The morning at school looked normal.
Too normal.
Students sat around the courtyard.
Laughing.
Eating like always.
As if—
nothing had changed.
But for them—
the calm felt wrong.
Under the tree—
Arga wasn't eating.
He stared at the lunch box in front of him.
Eight glowing grains.
Blinking.
Slow.
Rhythmic.
Not like before.
Not alive.
Like—
something was counting.
"…this has never happened before."
His voice was quiet.
But enough to make Sinta move immediately.
She opened her box.
The same light.
Blinking.
Synchronized.
"This isn't normal energy…"
Her eyes narrowed.
"…it feels like a signal."
Bimo kept eating.
"Oh come on, you two—"
"Not just us."
Rani's voice cut through him.
Not loud.
But enough to stop everything.
Silence.
Everyone turned.
At another table—
students were beginning to stop eating.
Their lunch boxes opened.
Small lights appeared.
One.
Two.
Then—
more.
The courtyard changed.
Not because of noise.
Because of light.
Blinking.
Together.
Like—
dozens of hearts beating at the exact same time.
"Why is my box glowing…?"
a student whispered.
Pak Rahmat appeared from the teachers' office.
Walking fast.
Too fast.
The tablet was already in his hand.
"Look at this."
The screen turned toward them.
A map of Indonesia appeared.
And this time—
there was no delay.
Red points appeared simultaneously.
Too many.
Sinta tensed.
"…this isn't one location."
Pak Rahmat nodded.
His face wasn't panicked.
Worse.
Too serious.
"This is the entire network."
For the first time—
Bimo stopped eating.
"…the entire what?"
Fast footsteps echoed.
Lila ran in from the hallway.
Breathing uneven.
Her eyes immediately locked onto the screen.
Reading.
Fast.
Too fast.
"Warehouses…"
"Ports…"
"Central kitchens…"
Farhan finished quietly—
"…all key locations."
No one spoke.
Not because they didn't know what to say.
Because they understood—
this wasn't a normal attack.
This—
was planned.
Arga felt something inside his body.
Warm.
But not comforting.
Moving.
Faster.
Deeper.
He opened his box again.
The light—
brighter now.
More alive.
Too alive.
Sinta noticed immediately.
"…the network is responding."
Pak Rahmat zoomed into the map.
And now—
green points began appearing.
One by one.
Across different cities.
Like stars—
suddenly lighting up in the wrong sky.
Bimo pointed at the screen.
"…other Nutrition Guardians."
Pak Rahmat nodded slowly.
"They're feeling it too."
Arga stared at the map.
Long.
Deep.
"…so we're not alone."
Rani added quietly—
"…and we're all being called."
No one asked—
called for what.
They already knew.
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.
The sound cut through everything.
An emergency alert appeared on the screen.
Flashing.
Urgent.
Lila read quickly.
Her hands trembling slightly.
"…East City Port."
Sinta turned immediately.
"What happened?"
Lila swallowed.
"MBG food containers…"
She stopped.
One second.
Too long.
"…they've been intercepted."
Silence.
Heavier this time.
Bimo stood up.
No jokes.
No sarcasm.
"They're starting from the source."
Farhan nodded slowly.
"…if the supplies don't arrive—"
"…there's no lunch program."
That sentence—
didn't sound like a problem.
It sounded like a threat.
Pak Rahmat looked at them one by one.
Longer than usual.
"This is a large-scale operation."
Not a theory.
Not a possibility.
A fact.
Arga slowly closed his lunch box.
The light inside shifted.
No longer soft.
No longer calm.
Sharper.
More—
obedient.
"If they attack the source…"
He raised his head.
Looking at all of them.
"…then we protect the source."
No hesitation.
No one stepped back.
Sinta nodded.
"East City Port."
Bimo exhaled slowly.
But this time—
not casually.
"…alright."
"…then we start there."
The morning wind moved gently.
Leaves swayed softly.
The sky remained bright.
But the world—
was no longer the same.
On the screen—
the red points kept increasing.
Without stopping.
Without slowing down.
And far away—
at East City Port—
a cargo ship had just arrived.
Massive containers were unloaded.
One by one.
Filled with MBG supplies.
But waiting at the dock—
were men in black suits.
Still.
Calm.
Unhurried.
As if they already knew—
no one would stop this.
Or worse—
they wanted someone to try.
One of them smiled faintly.
"…finally."
The real game—
wasn't beginning anymore.
It had already started.
And this time—
they weren't late.
But maybe—
they were already too late.