The morning sun was hotter than ever. Chinatown was still empty, and most of the shops were closed. One of them was The Leviathan, which didn't seem to have any staff—but we knew that, underground, weapons were already being loaded.
We had no idea what awaited us, so we split into teams:
- Front Line: Naomi and Tony
- Support Team: Valentina and Kris
- Tech Team: Me and the Rosas brothers
Rosas brothers? Yeah, I hadn't spoken to them until last night. Why? Because they were the rudest people I'd ever met. And my patience with them was already running thin...
[Last night]
Tony, Kris, and I arrived at the garage with the most important answer.
"They're there."
I said it loud and clear for everyone to hear.
We were tired, but the androids hadn't caused much damage. Valentina quickly stepped in to help.
"What happened? Are you okay? And how many times have I told you not to rip your shirt, Tony?"
The two of them were afraid of getting scolded and quickly vanished. That left me to explain what we saw at the restaurant.
...
I went to Valentina's office for a quick meeting. With me were Naomi and... the Rosas brothers.
Javier Rosas and Cucho Rosas. They were from the Soul Vestiges—supposedly superintelligent, or so they claimed.
They were small, maybe dwarves. Their skin was a lifeless green, like zombies, and their eyes were buried under dark circles. Their hair was spiked like punk rock stars, and most notably, their heads were way too big for their bodies.
I started the meeting with a brief summary of our reconnaissance mission.
"The restaurant is just a front. What really matters is the elevator in the back-left corner. They tried to poison us, we figured it out, and then thousands of androids started pouring out."
"How hard is it going to be to invade?"
Valentina asked.
"Getting past the first part will be easy—they want us there. But they don't kn—"
Before I could finish, a wad of spit hit me in the face.
"Who threw that?"
I asked, wiping my face.
"Why are we letting this piece of crap speak? He couldn't even come up with a decent plan and nearly got those two idiots killed."
It was the Rosas brothers. And yes, both of them—they spoke in perfect sync, like they shared a brain.
"Wait, piece of what?"
"Boss, we don't make equipment for people like him. We build for you because we know you're capable."
Valentina stood up and slammed her hand on the table.
"Silence! Continue, Kobba."
I kept explaining what we saw at the restaurant, but the brothers wouldn't stop harassing me. Spitballs, shouting over me, and completely unnecessary insults. I only managed to finish because Naomi and Valentina kept defending me. But then came the worst one...
"This priest is just as pathetic as his mother. We're screwed."
I grabbed both of them by the neck with a strength I didn't even know I had and slammed them against the wall. I could feel my face trembling with rage.
The fight was broken up quickly, but I had never been pushed over the edge like that before. I knew working with them would be hell.
With all the information gathered, Valentina laid out the strategy.
"We'll split into three teams. Front Line: our strongest firepower—Naomi and Tony. Support Team: to assist the front—me and Kris. And finally, the Tech Team: responsible for analyzing and adjusting our strategy in real time. This will be the most important team since we don't know what the place looks like. It'll be composed of Kobba, Javier, and Cucho."
"We have to work together?"
All three of us had the same reaction.
[Present]
And there we were, ready to go in. Maybe we should've entered quietly, but Naomi's patience was running low. She kicked the door open without hesitation.
We headed to the elevator. It shouldn't have felt so cramped, but Tony took up a lot of space. The panel had only two arrows—one pointing up, the other down.
As it descended slowly, the same voice from yesterday echoed.
"Welcome to the Earth Threat Response Test Program. Hope it's fun."
When the doors opened, it was hard to see. The lights were flickering, and the smell was awful. Just a dark hallway. Nothing else.
"Let's move."
Naomi said, sprinting ahead. She was way faster than the rest of us and vanished into the endless corridor. We called out to her several times, but it felt like our voices didn't reach.
We tried to run after her, but suddenly we arrived in a large, empty room. The only thing in it... was a refrigerator.
As we approached, the voice returned.
"Room number 8. Adaptive androids. She's in everything."
The fridge opened, and dozens of androids started pouring out toward us. But they looked different from the ones upstairs—stronger.
"Tony, take the lead. Kris and I will support. You three stay back."
At first, it seemed like we just had to destroy them like last time. But when he said "adaptive androids," he wasn't kidding. One of them leapt onto Tony's face, covering his mouth. Others had scissors to cut Kris's hair—and even though it grew back instantly, she couldn't attack. And of course, they had no blood, so Valentina couldn't use her Blood Wager.
We were at a disadvantage. We managed to take down a few, but there were too many. My first thought was: I have to shut down the fridge.
I ran toward it, knowing it wouldn't be simple. It wasn't a normal fridge—no wires, no buttons visible. The inside was untouchable, since that's where the androids were coming from.
The back seemed to be the key. Buttons numbered one to fifty, and a countdown timer. When I looked, it read exactly four minutes and forty-three seconds.
I typed 1005—the restaurant's number—just to test it.
"Countdown reduced. Bomb will detonate in two minutes and thirty seconds."
A bomb? Everyone's going to die if I mess up the password again?
"This is a bomb, Kobbinha? Disarm it or I'll go bald!"
"Hum Hum Hum!"
Kris and Tony were sweating. I didn't think they could hold out much longer.
"Kobba! Think about your nightmare. The answer must be there!"
Valentina was right. If there was any chance I could guess the password, it was through that. There was a timer in the dream too—thirty seconds. That must be it.
"Countdown reduced. Bomb will detonate in thirty seconds."
What? I don't remember anything else from the nightmare that could help.
"Naomi said you seemed smart, and maybe you are. But you're no genius. Geniuses don't rely on dreams and nightmares."
The Rosas brothers appeared beside me and quickly analyzed the fridge.
"The voice gave us three clues: Room 8, adaptive androids, and 'she's in everything.'"
"It was a hint..."
"At least you figured that part out. The hint makes it easy—any idiot could solve it."
"What do you mean?"
They started pressing buttons.
"There's a pattern we see everywhere in nature. An Italian mathematician discovered it long ago. His name? Leonardo Fibonacci."
I watched them press each number in the sequence: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34.
Once confirmed, all the androids stopped attacking and the bomb was disarmed. Two doors opened—one to the East, one to the West.
"Finally! My scalp was starting to hurt."
"Hum."
"Excellent work, Rosas. Now we need to split up. Kobba and Tony will go West. The rest of us will head East."
After that, the brothers came up to me and whispered:
"She put you with the strongest because you're dead weight. Try not to get Tony killed, you piece of trash."
As much as I hated those two... they weren't wrong. If I keep relying on my nightmares, I'll be a burden to the team. But now's not the time to think about that. We need to move forward and find Zeki and Naomi.
Both groups went their separate ways. As we approached the next room, we heard music and saw colorful lights.
I looked at Tony—he seemed excited. And then I understood why.
"Room number 3. Party Hard. The night is young."
The door closed behind us.
The party had begun.