Every guest at the seaview bar of Cheval Blanc Randheli was looking forward to Tanya's arrival.The staff had prepared cocktails for them, and they were all chatting, sipping their drinks as they waited, creating a very lively atmosphere.Many of them were already streaming, their cameras trained at the entrance as they didn't want to miss a second of recording Tanya.Just then, the seaview bar band had arrived, the Filipino musicians picking up their instruments and preparing to play.The guest didn't pay them much attention—most of them had been there days earlier, and their performances were routine.However, they didn't expect the band to play the prelude of Tanya's breakout song.It was the one song that launched her career and her most famous, so her fans would naturally be very familiar with their rhythm.While they were presuming that it was to liven up the atmosphere, the prelude just ended when Tanya's voice could be heard.Everyone was stunned—even if the band was co

Stepping out on the balcony in the back, Charlie reclined on the beach chair and looked up at the stars.Without light pollution, they looked just like pearls scattered across the floor, a bright and dazzling display of the splendor that is the cosmos.As Charlie gazed upon it, he couldn't help remembering that both times he gazed upon the stars like this was with Vera.The first time was by Lake Davos when they were looking for places where kombuc trees used to go, while the other was in Norway—where he alone saw the stars in the polar skies manifesting a mysterious set of hand seals.But now, he was afraid to even use said hand seals. He had thought it was some sort of technique that built Reiki, but as it turned out, that Reiki would drain his own Reiki while refusing to come under his control.Even as he felt emotional and spaced out, he wondered how lonely Vera was back in the day, looking up at those same bright stars for three hundred years.Still, amidst his pondering, h

After everyone answered in unison, a voice warbled from the leader's walkie. "Chief, are we searching and purging the villas too?""Nope," the leader replied coolly. "We want the world to see what happened here—we're not cutting the grid or blocking communications, so that when we get in, the guests or staff will call for help. The Maldivian military base is around sixty miles from here, and that's a forty-minute journey even if they used their chopper. "It's more than enough for us to complete our objectives, but not enough for an island-wide purge. So don't bother with the villas—but if someone's stupid enough to get within firing range, shoot to kill!""Roger!"Hearing that, Charlie wondered if the black-clad men were terrorists, but soon decided that they weren't.Most terrorists were not regular military, but zealots, cults, and the like. They were ruthless, sure, but they have no sense of organization or discipline in the modern military. Their best strategy was charging in

Even if Charlie could just run away, the Maldivian government could cross-check immigration and the list of guests on the island to know who was missing. It was just proper procedure, considering a foreign tourist was missing, and if they contacted the Oskian embassy, things would really go badly for him.That was why before Charlie intervened, he had to make sure communications were down.And once he was sure that the satellite station was down and the wifi was out, he made a dash for the seaview bar.-Outside the bar, after the black-clad men quietly eliminated all the bodyguards, their leader snapped coolly, "Stick to the plan. Seize the building—team four, with me!"One of the team leaders quickly asked, "Fire at will?""No!" The leader snapped right then. "We have a lot of VIPs—including my favorite pop star, Tanya Sweet! We're really missing out if they die too fast!"He then laughed coldly as he continued, "Tonight, we'd be killing four birds with one stone! And the cond

With those words, the leader turned towards Tanya, who was already left petrified."Ms. Sweet," he growled coolly. "Aren't you an international superstar?! Don't you have any way to contact the Maldivian government?"Tanya shook her head repeatedly, blurting, "I-It's the first time I came here. I've never even met any officials…""Fuck!" The leader pulled out his handgun and shot Bernard's right knee, the bullet instantly blowing his kneecap into pieces, knocking pieces of bone, blood, and flesh out of his leg.Bernard dropped with a loud thud and rolled around in agony, squealing like a gutted pig.The leader kept his gun aimed at Bernard, however. "This is your island, so take responsibility for your problems! I don't care what you do—restore communications right now!"Bernard was fighting against the pain as he turned to Paolo, the general manager, "Go… contact our technicians and check our cell tower. See what went wrong!"As a terrified Paolo started for the door, the leade