> "Sometimes the best way to catch a hunter is to become the bait."
The next morning, I was already in the command center. A hologram of sector D-5 hovered above the table — the underground core. Cameras, thermal sensors, patrol routes — all projected in front of me. But I wasn't looking for any of that.
What I needed... was to understand who Ai would send next.
"You're sure he wasn't alone?" Aoi asked, arms crossed.
"I'm sure," I replied. "Tōjō was just the executor. Someone gave him a signal. He was waiting for a distraction."
"Then there's a coordinator. Possibly in another class," Mina added.
"Or within ours," I said. "It's not impossible that someone among those guarding us right now... is the real threat."
Mina flinched slightly. I could tell — she wasn't afraid of external attacks. She feared betrayal from within.
By noon, a new message came in. No signature, like before.
> "The next move won't be on the surface. Look deeper."
I knew it was from Ai again. Or someone working under her.
I headed to the maintenance section beneath the core. It wasn't guarded — officially marked as inactive. But the motion sensors said otherwise.
"Looking for something?" a voice behind me asked.
I turned. Standing there was a girl from Class 2-C — Yuzuka Shirai. Unexpected.
"Just taking a walk," I answered calmly. "And you?"
"Same," she smirked. "Or do you think you're the only one who knows how to move in the shadows?"
"Are you here by your own will?"
"And you?" she shot back. "Or are you already too deep into someone else's game?"
We stared at each other for a moment. Maybe less. But in her eyes, I saw exactly what I was searching for:
> She knew more than she let on.
"Tell Ai I understood her message," I said.
"I don't pass messages. I watch," she replied — and disappeared into a side corridor.
When I returned, Mina was waiting at the entrance. She had a tablet in her hands, the screen showing Tōjō's movement logs over the past two days.
"He met with someone from 2-B. A guy named Hayato Nakamura," she said. "Five minutes off-camera. Then — a signal triggered one of the terminals."
"So Ai's not acting alone. She's building allies. Or buying them."
Mina looked at me.
"And you? Do you have allies too?"
I stepped closer.
"Just one," I said. "The one who won't leave — even if I change."
She didn't reply. Instead, she gently took my hand.
At that moment, an alarm pierced the sector. Red lights flared.
Security breach. Location: D-5. Lower level.
We looked at each other. No words were needed.
> The game had just gotten real.