The Unwanted Son's Millionaire System

Chapter 95

On one side of the street stood an old, abandoned building. It was falling apart, cold, and smelled like rotting wood and dust—a lot like their previous hideout. But tonight, this empty shell had a vital purpose. It was their secret base of operations.Inside, on the third floor by a broken window, Kaito was hunched over his laptop. The screen showed a grid of live video feeds that their ally, the hacker Silica, was secretly pulling from inside the enemy warehouse across the street. The laptop’s cool, blue glow lit up his face, which was tight with focus and fear.

He spoke into his microphone, his voice transmitted to the small earpieces Ace and Evelyn were wearing. "I’m in," he said, the audio crackling slightly. "I can see the main hallway and the room where they’re questioning him. I see Silva."

Meanwhile, Ace was crouched on the roof of the enemy warehouse, next to a dirty, grated air vent. His heart squeezed painfully at Kaito’s words. "What’s his condition?" Ace whispered back.

"He’s alive," Kaito reported, his voice strained. "They have him tied to a chair. He’s... been beaten. He’s covered in bruises. But he’s awake and aware." Kaito took a steadying breath, watching his screens. "There’s one guard in the room with him right now, and two more walking patrol in the main hall."

Alive. That single word was like a powerful drug, flooding Ace’s system with hope and energy. He turned and locked eyes with Evelyn, who was crouched beside him. In the pale moonlight, her face was determined. All the sadness from before was gone, burned away and replaced by a cold, sharp anger.

"Okay," Ace whispered into his mic. "We’re moving in. Silica, is everything ready on your end?"

The response wasn’t a voice, but a line of text that appeared like a ghost in their earpieces: <<>>

This meant Silica was jamming the enemy’s communications, tricking their security systems, and making Ace and Evelyn invisible to electronic eyes.

Ace took a wrench from their small bag of tools and began unscrewing the cover of the air vent. When it came loose, it revealed a dark, square opening, just big enough for a person to squeeze through. A smell of stale, dusty air drifted out.

"I’ll go first," Evelyn said immediately. She was already swinging her legs into the dark hole. "I’m smaller than you. I’ll make sure the path is clear."

Before Ace could protest, she slid completely into the vent and vanished into the blackness. Ace could hear the soft, scraping sounds of her moving away. He took a deep breath and followed her. The ventilation shaft was a tight, metal tunnel that pressed in on him from all sides. It was utterly dark and felt suffocating. The only guides he had were the faint sounds of Evelyn crawling ahead of him and Kaito’s calm, directing voice in his ear.

"Keep moving straight ahead," Kaito instructed, watching their digital blips on a map Silica had provided. "After about fifteen meters, you’ll come to a place where the tunnel splits. Take the left passage. That shaft will lead you down, right beside the wall of the interrogation room."

Inside the Interrogation Room

In the stark, concrete room, Silva struggled against the plastic ties binding his wrists for what felt like the hundredth time. They were pulled so tight they cut into his skin. His face was a patchwork of purple and blue bruises. His lip was cut and swollen, and one of his eyes was puffed up so badly he could barely see out of it. A single guard, dressed in black tactical gear, leaned against the wall, looking bored as he scrolled through his phone. y seconds," she informed them calmly. "The guards are distracted, investigating a fake fire alarm I triggered in another part of the building. We need to move. Now."

Ace carefully helped Silva to his feet. The big man was shaky and weak, leaning most of his weight on Ace’s shoulder. A pained, but genuine, smile broke through his bruised face. "I knew you’d come for me," he grunted, his voice rough.

"Told you we would," Evelyn said. Her voice was choked with emotion, a mix of relief and lingering anger. In a swift, smooth motion, she bent down and picked up the elegant pistol Sterling had dropped. She expertly checked the weapon to see if it was loaded and ready, handling it with a confidence that surprised Ace. He realized there were still things he didn’t know about his friends.

"Kaito, we have him," Ace said into the microphone on his earpiece. "We’re getting out now. Initiate Phase Two. It’s time to cause some chaos."

"With pleasure!" Kaito’s voice came back, buzzing with excitement and relief that their plan was working.

Instantly, the world outside went mad. Every single car parked on the street suddenly blared its alarm, creating a deafening, chaotic symphony of honks and wails. At the same time, all the streetlights flickered wildly and then went out completely, plunging the entire block into an inky, confusing darkness. From deep within the warehouse, they could hear the shouts of the confused guards and the sound of running footsteps—all moving away from them, toward the fake emergencies.

Their new ally, Elara (formerly known only as Silica), took the lead. It was as if she had a perfect map of the building memorized in her head. Instead of leading them back toward the roof and the dangerous vents, she guided them in a different direction. They moved quickly through a dusty side room filled with old storage boxes and out through a narrow emergency exit that was almost never used. The door opened into a different, quieter alley, far from where the enemy was searching.

They moved as a group through the shadowy, darkened streets—a ragged but determined team. There was the wounded fighter, his rescuers, and the hacker who had once been just a ghost in the machine, now walking beside them in the flesh. They didn’t stop to catch their breath until they had reached another one of Elara’s pre-arranged safe spots: a hidden sub-basement beneath an old, closed-down printing press.

Once inside, the adrenaline that had been fueling them finally drained away, leaving behind a deep, bone-tired exhaustion. Silva sank heavily onto a dusty wooden crate, letting out a long groan. Evelyn was at his side in an instant, opening their small first-aid kit and beginning to gently clean his wounds.

Ace looked across the room at Elara. She stood by the door, her body still tense, her head tilted as she listened intently for any sound that they had been followed.

"You came yourself," Ace said. His tone wasn’t an accusation, but rather one of deep surprise and newfound respect.

Elara met his gaze steadily. "Some lines of code need to be written in person," she replied, a hint of dry humor in her voice. Then she glanced over at Silva, who managed to give her a bloody but deeply grateful grin. Her expression softened slightly. "And some debts," she added, "are not just digital."

In that moment, something fundamental changed between them. The last traces of their uncertain, manipulative partnership—where they were just using each other as tools—vanished completely. They had faced a common enemy in a life-or-death situation. They had bled together. Now, they were no longer just assets; they were a true team.

They had set out to rescue their strongest fighter, their "hammer." In the process, they had gained the full allegiance of their "scalpel," who had proven she could also be a powerful "sword" in a fight.

They were still wounded, still hunted, and still trapped in a city that wanted them destroyed. But for the first time since this entire nightmare had begun, they were no longer just a group of survivors. They were a complete unit, truly and completely together.