A Reason

Later, as the car moved steadily through the quiet roads, Lucian finally broke the silence.

“Dad…” he said, his voice low but steady, “what really happened at Kong Kong Mountain?”

For a moment, his father didn’t respond.

His hands remained firm on the steering wheel, eyes fixed ahead, as if weighing how much he should say.

Then, slowly, he spoke.

“There’s a mine there,” he said. “It used to be active. Workers went in every day.”

He paused briefly before continuing.

“Two days ago… everyone inside suddenly fainted.”

Lucian turned his head slightly, his expression tightening.

“Everyone?” he repeated.

“Yes,” his father said. “All of them. No signs of struggle. No injuries. Just… unconscious.”

The words felt unnatural. Wrong.

Lucian’s fingers curled slightly against his lap.

“…What caused it?” he asked.

His father exhaled quietly.

“We don’t know.”

The answer came too quickly. Too empty.

Lucian frowned.

“There’s more, isn’t there?” he said.

A brief silence followed.

Then his father spoke again, his tone heavier this time.

“A similar incident happened two months ago.”

Lucian’s eyes widened slightly.

“…What?”

“We didn’t get any clues from the first one,” his father continued. “No evidence. No witnesses who remembered anything useful.”

His grip on the wheel tightened slightly.

“So we kept it quiet.”

Lucian stared at him, trying to process everything.

“So this is the second time it happened?” he asked slowly.

“Yes,” his father confirmed.

The car fell silent again.

But now, the silence felt different.

Heavier.

More dangerous.

Lucian looked out the window, but his mind was racing.

Two incidents.

No explanation.

And now… he was somehow connected to it.

Later, Lucian was led through the long corridors of headquarters.

The atmosphere inside was tense. Officers moved quickly, voices low, expressions serious. Papers shuffled, phones rang, footsteps echoed against the polished floor.

Everything felt urgent.

Everything felt important.

Lucian followed closely behind his father, his gaze shifting from one room to another. Screens displayed reports, maps, and scattered data. It all felt overwhelming—like stepping into a world far more complex than he had imagined.

Finally, they stopped outside a closed door.

His father pushed it open.

Inside, two men were already waiting.

Mr. Jim stood near the table, arms crossed, his sharp eyes immediately locking onto Lucian. Beside him, Mr. Noah sat quietly, flipping through a set of files.

The room was cold. Focused.

Serious.

Lucian stepped inside.

Mr. Jim stepped closer, his gaze fixed on Lucian.

“Everyone who regained consciousness…” he said slowly, “…lost part of their memory.”

Lucian’s breath caught.

A strange pressure built inside his head, like something was trying to surface—but couldn’t.

“…Just like me,” he said quietly.

Mr. Noah nodded and opened one of the files, turning it toward Lucian.

Inside were reports. Medical notes. Witness statements.

“You weren’t just in the car,” Mr. Noah said calmly. “You were at the exact location where the incident’s effect reached.”

Lucian frowned. “What do you mean?”

Mr. Jim answered this time.

“The pattern matches,” he said. “The people at the mine… and you.”

He pointed at the file.

“Same symptoms. Same memory loss. Same unexplained collapse.”

Lucian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“That doesn’t prove I’m part of the case,” he said.

Mr. Jim didn’t react. Instead, he leaned forward slightly, his voice lowering.

“It does.”

A pause.

Then—

“Because you’re the only one who was outside the mine… and still affected.”

Silence.

Lucian froze.

His thoughts stopped for a moment.

Mr. Noah continued,

“Everyone else was inside the mine. But you… were on the road. Far from it.”

He closed the file softly.

“That means whatever caused this… doesn’t just stay in one place.”

Lucian’s chest tightened.

His father spoke now, his tone serious but controlled.

“Lucian, this is no longer just an investigation,” he said.

Lucian looked at him.

“This is exposure.”

The word hit harder than expected.

Mr. Jim added,

“If you were affected once, there’s a high chance you were exposed directly to the source… or someone connected to it.”

Lucian’s mind flashed back—

The road.

The figure.

The moment before the crash.

Something felt off.

Something he couldn’t fully remember.

Mr. Jim’s voice cut through his thoughts.

“You’re not just a witness.”

A pause.

“You’re a link.”

The room went silent.

Lucian lowered his gaze slightly, his expression tightening.

For the first time, the situation felt real.

Not distant.

Not something happening to others.

Something connected to him.

His father stepped closer.

“That’s why you can’t stay out of this,” he said quietly.

Lucian looked up.

There was no way out of it now.

“You’re not just part of the case…”

A brief pause.

“…you’re part of the reason we might solve it.”