Chapter 354: Burnt Identity!!
The conference room inside Sterling Security Base remained silent.
Rain continued tapping softly against the reinforced windows outside while a large display occupied the center wall.
Miles sat at the head of the conference table.
Charles occupied the seat to his right.
Ren leaned comfortably against his chair with one leg crossed over the other.
On the screen was the recording from the previous night.
The camera quality was clear enough to capture every movement.
Miles pressed play.
The recording began.
...
Orville Miller sat tied to a metal chair.
His expensive suit had become wrinkled.
His neatly combed hair was a complete mess.
Fear had completely replaced the arrogance he once carried.
Ren stood quietly in front of him.
His expression carried no anger.
Only patience.
A patience that frightened people far more than shouting ever could.
Ren slowly crouched until both of them were at eye level.
"The WEB."
"What do you know about them?"
Orville swallowed.
"They..."
"They’re going to do something big this year..."
Ren sighed.
"That doesn’t answer my question."
He grabbed Orville’s collar with one hand and slowly pulled him closer.
"I asked..."
"What do you know?"
Orville’s breathing became hurried.
"There..."
"There will be a major shift in power across the entire world."
"They’re planning to control the underworld."
"They’re bigger than every mercenary organization."
"They’re bigger than Graveyard."
Charles frowned while watching the recording.
On the screen...
Ren remained completely calm.
"For decades..."
Orville continued.
"They’ve quietly expanded."
"They’ve built influence everywhere."
"They possess heavy weapons."
"They train assassins."
"They nurture killers under everyone’s noses."
"They’re creating an army without anyone realizing it."
Ren loosened his grip.
"So..."
"You expect me to believe all of this?"
Orville nodded desperately.
"It’s true."
"I swear."
Ren stared silently for several seconds.
Then he stepped away.
The recording paused.
...
Inside the conference room...
Miles slowly leaned back.
"He doesn’t look like he was lying."
Ren nodded immediately.
"He wasn’t."
"I watched every change in his eyes."
"Every hesitation."
"He genuinely believed everything he said."
Charles folded his arms.
"If that’s true..."
"What he’s describing is terrifying."
Miles silently pressed play again.
...
The recording resumed.
Ren walked slowly around the chair.
His footsteps echoed through the room.
"I hate poetry."
"So stop speaking like an old storyteller."
"I want details."
"Names."
"Places."
"Everything."
"Most importantly..."
"How do you know any of this?"
Orville remained silent.
Ren stopped beside him.
His fingers lightly grabbed Orville’s collar again.
This time...
He simply tightened his grip.
"I don’t like repeating myself."
Orville immediately spoke.
"I..."
"I was twenty one back then."
"My father operated an information trading business."
"Officially..."
"It was only a DVD store in downtown."
"But information was our real business."
"He died that same year."
"I inherited everything."
He lowered his head.
"One day..."
"A man came into the shop."
"He was badly injured."
Ren quietly listened.
"He looked..."
"...like someone who had crossed an ocean."
"His skin was sunburned."
"His hair was dry."
"He could barely walk."
"But strangely..."
"His legs weren’t injured."
"It felt as though..."
"He had spent days drifting at sea."
"Maybe on a fishing boat."
"Maybe hidden inside a cargo ship."
"He had a gunshot wound across his upper body. And there was burnmark on his neck and wrist"
"The wound had already become infected."
Charles exchanged a glance with Miles.
Neither interrupted.
The recording continued.
"He carried a briefcase."
"It was filled with foreign currency."
"He handed everything to me."
"So..."
"I treated him."
"I hid him."
"I let him stay for several days."
"He wasn’t from Haven."
"So I arranged everything."
"A new identity."
"A passport."
"A residence."
"I became curious."
"I kept asking who he really was."
"But..."
"He never answered."
"He only told me one thing."
"If I ever discovered information about an organization called The WEB..."
"I should sell it only to him."
"He paid generously every single time."
"So..."
"I created a special intelligence team dedicated only to investigating The WEB."
Ren slowly nodded.
"And?"
Orville continued.
"Eventually..."
"We discovered something."
"A company."
"It expanded incredibly fast."
"Horizon Biotech."
Charles quietly repeated the name.
"Horizon Biotech..."
Orville nodded rapidly.
"They research insects."
"They develop medicines."
"They began in Oslo."
"Norway."
"In less than twenty years..."
"They spread across the entire world."
"They always receive government approval."
"They gain permission to research local species wherever they go."
Ren narrowed his eyes.
"So you’re saying..."
"Horizon Biotech belongs to The WEB."
"Yes."
"It does."
"After I sold that information..."
"That mysterious man never returned."
"I never saw him again."
"But..."
"I never stopped investigating The WEB."
"Recently..."
"A very important figure arrived in Star Harbor."
"As Norway’s ambassador."
"For the Diamond Auction."
"You should understand what that means."
"They possess enormous political influence."
The recording paused again.
...
Inside the conference room...
Miles looked toward Charles.
"He’s talking about Thea."
Charles slowly nodded.
"He is certainly talking about her."
Miles rested both elbows on the table.
"Begin investigating Horizon Biotech."
"I want everything."
"Every laboratory."
"Every shareholder."
"Every country."
Charles immediately answered.
"Understood."
Miles looked toward Ren.
"Did he mention anything else about the mysterious man?"
Ren nodded.
"He did."
"It’s near the end."
Miles pressed play once more.
...
The recording resumed.
Ren stood directly before Orville again.
"Tell me."
"Why should Graveyard care about any of this?"
Orville slowly lifted his head.
Even while terrified...
A faint smile appeared.
"Because..."
"They’ll become Graveyard’s greatest enemy."
"I know..."
"Ghost will understand."
Ren remained silent.
Then he asked another question.
"The man."
"The one you saved."
"What was his name?"
Orville shook his head.
"He never told me."
"You created his identity."
"You must have written something."
Orville nodded slowly.
"The name..."
"I gave him..."
"...was Lucian Woods."
He hesitated.
"But..."
"That identity disappeared too."
"There were no records because."
"He never officially existed."
"There were no documents."
"No history."
"Nothing."
The recording ended.
...
Silence filled the conference room.
Miles remained completely still.
His eyes never left the frozen image on the screen.
Several long seconds passed.
Finally...
He slowly spoke.
"Did he just say..."
"...Lucian?"
Charles looked toward Miles with visible confusion.
Ren’s relaxed expression had disappeared as well.
Both men sensed it immediately.
That name...
Miles recognized it.
Silence lingered inside the conference room.
The paused recording remained frozen on the screen.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Charles slowly broke the silence.
"There is only one Lucian we know."
Miles nodded.
"Lucian Winslow."
"The Grandmaster."
"Olivia’s grandfather."
Charles frowned.
"But..."
"His name isn’t Lucian Woods."
Miles leaned back in his chair.
"Did you forget?"
"The Winslow family follows a matriarchal lineage."
Charles blinked.
"You mean..."
Miles nodded.
"He married my grandmother’s elder sister."
"He took the family name."
"His original surname disappeared."
Charles slowly connected the pieces.
"So..."
"Lucian Woods..."
"...became Lucian Winslow."
Miles folded his arms.
"It fits."
"And don’t forget."
"He has a personal vendetta against The WEB."
"Even Thea is working under him."
Charles looked thoughtfully at the paused screen.
"So Lucian..."
"...is originally a foreigner."
"Most likely."
"Norwegian."
Miles narrowed his eyes.
"He has deep connections with The WEB."
He suddenly paused.
"Wait..."
Charles looked toward him.
"What is it?"
Miles’ expression slowly changed.
"Orville mentioned something."
"The burn marks."
"He said the mysterious man had burn scars around his wrist..."
"...and near his neck."
Charles quietly listened.
Miles continued.
"I’ve seen those scars before."
"The last time I met Grandmaster..."
"I noticed the same marks."
Charles slowly inhaled.
"Then..."
"It really is him."
"We need to find out his connection with The WEB."
Miles shook his head.
"I already have a guess."
"He wasn’t simply connected to The WEB."
"He was one of them."
Charles immediately looked up.
"What?"
Miles calmly asked,
"Do you remember one thing every WEB operative shares?"
Charles answered without hesitation.
"The spider tattoo."
"On their wrists."
Miles nodded.
"Thea carries a spider web tattoo on her neck."
Charles slowly leaned forward.
"Which means..."
"If Lucian carries burn marks over those exact locations..."
"He deliberately removed the tattoo."
Miles looked toward the window.
"Exactly."
Charles finished the thought quietly.
"So he wasn’t just another operative."
"He must have held an extremely important position inside The WEB."
Miles slowly exhaled.
"Damn that old man..."
Charles watched him carefully.
"Boss."
"Do you think he’ll become a threat to us?"
Miles thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"Highly unlikely."
"Our families are tied together."
"But..."
"He’s still a man filled with secrets."
"And people like him..."
"...can never be trusted completely."
Charles nodded in agreement.
"Should we be concerned about this discovery?"
Miles tapped the table gently.
"No."
"We’ll watch."
"Quietly."
"I believe Grandmaster already has his own plans."
"We shouldn’t interfere."
He looked toward both of them.
"We already have enough on our plate."
"The wedding preparations have started."
"I still have to travel to Paris with Chloe."
"Before that..."
"I must attend the Conclave in Germany."
"The date is getting close."
He smiled faintly.
"I promised Great Aunt Nora."
"I’ll help uncle Calum."
Charles nodded confidently.
"Don’t worry, Boss."
"Our eyes and ears are everywhere now."
"With the Ancient Warrior Order joining us..."
"Our reach has become a hundred times stronger."
"We’ll begin investigating Horizon Biotech immediately."
Miles turned toward Ren.
"Ren."
Ren immediately straightened.
"Leader."
Miles spoke calmly.
"If The WEB is involved..."
"There must be operatives carrying those spider tattoos in the Horizon Biotech."
"]Sterling Security will quietly investigate."
"No unnecessary attention."
"If you find anyone..."
"Bring them."
Ren waited silently.
Miles’ expression became serious.
"Take them to the island."
"But make absolutely sure..."
"Those people disappear outside Haven’s borders."
"They must never vanish inside our country."
Ren smiled knowingly.
"I understand, Leader."
Charles immediately added,
"I’ll notify our teams in New York."
"Horizon Biotech’s second headquarters is located there."
Miles nodded.
"Good."
Charles opened his notebook.
"Boss."
"When exactly are you leaving for Germany?"
"I’ll prepare transportation."
"And a safe house."
Miles thought briefly.
"I’ll fly to Africa first."
"I’ll meet Kenan there."
"Then we’ll travel together."
"I’ll let you know the exact date."
"You can prepare everything afterward."
Charles nodded while making notes.
"Understood."
At that moment...
A burst of static echoed through the room.
Ren’s communication radio crackled.
He picked it up.
Placed the earpiece into one ear.
Everyone waited.
After listening for several seconds...
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Leader."
Miles looked over.
"What is it?"
"Clan Supreme has arrived in Star Harbor."
Miles blinked.
"Clarissa?"
"She never told me she was coming."
Ren’s smile became even wider.
"It seems..."
"She’s visiting your fiancée."
Miles instantly stood up.
"...What?"
Without another word...
He hurried toward the conference room door.
"I have to go."
The door opened.
Then slammed shut behind him.
His footsteps quickly disappeared down the hallway.
Silence returned.
Charles slowly looked toward Ren.
Then both of them smiled.
Charles laughed first.
"Our boss..."
"...is in trouble."
Ren tilted his head innocently.
"Really?"
Charles laughed even harder.
"I’ve seen fearless men stand before armies."
"But one unexpected visitor..."
"And our Leader runs faster than anyone."
Even Ren couldn’t hold back a quiet laugh as the conference room finally relaxed after the heavy discussion.