Lassen sat at the edge of his hospital bed, his gaze fixed on the window overlooking the sleeping city. The cold glow of the neon lights bathed the room in a sterile hue, but he paid no attention to it. His arm was still connected to an IV drip, but he ignored that too. He had already decided he wouldn''t spend another minute in this place.

    The police chief entered the room, his dark coat still wet from the rain. His usually impassive face showed a hint of concern.

    "Mr. X," he began, softly closing the door behind him, "how are you feeling?"

    Lassen looked up at him, his voice calmer than it had ever been.

    "Alive."

    The chief was slightly surprised by the calm and cold tone in Lassen''s voice. Since their first meeting, Lassen had always spoken in a light and carefree manner, as if nothing in the world mattered to him.

    He thought to himself "This attack had a more serious effect on him than I expected. I''ll have to report this to the Prime Minister."

    The chief stepped closer, glancing at the softly beeping medical devices surrounding the bed.

    "You can''t imagine the chaos this incident caused. We''ve increased security around all your properties and are closely monitoring the borders. But you should stay here, at least until we''re sure there won''t be another attempt."

    Lassen stood up slowly.

    "No."

    The chief blinked.

    "Excuse me?"

    "I''m going home."

    Lassen''s tone left no room for negotiation.

    "You can''t. The doctors—"

    "I''m fine. And I''ve had enough of being here. I''ve stayed idle for far too long."

    The chief opened his mouth to protest, but Lassen raised his hand to stop him.

    "Do your job. Protect me if you must. But don''t waste your time trying to keep me locked up here."

    A heavy silence settled before the chief finally nodded.

    "Fine. But we''re doubling your security detail."

    Lassen didn''t respond. He ripped the IV out of his arm with a sharp motion and called for the doctor supervising his recovery. The doctor tried to convince him to stay at least one more day under observation, but Lassen cut him off with a look so cold that the doctor ended up signing the discharge papers without another word.

    ---

    A few hours later, Lassen was back home.

    He walked through the doors of his villa like a king returning to his throne after battle. But there was no celebration—not yet.

    Standing in his office, he watched the holographic screens light up around him. The dim lighting cast shifting shadows on the walls, adding to the tension that filled the room. His mind, however, was sharp and precise.

    He signaled Alex, Adrian, and Elias to join him immediately. The icy tone in his voice made it clear to everyone that something had changed.

    "I''ve been thinking." Lassen let the words hang in the air for a moment. "Until now, I''ve chosen to ignore the world. I stayed in my corner, absorbed in my books and inventions. I told myself that as long as I didn''t bother anyone, no one would bother me."

    He paused, his eyes piercing each of them.

    "But that was just an illusion."

    Adrian straightened slightly but remained silent.

    Lassen tilted his head slightly.

    "Let them pray. It won''t save them."

    __________

    The explosions thundered through the night, shaking the enemy base. Inside, Geria''s spies and soldiers scrambled out of their barracks and command rooms—some still half-dressed, others already in position with their weapons raised. Alarms wailed, but they were quickly silenced as Lassen''s jammers paralyzed communications.

    In the main control room, a man in uniform, clearly a senior officer, pounded furiously on a console. The screen in front of him flashed red with error messages as data streams cut off one by one.

    "What''s happening? Report!" he shouted.

    A technician, sweat streaming down his forehead, tried to reconnect the systems.

    "We''ve lost contact with the outer defenses! The drones are detected, but... they vanish from the radar before we can lock onto their position!"

    The officer cursed, slamming the keyboard.

    "Impossible! Activate the backup system!"

    "I can''t! Someone''s controlling our networks! We''re being hacked in real time!"

    The control room doors burst open, and two armed soldiers rushed in.

    "Sir! Explosions in the southern sector! We''ve lost the generators and the auto-turrets!"

    The officer''s face went pale.

    "Send a team to secure the entrances! Call for reinforcements"

    "Long-range communications are down!" another technician yelled.

    Chaos erupted as explosions continued to rock the base. Shadows danced across the walls, cast by growing flames.

    "They''re trying to bury us alive!" one of the soldiers shouted.

    "Silence! We need to—"

    His voice was cut short as another explosion shook the room, sending shards of metal flying in all directions.

    The officer hit the ground, his ears ringing. He tried to stand, but another blast rattled the walls. He looked up at the screens just in time to see one final message appear before everything went dark:

    "You struck first. You failed. Now it''s my turn."

    The silence that followed was broken only by the crackling flames and the groans of the wounded.

    ---

    Back at the villa, everyone was on edge. This was the first time Lassen had done something that directly interfered with the world—and it was nothing less than a frontal assault on another country.

    But the man at the center of it all had already returned to his old habits, lying on his couch with a novel in hand.

    Adrian approached him.

    "Is it over?" Lassen asked.

    Adrian nodded. "They''re paralyzed. No reinforcements detected. No one survived."

    Lassen said nothing, turning his eyes toward the ceiling.

    After a long silence, he looked at his three subordinates and said:

    "This was just the beginning."