Homo Sapiens

The Golden Beach Scenic Area in the East Suburb of Lucena.

When Anthony and Christine arrived, they found a fair number of tourists, though not many of them were white.

They said goodbye to the tricycle driver.

The two of them bought tickets and entered the scenic area.

Many local families were also enjoying a day out here.

On the beach, the fine sand shimmered with a faint golden light under the sun. Waves lapped at the shore, their white foam in a constant cycle of creation and collapse.

The salty sea breeze and warm sun made one want to just lie down and quietly soak in the tranquil scenery.

After buying some fresh-squeezed coconut juice on a small street by the beach, Anthony noted that the prices were indeed low. Two cups were only 8 Pesos.

Christine sat under a beach umbrella, using her phone’s camera zoom to observe Swallow Island, three kilometers away.

The island had no strange buildings, nor were there any obvious signs of human activity.

”What do you think of that driver?”

Christine lowered her phone and took a sip of coconut juice. ”He’s clean. I watched his micro-expressions the whole time and didn’t see anything unusual. You?”

”Same here. His heartbeat was perfectly steady, no signs of nervousness,” Anthony replied, discreetly listening to his surroundings for any sign of trouble.

Christine put down her coconut juice. ”So, you’re saying that guy really did disappear in the waters near Swallow Island?”

”Not necessarily. It could be disinformation they planted on purpose.”

”Should we go over to the island for a look, then?”

Anthony shook his head. ”No. What if it’s a trap? We’re not here to look for those poor saps.”

Neither of them noticed the two flies clinging to the frame of their beach umbrella, silently listening to their conversation.

Meanwhile, the tricycle driver waiting for fares at the scenic area’s entrance stepped into a nearby restroom. He slowly released a dragonfly, then nonchalantly returned to his tricycle to wait for a customer.

Christine and Anthony had no idea they were already being watched.

Evening.

The sun sank in the west.

The pair took a taxi back to the Fengrao Hotel.

The moment they entered their hotel room, everything went black.

「Fifteen hours later, in a manor in the suburbs.」

The first thing Anthony noticed when he came to was that he’d been stripped of his clothes and all his belongings.

When he saw Christine tied up beside him, his expression turned grim.

’What’s going on? Have we been compromised? Impossible. I didn’t use the Black Ship’s channels to get here, nor did I contact anyone from Black Ship. How could we have been exposed...’

’Was this random? Did we just get caught in a kidnapping? Calm down. I need to calm down. Someone’s coming...’ He heard two sets of footsteps approaching.

A heavy metal door slowly opened, and two figures in protective suits appeared before Anthony. One of them took out a syringe.

”Oh! No, no... Guys, I’ll pay a ransom! Don’t hurt us...” Anthony shouted, feigning panic.

However, the Soldier didn’t hesitate for a moment, drawing a vial of blood from Anthony and then another from Christine.

The sharp pain of the needle finally woke Christine. She quickly calmed herself, glanced at Anthony, and then tentatively tried using the Rope Escape Technique to free herself from the ropes.

”The Rope Escape Technique is useless,” the other Soldier calmly informed her.

For a moment, Christine froze. She was about to offer a denial, but when she met the Soldier’s emotionless gaze, a chill ran down her spine.

By now, Anthony also realized their captors very likely knew who they were. He asked calmly, ”Who are you?”

”That’s not important,” the Soldier replied, his expression impassive.

”I want to know how you found us. Can you satisfy a little of a loser’s curiosity?” Christine asked, as if she had given up all hope.

The Soldier glanced at her. ”And why would I tell you?”

Christine put on a heartbroken expression, which, combined with her exposed body, was designed to be powerfully seductive. ”Don’t tell me you’re scared of a single captive?”

”I have no interest in those pounds of flesh on your chest.”

At his words, a flash of anger crossed Christine’s mind, followed by a wave of panic. She realized there was truly not a single flicker of emotion in the man’s eyes.

If she weren’t certain he could see, she would have suspected the man was either blind or gay.

The fact that her figure and looks, which she had always been so proud of, failed to elicit any reaction from him made her begin to question her entire existence.

Anthony, meanwhile, had fallen silent.

His mind was in turmoil. He could already guess what was coming next—brutal interrogation was inevitable.

’No, I can’t just do nothing. I have to find a way to notify headquarters...’ Having assessed his situation, Anthony immediately put on a terrified expression and began to beg for his life.

”Please, don’t kill me! I’ll cooperate! I’ll tell you everything...”

Christine glanced at Anthony, instantly understood his plan, and immediately played along. ”I’ll confess everything too! Just don’t kill me, I’m begging you...”

But the Soldier’s next words plunged them into an icy despair.

”The signal transmitters and suicide devices implanted in your hearts have been removed. There’s no need to put on an act.”

What? Anthony’s pupils constricted. He glanced down at his chest but found no trace of sutures. His expression was a mixture of shock and disbelief as he said,

”There’s no need to lie. If you want to get something out of me, I expect better treatment. Otherwise, if I die, you get nothing.”

”Go ahead. Be my guest,” the Soldier said nonchalantly.

But Anthony wasn’t ready to give up. He pressed on, ”No, my demands aren’t unreasonable. I also have a secret account with UBS. If you’re willing to let me go, I can give you all the money in it.”

”Why can’t you just accept it? Is this the human will to survive? Since we knew about the signal transmitter in your body, did you really think we wouldn’t know what it does? Just sit tight.”

With that, the two Soldiers took the blood samples and left.

Anthony’s face went pale. It was clear his plan had failed utterly.

The signal transmitters implanted in their bodies weren’t capable of long-range communication. They were miniature short-wave transmitters with an effective range of about one kilometer.

In a sealed environment like this, the range dropped to a hundred meters at most.

His entire act had been an attempt to make his captors lower their guard and move him to a place with electronic communication devices.

From there, the transmitter in his body could send out a specific short-wave signal that would be picked up by any nearby electronics.

This was possible because all communication and CPU chips within the American-led ecosystem had backdoors secretly etched into them at the hardware level during manufacturing.

These backdoors were physical, making them undetectable and impossible to block with software.

The core chips in virtually all phones and computers used worldwide today fall under this American-led system—whether they are from Intel, AMD, or Texas Instruments, or from TSMC, MediaTek, or Samsung, none are exempt.

This was also why the Homo Sapiens Company strictly prohibited the use of outside communication devices within its core internal areas.

A single mobile phone, fitness tracker, or wireless earbud brought into a lab could be enough to steal classified files from a computer. It was a threat that was nearly impossible to defend against.

Therefore, no matter how silver-tongued Anthony was, he would never be allowed near any communication devices by Soldiers who followed procedure to the letter.