A cold wind swept across the rooftop as dark clouds continued gathering overhead. The atmosphere felt heavy, as though rain could start falling at any moment.
Rio stood at the edge of the rooftop, his eyes fixed on the unfinished building across from them. Through the empty windows, he could vaguely make out parts of the interior.
After watching silently for a few moments, he finally spoke.
"So, you bastard," he said without looking at Abhishek, "how much do you know about what is happening here?"
Abhishek didn't answer immediately.
His gaze remained fixed on the building in front of them, as if he was waiting for something.
The silence stretched for several seconds before Rio clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"You're really starting to piss me off."
Even then, Abhishek's expression didn't change.
Behind them, Manya folded her arms as another cold gust of wind brushed past.
"We should leave," she muttered.
Nitin immediately shook his head.
"We can't."
Manya frowned. "And why not?"
Nitin's eyes moved toward the two figures standing at the edge of the rooftop.
"Because those two are here."
For a moment, Manya remained silent.
Then her gaze shifted toward Gaurav.
"This is all your fault, you useless idiot."
"The hell did I do now?" Gaurav protested.
"If you had learned to keep your mouth shut, none of us would be standing here."
"Oh, bullshit."
"Shut up."
"You shut up."
The argument between Gaurav and Manya continued for a while, neither of them willing to back down. Nitin simply stood there with a tired expression, already regretting coming here. Meanwhile, Rio and Abhishek remained focused on the building across from them.
Suddenly, Rio's eyes narrowed. He had noticed something move behind one of the first-floor windows. Almost at the same moment, Abhishek noticed it as well.
"Shut up."
The cold voice immediately silenced everyone. Gaurav stopped talking, while Manya frowned in confusion. Even Nitin shifted his attention toward the building.
For a brief moment, nothing happened. Then a figure suddenly appeared near one of the unfinished windows. Before anyone could understand what was happening, that person was thrown straight out of the building.
Everyone's expressions changed.
The figure fell from the first floor and crashed directly into a massive pile of construction sand below. A cloud of dust rose into the air, partially blocking their vision.
Rio continued staring at the spot where the person had fallen, but Abhishek's attention remained on the building itself. It was as if he wasn't interested in the person who had been thrown out. Instead, he was waiting to see who would appear next.
Nearly ten minutes, had passed since Kailash and his group entered the building. What had looked like an ordinary construction site from the outside felt completely different once they stepped inside. The unfinished structure was larger than expected, with long hallways, empty rooms, and half-completed stairways connecting each floor. Every sound echoed through the building, making the atmosphere strangely unsettling.
Kailash had already sent his men to search different areas while he continued looking elsewhere. In his mind, Arjun couldn't have gone far. The boy had entered the building only a few minutes before them. No matter how clever he was, there was no way he could simply disappear.
One of Kailash's men slowly pushed open another room and looked inside. Just like the previous rooms, it was empty. Broken construction materials were scattered across the floor, and a thin layer of dust covered almost everything. Letting out an annoyed sigh, he turned around and prepared to leave.
Then his eyes suddenly landed on something.
Near one of the walls lay a school bag.
His steps immediately came to a stop.
For a moment, he simply stared at it before quickly walking closer. The bag looked completely out of place inside an unfinished building like this. Construction workers wouldn't leave something like that behind.
A grin slowly appeared on his face.
"There you are..." he muttered.
There was no way the bag belonged to anyone else. It had to be Arjun's.
The discovery instantly boosted his confidence. If the bag was here, then Arjun couldn't be far away. Maybe the bastard was hiding somewhere nearby, waiting for an opportunity to escape.
Without wasting any time, he began searching the surrounding rooms more carefully. Unlike before, he no longer moved casually. His eyes scanned every corner, every doorway, and every shadow he came across.
A few moments later, he reached another room.
The doorway stood open, revealing nothing but darkness inside. The room had no proper lighting, making it impossible to see more than a few feet ahead.
The boy paused for a second and narrowed his eyes.
Nobody.
At least, that's what it looked like.
After a brief glance, he continued walking forward.
The unfinished floor was silent. Apart from the occasional sound of wind entering through the open structure, there was nothing. No footsteps. No voices. No sign of Arjun.
The boy tightened his grip around the school bag and smirked.
Finding the bag had already confirmed one thing.
Arjun was nearby.
Maybe he was hiding behind one of the concrete pillars. Maybe he was crouching inside one of the unfinished rooms. Whatever the case, he couldn't stay hidden forever.
"Come out already," the boy muttered as he continued walking. "You think hiding is going to save you?"
A few more seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
The silence only made him more confident.
Then suddenly—
A sharp pain exploded in his stomach.
"UGH!"
The force knocked the breath out of his lungs.
His entire body slid backward across the dusty floor before he managed to stop himself. The school bag slipped from his hand and landed nearby.
For a moment, his mind went blank.
He hadn't seen anyone.
He hadn't heard anyone.
Clutching his stomach, he slowly raised his head.
A figure stood several meters away from him.
Both hands remained inside his pockets.
Arjun.
The boy's expression immediately darkened.
A grin appeared on his face as he forced himself to stand straight.
"So you finally decided to show yourself."
Arjun didn't answer.
His gaze remained fixed on him.
The silence made the boy uncomfortable for some reason.
Still, he quickly ignored the feeling.
"What?" he sneered. "Cat got your tongue?"
Arjun finally spoke.
"Ujjwal."
The grin on the boy's face froze.
For a brief moment, confusion flashed through his eyes.
Then Arjun continued.
"Three months ago, you broke the arm of a sixth-grade girl because she refused to give you money."
Ujjwal's expression changed slightly.
But before he could say anything, Arjun spoke again.
"Two months ago, you and your friends cornered a first-year student and stole his phone."
This time, the grin disappeared completely.
"And last month, you beat a student so badly that he couldn't come to school for almost a week."
The floor fell silent.
Ujjwal stared at Arjun.
His eyes slowly widened.
Because every single thing Arjun had said was true.
More importantly...
Those were things Arjun shouldn't know.
"How..." Ujjwal stopped himself.
For the first time since finding the bag, uncertainty appeared on his face.
Arjun's expression didn't change.
He simply stood there with both hands still inside his pockets.
"You know," Ujjwal suddenly laughed, trying to hide the uneasiness creeping into his chest, "I don't know how you found all that out, but you're making a huge mistake."
His voice grew colder.
"You think knowing a few things about me changes anything?"
Arjun remained silent.
That silence irritated him even more.
"Say something!" Ujjwal shouted.
The next moment, Arjun moved.
Before Ujjwal could react, another kick slammed directly into his stomach.
The impact was so sudden that his eyes widened in shock.
His body was thrown backward.
The unfinished floor beneath his feet disappeared almost instantly as he crashed through the massive open section behind him.
For a split second, Ujjwal hung in the air.
Then he fell.
Straight out of the building.
Arjun didn't even bother looking back.
Whether the boy survived the fall or not wasn't something he cared about right now. His attention was already elsewhere.
The school bag that had fallen to the floor moments ago was still lying nearby. Arjun calmly walked over, picked it up, and stored it inside his system's space storage.
A moment later, a familiar blue window appeared in front of him.
Emergency Quest: 00:10:56
Name - Arjun Verma
Level - 16
Strength - 22
Stamina - 18
Intelligence - 15
Agility - 25
Sense - 20
HP - 100/100
EP - 0/10000
Defeat - 1/8
Arjun's gaze moved across the information quietly.
His expression remained unchanged.
After a few seconds, his eyes stopped at one particular stat.
EP - 0/10000
The number was far lower than what he needed.
Kailash was still somewhere inside this building, and unlike the person who had just fallen, Kailash was a real problem. If Arjun wanted to defeat him, then his current strength wasn't enough.
The countdown on the Emergency Quest continued to decrease every second.
00:10:50
Arjun looked at the timer for a brief moment before closing the system window.
"One thing I don't like at all is being weak," he said in a calm voice.
His eyes slowly moved toward the deeper parts of the unfinished building.
"I need to become stronger."
END OF THE CHAPTER