I sank into my thoughts without noticing
Riko's words were still spinning in my head
Ninety percent
Calculation
Traces of the place
And the question that would not calm down
How does Riko know all this
Since when
And what else has he not told me
A light vibration in my pocket pulled me out of the spiral of thoughts
Phone
I took it out slowly
My eyes still distant
New notification
The company name alone was enough to tighten my chest
SecureFuture Finance
The message was short
Cold
And frightening
"Your personal information has been updated
Tap to learn more"
I felt a sharp sting of curiosity
Part of me wanted to know
To see what they changed
What they added
How they see me now
I reached my finger toward the screen
But before I touched it
My hand closed suddenly
Riko
He had grabbed my wrist with a strength I had never felt from him
He said in a low sharp voice
"Do not do it"
I looked at him
"It is just a notification"
He shook his head slowly
"There is no such thing as just a notification"
Then he said clearly
"Accessing the account is enough to locate you
Even without typing a password"
I pulled my hand back
A light chill ran down my back
Miyuko stepped forward
Looked around
Then said
"We need to leave this place"
She did not say where we were
But from what I noticed
The terrain
The wide internal spaces
It was an industrial area
We moved toward the corridor leading outside
Our steps were quiet
The air heavy
And as I walked
That feeling happened
Not a vision
Not a full echo
Something pulled my attention to the left
A half open door
A dark room
And from inside
Cold light
Electronic light
The glow of screens
I stopped without meaning to
Riko noticed immediately
"Ginso no"
But the curiosity was stronger
That light
Was not supposed to be here
I stepped forward
One step
Then another
"Ginso stop"
Riko said it sharply this time
But I could not
I reached the door
And pushed it slowly
It opened
The room was bigger than I expected
Computers
Screens
Cables
Servers stretching across the walls
Something that did not belong in an abandoned place
And in the middle of the room
A person
Sitting on a chair
In front of multiple screens
I did not see his face
But the shadow
That shadow
My head jolted
The same feeling
The same trace I felt before
The same person who was with us in the room before I woke up
I slowly turned toward Riko
"This is him"
Riko froze
Then exhaled slowly
As if a moment had ended
He said
"So you had to see him yourself"
The person on the chair did not turn
He kept working
As if our presence was normal
I said in a low voice
"What is this place"
Riko stepped inside
And closed the door behind us
"This… is what I have been doing all this time"
He looked at me
Then said
"I gathered people from all over the country
Through the dark web
Hackers
Analysts
System experts"
My eyes widened
"I formed a network
Not an organization
Not a gang in the traditional sense
But an information group"
Then he said the sentence that weighed on my chest
"All of this… to gather information about the organization"
He paused
Then added
"And to help you… face something bigger than the country itself"
I felt something break inside me
I remembered the doubt
The question
The fear of him
I said in a quiet voice
"I thought you were…"
He interrupted me with a small smile
Riko's old smile
"You are my childhood friend
I will not let you face this world alone"
My head lowered
And I felt a weight I had never known before
"I am sorry
For doubting you"
He patted my shoulder
"Do not think about what happened now
What matters is that you are still here"
Miyuko had been watching in silence
Then said in a firm tone
"Enough
We need to move now"
She looked at me
"If they are updating his account
That means they are moving"
Then she added
"We go somewhere else
Safe"
A short silence followed
But I knew one thing
The organization was no longer just watching me
It had started
Preparing something for me
Something
I was not ready for yet