Chapter 402: CCTV

The following afternoon, the Emerald City outer forest was bathed in the golden light of the sun.

Far from the suffocating tension of the city, Jayden sat comfortably at the base of a massive oak tree. He leaned his head back against the rough bark, closing his eyes as he processed the weight of his encounter with Big T that morning.

The proposition was echoing in his mind.

The Grand Exchange.

An underground, high-stakes auction held on Planet Zeta, where the galaxy’s most elite, corrupt, and powerful figures gathered to bid for priceless artifacts with their fists instead of their wallets.

Big T needed a proxy fighter to enter the battle-bids and secure a specific item. In exchange, Jayden would receive information and the coordinates of every remaining Black Cobra Pioneer operating across earth.

It was a reasonable and acceptable trade.

More importantly, it was exactly what Jayden needed at the moment.

The heat on Earth was escalating to catastrophic levels. The EVA was currently mobilizing every asset they had to lock down the city and find the Hunter.

Jayden was contemplating the implication. If he remained on Alpha, a direct confrontation with the agency was inevitable.

Leaving the planet for a few days provided the perfect tactical alibi. It would let the heat die down, give the EVA time to exhaust their resources chasing ghosts, and allow Jayden to finally experience off-world travel for the first time in his life.

Still, there were downsides to accepting the proposition.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

A sudden rustling in the underbrush pulled him from his thoughts.

Jayden opened his eyes.

Emerging from the shadows of the thick ferns was his tamed D-Rank Wolverine Stalker, followed closely by the rest of his pack beasts. And they weren’t empty-handed.

Clamped firmly in their powerful jaws were the freshly killed corpses of several mid-rank forest beasts.

As they dropped the bloody carcasses at his feet, the familiar chime of the System echoed in his mind.

[Subpack Members killed multiple Beasts]

[Total Exp Received: +750]

[Exp: 15,160/28,000]

Jayden closed the interface with a satisfied smirk. He pushed himself off the tree and crouched beside the pile of fresh kills.

The system brought up the prompt to acquire the beasts’ crystals and Jayden accepted immediately.

Within seconds, twenty beast crystals were added to his Inventory.

He looked down at the expectant pack of howlers and tremor gators.

"Good work, guys," Jayden praised them, his voice calm and steady. He gestured to the carcasses. "You can have the meat. Eat up."

The beasts eagerly tore into their meal while Jayden stood back and watched. Within minutes, all that was left of the carcasses were bones and a few inedible organs.

Seeing they were finished, Jayden stepped forward.

"Listen up," he instructed, his tone shifting to command.

The beasts’ ears instantly swiveled toward him, acknowledging the Alpha.

"I’m going to be gone for a few days. I need you to keep hunting while I’m gone. Don’t leave the corpses out in the open. Store whatever you kill inside the cave, I’ll collect the crystals when I get back."

The Wolverine Stalker let out a low, rumbling huff of obedience.

Satisfied that his terrestrial assets were secure, Jayden turned his back to the forest and began the run back to his house. It was time to pack for his journey off-planet.

He had made his decision. He would accept Big T’s offer.

......

Hours earlier,

In the low-profile diner where Jayden had executed Silas.

The atmosphere inside the place had changed since they found a dead body in the restroom.

The diner had been completely transformed into a sterile crime scene. Flashing blue and silver plasma lights from the idling armored transports bathed the exterior brickwork. Inside, yellow containment tape cordoned off the hallway leading to the restrooms.

Jenny stood in the center of the diner, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Her pink hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but the dark circles under her eyes betrayed the sheer exhaustion and grief she was masking.

She was currently staring down the EVA escort guard who had followed Silas to the restroom. The man was trembling, clearly terrified of the woman standing in front of him.

"I am going to ask you one more time, Agent," Jenny said, her voice dropping into an icy, dangerous register. "Did you let anyone into the restroom after Silas went in?"

"No, Commander! I swear on my life!" the guard stammered, his eyes wide with panic. "I stood in front of the door the entire time. No one went in, and no one came out. I even cleared the bathroom myself before he went in! It was empty! There was no one inside, I swear!"

Jenny’s jaw tightened. Silas had been left with his throat slashed and veins blackened by a toxin, yet the door was never opened. How could the killer have gotten inside.

Intangibility? Jenny pondered.

She turned her back on the trembling guard, her sharp eyes scanning the diner until they landed on a small, dome-shaped security camera mounted in the upper corner of the ceiling, directly overlooking the main seating area and the front door.

She immediately walked over to the diner’s manager, who was sitting nervously behind the counter.

"Is your CCTV camera working?"

The manager looked up and gave a single nod.

"Yes, ma’am. Why?"

"I need to see the footage from the moment you opened the restaurant this morning to the moment you found the corpse of the victim."

"O-okay, ma’am, right away," the manager nodded frantically, leading her into the cramped back-office control room.

Jenny took the seat at the monitor, her fingers flying across the archaic keyboard as she scrubbed through the morning footage. She watched the staff arrive, the cooks prep the kitchen, and the first few early-morning customers shuffle in and out.

Then, at exactly 7:00 AM, a teenager walked through the front doors. He was wearing dark jeans, a simple grey jacket, and a black baseball cap pulled low over his eyes.

Jenny paused the feed immediately and leaned closer to the monitor. She enhanced the image, zooming in on the boy’s face as he briefly looked up to order his food at the counter.

The moment she got a clearer view of his face, her breath hitched.

Her eyes widened in shock.

It was Jayden Starrk.

"What in the hell were you doing here?" she whispered to herself.

She watched as Jayden took a seat in a far corner booth, eating his toast slowly. He looked completely normal.

Ten minutes later, Silas and his armed escort squad walked through the doors.

Jenny kept her eyes fixed on Jayden. She studied his micro-expressions, his posture, the subtle movements of his hands. He didn’t look at the guards. He didn’t seem suspicious. He just sat there, acting like an ordinary teenager having breakfast.

Then, the footage showed Silas standing up and asking to use the restroom. He was directed and led there by one of the guards.

Jenny watched the timestamp in the corner of the screen. Five seconds passed. Ten.

Suddenly, Jayden called for a waiter, paid the bills, stood up, and walked straight out the front door of the diner.

Jenny hit the pause button, her brow furrowing deeply.

Why did he leave? He hadn’t finished his food. He just suddenly got up and left the exact moment Silas entered the restroom.

She began calculating the odds.

Silas was found dead just a few minutes after entering that bathroom, and Jayden had vacated the diner at that exact temporal window.

Was it a coincidence? Or was Jayden the killer?

Was he the Hunter?

Jenny shook her head frantically. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions yet. She forced her analytical mind to remain objective, then turned to the manager.

"Do you have any exterior security cameras? Covering the alleyway or the back of the building?"

"No, ma’am," the manager replied. "Just the one in the main dining room."

Jenny clenched her fist tightly, her leather glove creaking under the pressure. Now, there was no proof to confirm Jayden was the culprit. And perhaps he really wasn’t. Maybe this was all just a coincidence.

Yet, something was telling her that wasn’t the case.

Her mind flashed back to the day she spotted Jayden sitting in a diner booth across from Fred. She remembered how her husband had sent a secret, encrypted message to him. She remembered how suspicious the whole thing felt.

She shook her head violently, closing her eyes.

No. What am I thinking?!

She couldn’t afford to let her paranoia run that deep. Accusing her own husband of committing treason and aiding a mass murderer was a bridge she was not ready to cross without hard, undeniable evidence. Fred was a good man. He wouldn’t do something like that.

But her gut was screaming at her: This kid had a connection to the Hunter.

Whether he was an informant, an accomplice, or something far more dangerous, she didn’t know.

"I am going to be watching you very closely, Jayden Starrk," Jenny murmured to the frozen image on the monitor.

She stood up, thanked the manager curtly, and left the control room.

As she walked out of the diner and into the morning air, her holotab vibrated sharply at her hip. She pulled it out and opened the screen. It was an audio call from Fred.

She tapped her earpiece, accepting the call.

"Hey, babe."

"Hey," Fred’s voice came through, sounding hesitant. "What are you up to?"

"I’m at a crime scene," Jenny replied flatly, watching the medics wheel Silas’s body bag out the front door. "Outside the diner where Silas was just assassinated."

A heavy pause lingered on the line.

"Jenny... should you really be diving back into the field so quickly? Especially after what happened last night?"

"Yes, I should," Jenny answered immediately, her voice hardening. "I am the Commander leading this task force. I cannot afford to falter just because of a minor setback."

"Twenty-four good men and women dying isn’t a minor setback, Jen."

"The operatives who lost their lives last night knew what they were signing up for," Jenny stated firmly. "I also know what I signed up for, Fred. Which is why I know that I might die on this assignment, too."

She clenched her fists, took in a deep breath, then added:

"But to ensure that the deaths of my comrades were not in vain, I have to keep fighting until that monster is brought to justice."

She gripped the holotab tightly, her eyes tracking the bloodstains on the asphalt. "I will do whatever it takes to stop him, Fred... Or I will die trying."

Fred was l silent for a long moment. The sheer, terrifying coldness in her tone had left him stunned.

"...I understand," he finally said. "Just... take it easy, Okay? And let me know if you need anything."

Hearing the genuine concern in his voice, the icy armor around Jenny’s heart cracked just a fraction. She closed her eyes, exhaling a long, shaky breath, and consciously switched gears back into her role as his wife.

"Okay, I will," Jenny softened her voice. Then she smiled. "So, how is your first day at the Headquarters going so far?"

"It’s fine," Fred replied, sounding relieved by the shift in tone. "The people up here seem pretty nice. They actually baked me a welcome pie."

"Oh, that’s really nice," Jenny said, still smiling. "But I hope you’re not just goofing around over there like you usually do."

"Hey, you know me," Fred chuckled defensively. "Always the serious, uptight, by-the-book agent."

Jenny let out a genuine laugh. "Sure you are," she chuckled. "I have to get back to the office. Take care of yourself, sweetie. And enjoy the rest of your day."

"You know my day is never truly enjoyable unless I’m with you," Fred sighed dramatically.

Jenny giggled, shaking her head. "Yeah, keep lying to yourself, Romeo. I’ll see you at home. Bye."

"I’m not lying—" Fred tried to protest, but Jenny cut the call with a soft laugh.

She stood on the sidewalk for a moment, a rare, warm smile spreading across her face as she looked down at the dark screen of her tab.

But as the wail of an approaching ambulance pierced the quiet morning air, the smile slowly faded. The warmth evaporated, replaced once again by the stoic, unbreakable mask of the EVA Commander.

She clenched her fist, sliding the holotab back into her pocket, and walked toward her armored transport.