Leaning back, Cher replayed everything that had happened over the past few days. Although many parts of Silas’s plan had gone astray, they had somehow managed to return to the intended course. Yet the realisation brought her little comfort.

Her thoughts inevitably drifted back to her father.

"There is no point dwelling on something that happened years ago."

She rubbed her temples and exhaled slowly.

"Now it’s time to play my role. Hopefully, they got a good look at me boarding this shuttle."

She knew exactly what that role was. Silas had emphasised it repeatedly, and Darius had reinforced the point again in a message after she confirmed their arrival at the mine.

She was the decoy.

A small tactical display projected the shuttle’s route before her. As they neared the destination, she stood and changed clothes.

The academy uniform disappeared, replaced by a simple sleeveless white dress concealed beneath a brown cloak. The outfit was plain enough to avoid attracting attention while still making her hard to identify if someone was searching for her.

After giving the crew a few final instructions, she headed toward the emergency life pods.

"I heard Silas and Darius used one of these during their admission test."

Settling into the cramped capsule, she fastened the restraints and rested her hand on the launch button.

"I hope this won’t end badly. Let’s go."

The descent turned out to be far gentler than expected.

Once the pod landed, Cher stepped outside and surveyed her surroundings. She remained there patiently, waiting for some sign that her arrival had been noticed by her father’s people.

Nothing happened for nearly half an hour, as time passed in complete silence. Then Darius sent a distress message. After reading it, she frowned.

"My father is targeting my teammates?"

Her head tilted slightly. Then she realised what this was all about. It was about the bet she made with him, and winning it would set her free.

Realising this made her frown deepen. She couldn’t help but recall the bit, the choice she made during this mission. Recalling all this made her think if she had ever made the right decision before, and if she had to stick to it, or she should ask everyone to abandon the mission and leave.

’Fear wounds what strength cannot... Gaia is really something...’

She noticed how terrified she grew when she read the message. In fact, since she learnt about her father’s presence. She never expected the Gaia Calling to be a hidden message to her. And she couldn’t believe she missed the hidden intentions till now.

’No,’ her eyes narrowed in determination, ’I won’t abandon my future potential for fear. I’ll keep going on, and I won’t be alone on this journey.’

After calming herself for a few minutes, she started to contemplate deeper about the logic behind her father’s actions. And for a moment there, a flash of thought passed through her mind.

"Is he really that desperate?"

The idea felt wrong.

"No. There has to be something more... Something bigger."

Knowing her father, she refused to believe his entire plan revolved around such a crude tactic. Capturing her friends would certainly create problems for her, but that alone was far too simple.

"Still, it’s a good thing Silas caught it."

A moment later, another thought struck her.

"Did he figure that out from the few things I told him about my father?"

The possibility genuinely surprised her. She already knew Silas was meticulous and intelligent, but this seemed to be on an entirely different level.

"Ever since he grew a few centimetres taller, he’s become more capable than ever."

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Or maybe this was who he always was, and he simply kept it hidden."

That thought brought back their last conversation about Darius’s mysterious ability. Silas had openly admitted that he knew she was hiding something. For some reason, right now, she was beginning to suspect the same of him.

"Speaking of that..."

Her expression gradually turned thoughtful.

"The most mysterious member of the team isn’t me."

"It isn’t even Darius."

"It’s Silas."

The realisation struck her unexpectedly.

Until this moment, she had never seriously considered the possibility that Silas possessed a special ability of his own and had simply concealed it from everyone. Looking back, she could not understand why the thought had never occurred to her before, not even when he used that bathtub and came up with such a complicated plan.

Now, however, curiosity began to gnaw at her. Yet when she remembered the words he had spoken during that conversation, embarrassment quickly followed.

"Fine, then."

Taking a deep breath, she shook her head.

"I’ll do the same. I won’t pry, and I won’t push you for answers."

As the matter settled for now, she lifted her gaze and looked around.

"I’ve stayed here long enough. Time for the next task."

With that, Cher began walking. She moved away from the mine in slow, careful steps, disappearing gradually into the distance.

***

Alfred was watching Lara prepare her babies for their role in the plan when Darius’s distress message arrived. And his expression immediately darkened.

"This..."

Lara received the same warning a moment later. She looked up at Alfred, and the two exchanged the same troubled glance. The two thought they had enough time to plan things properly here, but now that was a fleeting dream.

They had to act, and they had to do it now.

"I’ll begin right away."

She had been searching for the most suitable place to start, but after reading the message, she understood that she couldn’t waste time any longer.

"I’ll move to the top of the mine," Alfred said, gesturing toward the route they had taken earlier. "If I notice anything unusual, I’ll inform you immediately. In the meantime, stay vigilant and be careful."

Lara nodded without wasting any more words. She and her babies set off to begin their task, while Alfred climbed back to the highest point of the mine and resumed his watch.

Almost half an hour passed in peace and silence.

Despite maintaining constant vigilance, he found nothing out of the ordinary. Then, without warning, another message arrived.

"Darius..."

After reading Darius’s proposal, Alfred remained silent for a long moment. The idea was reckless, almost absurd... yet the more he considered it, the more appealing it became.

Then a faint smile appeared on his face.

"You are bold, and I like it."

He did not question how Darius had learned the contents of the message. Instead, he closed it, turned toward the mine one last time, drew a deep breath, and walked away.