Chapter 17: The Hunter’s Trail

Albert awoke to the rhythmic hum of EvoTech's automated systems. Soft blue lights pulsed along the edges of his suite, signaling the planetary cycle's early hours. Despite resting, his mind hadn't stopped racing.

The Quantum Shroud was closer than ever. His father was keeping secrets. And now, shadowy figures were watching from the darkness, waiting for him to make a move.

He couldn't afford to stay idle.

Pulling himself up, he let out a slow breath. His injuries had faded thanks to the med-bots Liana had sent in while he slept, but the tension in his chest remained.

Something had changed last night.

And he was about to find out what.

---

EvoTech's Watchtower

The Watchtower was EvoTech's nerve center—a hidden command hub overlooking the planetary security grid. Few had access to it. Even fewer knew it existed.

Albert had only been here once, when his father taught him about EvoTech's deeper infrastructure. Now, he walked into the chamber alone, his presence triggering the room's automated recognition systems.

A low chime echoed as holo-panels flickered to life.

He bypassed the standard security logs and accessed the restricted energy readings from last night's attack. If someone had been watching EvoTech Tower, their signal had to be buried somewhere in the data.

Lines of code streamed past his eyes, the Aetherion interface responding to his commands.

Then—

A disruption. A faint, almost imperceptible residual energy signature hovering outside EvoTech's security perimeter.

Not from within.

From above.

Albert's pulse quickened. Whoever had been watching wasn't operating from the city or the tower's systems.

They were off-world.

His fingers danced across the panel, isolating the signature. The frequency was encrypted, but it pulsed in a pattern he recognized—a quantum feedback loop designed to mask its origin.

A tactic used by the Quantum Shroud.

Albert clenched his jaw. This wasn't just a random observer. Someone was tracking him deliberately.

And he was about to find out who.

---

A Shadowed Pursuit

Albert knew better than to rely solely on EvoTech's defenses. His father's test had made one thing painfully clear—he had to take action himself.

Tapping into his personal interface, he locked onto the energy pattern and initiated a silent trace. The system struggled against the encryption, but slowly, it unraveled the signal's direction.

It wasn't coming from a stationary base.

It was moving.

A cloaked vessel, drifting within the upper stratosphere of Neo-Terra.

Albert narrowed his eyes. If the Quantum Shroud was watching from that close, it meant they weren't just gathering information.

They were waiting.

For what?

The thought barely settled before an alert flashed across his interface.

WARNING: Incoming transmission. Unidentified source.

Albert hesitated, then answered.

The screen before him flickered with static before stabilizing. A hooded figure appeared, their face obscured in a swirling digital distortion.

Then, a voice—calm, measured, and filled with something almost resembling amusement.

"You're more capable than we expected, Albert Faustin."

His breath slowed. The fact that they knew his name wasn't surprising. The fact that they were contacting him directly was.

His fingers tensed at his side. "Who are you?"

A low chuckle. "Names are trivial. You've already figured out what matters."

Albert's mind worked fast. They didn't introduce themselves as the Quantum Shroud. Yet their methods, their presence… it was too much of a coincidence.

"What do you want?" he asked coldly.

The figure tilted their head slightly. "A conversation. One you've been avoiding."

A flicker of static.

Then—

The screen shifted, revealing a new image. A woman, frozen mid-motion, her expression caught between determination and pain.

Albert's breath caught in his throat.

His mother.

Before he could react, the figure spoke again.

"You want to know what really happened to her, don't you?"

Albert's hands clenched into fists. "What do you know?"

The figure leaned forward. "Meet me. Come alone. Or remain in the dark forever."

The transmission cut off.

The room fell silent.

Albert's pulse thundered in his ears.

His mother.

Whoever they were, they knew something. And if there was even a chance they were telling the truth—

He had to find out.

Even if it was a trap.