Chapter 1: The Dead Man

It had been raining non-stop since the evening.

The streetlights reflected a yellowish light on the wet road surface. In a small town far from the hustle and bustle of the city, there was a dilapidated workshop that was still open even though it was almost eleven o'clock at night.

The wooden sign in front bore only a simple inscription.

HALE GARAGE

Inside the workshop, a man was bending over in front of an old car.

The sound of a wrench tightening a nut echoed softly.

His hands were covered in black oil stains.

The black T-shirt he was wearing had faded with time.

His hair was a little long, unkempt.

But every movement was too neat.

Too precise.

As if his body was used to doing something much more difficult than repairing an engine.

"Mr. Aiden."

A customer's voice broke the silence.

The man raised his head.

A pair of calm dark eyes looked at the middle-aged man standing at the workshop door.

"Ready?"

Aiden just nodded slowly.

"Yes."

The customer smiled in relief.

"Thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have had to leave this car for a week."

Aiden wiped his hands with a rag.

"No problem."

The man handed over some money.

Aiden took only the agreed amount.

The remaining balance was returned.

"Bro... take it. Consider it a tip."

Aiden shook his head.

"I didn't earn it."

The customer looked at him for a few seconds before chuckling.

"People like you are hard to find these days."

Aiden just smiled thinly.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

After the customer left, the smile also disappeared.

As if it had never existed.

...

He closed the workshop door.

Locked the padlock.

Made sure every window was closed tightly.

Then his eyes moved slowly to every corner of the street.

His eyes swept across the street from left to right, then the rooftops, the reflections in the building's windows and finally the back alley.

But he stood there for almost a minute.

Watching.

Listening.

Counting every sound.

Only after he was absolutely sure it was safe did he step back into the workshop.

At the back was a small storeroom.

He pulled out a metal shelf full of old tires.

Behind it was a hidden steel door.

No knob.

Just a number panel.

His fingers pressed eleven digits.

Beep.

Beep.

Access Granted.

The door opened slowly.

The room was small and empty.

In the middle of it was only a black safe.

Aiden sat in front of it.

For a few moments he just stared at the safe without saying anything.

Then he opened it.

Inside were neatly arranged...

A pair of pistols.

A combat knife.

A special watch.

A satellite phone.

A passport with various identities.

And at the very bottom...

An old photo.

A young man was laughing with a girl holding an ice cream.

Aiden smiled.

This time the smile was truly sincere.

"Lia..."

He touched the picture slowly.

"You're all grown up now."

His eyes were slightly glazed.

"Five years..."

"Five years I managed to hide who I was."

He closed his eyes.

Behind his eyelids...

The image of the night that had never left his memory reappeared.

Screams.

Explosions.

Fire.

Bodies lying around.

A man in a black suit looked at him with a smile.

"You belong to NEXUS until death, Orion."

Aiden opened his eyes immediately.

His breathing became a little faster.

His fingers trembled so slightly that most people would never notice. But to someone like him, even that tiny loss of control felt unacceptable.

He took a few deep breaths before regaining his composure.

"No..."

"I'm not Orion anymore."

"I'm just Aiden."

He closed the safe.

Locked it again.

Then exited the room as if nothing had happened.

However...

On the opposite building, about three hundred meters from the workshop...

A man was holding a camera with a long lens.

Click.

Click.

Click.

All of Aiden's pictures were recorded without him noticing.

The man was wearing small earphones.

"The target is still in place."

The voice on the other end of the line replied calmly.

"Continue observing. Do not act."

"Understood."

The man lowered his camera.

Then looked at Aiden who was turning off the workshop lights.

He frowned.

"Strange..."

"How can an ordinary mechanic have the same level of alertness as an elite soldier?"

He didn't know...

The man he was observing wasn't a mechanic.

But a ghost that the whole world believed was dead.

Aiden turned off the workshop's main switch.

The entire space was plunged into darkness before only the streetlights outside illuminated the front of the premises.

He locked the door.

Then walked home through a small, quiet alley.

Every night he chose that path.

Not because it was closer.

But because there were only two entrances and one exit.

Easy to notice.

Easy to control.

It was an old habit that he had never managed to break.

Even though it had been five years.

...

The small two-story house stood at the end of a housing estate.

Its white paint had begun to fade.

In the yard, there were several well-kept flower pots.

The living room light was still on.

Aiden sighed.

"Not yet asleep..."

As soon as the door opened...

"Brother!"

A girl ran to Aiden and hugged him.

"It's been a while since you've been back!"

Aiden chuckled.

"The workshop has a lot of work."

Lia pouted.

"Brother said that yesterday."

"Yesterday there was a lot of work."

"Yesterday too."

"Yesterday too, there was a lot of work."

Lia glared at him before laughing to herself.

"Brother..."

Aiden gently stroked his younger sister's head.

Lia Hale.

The only reason he still chose to live.

Since their parents died in an accident six years ago, only the two of them were left.

Lia never knew...

The accident was no ordinary accident.

Aiden promised himself that he would take the secret to his grave.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Yes."

"A lie."

Aiden fell silent.

Lia immediately headed to the kitchen.

"I've cooked."

"No need to bother."

"It's not difficult."

A few minutes later...

A bowl of hot noodle soup was placed on the table.

"After eating, go to bed."

Aiden looked at the bowl.

Hot steam slowly rose.

For some reason...

His heart felt calm.

This was the life he had dreamed of.

A small house.

Dinner with his sister.

No gunshots.

No explosions.

No blood.

No orders to kill.

"Delicious?"

Lia looked at Aiden hopefully.

Aiden nodded.

"Delicious."

Lia smiled proudly.

"Well. I told you."

Aiden could only reply with a smile.

He was willing to sacrifice his entire life...

As long as that smile never disappeared.

The next morning, sunlight filtered through the curtains, washing away the darkness of the previous night.

The clock only showed 7.15 am.

Lia went down to the living room while adjusting her headscarf.

"Brother, I'll go first."

"What time does class end today?"

"Around four o'clock."

"Lia, I'll pick you up later."

"No need. I'll go back with my friends."

Aiden shook his head slowly.

"No, Lia. I'll pick you up."

Lia chuckled.

"Overprotective, that's right."

"Promise."

"Yes... promise."

Before leaving the house, Lia turned around.

"Brother."

"Hm?"

"Thank you for taking care of me all this time."

Aiden just smiled.

"Go away. It'll be late."

As soon as the door closed...

The smile on his face slowly disappeared.

He stood at the window.

Making sure Lia really got on the bus.

Only then did he go back into the house.

But when he wanted to head to the kitchen...

His eyes were fixed on something.

Under the door of the house...

There was a black envelope tucked in.

No stamp.

No address.

No sender's name.

Just a silver symbol.

A crow with open wings.

Aiden's heart stopped beating for a moment.

His calm face turned pale.

His hand slowly grasped the envelope.

Impossible...

The symbol...

He knew it.

Too well known.

With slightly trembling hands, he opened the envelope.

Inside was only a white card.

No sentence.

No threat.

Just two words.

WELCOME HOME.

The card felt heavier than any weapon he had ever held.

At the bottom...

There was a signature.

— ZERO

Aiden's eyes widened.

His breathing turned uneven. For the first time in five years, fear slipped through the cracks of the mask he had perfected.

For five years, he had disappeared.

Five years he disguised himself as an ordinary person.

But with just a card...

He realized one thing.

Five years of hiding. Five years of pretending to be an ordinary mechanic. All of it shattered by a single white card.

They had found him.

And this time...

They weren't going to let him disappear again

.

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