Chapter 532: Took You Long Enough

"We can use that."

Warriyo followed his gaze. His expression didn’t change much, but the way he moved closer to Gin said enough.

The two stared at the computer system like hungry wolves eyeing fresh meat.

Black Dragon Corporation’s cybersecurity department was equipped with some of the most advanced technology available. However, there was something different about Ashley’s private system.

Gin didn’t know how she had built it.

He didn’t know where she had obtained its programs or why its security was unlike anything he had encountered before.

That was precisely why he had wanted to get his hands on it from the moment he first saw it. Just thinking about exploring it and using his skills on it, he knew it could take him to places.

He shifted his gaze toward Ashley, and a suspiciously sweet smile spread across his face.

"Right, Boss?" He hurried to her side and rubbed his hands together. "You promised you’d let me play with it, remember? That’s what you said, right? Right?"

Gin wiggled his brows, reminding her of the promise she had made to calm him down during their attack on Marshal’s base.

Warriyo quietly moved closer and allowed Gin to plead on behalf of them both.

Ashley chuckled. "I remember."

Gin clasped his hands together, his face lighting up. "Really—"

"But before I let you touch anything, I need you to find someone."

His excitement faded slightly. "Who?"

"Someone who can help us track Memphis." Ashley glanced at the blank board. "Knowing him, though, he probably went into hiding the moment he heard Marshal was dead."

Vodka raised a brow. "And who might that be?"

Everyone waited.

Some tried to guess who Ashley had in mind, but there weren’t many people in the underground capable of finding a man who had erased his own identity.

Ashley let the suspense linger for another second before she spoke.

"Omen."

Recognition slowly crossed their faces.

Omen was more than just a word. It was also the alias of one of the best hackers in the underground. Omen might not be Ghost, but finding him wouldn’t be easy either. If it were, he would have been caught by the countless people already hunting him.

Khan was the first to react.

"Omen?" he repeated. "Ghost’s disciple?"

Ashley tilted her head. "He is not anyone’s disciple, for your information."

But she knew those rumors were baseless. After all, she and Omen had worked together on occasion—not as partners, but through an exchange tied to some petty game Omen was addicted to.

"But why him?" Red asked. "If we need someone who can track Memphis, wouldn’t Ghost be the better choice? Ghost is already Dominion’s ally."

"It might be difficult. Even though Ghost is our ally, he’s temperamental. Whether he helps us or not is entirely up to him," Rus commented under his breath.

Murmurs of agreement went around the room for a second while Ashley scrunched up her nose.

"Why do all of you keep dragging Ghost into everything when I’m already here?" she complained. "I’m working hard too, you know?"

Nelek and Rus exchanged confused looks.

"Huh?" Everyone looked back at her.

"We know you’re working hard," Rus said carefully.

"But what does that have to do with Ghost?" Nelek added.

Ashley stared at them, blinking as if to ask whether they were serious. These men were good at what they did, but when it came to matters like this, they could be remarkably dense.

A second later, she shook her head and decided it wasn’t worth explaining.

They weren’t against finding Omen. However, if they had to choose between the disciple and the master, Ghost was the obvious choice.

Khan glanced at his men. The enthusiasm in their eyes mirrored his own.

They had already accepted that Ghost would never take them in as disciples. Still, the chance to work alongside the legendary figure—even for a single mission—remained a dream they weren’t ready to abandon.

"I can find Ghost with that baby," Gin muttered, his gaze returning to the computer system.

Ashley’s eyebrow twitched.

"I’m right here." She turned her back on them and headed toward the computer.

"We need Omen because Ghost is already known to be connected to Dominion," she explained. "Our enemies might not know Ghost’s identity, but they know where Ghost’s loyalty lies. If Ghost suddenly starts digging for information about Memphis, anyone watching Dominion will notice."

Red nodded slowly. "Omen isn’t officially connected to us."

"Exactly. Omen moves independently and sells information to anyone willing to pay. He can ask questions Ghost can’t without immediately raising suspicion."

Ashley stopped in front of the computer system.

"More importantly, Omen spends all his time gathering information from the underground. That’s his entire life."

"Isn’t that also what Ghost does?" Khan asked.

Ashley looked over her shoulder at him.

"Unlike me, Omen doesn’t have a company to run, a husband to argue with, parents to worry about, or a child to raise," she replied. "He has an advantage because the man doesn’t have a life."

Khan opened his mouth, but no words came out. "Huh?"

Ashley turned back to the system and reached for a button.

"Let’s find Omen."

She pressed it.

A low hum filled the secret floor as the massive computer system awakened.

One monitor lit up, followed by another. Then another.

Everyone’s attention shifted toward the screens as rows of encrypted symbols flashed across them.

Gin stepped forward, his earlier excitement returning twice as strongly.

"This..." he whispered. "This is beautiful."

Then, the symbols disappeared, and every monitor turned black.

Another second later, a ghost-shaped emblem emerged at the center of each screen.

Then a message appeared.

[Welcome Back, Ghost.]

No one moved, eyes fixed on that greeting at the center of every screen.

Slowly, Khan looked at the monitors, then at Ashley, and then back at the monitors.

Ashley rested one hand against the desk and glanced over her shoulder.

The room had gone so quiet that she could hear them breathing.

"What?" she asked.

Their expressions changed one after another as realization finally struck them.

Ashley sighed.

"Took you long enough."