Rangga adjusted his collar inside the parked car and checked his reflection in the rearview mirror. Gone was the streetwise biker; in his place was a sharply dressed man with an aura of quiet authority. Once calm and calculating, his eyes flickered with a more focused intensity. He pulled out a small device no larger than a coin, tapped it twice, and a holographic interface blinked into view.
A secure message appeared: "Report requested: Status of Subject S and Crown of the Dragon."
Rangga typed quickly, fingers dancing across the keyboard. Sebastian is developing rapidly. Dragon Crown is active. Meeting with Bintang was successful but unstable. No immediate threats detected. Requesting new directives."
He hit send and leaned back, exhaling slowly. A soft chime echoed again. This time, a voice—calm, mechanical, and vaguely feminine—spoke through the embedded comms in the car.
"R-Code Protocol reactivated. You are authorized to resume dormant cover. Standby for extraction or further embedded operations."
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Rangga—or the man now inhabiting that name—was not just a hero in waiting. He was a sleeper agent. A product of an older era. One born not just of science, but of a silent war waged in the shadows between syndicates, governments, and something far older.
The car began to move, slowly blending into the Friday evening traffic. Across town, Sebastian and the others continued, unaware that the man they trusted most was far more complicated than he let on.
—
Back at Professor Rhinno's lab, the group settled in. The room hummed with technology and the faint aroma of old books and antiseptic. Screens flickered with DNA sequences and biometric data.
Sebastian sat beside David, still shaken by his earlier aura outburst. Thalia monitored his vitals while Pandu flipped through a file marked "ECHO CODE: Sebastian".
Professor Rhinno entered, his eyes gleaming with excitement and worry. "He's starting to resonate," the professor said, staring at Sebastian. "The light you saw—it's not just aura. It's resonance. He's tapping into an ancient lattice. A network far older than the Nine Dragons."
David frowned. "So, he's becoming the key?"
Rhinno nodded. "Yes. But that also makes him the beacon."
Sebastian looked up. "Beacon for what?"
The professor hesitated.
"For them."
—
Meanwhile, far beneath the city—in a chamber shielded from all surveillance—a tall figure stood watching a wall of shifting light. It was Huang Jin, the Phoenix. Her eyes narrowed as she observed the disturbance in the lattice web.
"He's awakening," she whispered.
Another voice echoed from the darkness. Wei Long.
"Then it begins. Prepare the others. We were waiting for the child. But the dragon's heir comes first."
Just A Little More Vigilant
The city glimmered in the late afternoon haze as Rangga continued his journey, entering the inner-city toll road toward East Jakarta. The hum of traffic faded behind him as he exited the toll gate and turned toward a secluded area housing a major state institution. From the discreet signage and the heavy presence of surveillance equipment, it was clear which department he was heading to.
After checking in at the security post and flashing his credentials, Rangga passed through the checkpoint with brisk efficiency. With a special clearance pass in hand, he navigated a long corridor. No guards accompanied him, but it was clear he didn't need protection. The silence that enveloped the corridor was unnatural, almost calculated.
He stopped in front of a reinforced door. After keying in several security pin codes on a panel, the locks disengaged with a soft mechanical click. The red-carpeted room beyond was stark, orderly, and suffused with the smell of paper and electronics. A uniformed woman looked up from a neat stack of files.
"Brother Rangga, please go in. He's waiting for you," she said, stepping aside to open another door.
"Thank you, ma'am," Rangga replied politely.
Inside, General Subianto stood behind a wide desk, hands behind his back. The room was dimly lit, casting long shadows over the polished floor. A large digital map flickered behind him.
"Ah, Rangga! Took you long enough. What held you back?"
"Nothing serious, sir. Just being a little more vigilant," Rangga replied with a calm demeanor.
The general nodded, pleased with the answer. "Good. I'm waiting for your report. What do you have?"
Rangga stepped forward, pulling a small flash drive from his pocket. "This contains everything you asked for, including footage and recordings of the latest meeting that took place in a non-surveilled zone. All encoded and verified."
Subianto took the device and examined it thoughtfully. "And what of the satellite team I offered? Did they assist you?"
Rangga shook his head. "I decided to work alone. No offense, sir, but what I'm dealing with is beyond ordinary. I didn't want to compromise the mission or put unnecessary burdens on others."
Subianto let out a small grunt of approval. "Very well. I trust your instincts. You've earned that."
There was a brief pause, then Rangga added, "Sir, I met Bintang."
Subianto's expression shifted instantly. "Really? How is he now?" His voice was tinged with a rare mixture of excitement and unease.
Rangga hesitated. "To be honest, sir, his abilities have evolved. He's far beyond what you predicted. It was like facing a phantom... a force of nature. He's changed."
"What do you mean?" Subianto asked, eyes narrowing.
"I mean, Bintang is not just distancing himself. He intends to dismantle the entire framework you built. Every root, every thread. He's replacing it with something new—something entirely his own."
Silence hung between them like a thick curtain. Subianto exhaled slowly, the weight of Rangga's words settling in.
"Then we must act quickly. I have a new task for you, Rangga. One that cannot wait."
Rangga straightened. "Ready for orders, General Subianto."
The general handed him a sealed folder. Rangga took it and flipped it open. Inside was a sparse file with a single name: Satria. Codename: Lone Wolf.
"This man is your next target. Bring him to me as soon as possible. Alive."
"Understood, sir," Rangga replied, locking eyes with the general.
He left the headquarters without another word, the file tucked under his arm. Back at his apartment, Rangga laid the folder out on his desk and began analyzing the contents.
"Lone Wolf," he muttered to himself. "Interesting name."
The file was vague, almost too vague. No profile photo. No affiliations. Just scattered data points—locations, movement patterns, and a few intercepted messages. What stood out was that Satria, like Rangga, operated alone. No team, no visible support. Just a trail of successful missions and minimal footprints. The kind of operative who lived in the shadow between myth and reality.
Rangga leaned back on the sofa, took a slow sip from his coffee, and stared out the window. Night was falling fast over the Jakarta skyline. The city buzzed with neon lights and honking cars, but Rangga's mind was already elsewhere.
By 8 PM, he was on the move again. His bag packed, car fully equipped, mission parameters clear.
The drive to Cilegon took just under an hour. The roads were quiet, save for the rhythmic blur of headlights and distant horns. As he approached the outskirts of the industrial area, Rangga slowed the vehicle, pulling into a stretch where large expedition trucks were parked for rest.
He killed the engine and let the silence settle.
This was the first location marked in the file. It wasn't much, just a note about recent sightings and patterns. But if Satria operated alone, he would blend in here, among drivers who worked in silence, moved under the radar, and lived by instinct.
Rangga reclined slightly in his seat, his eyes scanning the area while his mind replayed everything he knew. This mission was different. Not because of the target, but because of the undertone running beneath it all—a sense that something larger was unfolding. Something that connected Bintang, the General, and now, the Lone Wolf.
All he could do now was wait.
And be just a little more vigilant.