The morning sun had barely risen above the rooftops of the Ash District when Kyle opened his eyes.
He had hardly slept.
His mind had replayed the events of the previous day over and over again.
The crying mother.
The terrified little girl.
The hidden headquarters behind the Ash Central Market.
Today...
He would uncover what lay inside.
Kyle reached into his backpack and carefully removed the mechanical spider.
It rested quietly in the palm of his hand.
After last night's repairs, its shell looked much cleaner, though the scratches and dents from its previous life remained.
He connected it to his old phone.
The tiny camera immediately transmitted a grainy image onto the screen.
Kyle guided the spider across the wooden floor.
Left.
Right.
Forward.
Backward.
It obeyed every command without hesitation.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Good enough."
He disconnected the signal and slipped the spider back into his backpack.
Without wasting another second, he left the dojo.
...
The Ash District slowly came to life.
Shops opened one after another.
Street vendors pushed carts through the crowded roads.
Children chased each other through the narrow streets.
To everyone else...
It was another ordinary morning.
To Kyle...
It was the beginning of something far more dangerous.
Nearly thirty minutes later, he arrived behind the Ash Central Market.
Instead of approaching the compound directly, he slipped into an abandoned warehouse overlooking the headquarters.
Broken windows allowed him to observe the entire front entrance while remaining completely hidden.
He crouched beside a cracked wall and waited.
Patiently.
Silently.
Minutes passed.
Nothing.
Then...
The deep rumble of an engine echoed through the street.
Kyle looked up.
A large cargo truck approached the headquarters.
The guards immediately pushed open the heavy steel gates.
Workers began unloading supplies.
Kyle's eyes narrowed.
"This is it."
He gently placed the mechanical spider onto the ground.
The tiny machine came to life.
Its eight legs moved almost silently across the cracked concrete.
Kyle connected his phone.
The spider's camera flickered on.
He carefully guided it toward the truck.
One guard yawned.
Another chatted with a worker.
Neither noticed the tiny machine slipping beneath the vehicle.
The truck rolled through the gates.
Kyle's heartbeat quickened.
The spider clung tightly to the truck's underside as it entered the headquarters.
Seconds later...
It dropped silently onto the ground.
No alarms.
No shouting.
It had made it inside.
Kyle released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"Now..."
"Let's see what you're hiding."
The spider crawled beneath rows of stacked wooden crates.
From his hiding place, Kyle controlled every movement with slow, deliberate precision.
One wrong move...
One careless mistake...
And everything would be over.
The headquarters was much larger than it had appeared from outside.
Long warehouses lined both sides of the compound.
Transport vehicles moved supplies between buildings.
Armed guards patrolled every corner.
There were far more people than Kyle had expected.
The spider continued deeper.
Soon...
The sounds of shouting reached its microphone.
Kyle carefully turned the camera.
An enormous training ground came into view.
His pupils contracted.
Dozens of people were training simultaneously.
Some practiced swordsmanship.
Others sparred barehanded.
Heavy sandbags swung through the air.
Massive iron weights crashed against the ground.
Kyle watched silently.
Several fighters shattered thick wooden posts with single punches.
Others sprinted faster than ordinary people could ever hope to run.
One man punched a steel target so hard that it dented inward.
Kyle immediately recognized what he was seeing.
Awakeners.
Not one.
Not two.
There were dozens.
His expression slowly darkened.
"So many..."
Mrs. Campbell's lessons echoed inside his mind.
"Body cultivators possess physical strength far beyond ordinary humans."
"The stronger the body... the greater the power after Awakening."
Kyle swallowed hard.
He had believed the Void Serpents were nothing more than a violent gang.
He was wrong.
This looked more like a private army.
The spider continued moving.
Passing beneath benches.
Crossing narrow pathways.
Avoiding boots that walked only centimeters away.
Suddenly...
A much larger building appeared ahead.
Unlike the others, armed guards stood at every entrance.
Their expressions were far more serious.
Kyle frowned.
"What are they protecting?"
Carefully...
He guided the spider toward the building.
The spider slowed as it approached the heavily guarded building.
Kyle resisted the urge to rush.
Patience.
That single word echoed in his mind.
He waited until two guards turned to speak with one another.
Then, the tiny mechanical spider slipped beneath a parked transport vehicle and crawled silently toward the entrance.
The guards never noticed.
Inside, the atmosphere was completely different.
The noisy sounds of the training grounds faded away.
The corridors were spotless.
Steel walls reflected the white ceiling lights.
Security cameras hung at every intersection.
Kyle carefully guided the spider along the edge of the hallway, keeping it close to the walls whenever footsteps approached.
Several people dressed in white laboratory coats walked past.
Others carried sealed metal cases.
None of them looked like ordinary gang members.
Kyle frowned.
“Scientists?”
“What are scientists doing inside a gang headquarters?”
The spider continued forward.
At the end of the corridor, a pair of thick reinforced doors stood partially open.
A brilliant white light poured through the narrow gap.
Kyle’s curiosity intensified.
He guided the spider closer.
As it peered through the opening…
Kyle’s breathing stopped.
An enormous chamber stretched beyond the doors.
In the very center stood a colossal machine formed from black steel and countless glowing conduits.
Floating at its heart…
…was a gigantic white crystal.
Nearly three meters tall, it hovered silently above a circular platform.
Its pure white light illuminated the entire chamber.
Energy flowed within the crystal like rivers beneath clear water, sending gentle waves of light through the surrounding machinery.
The air itself seemed to tremble.
Kyle’s eyes widened.
His mind immediately returned to Mrs. Campbell’s class.
She had shown diagrams.
Pictures.
Recorded demonstrations.
There was no mistake.
“An Artificial Awakening Machine…”
His voice was barely a whisper.
His heartbeat quickened.
Artificial Awakening Machines were among the most tightly regulated technologies in Sector 8.
Only government facilities, licensed academies, military organizations, and a handful of authorized research institutions were legally permitted to possess one.
Yet…
One stood inside the headquarters of the Void Serpents.
Kyle felt a chill run down his spine.
“This…”
“This isn’t just a gang.”
Someone powerful was supporting them.
Someone with unimaginable influence.
Otherwise, obtaining an Artificial Awakening Machine would have been impossible.
Before Kyle could think further…
Footsteps echoed inside the chamber.
The spider quickly retreated beneath a nearby cabinet.
A tall man entered.
Unlike the others, he wore no serpent insignia.
He was dressed in a long black coat.
His expression was calm.
Yet the moment he entered…
Everyone inside instinctively lowered their heads.
Kyle’s eyes narrowed.
Who is he?
The man slowly walked toward the glowing crystal.
He rested one hand against the machine and quietly spoke.
“The next batch must be ready before the Awakening Ceremony.”
“We’re running out of time.”
A researcher immediately bowed.
“Yes, sir.”
“We’ve already made the necessary preparations.”
The man gave a slight nod before turning away.
Just then…
He stopped.
His eyes slowly swept across the room.
For a brief second…
His gaze settled in the spider’s direction.
Kyle’s heartbeat pounded in his ears.
The man frowned.
“…Strange.”
“I thought I sensed something.”
Kyle immediately stopped moving the spider.
Several seconds passed.
The man eventually looked away.
Kyle silently exhaled.
That was close…
Believing the danger had passed, he slowly guided the spider away from the cabinet.
It crawled across the polished floor.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Then…
A guard looked down.
“Hm?”
His eyebrows furrowed.
“What’s this?”
Kyle’s eyes widened.
The guard bent over.
Before Kyle could react—
Crunch!
The guard’s heavy boot crushed the spider into twisted pieces of metal.
Kyle’s phone erupted in static.
The image shook violently before fading into darkness.
Signal Lost.
Kyle stared silently at the black screen.
His heart hammered against his chest.
The mission was over.
Without hesitation, he disconnected the controller, slipped the phone into his pocket, and quietly left the abandoned warehouse.
He didn’t run.
Running would attract attention.
Instead, he walked away with the flow of the crowd until the headquarters disappeared behind the buildings.
Only then did he stop.
He looked back once.
His expression had changed.
The Void Serpents were merely a branch.
A tool.
Someone far more powerful was pulling the strings from the shadows.
Kyle slowly clenched his fists.
“I’ll find you.”
“No matter who you are…”
“I’ll uncover the truth.”
Then, without another glance, he disappeared into the crowded streets of the Ash District, carrying with him a secret that could shake all of Sector 8.