The First Clue

Sebastian was no stranger to hidden truths. He had traveled across time, unraveling history’s secrets, but this—this-this was something different. Tracking a missing official, he stumbled upon a trail that led him straight into the heart of the Nine Dragons’ deception. Buried within an abandoned safe house, he found a series of encrypted documents—layers upon layers of locked information. The deeper he dug, the more dangerous it became. These files weren’t just records; they were pieces of a cover-up so vast it shook even his seasoned perspective. Someone had gone to great lengths to erase the truth.

Across the city, Thalia followed a different lead—the official’s last known movements. Her psychic abilities helped her trace moments of fear, hurried footsteps, and desperate actions taken in the final hours before he vanished. When her search led her to a hidden terminal within an old government building, she knew she was close.

But there was a problem. The files Sebastian had found needed a decryption key. A key that, according to the metadata, had been last accessed in the depths of the Nine Dragons’ financial networks.

For the first time, they had something tangible—proof that the syndicate’s power was built on lies. But exposing the truth would be another battle entirely.

—

Jakarta – A Forgotten Safe House. Sebastian moved through the darkened space, his boots stirring up dust that had settled over forgotten documents and shattered glass. The walls were stained with age, the scent of mold and neglect thick in the air. Whoever had last used this place had either left in a hurry—or never left at all.

The city outside was alive, Jakarta’s neon glow bleeding through broken shutters, the distant hum of traffic a reminder that life continued, oblivious to the ghosts hidden within places like this. But in here, time felt different. Stagnant. As if something had been trapped between the past and the present, waiting to be found.

Sebastian had walked through centuries of history. He had seen empires rise and fall, civilizations crumble under their weight. But even in all his travels—through wars, revolutions, and forgotten betrayals—he had never seen a truth so deliberately erased.

His fingers brushed against the edge of an overturned desk, the wood cool beneath his touch. And then he saw it—half-buried beneath old folders and debris—a hard drive, still intact.

—

He crouched, retrieving the device with careful hands, turning it over in the dim light. No markings. No labels. But he didn’t need them. He had been following the faintest whispers of a vanished government official—someone who had uncovered something they weren’t supposed to see. Now, that man was gone.

Sebastian pulled a small decryption pad from his coat, connecting the drive. The screen flickered to life, the soft blue glow illuminating the sharp lines of his face.

Encrypted files flooded the screen. His heartbeat quickened. These weren’t just reports. They weren’t just financial records. They were pieces of a cover-up. Layer upon layer of locked data. Someone had gone to great lengths to bury this.

He tapped through the encryption layers, his fingers steady despite the growing weight in his chest. The deeper he went, the more familiar the patterns became. This wasn’t just government interference—this was something else.

And then he saw it. A name, buried in the metadata. A name that shouldn’t be there. Wei Long.

Sebastian exhaled slowly. One of the Nine Dragons’ enforcers. A man who operated in silence, who erased problems before they could become threats. If he was tied to this…

Then this wasn’t just corruption. This was a death sentence. And then it came. Like a static shock in his mind, the world around him fractured. The air thickened. The walls of the safe house blurred. And suddenly—he was somewhere else.

—

Jakarta burned. Smoke curled into the sky like black veins across the horizon. Skyscrapers stood in ruins, shattered glass raining down on streets lined with riot fires and bodies.

He heard screams—not from the present, but from a future not yet written. And in the chaos, standing in the center of it all—Bintang. Blood on his hands. A choice before him. A choice that would decide who survived and who didn’t.

Sebastian’s breath hitched, his fingers digging into the hard drive, grounding himself back in the present. The vision faded, but its weight remained. This was connected to the paradox. The Three Pillars Collide. The moment he had tried to avoid.

Not yet, he thought. Not yet… but soon.

He didn’t know how much time they had before this future arrived. But he knew where it started. Right here. Right now.

A sharp beep from his decryption pad snapped him back to the moment. His screen flashed red. Access Denied. Encryption Key Required. Sebastian frowned, scrolling through the metadata. There it was—a signature buried in the code.

Access Key Last Traced Location: Nine Dragons Financial Network. He clenched his jaw. The key wasn’t lost. It was locked inside the Nine Dragons’ financial empire. Whoever last held it was already dead. And if they knew someone was looking, whoever searched for it would be next. Sebastian disconnected the drive, slipping it into his coat. The first clue had been found. Now, he just had to survive long enough to use it.

—

Jakarta – An Abandoned Government Complex. The air was heavy with dust and time. Thalia moved carefully through the dark corridors of the abandoned government building, her footsteps echoing off cracked marble floors. The past lingered here—not just in the decayed walls and forgotten files, but in the very energy of the place.

She could feel it. The presence of something unfinished. Something hidden. Somewhere within these walls, a man had vanished.

She closed her eyes. The moment she touched the cold metal door of an old records room, the vision struck—sharp, sudden, and overwhelming.

A man is running. His breath is ragged. His hands clutching something—a flash drive. Shadows closing in. Footsteps, heavy and deliberate, moving toward him.

Official whispering, desperate. “They know. I have to hide it.”

The image blurred—fractured—twisted into static.

And then—

Blood on the floor. The metallic taste of fear. A door slamming shut. And silence. Thalia’s breath came in sharp gasps as she snapped back to reality. She was standing in the exact place where he had made his last choice.

Her hands trembled as she ran them along the desk, searching for something—anything—that hadn’t been erased. And then, beneath a layer of dust and forgotten reports, her fingers brushed against something smooth. A hidden terminal. She exhaled.

Thalia whispering. “It’s still here.”

The screen flickered to life as she powered it on, the old system booting up with a sluggish hum. The files inside were locked, buried beneath layers of encryption. But someone had tried to protect them. Someone had hidden the truth.

And now—she was close.

The fragmented visions she had seen told her one thing. This wasn’t just about a single missing official. This was about money. Power. A web stretching beyond Jakarta’s borders. And at the center of it all—the Nine Dragons. But visions weren’t enough.

She needed proof.

—

She pulled out her phone, fingers moving quickly as she sent a single encrypted message to Sebastian.

“I found something. A terminal in the abandoned government offices. Someone hid files here.”

A pause.

Then, another message:

“But we need a key to open them.”

She waited.

Seconds passed. Then her screen flashed. From Sebastian

“I have the files. But the key is inside the Nine Dragons’ financial network.”

Her heart pounded.

They were finally getting somewhere.

But unlocking these secrets meant one thing—

War.

And the Nine Dragons would come for them before they even had the chance to fight back.

—

Outside the government complex, a car sat parked in the shadows. A figure inside watched as Thalia stepped back into the night, slipping away like a ghost.

A phone was lifted. A call was made.

Unknown Voice: “She found it.”

A brief silence.

Then, a single response.

Wei Long: “Good. Now burn it down.”

—

Jakarta – A Hidden Cyber Hub. Eka sat in front of six monitors, each one displaying fragmented lines of code, security algorithms, and live data feeds. Her fingers moved fast over the keyboard, her eyes scanning for weaknesses, patterns, gaps in the Nine Dragons’ digital fortress.

She had spent years studying their systems, waiting for the right moment. Now, Sebastian had brought her a reason to strike. The encrypted files were dangerous.

But the decryption key?

That was suicide.

Sebastian stood behind her, arms crossed, watching as she worked.

Eka muttering. “You know, hacking into their financial network is like walking into a tiger’s mouth, right?”

Sebastian smirked. “Then let’s hope it’s not hungry.”

Eka sighed, cracking her knuckles. “Okay, let’s do this.”

She bypassed the first layer of security with ease, slipping through outdated firewalls like a shadow in the system. The second layer? Harder. The third? Brutal. She felt it the moment she tripped something. An alarm in the code. The Nine Dragons had built a failsafe. Someone had just been alerted.

Somewhere else in the city, Luo Jian’s phone vibrated. A warning flashed across his screen. Unusual activity detected. Possible breach attempt. He leaned forward, eyes narrowing. Someone was inside his network.

Luo Jian softly. “Foolish.”

With a flick of his wrist, he activated a counter-attack. A ghost in the system. If they wanted to steal from him, they would pay for it.

Back in the Cyber Hub…The screens glitched. Eka’s system froze. Then, the words appeared—typed by something that wasn’t her.

Unknown User: You shouldn’t be here.

Eka’s stomach clenched.

“That’s not you, is it?”

Eka’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “Hell no.”

Another message appeared.

Unknown User: You have five seconds to disconnect.

A loading bar flashed in the corner of the screen.

They were being traced.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” She grabbed the decryption key and ripped the connection before it was too late. The screens went black. A heartbeat of silence.

Then— The power cut out. The room was plunged into darkness. Sebastian reached for his gun. “We need to move. Now.”

Eka grabbed the USB drive, stuffing it into her pocket. “We got the key, but they know we were there. They’ll come for us.”

Sebastian’s jaw tightened. “Let them try.”

Elsewhere in Jakarta… Luo Jian sat back, watching his screen reboot. The hackers had been fast. Smart. But not smart enough. Because now? He had their location. He tapped a single command. “Find them.”