System S.E.X. (Seduction, Expansion, eXecution)-Chapter 327: The World Has Eyes

Ethan didn’t look back as he drove the heavy off-roader away, leaving the Auditor standing in a cloud of desert dust. The old man watched the dust trail dissipate, his grandfatherly warmth vanishing instantly. He reached into his coat, pulled out a satellite phone, and dialed a secure line.

"Deacon... it is I," the Auditor said.

"Auditor. Tell me the status of your assignment," a voice replied—deep, distorted, and dripping with cold indifference.

"I apologize, Deacon. It seems the young man is far more astute and powerful than our intelligence suggested. It is highly unlikely he will accept our offer under the current terms," ​​the Auditor said.

"I see. Then there is no further need to persuade him. Soon enough, he will understand why he needs the Union, and not the other way around," the Deacon said.

"Understood, Deacon. I shall fly back to the Holy See immediately," the Auditor said.

In a decadent, dimly lit hall miles away, the Deacon sat—a man of morbid obesity, swirling a glass of dark wine. His surroundings were nightmarish. Several children stood like broken puppets, their eyes vacant with the ’hundred-mile stare,’ bleeding from places no child should ever be touched. The Deacon let out a guttural shout, and a guard appeared instantly.

"Tell Black Skull that the Union will not protect the boy. They may do as they please," the Deacon said.

In a nondescript, grime-streaked tavern on the other side of the continent, an old man who looked like he had one foot in the grave received a short message. He didn’t speak. He simply typed a sequence into a battered laptop and hit ’Send.’

In an instant, thousands of hidden terminals in taverns and safehouses across the globe received a high-priority alert. A single file: a photo, a name, and a threat level.

Ethan Blake – Objective Level 1.

Ethan drove back toward the city, the sensation of being watched by the Auditor having faded. He felt a rare sense of calm. Thirty minutes into the trip, he hit a massive traffic jam on the main bridge leading into North End. Although he could have used his authority to have the police clear the way, he found a strange, quiet pleasure in the mundane frustrations of life.

The traffic finally began to nudge forward. It was then, during a fraction of a second, that he felt it: a needle-sharp spike of killing intent.

His senses, honed by the Black Flower and his recent meditation, were incredibly acute. He snapped his head toward the source—a public transit bus in the next lane. The driver was looking straight at him, a thin, unsettling smile on his lips. When the driver realized Ethan was staring back with predatory intensity, he simply raised an eyebrow as if thinking it was a coincidence, and the bus pulled away.

Minutes later, the feeling returned. This time, it was an ice cream vendor serving a little girl on a street corner. Ethan scanned them, expecting the man to be the threat, but his blood ran cold when he realized the killing attempt was radiating from the child, not the vendor. It lasted less than a second before she skipped away. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The pattern repeated the entire way back. A construction worker, a woman walking her dog, a businessman on his phone—at every corner, Ethan felt eyes on him. It was as if the entire world had turned into a single, cohesive observer.

"Crul, find out what’s happening. This is happening too frequently to be a coincidence," Ethan said.

[[Master, I have scanned the servers of Celestial, Olympus, and the Scavengers. Even the decrypted portions of Parthenon show no records of these specific individuals. There are no deployment orders matching these civilians. We do not have sufficient information to identify the source,]] Crul said.

Ethan gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. "It’s not an army. It’s a network," Ethan said.

Ethan didn’t head straight for the tower. Instead, he made a sharp turn into the industrial district, his eyes scanning the rearview mirror. The feeling of being hunted wasn’t fading; it was vibrating in the air, a low-frequency hum of malice that seemed to come from every shadow.

"Crul, if it’s not the major organizations, check the independent networks. Look for a global objectives," Ethan said.

[[Searching... Master, I have bypassed the secondary firewall of an encrypted mercenary hub known as ’The Dark Ledger.’ I have found a match. You have been flagged. The contract was issued five minutes ago by an entity known as ’Black Skull.’ No restrictions. No mercy. It is an open hunt,]] Crul said.

Ethan slammed the gear into drive, his eyes cold as he watched the motorcycle rider disappear into the distance. "Black Skull... Crul, I want everything. Who are they?" Ethan said.

[[Searching deep-web archives and mercenary forums... Master, there are no official tax records or corporate shells. Only whispers. In the darkest corners of the net, ’Black Skull’ is a myth used to frighten the brave. The words that appear in every thread are: Perfection. Lethal. Impossible to stop. Impossible to fail,]] Crul said.

"A group of ghosts then. Interesting," Ethan said.

Suddenly, the truck’s dashboard flashed a violent red. An alarm blared throughout the cabin as the haptic sensors detected the impact of the high-velocity rounds on the reinforced plating. Simultaneously, at the Royal Tower, every monitor in the tactical command center turned crimson.

"Sir! The Chief’s transport is under fire! Sector 4, the industrial bridge!" a technician shouted.

Jason, who had been supervising the cleanup of the traitors, snapped his head toward the screen. "Status?! Is he hit?!" Jason said.

"Armor is holding, but the threat signature is everywhere! It’s not just one shooter; we’re seeing micro-movements across the entire grid!" the technician said.

Ethan accelerated, the heavy engine of the truck roaring as he forced his way through the outskirts of the city. His heart hammered, not with fear for himself, but with a sudden, icy realization. If they’re coming for me this openly, they’re coming for the others.