Morning.
Eastern District.
Outside an office building.
A young man slowly came to a stop.
He had short, dark brown hair and light brown eyes.
He wore a long, dark gray coat over an ordinary business shirt.
A black briefcase hung from his shoulder.
Everything about him gave off the impression of an utterly ordinary business professional.
Even someone familiar with Lucian would have struggled to recognize the young man standing here at first glance.
The disguise prepared by the technical team had not changed his facial features.
It had merely adjusted his apparent age and overall demeanor.
His black hair had become dark brown.
The cold sharpness that usually characterized his eyes had faded.
Combined with the subtle adjustments to his facial contours made by the bionic facial patches, the transformation had made him look like an entirely different person.
The only thing that remained unchanged was the pair of eyes that calmly observed everything around him.
Lucian raised his head and looked once more at the office building he had been observing for several days.
Over the past few days, he had remained inside the high-rise across the street, using binoculars to record everything that happened here.
Every morning, the manager arrived on time.
Every evening, the employees left one after another.
Every night, the lights in that particular office remained on.
Yet until he finished his observations each day, he had never once seen her leave.
Today, however, he was standing here in person for the first time.
The distance between him and the building was only a few dozen meters.
The glass curtain wall reflected the overcast sky.
The revolving doors continuously opened and closed.
Office workers carrying coffee.
Employees clutching documents.
Delivery workers bringing packages.
Technicians servicing the air-conditioning system.
Even several food delivery riders moved in and out of the building.
Everyone behaved naturally.
There was no sign of vigilance.
Nor was there any of the tense atmosphere one would expect from an underground organization's base of operations.
No matter how he looked at it, this was nothing more than an ordinary office building.
Lucian slowly withdrew his gaze and stepped inside.
...
The lobby was exactly as he had seen it through his binoculars.
On the right stood several sofas for visitors.
A few people waiting to handle business sat there, looking down at their terminals.
On the left was an entire row of silver-gray metal mailboxes.
Each mailbox bore the name of a different company.
Directly ahead stood the floor directory for the entire office building.
Architectural Design Studio.
Tax Consulting Center.
Advertising Agency.
Translation Services.
Records Management Company.
Software Maintenance.
Logistics Agency.
Every company name sounded ordinary.
So ordinary that anyone who glanced at the directory would likely forget most of the names moments later.
In the corner of the lobby, an air purifier hummed softly.
The air-conditioning system continued to circulate warm air.
The entire environment was quiet and comfortable.
There was nothing suspicious about it.
...
The receptionist was organizing that day's visitor registrations.
Hearing footsteps approach, she immediately raised her head and put on a professional smile.
"Hello."
"Which company are you here to visit?"
Lucian remained calm.
He took a prepared business card from his briefcase and placed it gently on the counter.
"The Records Management Company."
"I have an appointment."
The receptionist accepted the card and checked the appointment terminal.
A few seconds later, she nodded.
"All right."
"Please wait a moment."
She picked up the telephone and called the sixth floor, briefly explaining the visitor's arrival.
The entire process took no more than a dozen seconds.
The person on the other end seemed to respond almost immediately.
The receptionist put down the phone and smiled again.
"The manager has been informed."
"Please register your visitor information."
Lucian picked up the registration book and glanced over it.
Name.
Contact information.
Person to visit.
Purpose of visit.
Every field was exactly as the technical team had anticipated.
Without the slightest hesitation, he filled in each section using his new identity.
His handwriting was natural and fluid.
There was not a trace of uncertainty.
After checking the information, the receptionist nodded with satisfaction and handed him a temporary visitor card.
"Sixth floor."
"Just scan the card at the elevator access gate."
"Please return the visitor card when you leave."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"Thank you."
Lucian nodded slightly, accepted the card, and turned toward the security gate.
Beep—
The gate emitted a soft sound and slowly opened.
Only at that moment did he truly enter the office building he had spent four full days observing.
Until now, he had remained outside.
Now, he had finally stepped inside.
The security gate closed behind him.
Lucian did not look back.
Instead, he maintained the same pace as any ordinary visitor.
Neither too fast nor too slow.
Several employees preparing to head upstairs were waiting in front of the elevators.
One was looking down while replying to a message on a terminal.
Another held a freshly purchased coffee and took small sips.
Two others were discussing a client meeting scheduled for later that morning in hushed voices.
"Did you send over yesterday's quotation?"
"Already sent it."
"We should get a response this afternoon."
Their conversation sounded entirely natural.
There was nothing they needed to keep secret or deliberately whisper about.
Lucian stood quietly at the back of the group.
His gaze occasionally swept across the surrounding lobby.
The corners of the ceiling.
The elevator entrance.
The fire safety signs.
The positions of the surveillance cameras.
He silently committed everything to memory.
The cameras provided remarkably comprehensive coverage, leaving almost no obvious blind spots.
At least, that was true of the lobby.
If someone wanted to leave this area without being captured by any of the cameras, doing so would be nearly impossible.
Which meant that the manager's failure to appear at any exit over four consecutive days could not be explained by something as simple as avoiding the cameras.
Ding—
The elevator arrived on the first floor.
As the doors slowly opened, the waiting employees filed into the car.
The interior was not particularly spacious, but it was far from crowded.
A young employee expertly pressed the button for the sixth floor, then pressed the seventh-floor button as well.
The elevator doors gradually closed.
The floor numbers began to change.
Second floor.
Someone got off.
Third floor.
Two more people stepped out.
Fourth floor.
A middle-aged man carrying a folder hurried inside.
Everything proceeded just as it would in any ordinary office building during the workday.
Lucian remained silent, standing quietly in the corner.
The mirrored walls reflected everyone's figures.
No one paid any attention to the unfamiliar visitor.
To them, today was nothing more than another ordinary day.
Ding—
Sixth floor.
They had arrived.
Two employees stepped out first.
Lucian followed them into the corridor.
For the first time, the familiar hallway was directly in front of him.
It looked exactly as it had through his binoculars.
Several offices lined both sides of the corridor.
The lights were bright.
Every so often, he could hear printers running or employees speaking in low voices.
The air carried the familiar scents of an office: paper, coffee, and printer ink mingling together.
There was none of the oppressive atmosphere one would expect from a base occupied by ability users.
Nor was there any sign of the tension associated with an underground organization.
This really did look like nothing more than an ordinary company.
Lucian proceeded slowly down the corridor.
The glass entrance to the Records Management Company was now only a short distance away.
Through the glass, he could clearly see the office area inside.
More than a dozen desks were arranged in neat rows.
Computers, archive boxes, and various office supplies covered their surfaces.
Several employees were organizing digital records with their heads lowered.
One carefully checked paper documents.
Another was speaking to a client over the telephone.
The printer occasionally made a soft mechanical noise.
Nearby, the shredder started up from time to time.
The entire office maintained a quiet, orderly rhythm.
It was a rhythm Lucian had watched countless times through his binoculars over the past four days.
Standing outside the entrance now, however, made everything feel even more real.
The receptionist inside noticed the visitor and immediately stood up with a polite smile.
"Hello. Are you the one who made an appointment for—"
She glanced down at her terminal.
Then she looked up again.
"Your appointment has been confirmed."
"Please wait a moment."
With that, she pressed the intercom button on her desk and quietly reported the visitor's arrival.
The office continued operating at its original pace.
No one stopped working because a visitor had arrived.
No one even cast a curious glance toward the entrance.
Everything appeared perfectly normal.
Within seconds, the door to the innermost office slowly opened.
A familiar figure emerged.
It was the manager.
Today, she was still wearing a dark business suit.
Her long hair fell naturally over her shoulders.
Both hands were still covered by those immaculate white gloves.
Her expression was calm, and her steps were steady.
She looked as though she were simply preparing to receive an ordinary client.
She approached the entrance and nodded slightly.
"Hello."
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Lucian responded with equal courtesy.
"Thank you for seeing me."
Their gazes briefly met.
There was no hesitation.
No probing.
No sign of anything unusual.
The manager quickly looked away and stepped aside, gesturing for him to follow.
"Please, come with me."
Lucian nodded slightly and walked into the Records Management Company.
...
Lucian followed the manager into the reception area.
The door was not completely closed, leaving a gap of less than ten centimeters.
Through the narrow opening, the office outside remained visible.
The employees continued working at their desks.
Someone stood up to retrieve a document.
Another employee carried a stack of files toward the archive room on the opposite side.
Someone else walked past the corridor with a cup of coffee in hand.
The office maintained its steady, orderly rhythm.
The arrival of an unfamiliar visitor had not disturbed it in the slightest.
The manager approached the table and gently placed a document folder on it.
"Please, have a seat."
Lucian nodded and sat down opposite her.
The manager opened the folder, her expression perfectly natural.
"May I ask what kind of services your company is interested in?"
Lucian answered according to the identity and background information prepared in advance.
His tone remained steady.
"Digitization of corporate archives."
"Our company has accumulated quite a few old records over the past several years."
"We're planning to have them scanned and organized in a standardized system."
"So I came here first to learn about the process."
The manager nodded slightly.
"I understand."
She did not ask any further questions about his company's background.
Instead, she opened the introductory materials and began explaining the services her company offered.
Archive classification.
Paper restoration.
Scanning standards.
Digital storage.
Long-term preservation.
Confidentiality agreements.
She explained each procedure clearly and thoroughly.
Partway through the presentation, she even took out several completed samples and placed them in front of Lucian to help him understand the entire process.
Her explanation flowed smoothly.
Clearly, she had repeated it many times before.
It did not sound rehearsed for this particular meeting.
Nor did it feel like a deliberate performance.
She sounded like someone who genuinely worked in this industry.
Lucian listened attentively, occasionally asking a few questions about file formats and archival standards.
The manager answered every question without hesitation.
...
Even as they talked, Lucian never stopped observing his surroundings.
The reception area was furnished in an entirely ordinary manner.
Filing cabinets stood against the walls.
A water dispenser hummed quietly.
The meeting room display was in standby mode.
Several potted plants occupied the corners.
An air purifier stood beside the window.
The floor was spotless.
There were no signs of recent renovations, nor any visible traces of alterations.
Deeper inside the office, employees continued moving back and forth.
There were no unusual devices.
No additional security personnel.
Even the air carried nothing more than the faint combined scents of paper, ink, and coffee.
If he had not spent four consecutive days observing this place, he would never have associated it with the Abyss Archive.
...
The manager closed the folder and gently pushed it toward Lucian.
"This contains an overview of our company's services."
"If your company decides to proceed with a partnership, you can contact me directly."
With that, she handed him a business card.
Lucian reached out and accepted it, briefly scanning the information printed on it.
It contained only the most ordinary details.
Name.
Position.
Telephone number.
There were no unusual markings.
Nor was there any private contact information.
"Thank you."
He put the card away.
The manager smiled faintly.
"If you have any other questions,"
"we can go over them now as well."
Lucian asked a few straightforward questions about pricing and delivery schedules.
The manager continued to answer patiently.
Throughout the entire conversation, there was not a single unnecessary remark.
Nor did she make any attempt to probe his identity.
It was as though the person sitting across from her really were nothing more than an ordinary client.
...
Twenty minutes later, the manager gently closed the last folder.
"That concludes today's introduction."
"If your company decides to work with us, you're welcome to contact me at any time."
Lucian stood up.
"Thank you for your time."
"You're welcome."
The manager rose as well and personally escorted him out of the reception area.
The office continued operating at its usual pace.
An employee carrying a stack of documents passed by and nodded politely to the manager.
"Manager."
"The materials that need to be organized this afternoon have already been placed in your office."
"All right."
The manager gave a brief response before continuing to escort Lucian to the glass entrance.
"Thank you for visiting."
"We look forward to the possibility of working with you in the future."
"Thank you."
Lucian nodded slightly and pushed open the glass door, returning to the corridor.
The glass door slowly closed behind him.
The office resumed its usual quiet rhythm.
...
The elevator arrived on the sixth floor shortly afterward.
As the doors opened, Lucian stepped inside.
The floor numbers began to descend.
Sixth floor.
Fifth floor.
Fourth floor.
The mirrored walls reflected a face that was completely unfamiliar.
Only when the elevator reached the first floor did he slowly withdraw his gaze.
He walked out into the lobby and returned the temporary visitor card to the receptionist.
Then he pushed open the revolving door.
The cold wind struck him once again.
Pedestrians hurried along the street.
Vehicles continued passing in front of him.
The office building stood quietly among the surrounding structures, indistinguishable from any of them.
Lucian stopped and glanced back toward the sixth floor.
Sunlight fell across the glass curtain wall, reflecting a broad expanse of grayish-white light.
Even from here, there was still nothing unusual about the place.
And yet, the more ordinary everything appeared, the more questions arose in his mind.
If this was merely an ordinary company, why had the manager failed to appear at any exit for four consecutive days?
And if this place was not what it seemed, how had she managed to conceal everything so thoroughly during those twenty minutes?
The answers had clearly not yet revealed themselves.