"I'm going to borrow this to read later," Dove said, her voice hushed as she closed the book. "There's a lot to unpack here."
I nodded in agreement. "It's pretty dense," I said, eyeing the thick tome.
She stood up, tucking the book under her arm. "Do you want to meet my friends now?" she asked, a hopeful note in her voice.
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, sure," I said, grabbing my bag from under the desk. "I think I'm ready."
We walked out into the hallway, a palpable tension lingering in the air. Lenna seemed nervous, her eyes darting around as if expecting someone to jump out at us. Just then, a small figure blocked our path. It was the albino kid from the cafeteria.
Both of us stopped, our eyes fixed on him.
Bwoong! A shimmer of energy erupted from behind the boy, a figure materializing from thin air.
Dove, who had instinctively stepped back, whispered, "It seems we have a Seer here..."
Seer? So, he was a Seer, just like Lenna? But if that was the case, why was he here?
I stared at the boy, my mind racing. He stood there, his pale eyes boring into me.
"Well, my Guardian said that... one of your Harbingers attacked mine," he began, his voice soft but clear.
The albino kid's gaze shifted towards his guardian, a flicker of uncertainty in his pale eyes. "Tell me, Murk," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "who is it?"
Murk, the Seer's guardian, extended a spectral finger, pointing it directly at me.
Shock jolted through me.
Me? Harbinger... can you come?
I silently pleaded in my mind.
As if on cue, my Harbinger materialized beside me, its shadowy form solidifying in the air.
"You again..." the Harbinger growled, its voice low and menacing.
The albino kid seemed surprised, his eyes widening slightly. "Still haven't evolved?" he questioned, a hint of arrogance in his voice.
I stared at him, unsure of how to respond.
"Hmph, It's not worth fighting someone who hasn't even evolved. There's a clear gap in our power levels." He turned to leave, his guardian Murk following closely behind.
"H-Hey! Master! Wait!" Murk called out, a note of panic in his voice.
The three of us were left standing in the hallway, a palpable tension hanging in the air.
"That's... our ancestor's enemy, The Seer... Remember the book?" Dove said, her voice barely a whisper.
I nodded, a chill running down my spine. "Yeah, I know."
"You had better evolve quickly," the Harbinger advised, its voice tinged with urgency before it vanished into the shadows.
I nodded in response, though no one could see me. "I will, Just... let me figure out how."
A sigh escaped my lips. "Well then," I said, turning to Dove, "let's go meet your hacker friend. He's at his workplace, right?"
"Yes, But don't be surprised when you see him. He keeps a low profile, working as an office boy in our building. It's his way of staying hidden, you see."
"Hiding?" I questioned, intrigued.
"Yes, His hacking skills are quite exceptional, and he prefers to keep them secret. It's safer that way."
I nodded in understanding. "Lead the way, then," I said, a sense of adventure building within me.
Leaving the school, I followed Dove's car on my motorcycle.
Vroom!
I kept pace, trailing behind her SUV as we made our way towards the WRA Company building.
We soon arrived, and Dove pulled into the private garage. I followed her inside and parked my bike beside her car.
Thud! Dove stepped out and closed the door.
"Let's do this quickly, He'll likely be finished cleaning and resting in the restroom now."
I dismounted my bike and nodded, following her into the lobby. We walked briskly, our footsteps echoing in the quiet building.
As we neared the restroom, Dove stopped and turned to me. "Remember," she cautioned, "he doesn't know that we know his secret. Act normal."
I nodded again, my heart pounding with anticipation. We pushed open the restroom door and stepped inside.
The restroom was empty except for one figure, hunched over a mop bucket in the corner. He was a young man, probably in his early twenties, with messy brown hair and a pair of worn-out sneakers. His clothes were simple and nondescript, the uniform of a typical office worker.
"Hey, Gilg!" Dove greeted him, her voice cheerful.
The young man looked up, startled. "Ahh... Dove! What's up?"
"Time to get to work," Dove said, a hint of urgency in her voice. "The computer is waiting."
Gilg straightened up, a determined look replacing his surprise. "Lead the way, then," he said, grabbing his mop bucket.
***
We piled into Dove's SUV, me beside her in the passenger seat and Gilg in the back.
"Did you get the video?" Dove asked as she started the engine, her gaze focused on the road ahead.
Gilg nodded, his voice grim. "Yeah, the police took the hard drive and tried to dump it in a nearby lake. Luckily, I found it and managed to recover the footage. It was damaged, but I was able to repair it."
"I thought you... hacked it," I said, trying to understand how Gilg had retrieved the footage.
"Huh? Yeah, I did. Why?" Gilg replied, his expression puzzled.
"Doesn't hacking usually involve sitting in front of a computer with a bunch of screens and lines of code?" I asked, recalling the stereotypical image of hackers from movies and TV shows.
Gilg burst into laughter, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Dove, your cousin is hilarious!" he exclaimed.
Dove simply smiled, shaking her head.
"Well, young man," Gilg said, turning to me, "it seems you've only seen hackers in movies, haven't you?"
I nodded sheepishly.
"What you see on the screen is just a romanticized version of reality," he explained. "In this case, I actually went to the minimarket where the murder took place and connected my laptop to their electrical outlet. I scanned for vulnerabilities in their Wi-Fi network, got their IP address, and searched for the CCTV camera's address. It took some time, and I failed initially. But then I got lucky and found the hard drive, which made things a lot easier."
< Chapter 054 > Fin.