The mission was assigned abruptly.A fugitive "Dream Diver" had reportedly been spotted in an abandoned warehouse in the northern district. The Bureau immediately dispatched a squad, including Ethan and Karl.
Yet when they arrived, the warehouse was already empty. Only faint ripples of nightmare energy lingered in the air, trembling softly.
"Too late." Karl muttered under his breath, swinging his detector. "The signal just cut off—it's like someone moved the target ahead of time."
Ethan frowned."Ahead of time? We only left after receiving the last-minute order."
Karl exchanged a glance with him, the same thought crossing both their minds:How could the Dream Diver be faster than them?
Suddenly, a sharp tearing sound pierced the darkness."—Watch out!"
Ethan threw Karl to the ground just in time. The next second, several pitch-black chains smashed through the gaps in the damaged ceiling, crashing violently where they had just been standing.
Nightmare energy exploded upon contact with the floor, emitting a corrosive hum, instantly eating into the concrete and leaving charred marks in its wake.
"Ambush!" Karl's face went pale as he immediately raised his gun to return fire.
From the shadows surrounding the warehouse, several humanoid phantoms slowly emerged. Their eye sockets glowed with a fierce purple light, as if they had been waiting for this moment.
Ethan's heart sank.This was no coincidence—it was a trap.
Someone had leaked their route to the enemy.
The phantom assassins let out a collective low roar, a sound that seemed to surge from the cracks of countless nightmares, making the hair on their necks stand on end.
Ethan slammed his psychic shield, blocking the first wave of attacks. But the shield's glow quickly dimmed, almost shattered by the simultaneous onslaught.
"They know we're coming," Ethan gritted his teeth, voice low and tense. "They even know exactly who is in our team."
Karl, gasping for air, eyes burning with fury, growled, "Someone in the Bureau is betraying us."
Before he could finish, a phantom closed in, the blade grazing Karl's shoulder and leaving a scorched cut.
Karl cried out in pain, but immediately returned fire, blasting the phantom's head apart. Black mist erupted and dissipated into the air.
The battle raged in the darkness, a chaotic symphony of gunfire and roars, nightmare and smoke intertwining. Every phantom they felled was replaced instantly by new ones emerging from the shadows.
Ethan's breathing grew faster. He realized the fight was not meant to kill them—it was meant to exhaust them, to intimidate them, and to send a message:
Every move you make is under our control.
Finally, as the psychic device neared depletion, a deep alarm echoed from outside. The Bureau's reinforcement squad arrived, and the phantoms retreated like a receding tide, disappearing into the night.
The warehouse returned to silence, leaving only charred debris and broken remnants.
"This wasn't a coincidence," Karl panted, wiping blood from his face."They had set up the ambush in advance."
Ethan clenched his fists, voice low and steady: "Someone must have leaked our movements ahead of time."
Karl remained silent for a moment, eyes locking on Ethan with complex suspicion. "Who do you think it is?"
Ethan did not answer. He stared into the black night, chest heavy.He already had his answer—but to speak it aloud would mean directly accusing the Bureau itself.
At that moment, he confirmed one terrifying truth:The enemy was not just outside.The truly dangerous enemy within the shadows was hiding right among them.