The decision was finally made. There was no time left to debate the choice, and there was no room for second thoughts or regrets. The rock lying on the floor, with its threatening message scratched into the surface, was all the proof they needed. It was now completely clear that they were under siege, and their only way out of this danger was to vanish completely.

Inside the cannery, the mood underwent a sudden and serious shift. It changed from one of frantic defense against an attack to a grim, determined execution of a plan. The air in the room, which was already thick with dust and the heat from their electronics, now felt heavy with the enormous gravity of what they were about to do. They weren't just building something anymore; they were actively tearing down their own hard work.

Kaito immediately took the lead, his fingers flying across his keyboard with a new, grim sense of purpose. "I'm initiating the 'Scorched Earth' protocol," he announced. His voice was flat and professional, which they all recognized as a mask he was using to hide the tremendous stress they were all feeling. The name of the protocol said it all—they would destroy everything of their own to leave nothing behind for the enemy. He turned to Evelyn and gave her an instruction. "Evelyn, I need you to handle the public-facing side of this. Start drafting the closure notices for our websites and services. Make them sound desperate and believable. Cite financial troubles, internal disputes, irreparable hardware failure—anything that explains why we are suddenly shutting down."

Evelyn nodded in understanding, her face pale but her expression set with determination. She opened a word processor on her screen. Her fingers paused for just a moment over the keys, a silent acknowledgment of the weight of the task, before she began to type. She wasn't just writing a notice; she was writing the obituary for Aegis Solutions.

<<TASK UPDATE: SCORCHED EARTH PROTOCOL - INITIATED.>>

<<OBJECTIVE: SIMULATE CATASTROPHIC BUSINESS FAILURE AND CEASE ALL DIGITAL OPERATIONS.>>

<<GOAL: DECEIVE ADVERSARY (SILICA) AND NEUTRALIZE PHYSICAL THREATS.>>

The System's notification was a cold, simple confirmation of their desperate plan.

Ace watched the words appear, and a hollow, empty feeling grew in his chest. He remembered the first time he had seen the name "Aegis Solutions" printed on their official paperwork. He had felt a flicker of pride back then. The company was supposed to be their way out of their old life, their path to building something legitimate and clean. Now, they were deliberately destroying it, all just to survive.

"Posting the first notice to our business social media accounts," Evelyn said, her voice tight with emotion. She hit the enter key. A moment later, she reached over and physically disconnected the antenna for their makeshift Wi-Fi, cutting their final link to the internet. "And we're offline," she confirmed. "For good."

On the other side of the desk, Kaito was performing a different, darker kind of task. He was creating a detailed digital ghost story, a false history of their failure. He generated fake eviction notices from a fictional landlord and uploaded them to hidden online storage accounts. He wrote fake, angry emails between "Ace" and "Evelyn" where they argued about money and blamed each other for the collapse, then he programmed those emails to "leak" to obscure websites that track data breaches. He even created a fake auction listing for "lightly used, high-end server equipment, must sell ASAP," to make it seem like they were desperately selling their assets.

"It's done," Kaito said finally, leaning back in his chair. He looked completely exhausted. "The story is set. To anyone looking, Aegis Solutions is dead. The story will be that it choked on its own ambition and died broke and full of arguments. This fake story will spread online. The people looking for us, the digital scavengers, will think there's nothing left here worth taking."

The cannery fell into a heavy silence. The only sound was the relentless hum of the very servers they were pretending to have already sold. The deed was done. They had successfully killed their own creation.

For the next few hours, nothing happened. The tension in the room was almost unbearable. They jumped at every small sound from the alley outside, expecting another attempt to break in. But no attack came.

Then, slowly, they saw that their plan was starting to work.

Silva, who had been nervously monitoring the alley from a small crack in the door, turned back to them with a look of confused relief on his face. "The guys from yesterday… they just walked by. They looked at the building, shrugged their shoulders, and kept walking. One of them said… he said, 'Forget it, man, heard the cops already cleaned the place out.'"

It was working. The poisonous rumor that their enemy, Silica, had spread was being overwritten by their own more detailed, more believable lie. Why would anyone risk breaking into a place if they believed all the valuable equipment was already gone?

A collective sigh of relief passed through the group. The immediate physical threat that had been surrounding them was finally receding. They felt like they could breathe again.

But the cost of that safety was a deep, emotional exhaustion. The cannery, which had been their fortress and their workshop, now felt like a tomb. They had saved themselves, but they had sacrificed their future to do it. The legitimate path they had been trying so hard to build was now nothing but ashes.

Then, Ace's phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a reminder for the meeting he had been dreading.

The feeling of relief vanished instantly, replaced by a cold wave of dread. Another danger remained. The wolf was still waiting, and he would want to know why his new investment had just caused so much noise.

The offices of Vance Imports & Exports were located on the top floor of a bland, gray building. It was in a part of the city that wasn't nice, but it wasn't bad either—it was simply anonymous and easy to forget. Ace walked through the sterile, empty lobby, and his footsteps echoed loudly on the polished marble floor. He felt completely exposed. A man in a sleek, expensive suit silently nodded him toward a private elevator. The doors opened without a sound, he stepped inside, and they closed behind him, sealing him in.

He noticed the elevator didn't have any buttons. It just went up, taking him directly to his destination without any choice.

When the doors opened again, he stepped out into Ramos's world. The office was a display of quiet, intimidating power. The room was huge, with floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a sweeping view of the entire city's skyline. The furniture was modern, obviously very expensive, and there was very little of it. There were no family photos or personal knick-knacks on display. This was not a place for sentiment or emotion. It was a place strictly for business.

Victor Ramos sat behind a vast, empty desk made of dark, polished wood. He wasn't on his phone or reading a report. He was just sitting there, perfectly still, waiting for Ace. His hands were steepled together in front of him. Marcus stood against the far wall like a silent, mountainous statue.

"Ace," Ramos said. His voice was calm and pleasant, which was somehow more frightening than if he had been shouting. "Sit."

Ace sat down in the leather chair positioned opposite the massive desk. He said nothing. He knew it was better not to speak first.

"I've been hearing things," Ramos began, his sharp eyes fixed directly on Ace. They were the eyes of a predator—intelligent and utterly cold. "Little birds tell me there was quite a bit of… activity around your new workshop last night. Were they potential buyers? Or were they unwanted visitors?"

He knew. Of course he knew. The man had eyes and ears everywhere.

"It was under control," Ace said, keeping his voice level and calm. He repeated the line he and Evelyn had practiced. "It was a competitor, trying to cause trouble. They started a false rumor online to draw scavengers to our location. It was a cheap trick, nothing more."

"A cheap trick that worked, it seems," Ramos replied. His tone made it clear he knew it was anything but a simple trick. "This 'competitor.' Would this be the same digital problem you mentioned to me before? The one you needed my… information… to solve?"

Ace nodded. "Yes."

Ramos was silent for a long moment, just watching him. Ace forced himself to meet the man's gaze, to not look away or show any weakness.

"The solution to a digital problem," Ramos said slowly, "should not create a very loud, very physical one. It draws attention. It creates chaos. And I do not like chaos, Ace. Chaos is very bad for business."

He leaned forward slightly. It was a small movement, but it felt immensely threatening. "I gave you a resource. I gave you a name. And in return, you have given me noise and complications. This is not what I would call an equal exchange."

Ace's mind raced. He couldn't tell him the truth about Kaito or the Aegis Shield. He had to offer something else, something that would satisfy Ramos's need for control and prove his value.

"The problem is handled," Ace said, choosing his words with extreme care. "The rumor has been… neutralized. The location is secure again. And the information you gave us was vital. It led us to a solution that will prevent any future disruptions of any kind."

Ramos narrowed his eyes slightly. He was listening.

"We're building something," Ace continued, weaving pieces of the truth into a lie that Ramos would appreciate. "A new system. It will make our operations… quieter and more efficient. It will ensure that the work we do for you never attracts the wrong kind of attention again."

He was essentially selling him the idea of the Aegis Shield, but he was framing it as a tool for Ramos's own benefit.

Ramos leaned back in his chair, a faint, calculating smile appearing on his lips. It did not reach his cold eyes. "Good. Efficiency I like. But understand this, Ace: your value to me is based entirely on your usefulness. And right now, your usefulness is being tested. You have created a problem. You now have the opportunity to prove you can also be the solution."

He picked up a single sheet of paper from his desk and slid it across the smooth, polished surface toward Ace.

"I have a simple job for you. Think of it as an audit—like a check-up for a business," Ramos began, his voice deceptively calm. "A man who works for me runs a gaming club. He thinks his head manager is stealing from him, taking a little bit of the money for himself before the profits are counted."

He paused, letting Ace understand the basics.

"I want you to go to this club tonight. Watch how things work. Blend in. Then, I want you to use your special talent with technology," Ramos said, his eyes knowing and cold, "to look at the club's financial records and their security camera footage. Find the proof. Find where the money is disappearing. When you find it, you will report what you discovered directly to me, and only to me."

It sounded like a straightforward task. But Ace felt a chill. With Ramos, nothing was ever simple. This was a test. It was a test of Ace's loyalty, to see if he would obey a direct order. It was a test of his skills, to see if he was as clever as Ramos believed. And most of all, it was a test of his willingness to step fully into Ramos's world and get his hands dirty.

Ace picked up the paper. It had an address and a time. "And if I find the manager is stealing?" he asked, though he already dreaded the answer.

Ramos smile was icy. "Then you will have proven your value. And I will deal with the manager."

The unspoken meaning hung heavily in the air between them. Ace would be the one to uncover the crime, but Ramos would be the one to deliver the punishment. By giving Ramos the proof, Ace would be directly responsible for whatever "dealing with" meant. He was being asked to become the whistleblower that would get a man—likely a desperate one—hurt, or worse.

<<NEW TASK: AUDIT GAMING CLUB OPERATIONS.>>

<<IDENTIFY FINANCIAL DISCREPANCIES.>>

<<REWARD: (WITHHELD).>>

<<PENALTY: DEMONSTRATED INCOMPETENCE. LOSS OF "PROTECTION.">>

The System's prompt was a chilling echo of Ramos's threat.

Ace stood up, the piece of paper with the address feeling like it weighed a hundred pounds in his hand. "I'll take care of it," he said, his voice sounding hollow to his own ears.

"See that you do," Ramos replied. He was already looking past Ace, his interest gone, as if Ace was no longer worth his time. "Marcus will show you out."

The meeting was over. Ace had walked in and walked out without being physically harmed. On the surface, he had survived.

But as he followed the silent Marcus back to the elevator, a cold certainty settled in his stomach. He had just agreed to become Ramos's personal inspector, his spy. This first job, checking on a dishonest manager, seemed simple. But Ace knew it was a trapdoor opening beneath his feet. This "simple task" was just the first step on a path that would lead him deeper and deeper into Ramos's dark world, and it would be harder and harder to ever find his way back out.

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