Chapter 19 The One Who Knows Too Much

• The rain had finally stopped, but the forest still dripped with the weight of the storm. Every sound seemed sharper now—the crunch of wet leaves underfoot, the hum of insects returning, the faint rush of water sliding down the slope.
• Jared’s pulse was still racing. He couldn’t get the image out of his head: the shadowed figure on the cliffside, watching them. The system hadn’t given him a full profile, only a faint pulse: [Unknown Entity — Sync Incomplete]. Then, just like that, the presence vanished.
• “Jared?” Mei’s voice was softer than before, cautious. She was good at reading his moods—too good, maybe. “Who was that?”