MEMELAND

The orange glow grew brighter.

Kai raised a hand.

The group stopped.

Nobody spoke.

Ahead, voices echoed through the tunnels.

Cultists.

More than a few.

Kai carefully peeked around the corner.

The sewer opened into a much larger chamber.

Wooden walkways crossed over murky water.

Crates were stacked against the walls.

Lanterns illuminated the area.

Dozens of people moved throughout the hideout.

Some carried supplies.

Others stood guard.

For the first time—

The trio realized how large this operation actually was.

Andre whistled quietly.

"That's a lot of weirdos."

Eric immediately grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Shut up."

Andre lowered his voice.

"A lot of weirdos."

"Better."

Kai ignored both of them.

His eyes scanned the room.

There were too many enemies.

A direct fight would be suicide.

Even Andre seemed to realize that.

Which was saying something.

The three slipped into the shadows.

Moving between support pillars and storage crates.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Every step measured.

The hideout buzzed with activity.

Nobody paid attention to them.

For now.

They moved deeper.

A group of cultists passed nearby.

Kai immediately crouched.

The others followed.

The cultists stopped only a few meters away.

One of them yawned.

"Squad Three already leave?"

Another nodded.

"About ten minutes ago."

Kai and Eric exchanged glances.

The first cultist sighed.

"Lucky bastards."

"Why?"

"They get to leave this sewer."

"Fair."

The second cultist laughed.

"At least Captain Fais trusts them."

The first man shrugged.

"They're delivering important cargo."

Cargo.

Eric's expression changed instantly.

The second cultist lowered his voice.

"You mean the blueprint?"

Kai froze.

Eric froze.

Andre actually stopped breathing.

The first cultist nodded.

"Yeah."

"The thing everyone keeps talking about."

"Some engineering project."

"No idea why it's important."

The second cultist stretched.

"Not my problem."

The conversation drifted elsewhere.

The two eventually continued walking.

Their footsteps faded into the distance.

Silence.

Then—

"Damn it."

Eric whispered.

Kai looked toward him.

The architect's face had gone pale.

"They already moved it."

Andre scratched his head.

"Okay."

"We catch them."

"It's not that simple."

"Why not?"

"There are dozens of exits connected to this sewer network."

Eric pointed vaguely ahead.

"They could be anywhere by now."

Kai frowned.

The blueprint.

The entire reason they came here.

Gone.

Already gone.

Eric took a deep breath.

Then another.

"We need to leave."

Andre immediately frowned.

"What?"

"We've learned enough."

Eric pointed around them.

"We found the hideout."

"We confirmed organized activity."

"We confirmed the theft."

"We confirmed they're operating beneath Asphyxia."

He lowered his voice.

"That's huge."

Kai remained silent.

Eric continued.

"We report this."

"To the Queen."

"To the city."

"To somebody."

Andre crossed his arms.

"And then what?"

Eric blinked.

"What do you mean then what?"

"We still need the blueprint."

"Yes."

"We still need whoever is running this place."

"Yes."

"We still need answers."

Eric opened his mouth.

Then closed it again.

Because Andre wasn't entirely wrong.

Kai looked toward the deeper sections of the hideout.

More tunnels.

More guards.

More activity.

Whoever was in charge—

They were likely still here.

The blueprint might be gone.

But something told him this place still held answers.

A distant voice echoed somewhere deeper within the base.

Orders being shouted.

People moving.

Preparations underway.

The hideout felt alive.

Like something bigger was happening.

Kai looked at Eric.

Then at Andre.

Then back toward the darkness.

"We go a little deeper."

Eric immediately looked horrified.

Andre immediately grinned.

The fact they reacted exactly as expected somehow made Kai more confident.

Unfortunately.

None of them noticed the figure hiding in the shadows.

Watching.

Listening.

Smiling.

And then quietly walking away.