That same night, in a sprawling, high-security office overlooking the capital, Mayor Vane of Al'satra City sat trembling in rage behind his mahogany desk.
He had just received the report.
"The salt… is gone?" Vane whispered, his face pale as ash. "But how?! We had three different decoys! The route was randomized by an AI! Who could have possibly known which truck it was in?"
"It seems we did, sir," a soft, feminine voice replied from the doorway.
The Mayor looked up abruptly. Standing there was his long-time secretary, a woman he had trusted for nearly a decade.
Her name was Maria Hart. She was an A-ranked Awakened — a total beauty with long black hair, matching eyes, and a cheerful attitude to match.
But beautiful women were a dime a dozen here in the Northern Safe-Zone. So that wasn't why Vane had hired her, no matter what some uncouth rumors said about him.
