"Another interference confirmed," Hino reported, approaching with a tablet. "Zone B-1. Same pattern. Tampering, code reset, fake security protocol."
We stood in Class 2-D's control room, surrounded by a map of the labyrinth. The affected areas were forming a pattern. Too precise to be random.
"Someone's building a network," I said. "Closing a circuit. Two more zones, and they'll have full control."
"Control of what?" Mina asked, concern in her voice.
"Movement. Data transfers. Commands. If they complete it, they can redirect curator instructions. Manipulate the trial."
"And what if it's already happening?" Aoi interjected.
I looked at the screen. The curators' signals had indeed become infrequent. And delayed.
"Then we're inside someone else's game," I said. "And we need to break it fast."
We split up. Aoi and Hino went to Zone B-1. Mina stayed at HQ to trace the signal's path. I headed to D-4 — the last sector untouched so far. If "they" were there, we might still have a chance to outpace them.
On the way, a familiar silhouette appeared. Tall figure. Silver hair.
"Following us?" I asked.
"No," he replied. "I'm just walking forward. You keep bumping into me."
"Name?"
"Call me Kiri."
I paused. There was no aggression in his voice. But no friendliness either. Something else. Detached. Observing.
"You're from 2-A. So you play for them?"
"I play for myself," he said. "But maybe our interests will align."
Without waiting for a reply, he disappeared into the shadows of the tunnel.
Later, back at HQ, I found Mina by the terminal. Her face tense.
"Found anything?"
"Yes. And no. Someone's using a masked IP channel. The signal jumps through countless proxy nodes. But I found one stable coordinate."
"Where?"
"Directly beneath the curator zone."
My blood turned cold.
"That means…"
"That someone among the curators is either involved — or being controlled," she finished.
Silence. A distant beep echoed outside — signal of a cycle change in the trial.
That evening, we regrouped. Aoi looked pale.
"In Zone B-1, we found a duplicate terminal. Almost identical to an official one. But with a hidden interface. It can simulate curator commands."
Hino added, "And based on activity traces, someone already used it."
"Then they already have control," Mina whispered.
I clenched my fist.
"We're being led somewhere. But if we figure out where — we can flip the board."
—
Late at night, I received another message. Encrypted. I decoded it in the silence of the room.
> "Sometimes, the Holder doesn't know they're the Holder. But you're close. Just don't spook them."
I looked up. The map flickered. One of the zones began glowing red.
It was our sector.