Chapter 240: Knock Knock

"An old friend of mine will be there as well."

Blake kept his expression perfectly calm.

"I see."

He let the word come out naturally, almost absent-mindedly. Then, he smiled faintly.

"Then I suppose that makes things easier for you."

"It does."

"I imagine places near borders are useful for that."

"They are, Miss."

There was no hesitation in Sylvan’s answer this time.

Blake glanced toward the dance floor, pretending to think about his surroundings rather than the conversation.

"It sounds a little boring. Sir, don’t tell me you oversee shipments personally?"

"Of course not, it depends on what I’m dealing with."

"Oh my, now that sounds exciting! It must be something rather valuable."

Sylvan gave him a brief look.

Blake’s smile remained.

’Okay. That’s enough.’

He could push harder, but that would defeat the entire purpose.

He had already learned the location, the general nature of the facility, the timing, and the fact that someone connected to Sylvan would be present.

Most importantly, Sylvan hadn’t seemed to realize how much he’d revealed.

Or maybe he did it on purpose. In either case, everything that comes out of his mouth was useful, so Blake decided to leave it there.

"Well, I hope your shipment goes smoothly."

"Thank you."

"And that you don’t work yourself too hard, Sir."

A faint smile appeared on Sylvan’s face.

"I’ll try."

The music changed again.

Around them, people were beginning to move toward the tables, while others continued dancing.

Blake looked around the hall.

He had spent most of the evening gathering fragments.

’It didn’t go too badly.’

He turned back to Sylvan.

"I suppose I should let you return to your friends, Sir."

Blake smiled.

"It was nice speaking with you."

"Likewise, Miss."

Blake gave a small nod and stepped away, not looking back.

’A creepy bastard like that, I can imagine how Asher was raised under somebody like him.’

Only after he’d crossed half the hall did he allow himself a small breath. His heartbeat was still slightly elevated.

’He really gave me chills.’

***

By the time Blake returned to the hotel, the first night of the mission was officially over.

He entered his room quietly, the door closing behind him with a soft click.

For several seconds, he simply stood there. The silence felt strange after hours of music, conversation, footsteps and hundreds of people.

Blake removed the blue mask, then the earrings. Carefully, he took off the dress, placing everything where it had been prepared.

He couldn’t return to his real form, of course. He had to wait until the whole ordeal was over.

Blake let out a long breath.

"How tiring..."

He sat on the edge of the bed.

That had been exhausting, and not physically, but mentally.

Every sentence had required thought. Every expression had to be controlled. Every question needed to sound natural.

And all the while, he had been aware that one wrong sentence could make someone suspicious.

’Let’s see what he has to say tomorrow.’

He lay down.

’Today, he approached me first.’

His eyes closed, feeling uneasy.

’When did he even notice me. Why did he speak to me first?’

Even if he wanted to elaborate an accurate theory, he was far to tired. For a while, everything was peaceful. But then, he woke up, staring at the ceiling.

"...Huh?"

He didn’t know what had awakened him.

The room was dark and completely normal, nothing had changed.

’Not being used to the bed is hard.’

He turned over and closed his eyes again. A few minutes later, he opened them again, his heart beating slightly faster.

’Why am I awake?’

He frowned.

There was no reason to be nervous.

He wasn’t afraid of sleeping alone, and dark rooms had never bothered him, he was used to it.

’So why—’

He closed his eyes again.

Another hour passed, but he continued waking up, again and again.

This time, Blake sat upright. His breathing was quiet, but his chest felt strangely tight.

He looked around, but truly, there was nothing actively bothering him. Just the faint hum of the hotel’s ventilation system.

’I am so damn sleepy.’

He rubbed his face.

Maybe it was the mission, it could be that his mind simply hadn’t relaxed after the masquerade.

Blake lay down again. He eventually fell asleep and, without fail, woke up again.

Each time, the same feeling. An irrational sense that something was wrong.

But factually speaking, there was nothing he could point to, just that uncomfortable feeling sitting somewhere inside him.

’What is wrong with me?’

He glanced at his phone.

For security reasons, he couldn’t call Myles here, not unless absolutely necessary.

His phone had been modified by Myles from the very beginning, although Blake had never bothered asking exactly how.

Whatever Myles had done, the device was supposedly protected from ordinary attempts at hacking or interception, but that didn’t mean the hotel was safe.

There were cameras and probably microphones, along with all the people nearby. Blake had no idea who might be watching, so he couldn’t simply call Myles because he was feeling uneasy.

He was about to lie down again when...

BANG!

Blake bolted upright, his entire body reacting before his thoughts caught up.

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

"What the—"

He immediately activated his skill.

"I’ll Sneak For My Lover."

The strange pressure of the skill settled over him.

Blake froze for a moment, listening. But the noise didn’t repeat.

He reached for the small earrings he’d brought with him, and put them on carefully.

If someone else was monitoring them, Myles or one of the others would hopefully notice the signal once the earrings touched his skin.

’Someone’s probably looking now.’

That thought reassured him slightly, since at least, he wasn’t completely alone.

Blake slowly got out of bed, approaching the door, heart still beating too quickly.

Yet nothing was happening outside.

He opened the door a crack, and the hallway was empty.

Blake stepped outside, moving slowly. His footsteps were nearly silent, and besides, the carpet absorbed most of the sound.

He looked left, then right, but there was nothing and no one.

’Why isn’t anyone reacting to that strong sound?’

There had definitely been people around earlier.

Hotel staff.

Guests.

Someone should have heard that noise.

’Maybe nobody heard it? Was it my imagination? What the hell, of course it’s not that, I’m a lot of things, but not a schizophrenic.’

He continued walking, the hallway stretching ahead, dimly illuminated by warm wall lights.

Blake’s heart refused to settle as he passed one door all the doors.

He turned a corner, and immediately stumbled backward.

His breath caught.

For a second, Blake couldn’t move.

At the end of the hallway stood something.

Tall, huge, just far too large to belong in the corridor.

Its silhouette seemed almost distorted beneath the dim lights.

Blake had seen aliens before.

He had seen creatures that shouldn’t have existed.

He had seen things AL-TECH had hidden beneath layers of steel and concrete.

He had witnessed enough strange things that he should have been difficult to surprise.

’What the hell is that?’

His mind struggled to process the shape. It was humanoid, but only barely.

Its proportions were wrong.

Its presence alone made Blake’s stomach twist.

He didn’t move, neither did it.

’Why is it just... standing there?’

Then, the creature changed.

Blake’s eyes widened.

Its body shifted with an unnatural smoothness, the enormous silhouette compressing, the strange proportions disappearing.

The thing became smaller.

More familiar.

Human.

Blake immediately covered his mouth.

’No way.’

The person stood there as though nothing unusual had happened.

Then they started walking, straight toward him.

Blake pressed himself against the wall.

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

The person walked past, of course not looking at him. He had almost forgotten his skill was on.

Blake slowly lowered his hand.

"What..."

He didn’t finish.

His instincts took over. He scrambled upright and followed. Not too closely or enough to make noise.

The person continued down the hallway, and he followed.

Then suddenly, they stopped.

Blake froze.

The person was standing directly in front of a door.

Sage Larue’s door.

His eyes widened.

’...What?’

The person raised a hand.

Knock.

Just once.

Blake stood several meters away, completely still.

The person waited, but obviously, nothing happened, nobody opened the door.

They waited a little longer, then lowered their hand.

Without saying anything, they turned around and walked away.

Blake remained frozen as he watched the person disappear around the corner.

Only then did he breathe.

His eyes drifted toward his own hotel room.

The door was still closed, nothing appeared different.

Yet his skin felt cold.

He stared at it.

’Was it... searching for Sage Larue?’

He remained there for several seconds, staring at the empty hallway.

Nothing moved.

Nothing made a sound.

Blake slowly reached for the door handle, but stopped before touching it, his fingers hovering in the air.

’No.’

He wasn’t going to open it yet. Whatever had just happened, he needed to think first.

The person had knocked exactly once at his room, and then simply walked away.

Blake swallowed.

’There’s no way that’s a coincidence.’