Cryptomining Supervillain

Chapter 232: 232 FINDING ARGENT

232 FINDING ARGENT

Eryn Veyran approached them from behind.

"Ah… a face changer," one of Sienna's companions sneered. "Behind the beautiful mask is the monster within."

Sienna gestured to her entourage. "Allow me to introduce my brothers and sisters: Celadon. Mortuum. Gamboge. Isabelline."

The colorful psychics gave them a short bow.

Eryn stared at Celadon and asked, "How did you see through my disguise?"

Celadon laughed softly. "With your level of camouflage? Did you really think you could hide from me?"

Eryn fell silent.

The Heart of Hathor granted her powerful camouflage and face-shifting abilities, but she was no expert yet. Against a psychic like Celadon, she never stood a chance.

Then another figure emerged…. a boy, about seventeen, his eyes wary and sharp with curiosity.

"Did you say you can help bring Big Brother back?" he asked.

He was Kail Venn, also known secretly as Ethan Lace.

Sienna's smile widened. "Hello, Ethan Lace. At last, we meet."

"I'm not Ethan Lace," Kail said flatly.

"Call yourself whatever you want," Sienna replied. "As long as you help me."

"How can you help us?" Eryn asked.

Sienna folded her hands elegantly. "We closed the main portal to the space rift. But we left a small door open. Damen can return—if we help him."

Kail considered this, his expression hardening with resolve.

"Fine," he said. "I'll help you… if you'll help bring Big Brother home."

-----

The colorful psychics followed Kail down into the basement.

With a few taps on the console, dozens of holo-screens flickered into existence—security feeds from across Silver City.

Each screen skimmed through footage from the moment Argent vanished up to the present.

"What are these?" Isabelline asked curiously.

"These are the main camera networks in the city," Kail said. "If Argent passed through Silver City, he'd show up in at least one of them."

They watched the feeds accelerate in forward-scan. Train stations, shuttle hubs, private airstrips—frame after frame flashed before them.

But there was nothing of concern.Argent's face never appeared once.

"Where could he be?" Eryn murmured.

Celadon answered. "If it were easy, we wouldn't need to come asking for Ethan Lace."

Hours turned into days as they sifted through countless feeds. Every corner of Silver City was checked. Still,there was no trace of Argent.

"I don't think Argent was brought here at all," Kail finally said.

Sienna only smiled. "Perhaps… or perhaps those who took him are simply very good at hiding him."

"We're wasting time on these public cameras," Gamboge said. "We need a new approach."

"What do you suggest?" Kail asked.

"Check the power players," Mortuum replied. "The major families—especially the Atheris. If anyone took Argent, it would be them."

Kail opened new feeds, this time aimed at the estates and outposts of the great families. Hundreds of searches later, they still found nothing.

"We're hitting another dead end," Eryn said. "Maybe he really isn't in Silver City."

Her words sparked something in Kail's mind. "What if… he's outside the city? On the farms?"

Celadon nodded. "Possible. But the world's huge outside the city. Where would we even start?"

Kail exhaled slowly. "Argent must be somewhere he can't use his powers. Otherwise, he'd have escaped already…. or at least sent a signal to us."

Sienna's eyes brightened. "Excellent. This is a very good direction."

Celadon folded his arms. "An anti-meta field wouldn't stop Argent. Even in hibernation, his subconscious could send an SOS. So, the only explanation is a place with no communication technology."

Liorea frowned. "Are you sure such places even exist anymore? No place can exist without the most basic telecommunication."

"If they do exist," Sienna said softly, "that's where Argent is."

Kail pulled up a new set of data—protected farms outside Silver City, scanning for any with minimal tech usage or communication signals.

The search began anew.

But the results were just as discouraging.

Every farm, even the most remote ones, still used at least some basic communication tech—exactly the kind Argent would exploit for an SOS.

"It's hopeless," Kail muttered, slumping back. "A farm with no outside communication… it doesn't exist. Even if it does… it would not relay anything to us."

"Then we change the approach again," Mortuum said calmly.

"In what direction?" Kail asked, frustrated.

-----

[Shortly after Argent was kidnapped]

Argent's eyes fluttered open, his surroundings wereunfamiliar and disorienting.

He found himself strapped to a cold, hard chair inside a small, dimly lit cell. His wrists were bound in cuffs, and a helmet was fastened around his head, its wires extending to a machine connected to the back of the cell.

"Where am I?" he muttered to himself, confusion thick in his voice.

Then the memories hit… he'd been taken.

He was kidnapped by face changers from the Palace of Revolution. They'd drugged him, knocked him out cold, and now here he was, trapped in this place.

He scanned the room, searching for anything—anything that might help him.

But there were no phones, no cameras, no devices he could tap into. The walls were bare, save for the heavy metal door, locked with a manual key.

There were no fancy security systems, no software to hack into. Even the machine attached to him had a simple button-and-lever mechanism.

The facility was built with Argent in mind… its run entirely on primitive technology.

"This doesn't stop me," he muttered under his breath, expanding his mind.

Normally, his abilities would allow him to sense streams of data, code flowing through the air. But now? There was nothing.

Only darkness, thick and suffocating.

"I don't believe there's not a single computer in this bloody place," he said, his voice tinged with disbelief.

Just then, the door creaked open, and an elderly man stepped into the cell, carrying a briefcase.

"This cell was specifically designed for your kind," the man said, his voice calm and measured. "Not a single computer or gadget using software in this entire estate. Everything here operates manually or on analog."

"Who the hell are you?" Argent shot back, anger and confusion mixing in his tone. "Why did you kidnap me here?"

The old man didn't flinch. "You're a very valuable asset, a Quantum mind. Every faction, every family, would give anything to have someone like you working for them."

"I won't be working for you," Argent replied, his voice firm.

"You will, eventually," the old man said, his smile slow and calculating. "I'm a patient man. The sooner you choose to cooperate, the sooner I'll let you go."

Argent's mind raced.

He was trapped.

Escape was impossible, and there was no way to contact the outside world from this place.

He'd have to play along for now, at least until he figured out a way to get out.

"What do you want from me?" Argent asked, his tone guarded.

The old man's smile widened.

He opened his briefcase and pulled out a strange, cylindrical stone, its surface covered in intricate, carved grooves.

"What is this?" Argent asked, his curiosity piqued despite himself.

"This is a Pietre Core," the old man replied, his voice tinged with mystery. "A mystery to me, but you… You might be able to unlock its secrets."

Argent raised an eyebrow. "What do you want me to do with a stone? It's not a computer, not software. It's just a rock."

"No," the old man corrected, "the Pietre Core is far from ordinary. The grooves around it… they contain something. A code. A mystery of some kind. I need you to decode it."