Night slowly fell over East City Harbor.
Massive floodlights turned on one by one.
White light reflected across the ocean surface.
broken apart by dark waves below.
The long day—
was almost over.
The final MBG truck left the gate.
Its engine faded into the distance.
The harbor slowly returned to normal.
Workers reorganized containers.
Cranes moved lazily again.
Radios turned back on.
As if—
nothing had happened.
But for them—
nothing felt normal anymore.
The team gathered near the harbor office.
More crowded than before.
Heavier.
More tense.
Arga.
Sinta.
Bimo.
Rani.
Dika.
Lila.
Tono.
Andra.
And the others.
Pak Rahmat spoke with one of the port officers.
"All containers checked?"
"Yes, sir."
"Nothing left behind?"
"Nothing."
It should've been over.
It should've.
BEEP.
Everyone turned instantly.
Lila froze while staring at the tablet.
"…wait."
Farhan stepped closer.
"What is it?"
Lila zoomed in slowly.
A small blinking signal appeared deep inside the storage zone.
Silence.
Bimo frowned.
"…weren't all the containers cleared already?"
Lila nodded slowly.
"That's the part that doesn't make sense."
The data opened.
Container number—
none.
Origin—
none.
Destination—
none.
Blank.
Sinta whispered softly.
"…a container without an identity?"
Pak Rahmat turned immediately.
"That's impossible."
Farhan leaned closer toward the screen.
"…it never entered the system."
Rani swallowed slowly.
"…so that means…"
Lila finished quietly.
"…it shouldn't exist here."
The sea breeze suddenly felt colder.
And Arga—
froze.
Something twisted inside his chest.
Warm.
Wrong.
The energy inside him shifted violently.
Unstable.
He opened his lunch box.
The eight glowing grains pulsed rapidly.
Not bright.
Restless.
Like something—
was calling them.
Arga stared toward the blinking signal.
"…that's not a normal container."
They walked carefully through the harbor.
Their footsteps echoed across the concrete floor.
No other sounds.
Too quiet—
for a place this massive.
Then—
they saw it.
A black container.
No logo.
No numbers.
No markings.
As if—
it had never been registered in this world.
Bimo whispered,
"…I hate this already."
Tono climbed above the nearby containers.
Watching carefully.
"…no guards."
Rani spoke softly.
"…if this belongs to Dominion…"
"…why leave it here?"
No one answered.
Because that wasn't the real question.
Not:
why was it abandoned?
But—
why was it meant to be found?
Pak Rahmat stepped closer.
Inspecting the lock.
"…this isn't harbor equipment."
Farhan checked the side panel.
"Internal digital lock."
Lila shook her head.
"…no access."
Suddenly—
Arga spoke.
"Don't open it."
Everyone looked at him.
Bimo blinked.
"…why?"
Arga never looked away from the container.
"I don't know…"
He took a slow breath.
"…but whatever is inside…"
A pause.
"…recognizes us."
Silence.
Sinta lowered her voice.
"…this isn't a normal trap."
CLICK.
Everyone froze.
Bimo whispered,
"…that came from inside…"
CLICK.
Louder this time.
Like something—
had just awakened.
Farhan checked the readings.
"…there's power running through it."
Pak Rahmat immediately stepped back.
"Everyone move—"
Too late.
A small light on the side of the container turned on.
RED.
A digital screen flickered alive.
Words slowly appeared.
HELLO, NUTRITION GUARDIANS
Silence crushed the harbor.
Bimo exhaled softly.
"…yeah, this is definitely bad."
The text changed.
YOU FOUND IT FASTER THAN EXPECTED
Sinta narrowed her eyes.
"…Dominion."
Another message appeared.
Slower this time.
Intentional.
WELCOME TO THE FIRST TEST
The red lights began flashing rapidly.
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.
Lila stared at the readings.
Her face turned pale.
"…this isn't a container."
Farhan immediately understood.
"…it's a transmitter."
Lila nodded.
"…connected to the entire distribution network."
Silence.
Pak Rahmat spoke quietly.
"…if this activates…"
Farhan finished the sentence.
"…they can corrupt every supply route at once."
Bimo stared at the screen.
"…not one city…"
Sinta answered softly.
"…the entire country."
The screen changed again.
BUT BE CAREFUL
A pause.
YOU ONLY HAVE 10 MINUTES
A digital countdown appeared.
09:59
09:58
The sound inside the container changed.
Louder.
Deeper.
Like a machine—
never designed to stop.
No one moved.
Not for one second.
Because all of them understood the truth instantly.
This wasn't a normal fight.
There was no enemy to hit.
No target to defeat.
Only—
time.
And time—
didn't care.
Arga stepped forward slowly.
His lunch box glowed brighter than ever.
But this time—
it didn't feel like power.
It felt like pressure.
He stared at the countdown.
Falling.
"…if we fail…"
He stopped.
No one asked him to continue.
Because everyone already knew.
"…tomorrow…"
A pause.
"…thousands of children won't eat."
Silence.
No jokes.
No confidence.
No calm.
Only—
choices.
And time—
continuing to move forward.
Arga tightened his grip around the lunch box.
His eyes locked onto the black container.
Calm.
Too calm.
"…we don't have time to make mistakes."
The timer continued falling.
09:12
And for the first time—
they weren't fighting an enemy.
They were fighting something far crueler.
Something that couldn't be stopped.
Time.