Chapter 188: Investigating Deeper

The System appeared.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Mental State Analysis]

Confusion: 87%

Curiosity: 94%

Suspicion: 91%

Desire to investigate: 100%

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Nobody stared at the window. "That last percentage wasn’t necessary."

The System disappeared.

Nobody sighed. "Of course."

He looked toward the road below. The masked stranger had disappeared completely.

There was no trace of him. Nobody had encountered people with strange abilities before. He had fought enhanced criminals, reality-distorted enemies, monsters and even opponents capable of manipulating space.

But the stranger had been different. He hadn’t attacked seriously. He hadn’t tried to kill Nobody. If anything, he had seemed almost amused. And that was what bothered Nobody the most.

"He knew something." Nobody’s eyes narrowed. "But what?"

His thoughts returned to the stranger’s words.

You haven’t changed.

That sentence had been different from everything else. The stranger hadn’t said it like a threat. He had said it naturally. Like he was stating a fact.

Nobody stared at his own hand. For a moment, he imagined another hand resting over it.

A distant memory.

A road, rain and a voice. Then nothing.

He immediately shook his head. "No."

The System’s warning appeared in his mind.

Do not force memory recovery.

Nobody understood the reason now. Every time he tried to chase those fragments, they became more confusing. He needed facts. Not memories. "First Daniel."

Nobody reached into his coat and removed the small encrypted storage device. "Then the stranger."

He looked at the device. "Two separate problems."

Blossom Bunny floated beside his shoulder. "Atta ta."

Nobody glanced at her. "Yes, yes. I know."

The bunny tilted its head.

Nobody smiled faintly. "We deal with one mystery at a time." He placed the device back into his inventory. "Daniel Cross comes first."

.....

The following morning, Nathan Industries was unusually quiet.

Nobody walked through the office corridor carrying a cup of coffee. Employees were talking in low voices. Some were still discussing the chairman’s arrest.

Others were discussing the internal investigation that had begun after the courtroom incident.

Nobody entered Aiden’s office.

Aiden was already working. Several files were spread across his desk. "You came."

Nobody pulled a chair across from him. "Good morning to you too."

Aiden didn’t look up. "Morning."

Nobody stared at the mountain of paperwork. "You’ve been here since sunrise, haven’t you?"

"Almost."

"That’s unhealthy."

Aiden finally looked up. "So is disappearing whenever someone asks you a difficult question."

Nobody froze. "...That sounded suspiciously personal."

Aiden gave him a tired look. "I meant the investigation."

"Ah." Nobody leaned back. "Much better."

Toma also came to the office. She was sitting near the window, reading through several documents. She looked up when Nobody entered.

For a brief moment, their eyes met.

Toma smiled. "Good morning."

"Morning."

Something strange happened. For just a second,Nobody felt that same warmth he had experienced before. It wasn’t a memory. It wasn’t a vision. It was simply familiarity. As if hearing her voice after a long absence.

Nobody quickly looked away.

Toma noticed. She frowned slightly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"You look distracted."

"I’m always distracted."

"That’s not reassuring."

Aiden interrupted them. "We have more important things."

Nobody turned toward him. "What did you find?"

Aiden pushed a document across the desk. "Daniel Cross’s access records."

Nobody picked it up. "The archive?"

"Yes."

Aiden pointed toward several highlighted entries. "Daniel resigned three months ago. But his access credentials were used afterward."

"By whom?"

"That’s the problem."

Aiden turned another page. "The system doesn’t identify the user. It only records Daniel’s access credentials."

Nobody frowned. "Could someone have copied his card?"

"Possibly."

"Could the records have been altered?"

Aiden nodded. "Also possible."

Toma leaned closer. "But there’s something else."

Nobody looked at her.

She pointed toward a section of the report. "This department code."

Nobody immediately recognized it. "What about it?"

"It appears in Daniel’s employment records." She placed another document beside it. "And here."

The same code appeared again.

Nobody’s eyes narrowed. "Where is that from?"

"An old internal project."

Aiden answered. "Project records from almost five years ago."

Nobody looked at him. "Five years?"

"Yes."

Aiden pulled another file from the pile. "The project was discontinued. There’s barely any information left."

"Why?"

"Officially? Budget issues."

Nobody stared at the file. "And unofficially?"

Aiden paused. "We don’t know."

Toma looked at Nobody. "You’ve gone quiet."

Nobody closed the file. "I’m thinking."

"That’s dangerous," Aiden said.

Nobody looked at him. "Very funny."

Aiden smiled slightly. Then his expression became serious again. "I want you two to help me locate the original project records."

Nobody nodded. "Where?"

"The old research building."

Toma frowned. "That place still exists?"

"Technically." Aiden pushed an address toward them. "It’s been closed for years."

Nobody looked at the address. Something about the situation felt wrong. But not because of the masked figure. Not because of the strange memories. This was a separate problem. Daniel Cross had clearly discovered something.

And whatever he had found was important enough for someone to continue using his credentials after his resignation.

Nobody stood. "Let’s go."

.....

Several hours later,the old research building stood at the edge of the northern district. It looked abandoned.

The windows were covered in dust. Weeds had grown through cracks in the pavement. A faded Nathan Industries logo remained above the entrance.

Nobody looked at the building. "Cheerful place."

Toma crossed her arms. "You expected a five-star hotel?"

"No. But maybe something with working electricity."

Aiden had stayed behind at the main office to continue checking company records. Nobody and Toma entered the building together. Their footsteps echoed through the empty hallway.

Toma looked around. "Why does this place feel scary?"

Nobody stopped. "What?"

She blinked.

"I don’t know..this place just looks kinda scary for some reason." She touched the wall. "I don’t think this place is a safe place. I feel like I have seen this place somewhere."

Nobody studied her face. "Maybe you’ve seen pictures."

"Maybe." She removed her hand. "But it feels like I’ve walked through this hallway before."

Nobody said nothing. The feeling was strangely familiar to him too. Not as a memory. More like an image.

They continued. At the end of the hallway stood a large metal door. The electronic panel was dead. Nobody tried the handle. It was locked.

Toma looked at him. "Now what?"

Nobody smiled. "We find another way."

He stepped away from the door. Neither of them noticed the small camera mounted high above the hallway. Its lens moved slightly.

Then stopped.

.....

That night, Nobody stood on another rooftop.

The Crimson Bunny suit covered his body. The helmet concealed his face.

Blossom Bunny floated beside him. "Atta ta."

Nobody looked at her. "Yes. We have work." He activated CC Eyes. The city’s cameras appeared across his vision.

One after another.

Traffic, Buildings, Parking lots, Stores, Security corridors. Then he found the camera from the abandoned research building.

Nobody’s eyes narrowed.

The feed was still active. "Interesting."

He followed the camera network. One feed connected to another. Then another. Eventually he reached a small security room.

Someone was inside. A man sat in front of several monitors. He wasn’t wearing a mask. He wasn’t dressed like a criminal. He looked like an ordinary security technician.

Nobody watched silently.

The man opened a file. It was about Daniel Cross.

Nobody’s expression hardened.

The man clicked another folder. Project records. Then he stopped. He looked directly toward the camera.

Nobody froze.

The man couldn’t possibly see him. Unless...The screen suddenly went black.

Nobody narrowed his eyes. "Someone shut it down." He immediately activated Zig Zag Teleportation.

His body vanished. He reappeared on the roof of the research building. The security room was three floors below.

Nobody looked toward the windows. Then he heard footsteps behind him. He turned. No one was there.

Only an empty rooftop. A cold breeze passed across the building.

Nobody stared into the darkness. "Who’s there?"

He waited. But nothing.

Then his System displayed a notification.

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[Detection]

Unidentified spatial disturbance detected.

Distance: 74 meters

Duration: 0.8 seconds

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Nobody’s eyes widened. "Again?"

He activated Super Reflexes. His body became tense. For a moment, he expected the masked stranger. But no one appeared.

Instead, a small metallic object rolled across the rooftop and stopped near his boot.

Nobody crouched. It was a broken surveillance component. He picked it up. There was a tiny marking engraved into the metal.

Not Eclipse. Not Nathan Industries. Something else. A simple symbol.

Nobody stared at it. "I’ve never seen this before."

Blossom Bunny floated closer. "Atta..."

Nobody looked at the bunny. "Don’t worry." He placed the component into his inventory. "This one isn’t going anywhere."

He looked toward the dark city. Tonight had produced another clue.

But for once, Nobody wasn’t sure whether the clue was meant for him. Or whether someone simply wanted him to notice it.

Far away, on the other side of the city, a man in a black coat stood on a rooftop. The same masked figure. He watched the lights of Alkon City. His expression remained hidden. But there was a faint smile beneath the mask. He reached into his coat.

For a moment, he held an old object in his hand. A worn metal token. He looked at it quietly. Then closed his fingers around it. "You really are still the same." His voice was almost affectionate.

He looked toward the distant research building. "But you shouldn’t remember yet."

The token disappeared back into his coat. He turned away. "Not until you’re ready."

The wind swept across the rooftop.

And the man vanished into the darkness. Nobody never saw him. He never knew the stranger had been watching.

And most importantly, he never realized that the person who understood him better than almost anyone... was already standing somewhere in his world.

Waiting....