Author's Preface
After their brief encounter with Koeri Vance, Lindsey walked straight out of class and tagged along with him to Roya Hospital in Surabaya. Yeah, Lindsey was skipping school on her second day. The two of them arrived at the hospital with their bags still slung over their shoulders.
"W-why did you come with me?" Koeri asked, tilting his head at Lindsey as they walked down the hospital corridor.
"There's something I want to show you," Lindsey replied, walking ahead of him.
Koeri just blinked a few times, wondering what it was Lindsey was about to show him.
They made their way to the security room. "Excuse me~" Lindsey murmured as she stepped through the door. Of course, they came in with Dr. Rian.
Everyone in the room looked over at the three of them as they entered. "Please pull up the footage from camera six from when the theft occurred," Dr. Rian requested.
One of the officers there gave a nod, then swiveled his chair toward the monitor and typed something on the keyboard. A few minutes later, the footage started playing.
It was footage of nothing happening. Just a dark, empty hallway with no lights on. But because the security cameras had night vision, the corridor came through clearly.
"There was a theft in a secret room behind that wall. What do you think happened, Koeri?" Lindsey asked, eyes fixed on the footage on the large monitor.
"Did it happen when this footage was recorded? I mean, in the middle of the night?" Koeri asked, watching the recording carefully.
"Exactly," Lindsey replied with a nod, glancing at him from the corner of her eye as if testing him.
"If that's the case, then this footage was overwritten," Koeri said, his hand on his chin.
Lindsey was surprised, even though she had already suspected as much. "Who do you think could have done it?" she asked, turning to face him.
Koeri thought for a moment. "Probably the head of security," he answered.
Lindsey then turned to Dr. Rian, who was standing behind her. At that moment, Dr. Rian's body visibly trembled from the shock. "Did you hear that, Doctor?" Lindsey asked, tilting her head.
Dr. Rian nodded. "So, where is Mr. Wein, the head of security, right now?" Lindsey asked, looking around the room.
Dr. Rian flinched at the question. "T-that... He's on leave this morning," Dr. Rian answered, his fingers trembling.
Hearing Dr. Rian's answer, both Lindsey and Koeri reacted at once. "W-what!?" they blurted out together.
After that, Lindsey and Koeri rushed out in a hurry. "What are we going to do, Lindsey?" Koeri asked, glancing at her as they ran.
Lindsey came to a sudden stop, her feet skidding forward a few steps before she caught herself. "You're right, we're not prepared enough to stop this right now," she said.
"For now, I'm going back to get someone's help," Lindsey continued, then picked up running again.
"You stay at the hospital and help Dr. Rian prepare the antitoxin," she added, glancing back at Koeri, who had stopped behind her.
Without overthinking it, Koeri went off to find Dr. Rian and do what Lindsey had asked.
Lindsey ran out to the sidewalk. Spotting a passing taxi, she stuck her hand out toward the road to flag it down. Eventually, one pulled over.
"Take me to the Houdoug residential complex, as fast as you can," Lindsey said firmly, settling into the passenger seat.
Hearing that, the driver immediately floored it. Before long, they arrived at Ryuu's house. Lindsey got out, paid the fare, and ran through the gate.
Arion, who had been relaxing on the sofa, was startled by Lindsey's sudden arrival. "Lindsey, isn't it still school hours right now?" he asked, walking over to meet her at the door.
"Mr. Houdoug, take me to Malaysia," Lindsey said, her voice breathless and worn out.
Hearing that, Arion looked both stunned and confused. "Malaysia? What do you mean, Lindsey?" he asked.
"The culprit, Wein Solaris, is heading to an airport in Malaysia right now," Lindsey replied, pointing toward the door.
Arion was visibly taken aback. "I-is that true?" he asked.
"It is! He might be about to put his grand plan into motion!" Lindsey replied, her tone firm and urgent, arms sweeping in a wide arc above her.
"But we don't know which airport he's going to," Arion said, blinking a few times.
Lindsey went quiet for a moment. "Then call Ryuu back home right away!" she said.
"Huh? A-alright," Arion replied with a nod, then called Ryuu just as Lindsey had asked.
A few hours later, Ryuu came through the front door and made a beeline for Lindsey on the sofa. "Lindsey! How did you end up skipping school when it's only your second day!?" Ryuu snapped, standing in front of her with his hands on his hips.
Lindsey pushed herself up from where she'd been lying down. "There's no time for that," she replied, fixing him with a sharp look.
"You looked up what I asked, right? The airports and their flight schedules?" Lindsey asked, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.
Ryuu pulled out his laptop and answered with a firm nod, setting it open on the table in front of her.
Lindsey leaned in, studying the screen carefully. "What about the virus spread?" she asked.
Hearing that, Ryuu instinctively took a few steps back. "W-well, about that... the data still can't be confirmed because it hasn't been fully validated yet," he replied.
Lindsey clicked her tongue. I guess that means I can only work with hypotheses for now, she thought, furrowing her brow.
From the news I saw earlier, Subject-X has already spread to Australia and half of Asia, Lindsey thought, holding her chin, brow creased in concentration.
Europe would feel it sooner or later since it shares a border with Asia. The culprit must have already factored that in , she continued, lost in her own thoughts.
As for Africa... that's a possibility, but I'm pretty sure the culprit wouldn't pick it. The population density is too low, Lindsey thought.
That leaves... the United States.
New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Places like those are ideal for spreading a virus, given how many international tourists pass through.
"Mr. Houdoug, how long would it roughly take to reach Malaysia or Singapore by sea?" Lindsey asked, glancing at Arion, who stood with his arms crossed.
Arion thought for a moment. "Around... fifty hours," he answered.
So that means I just need to find an airport with a flight to one of those three cities within the next three to four days , Lindsey thought, chin in hand, eyes on the floor.
Lindsey then picked up Ryuu's laptop, still open and running on the table. She went through the slides carefully. "Singapore Changi Airport... a flight to New York, United States on June twenty-fourth," she murmured.
"June twenty-fourth... that's three days from now!" Lindsey said, eyes going wide.
"Mr. Houdoug, I found which airport the culprit is heading to," Lindsey said, turning to look at Arion.
Arion's face shifted from surprise to something close to amazement. "Really?" he asked.
Lindsey gave one firm nod. "Changi Airport in Singapore," she answered.
"Whoa, whoa, it's not that simple. To get there, we'd need at least three transit stops along the way," Arion replied, his tone turning serious.
"And on top of that, if we're traveling by sea, we need to book tickets at least a day in advance," Arion added, holding up a finger.
Hearing that, Lindsey went quiet. "Tch... You're right," she murmured, biting her thumb.
Come on... come on... think of something , she told herself, eyes darting around the room.