bChapter /bb329 /b

Za

The music still pulsed through my veins as Ethan and I stepped out of the concert venue. The sky had opened up while we were inside, and now rain poured down in steady sheets, transforming the Ethiopian streets into glistening rivers, Concertgoers rushed past us, hunched against the downpour, seeking taxis or shelter.

Ethan shrugged out of his tailored suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders in one fluid motion. His fingers lingered at my cor, adjusting the fabric with unnecessary care.

“You’ll get soaked,” I said, though I made no move to return his jacket.

“I’ll survive.” His smile was soft in the dim streetlight. He popped open an umbre and pulled me closer, his arm a warm weight across my shoulders. “The hotel’s only a few blocks. Mind walking?”

I nodded, and we stepped into the rain, moving at an unhurried pace despite the downpour. The streets of Addis Ababa took on a different character in the rain–the mix of modern architecture and traditional influences blending into something almost otherworldly behind the watery veil.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Ethan murmured, his breath warm against my ear. “I wish we were bjust /btourists.”

His unspoken thought hung between us: how nice it would be without the Shadow Organization hunting us at every turn. If we were just two people enjoying a trip, a concert, a rainy evening walk. No killers lurking in shadows. No wounds barely healed. No constant vignce.

I was about to respond when something shifted in the atmosphere. A presence. Watching. Waiting.

I stopped abruptly.

“Come out,” I called to the seemingly empty street corner ahead, my voice carrying despite the rainfall.

Ethan tensed beside me, his body automatically shifting into a defensive stance.

For a moment, there was only the sound of rain hitting pavement. Then, a figure emerged from the shadows of a narrow alley–a woman with pale blonde hair, holding a ck umbre.

Ethan immediately moved to position himself between us, his instincts as sharp as ever.

“Why are you following me?” I asked, my tone t.

Selene remained silent, her expression unreadable as raindrops pelted her ck umbre.

“Running from Shadow Organization?” I added with a hint of mockery.

felt his muscles tense, ready to react.

Back at the desert fortress, Selene had helped me, but I understood perfectly that her actions were purely self–preservation. She had no options left. With Shadow dead, the organization’s greatest enemy had vanished. To strengthen itself, the organization would continue its inhumane experiments. Soon enough, Selene’s clone would be floating in a cultivation tank.

And the original Selene would meet the same fate bas /bDusk and Shadow–eliminated for “mission failure.b” /b

“Shadow Organization doesn’t have time for me right now,” Selene finally spoke.

b10:35 /bFrib, /bbOct /b3 M…

They were all busy hunting me,

“What do you want?” I asked.

After a moment’s hesitation, she answered: “Cooperation.”

“You want revenge for Shadow?” she asked.

Beside me, Ethan’s expression shifted slightly at the name. “Shadow?”

I didn’t respond.

“You n to kill SPECTER?” Selene pressed.

“Of course,” I answered.

“What are your chances?”

Though we’d fought before and she knew my capabilities, I wasn’t just facing SPECTER alone–I was up against the entire Shadow Organization.

I didn’t exaggerate. “Either he dies or I die.”

Selene was quiet for a moment. “I have a condition.”

I watched her face.

“I need to know,” she said, her eyes boring into mine, “are you Shadow’s secretly trained protégé, or are you her gic copy?”

Selene stared intently at my eyes. “It’s unsettling,” she said, her voice barely audible above the rain. “You have different eye colors, but the way you look at me–it’s exactly like her. Even your aura, the energy you project…” She shook her head. “Apart from your appearance and height proving you’re not Shadow’s cloneb, /beverything else about you screams that you are.”

“When did I say I wanted to work with you?” I countered.

“My skills may not match yours, but I’m exceptional within the organization,” Selene replied. “You won’t find a better guide like me.”

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