Chapter 73: An Awkward Triangle!

Chapter 73: An Awkward Triangle!

In the dim, flickering light of the interrogation room, General Rwald Dune sat slumped in the metal chair, his arms strapped tightly to the armrests. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated with fear, and his breath came in shallow, ragged gasps.

It wasn't the physical pain that had broken him—he had endured torture before, the searing heat of fire, the agony of broken bones. No, this was different. The torment he felt now came from the relentless invasion of his mind, the steady unraveling of his will, as Tessa, empowered by the moon goddess, pried into the darkest corners of his consciousness.

Tessa stood a few feet away, her eyes glowing with a pale, silver light, her face calm and emotionless as she reached deeper and deeper into his psyche.

It wasn't about physical harm. It was about stripping him bare, exposing his darkest secrets to the light, forcing him to reveal everything he had hidden for so long. Piece by piece, the walls he had built around his mind crumbled.

"How many bases?" Tessa's voice echoed in his mind, cold and detached. Her lips never moved, but her words reverberated inside his head like the strike of a hammer.

The general trembled, his body shaking uncontrollably as he tried to resist, clenching his teeth so tightly it felt as though they might crack. But it was no use. The mental pressure was too much, the force of the goddess's power too overwhelming. His will snapped like a brittle twig.

"Two hundred…" he croaked, his voice barely above a whisper. Sweat poured down his face, dripping onto his uniform. "Two hundred huge bases… worldwide."

A chill swept through the room like a gust of winter wind. Abdel, who stood in the corner with his arms crossed, usually so composed, felt his grip tighten, his fingers digging into his forearms. Nyala's eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat.

"And the sub-bases?" Nyala demanded, her voice sharp, laced with growing anxiety.

"One thousand… two hundred… sub-bases," General Dune rasped, his chest heaving. "In every major city… globally…" His voice trailed off, the weight of his words sinking into the silence that followed.

Ecdy, usually the lighthearted joker of the group, let out a low whistle. "Holy hell…" he muttered under his breath, running a hand through his hair as the reality of the situation hit him like a punch to the gut.

Tessa's expression remained unreadable, but inside, she felt the world tilt. This was bigger than she had imagined, bigger than any of them had imagined. She had known the SSG was dangerous, but this… this was a global-scale operation, a machine of destruction that spanned continents. The enormity of it pressed down on her like a physical weight, making it hard to breathe.

"The Deadly 30 project…" General Dune's voice trembled, his body wracked with tremors. "It's in each of the 200 bases… but they're not all like the ones you fought. Some are… stronger… faster… more deadly. Cybernetic enhancements are just the beginning…"

The room fell deathly quiet. No one moved, no one spoke. The weight of the general's words seemed to hang in the air like a thick fog. Adrian, who had been leaning casually against the wall, pushed himself upright, his face darkening as the gravity of the situation hit him.

Abdel stepped forward, his voice low and controlled, though his anger simmered just beneath the surface. "Dr. Lucius Strake… He's not working alone, is he?"

General Dune shook his head weakly, his eyes hollow and defeated. "No… He has a network. Scientists, soldiers, mercenaries… all loyal to him. The project is global. It's unstoppable."

Adrian's jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing with a cold fury. Ecdy cursed under his breath, while Nyala's fists clenched at her sides, her whole body trembling with barely contained rage.

Tessa finally withdrew the influence of the moon goddess, the silver light in her eyes dimming as she stepped back. The general slumped in his chair, his head lolling to one side, completely spent. The room was thick with tension, the air so charged it was almost suffocating.

"I need air," Tessa whispered, her voice barely audible. She didn't wait for a response before turning on her heel and walking out of the room. Her mind was racing, her heart pounding. Nyala and Ecdy exchanged a brief glance before following her outside.

---

The night air was cool and crisp, a welcome relief from the stifling atmosphere inside. Tessa stepped out into the open, breathing deeply, trying to calm the storm raging in her chest. Her thoughts swirled like a maelstrom—visions of the Deadly 30 project, of bases scattered across the globe, of cybernetic soldiers faster, stronger, more lethal than anything they had faced before.

She closed her eyes, trying to steady herself, but the weight of it all pressed down on her like an avalanche. The world had become so much darker, so much more dangerous in the last few moments, and the enormity of the task before them seemed impossible to bear.

Nyala stood beside her, silent, her gaze distant. Ecdy leaned against a nearby tree, his usual levity gone, replaced by a hard edge of determination.

"What do we do with this?" Nyala's voice was quiet, almost fragile, as though the question itself might break under the weight of the answer.

Tessa opened her eyes, her expression hardening. "We fight," she said simply. "We don't have a choice."

"But how?" Ecdy asked, his tone uncharacteristically serious. "They have the numbers, the resources. And now, they've got these cybernetic monsters. It feels…"

"Impossible," Tessa finished for him, her voice steady, her eyes burning with determination. "But we've faced impossible before."

---

Not far from where the group stood, Nymff perched on a low branch of a massive oak tree, her earbuds firmly in place as she leaned back against the trunk. Her head bobbed slightly to the beat of the music, Eminem and Rihanna's "Love the Way You Lie" blaring in her ears. She mouthed the lyrics, completely absorbed in the intensity of the song, the familiar rhythm soothing her chaotic thoughts.

She tapped her fingers on her knees in tune with the beat, her lips moving silently along with the words. "Maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano… Next time I'm pissed, I'll aim my fist at the drywall…"

She was so caught up in the music that she didn't notice Adrian until he landed softly beside her on the branch, his movements smooth and quiet like a shadow. She jumped, startled, and pulled out one earbud, her heart racing.

"Hey, you scared me! Again!" she said, laughing nervously, though there was a trace of annoyance in her voice.

Adrian smiled faintly, but it didn't reach his eyes. His gaze was distant, his mind clearly preoccupied with the events of the night. He leaned back against the trunk, his expression unreadable.

Nymff glanced at him, her heart pounding for a different reason now. The tension between them was palpable, electric. She had been trying to suppress her feelings for so long, but now, with him sitting so close, she felt like she might burst. Before she could stop herself, the words tumbled out.

"About that kiss…" she started, her voice shaky, but she couldn't finish.

Adrian's body tensed. He turned to face her, his gaze intense. "Yeah… about that—"

"Forget about it," Nymff cut him off, her voice rising as she spoke, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I just… wanted you. And it's killing me inside, but I know…" She faltered, swallowing hard. "I know you belong with Tessa, the moon goddess, or whatever. I'll bury it. I have to."

She turned away, her chest tight, her hands trembling as she prepared to leave, to walk away before she made an even bigger fool of herself. But before she could move, Adrian grabbed her wrist, his touch gentle but firm.

"Nymff…" His voice was low, almost a whisper, but there was an urgency in it, a rawness that sent shivers down her spine. "You can't bury something like that." He paused, his grip tightening slightly. "Trust me. I tried."

Nymff's breath caught in her throat as she turned to look at him, her eyes wide, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure he could hear it. For a moment, they just stared at each other, the world around them fading away. The air between them crackled with tension, thick and heavy.

Meanwhile, a few paces away, Tessa stood frozen, her breath hitching in her throat as she watched the scene unfold. She hadn't meant to intrude, but now, she couldn't tear her eyes away. Her chest tightened painfully as she saw the way Adrian looked at Nymff, the way his hand lingered on her wrist.

A storm of emotions raged inside her—sadness, jealousy, confusion. She had feelings for Adrian, feelings she had never allowed herself to fully acknowledge.