inside his jacket. "Check it."

The other two began moving toward the containers.

Nobody smiled beneath his helmet.

"Finally, the hunt begins."