Chapter 146: The Hidden Game

For nearly an hour, the private study remained silent.

The photograph of the unknown man lay on the table beside the mysterious sequence of numbers. Everyone had offered a theory, but none of them could explain why the man had been standing beside Edward and Vanessa twenty years ago.

Matthew stared at the photograph again.

"I know him."

Lucia looked at him. "You said that earlier."

"I know." Matthew rubbed his forehead. "His face is familiar. I must have seen him at Sterling Corporation, but I can’t remember his name."

He leaned back in his chair, frustrated.

"I’ve met hundreds of executives over the years. If this photograph was taken twenty years ago, he might have been a junior executive or a business associate."

Gideon folded his arms.

"Could he have been one of Edward’s investors?"

"Possibly."

Robert shook his head. "I don’t remember him."

Nobody did. They had spent almost an hour going through old memories, names, companies, and business connections, but nothing gave them an answer.

Eventually, Matthew sighed.

"We may have to find another way to identify him."

Then the study door suddenly opened.

"Does anyone want pizza?"

Nathan walked inside carrying two large boxes. Emily followed behind him with another stack balanced against her arms. Both stopped when they noticed the atmosphere.

Nathan looked from one serious face to another.

"Why does everyone look like someone just died?"

Emily immediately elbowed him. "That’s a terrible thing to say."

"Oops, sorry."

Nathan placed the pizza boxes on the table.

"We brought food."

But nobody moved.

Nathan frowned. "Seriously, what’s happening?"

Emily noticed the photograph.

"Who’s that?"

Nathan stepped closer and glanced at the picture. Then his expression changed.

"Wait."

Everyone looked at him.

Nathan pointed at the man beside Edward.

"I know him."

Matthew immediately stood.

"Who?"

Nathan looked at the photograph again.

"Benjamin Reed."

Silence filled the room.

Matthew’s eyes widened. "Benjamin Reed?"

Nathan nodded. "The owner of Creed X."

Emily looked at him.

"The gaming company?"

"The biggest gaming company in the country." Nathan picked up the photograph. "Benjamin Reed was already famous twenty years ago, although Creed X wasn’t as massive as it is now."

Matthew stared at the photograph.

"That’s him."

He finally remembered.

"Benjamin Reed." He sat down heavily. "I met him several times."

"What does a gaming company have to do with Edward?" Robert asked.

Nathan shrugged.

"I don’t know. But Benjamin wasn’t just a game publisher. He was involved in the development of some of the most successful games in the country."

He placed the photograph back on the table.

"Creed X owns or developed several major titles. There’s Elysium, Shadow World, Last Orbit, Kingdom of Slaves, Chronicles of Valor, and several others."

Nathan’s expression became animated as he spoke.

"But Elysium is their biggest success."

Emily smiled.

"Of course you know."

"I’m a gamer."

Everyone knew about it.

Nathan laughed. "What? I have hobbies."

Liliana looked at him curiously. "What is Elysium about?"

Nathan pulled out a chair. "It’s a survival game."

He opened his phone and began explaining.

"The player wakes up in a massive abandoned world called Elysium. You don’t know how you got there, and you don’t remember your identity. The world is filled with dangerous creatures, abandoned cities, underground facilities, forests, deserts, and other players."

He gestured toward the photograph.

"You have to survive while uncovering the history of the world."

"That sounds complicated," Emily said.

"It is." Nathan smiled. "There are hidden bunkers, locked rooms, secret vaults, chests, coded doors, and puzzles everywhere. Some codes are connected to the story, while others require players to find clues scattered throughout the map."

Victor looked at the numbers. "Codes."

Nathan nodded. "Exactly." He picked up the paper. "These numbers could be a game code."

Liliana leaned forward.

"What other game has codes?"

Nathan’s expression changed. "Valley of Lilies."

Emily looked at him. "What’s that?"

"It’s an old Creed X game."

Nathan’s voice became more serious.

"It was released years ago, before Elysium became popular."

"What is it about?" Liliana asked.

Nathan looked toward her.

"It’s a story about rebirth and devotion."

Liliana’s eyes narrowed with interest.

"The main character dies in the beginning of the game."

Emily frowned. "That’s depressing."

"It gets stranger."

Nathan continued.

"The character dies with one final wish. She wants another chance to live. She wishes to be reborn so she can return to the person she loved."

"She?" Emily frowned.

Nathan nodded. "Yes. The main character is a girl."

Liliana listened carefully.

"In the game, the character enters a strange world after death. It’s almost like a dream mixed with a mystery drama. You have to solve different mysteries to move through the levels."

Nathan became increasingly animated.

"Every mystery reveals another part of the character’s previous life. You learn why she died, who betrayed her, who she loved, and what happened before her death. The ultimate goal is for the player to reach the final stage and earn her the right to be reborn."

Emily looked intrigued.

"So the she can live again?"

"Exactly."

Nathan nodded.

"But there’s a problem."

"What problem?" Liliana asked.

"Nobody ever finished the game."

The room became quiet.

Nathan placed his phone on the table.

"Before the final stage, there’s a mansion."

"A mansion?" Robin asked.

"Yes. A huge mansion appears after you complete almost every major mystery. There’s a locked entrance, but nobody knows where the code is."

Nathan tapped the numbers. "Players spent years trying to find it."

Victor looked at him. "Nobody found the code?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because there was no clue. No one could find it." Nathan leaned back. "There was even a rumor that the game’s creator died before finishing it. And that the final stage was never completed properly, so nobody knew where the mansion’s code was hidden."

Liliana looked at the sequence again.

"Do you think these numbers could be that code?"

Nathan’s eyes lit up. "It’s possible."

Victor studied him. "You played it?"

"Of course."

"Did you finish it?"

Nathan laughed. "No."

Emily immediately interrupted.

"He stopped playing months ago."

"I was busy."

"But you were obsessed with that game once."

"Because it became popular. And I was seventeen."

"You were twenty."

Nathan glared at her.

"That’s irrelevant."

Liliana smiled despite the tension.

"But you know the game?"

"Half of it."

"Then can you play it again?"

Nathan looked at her. "Of course."

"Can you finish it?"

Nathan’s expression changed immediately. His confidence returned.

"Absolutely."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Here we go."

Nathan leaned back proudly. "They call me Chaos in the gaming world."

Liliana chuckled. "I still laugh hearing that nickname."

"That’s only my gaming name." He pointed at himself. "Because I never lose."

Robin laughed. "You lost to Aaron in that racing game."

"That was different."

"You came in last."

"The controller malfunctioned."

Emily shook her head. "It didn’t."

Nathan ignored her and looked at Liliana.

"If those numbers are connected to Valley of Lilies, I’ll find out."

Liliana smiled. "Then I want you to try."

Nathan nodded confidently. "I’ll reinstall it tonight."

Emily suddenly looked thoughtful.

"Wait."

Everyone turned toward her. She looked at the game title written on Nathan’s phone.

"Valley of Lilies."

Her eyes slowly moved toward Liliana. "Lily."

Liliana frowned. "What?"

"Your nickname."

Liliana’s expression changed.

Emily looked at Nathan.

"Was Valley of Lilies originally created by Creed X?"

Nathan hesitated. "I don’t know."

"You’re a gamer and you don’t know?"

"I played the game. I didn’t study the company history."

Emily looked toward Matthew. "If the game was created by Creed X, then Benjamin Reed might know something."

Matthew’s expression became serious.

"That’s exactly what I’m thinking."

He looked at Victor and Sarah.."Find everything you can about Valley of Lilies."

Victor nodded. "Game records?"

"Everything." Matthew continued. "Original creator. Development team. Release date. Ownership history. Investors. Any connection to Benjamin Reed. Find out whether Edward or Sterling Corporation had any business relationship with Creed X."

Sarah immediately took out her tablet. "Understood."

"Also investigate the rumor about the creator’s death."

Victor nodded. "If there’s any connection between Benjamin and the game, we’ll find it."

Matthew looked at Nathan. "And you."

Nathan straightened. "Yes?"

"Play the game."

Nathan smiled. "I was planning to."

"I want you to reach the mansion."

Nathan’s smile widened. "Then I’ll finish what nobody else could."

Liliana looked at the numbers again.

17 - 04 - 21 - 09 - 33 - 08

Until tonight, they had been meaningless. Now they might be the key. A key hidden inside an old game that nobody had managed to complete.

A game about death, rebirth and devotion. And a character desperate for another chance at life.

Liliana felt a strange chill. Why would James Anderson give Lucia those numbers? Why had Benjamin Reed appeared beside Edward and Vanessa twenty years ago? And why did the mysterious code belong to a game called Valley of Lilies?

She glanced at the photograph. Benjamin Reed was smiling beside her father. But now that Liliana knew his identity, the photograph seemed different. It no longer looked like an old family picture. It looked like evidence.

And somewhere inside an abandoned game, there might be a door that had remained locked for twenty years. Perhaps those numbers were the key and someone had been waiting all this time for someone to finally enter them.