Gavin could not hide his sense of helplessness.
He didn't even know where things had gone wrong.
No matter how much he thought about it, there had been no mistakes.
The intel had been accurate.
The deployment had been perfect.
The judgment had been logical.
It was simply that.
Dennis was simply better than Gavin.
Just as an ant, no matter how fast it ran, could not outrun a human,
Gavin had done his best as well, but he was in the palm of Dennis's hand.
If there was one misjudgment,
it was that he had been deceived by that sly attitude.
He hadn't thought of him as special,
and had merely thought he was no different from other traffickers.
He had merely classified him as one of many merchants.
But he was not a merchant.
He was a designer who designed and orchestrated the board.
The damage from this misjudgment was horrific.
The collection team had vanished in Zamboanga,
and the Singapore team had been annihilated.
The only survivor was Gavin.
No, he was merely "still" alive.
Dennis would not let Gavin live.
Dennis had seen through everything.
He had even known that manpower would be dispatched to steal the Phantom Grid.
He had calculated the exact timing of Gavin's move.
Excuses were meaningless.
This profession was one where you staked your life from the start.
He had no intention of begging for his life.
"Completely outplayed."
"It's not that bad.
Finish it cleanly."
Gavin closed his eyes as if resigned.
A brief silence passed.
"Are you drunk? Did the expensive alcohol go to your head quickly?"
At Dennis's sly voice, Gavin opened his eyes.
Dennis looked at him with eyes full of curiosity.
"Surely you don't think I'm going to kill you?"
"You're not?"
"Don't be like that. Go tell the Chairman of Parallax. Tell him there's a good item, so ask him to buy it at a high price."
It was complete contempt.
A statement telling him to go report as he was since he was being spared.
A statement telling him to return embracing his defeat.
Gavin slowly clenched his fist.
His fingernails dug into his palms.
It was humiliating.
"Why are you sparing me?"
He asked, swallowing his humiliation.
"Because if I kill you, it's over. And... Parallax is still a good buyer. You're more convenient than a new purchasing director, too."
"..."
"Next time you come, bring only money. Leave the emotions behind, and the weapons too."
Gavin didn't say a word.
He simply walked quietly toward the door.
Dennis's voice reached him from behind.
"The Phantom Grid effect. You confirmed it this time, didn't you? With that, you can design the board. Pass that along to the Chairman."
Dennis's voice was still bright, just as it had been at the beginning.
Gavin quietly opened the door and went outside as if he couldn't hear Dennis's voice.
Creak.
When the door closed, an empty hallway was visible.
It was a hallway that should have been filled with agents waiting.
But there was no one.
His heart sank.
A sense of self-loathing surged over him.
He felt keenly what he had done.
Gavin had driven them to their deaths.
His hands trembled.
It was then.
Static.
A radio transmission came through the earpiece in his ear.
"... Director?"
"Director?"
It was Victor's voice.
"Victor?"
"Why couldn't we reach you? The signal was cut... We almost broke the door down."
Victor's voice was welcome.
Strength drained from his legs.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
'A signal jammer.'
Dennis had probably installed a small-scale signal jammer in the room.
Gavin had gone to find him in an excited state after hearing the news of the collection team's incident,
so he hadn't even detected that.
He had been outplayed until the very end.
Thoroughly toyed with, indeed.
Even so, strangely, he didn't feel bad.
He had expected rage to boil over, but instead, he was calm.
Even the thought of resisting or fighting back had vanished.
In the past, he would have immediately broken down that flimsy hotel door and thought of feeding Dennis a bullet, but...
he felt that preparations against that would naturally be in place.
Instead, even greater damage would occur.
At that point, a situation where the Singapore team was annihilated might really come to pass.
The message was clear.
If they coveted the Phantom Grid, it meant they should bring money befitting it.
It was a warning not to try anything else.
A demonstration wasn't even necessary.
He had experienced the terror of the Phantom Grid firsthand.
Information had been displayed on the opponent's radar,
in a way perfectly designed to be misunderstood.
That had been enough.
The moment they got their hands on that, they could design the board.
'That's going to cost a lot.'
Gavin smiled self-deprecatingly.
The best way to acquire the Phantom Grid was not theft, hacking, or blackmail.
It was to buy it at a reasonable price.
That was the cheapest way to handle it in the end.
Having finished his calculations, Gavin picked up his phone.
He called the Parallax secretary.
"I need to see the Chairman."
*******
Sin Jung-gi was in a good mood.
The corners of his mouth kept twitching.
'Iced chocolate is free for the next month.'
That thought alone was thrilling.
Dopamine was surging.
It wasn't because of the money.
It wasn't the iced chocolate,
he had enough money to buy dozens of iced chocolate shops, no, factories.
He just found messing around with Dennis fun.
At this rate, he had enough material to tease Dennis for the next three years.
That was all he wanted.
Every time he drank iced chocolate, he would tease Dennis.
Thinking of Dennis's frustrated expression,
a smile formed on his lips for no reason.
Sin Jung-gi liked Dennis.
He liked him—sly yet sensitive.
Playful yet earnest.
Sin Jung-gi was an outsider even within the town.
Though Sin Jung-gi himself didn't try to approach others, the townspeople also shied away from him somewhat.
Psychopath.
It was a disease? that Sin Jung-gi had.
When he was in Korea, he had been obsessed with routine to hide it.
Time, meals, exercise, sleep, patterns and designs.
He felt like he would go crazy if he didn't do things exactly as scheduled.
But oddly, after coming here to the Philippines, he had become more comfortable.
His routine was broken, but it was better this way.
He didn't care who saw or what they said.
He did as his heart told him, not as others' gazes demanded.
When he applied that to weapon development, he was able to unleash his talent to his heart's content.
Even so, the distance between him and others did not narrow.
Though inside the town, he was isolated like an island.
But there was a boat traveling to and from that island, and that was Dennis.
"I'll handle that, so you just make whatever you want to make."
He didn't have to worry about politics, negotiations, deals, or money.
Sin Jung-gi only had to create.
How reassuring that was, how empowering,
there was no need to explain in words.
Even now, he had been refraining from iced chocolate for three days.
When Dennis returned,
he planned to tease him while sipping iced chocolate right in front of him.
Just that thought alone,
made him endure the iced chocolate to feel that sweetness even more.
He wished Dennis would come back quickly.
********
Zurich, Switzerland.
A palace-like building overlooking Lake Zurich.
Gavin walked on a thick carpet that swallowed even sound.
Footsteps he normally wouldn't have felt seemed unusually heavy and loud today.
Standing in front of the Parallax chairman's office, the secretary gave a sign that he could enter.
Taking a deep breath, he entered the chairman's office.
Adrian Volkov, the chairman of Parallax, greeted Gavin from his desk.
There was no expression on his face as he looked at Gavin.
He was neither pleased nor disappointed.
It was the gaze of someone looking at merely a single component.
"So, you failed?"
Adrian got straight to the point without even greeting him.
"I'm sorry. But we must absolutely secure the Phantom Grid."
Gavin was quick to make excuses.
"You needed it but couldn't bring it? I don't quite understand. And you got the collection team killed on top of that?"
Adrian's gaze swept over Gavin.
To Gavin, that gaze was terribly cold.
He felt as if his entire body had been stripped bare.
"S... sorry. But the Phantom Grid is not something that can be resolved through conventional means. The Phantom Grid is a game changer. With it, you can design and control the board. We must buy it even if we have to pay money."
"Was the ten million dollars you had insufficient?"
"He says it's not enough."
A brief silence passed.
"Listen, Gavin. The reason I put you in the purchasing director position all this time isn't because you're exceptional. It's because you could acquire technology at a cheap price. That's your only advantage. I don't care what method you use. You just have to bring the needed technology in front of me. But now you want to buy it at a high price? Anyone can do that. Then is there any reason for me to keep you in that position?"
"Pardon?"
"You fail at your job and come back, and the best you can say is you want more money?"
"That's the only way now."
"You never say that you yourself are lacking."
"Pardon?"
"The Phantom Grid. It's an incredible item. The more incredible it is, the more boldly you should have acted. Not hesitated like you did."
"To do that..."
He cut off Gavin's words.
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"I have no need for hesitant men. Samir, take care of him."
"Yes."
Samir, who had been standing in the corner like a shadow, was suddenly behind Gavin, restraining him.
Gavin tried to make excuses but
Samir covered his mouth, rendering him speechless.
"Purchasing Director Gavin is executed for the crime of annihilating the collection team."
Adrian spoke quietly.
But the one who should have heard those words was already being dragged away by Samir.
After a moment of thought, Adrian gave an order to Matteo, who was in charge of general operations.
"Matteo."
"Yes."
"Go catch this man named Dennis immediately. I don't care what method you use. Without him, there is no Phantom Grid. So catch him alive."
"Dennis is currently in Singapore. There may be problems."
"I'll take responsibility. Proceed without worry. A few hours can be covered up."
"Understood."
Matteo understood the exact meaning of those words.
Parallax was not a simple trafficking organization.
Lobbying, pressure, threats, money.
They could use any method,
and obtain any result.
It was confidence that any brief problem arising in Singapore could be covered up.
"Think of it as sealing off the hotel. Block the ports, the airport, the marina—all of it."
"Yes."
"Show him there's nowhere to run. Close off every option."
"I will show him clearly."
Matteo answered.
"Matteo."
"Yes."
Adrian spoke quietly to Matteo.
"I only see results."
.
.
.
Matteo had left Switzerland and come to Singapore.
On the tablet he held, a 3D schematic of the hotel was displayed.
55th-floor corner suite.
Emergency stairs.
Elevator shaft.
Underground parking garage routes.
Seven entrances and exits.
Communication relay positions.
Mechanical room power lines.
He had finished inspecting all facilities.
"Operation time?"
"Current time 16:42. Operation time is exactly 22:00."
"Target?"
"55th-floor suite. Occupied alone."
"Agents?"
"All deployed."
"Possible escape routes?"
"Elevators blocked, agents positioned on emergency staircases. The helipad on the upper floor has been closed. Agents are stationed at all hotel exits. Measures have also been taken at the airport and ports."
Matteo nodded in satisfaction.
His eyes reflected on the tablet glowed coldly.
"Good. Let's begin the hunt."
.
.
.
21:30.
Hotel underground parking garage.
Two ordinary black vans entered.
They were common vans with ordinary rental license plates.
But the clothes of those who got out were all different.
Suits, tourist attire, hotel uniforms.
But their gait was all the same.
Their eye movements were the same too.
Matteo checked the time and gave an order through his earpiece.
"All units to position."
21:50.
Hotel mechanical room.
An inside collaborator was already positioned there.
"Target?"
"CCTV confirmation shows he hasn't left the room today. A team that appeared to be buyers visited, and dinner was handled by room service. He is currently staying in the room."
The agent looked at the screen.
55th-floor hallway CCTV.
The hallway was as quiet as could be.
"Good. All units report position."
"Team A. Emergency stairwell A-line. All clear."
"Team B. Emergency stairwell B-line secured."
"Team C. Waiting on 54th floor. Blocking upper floor access."
"Team D. Lobby surveillance."
.
.
Team reports continued.
Matteo led the elite agents toward the 55th-floor suite.
21:57.
"Communications cut."
"Communications cut."
A switch was flipped in the mechanical room.
Not the entire hotel, just a portion of the 55th floor.
"Communications cut complete. External signals blocked."
21:59
"Elevators blocked."
"Elevators blocked."
All elevators in the Marina Bay Sands Hotel switched to under maintenance.
22:00
"Cut power and enter simultaneously."
There was no countdown.
The moment the hour struck,
the lights on the hotel's 55th floor all went out at once.
Darkness covered the hallway.
"Execute operation."
At Matteo's words, an agent held a master key to the door.
The door opened with almost absurd ease.
Matteo and the agents entered the suite.