"Everyone, listen up." Harding's voice reached everyone's ears through the portable communications device. "The Shadow Thief could appear at any moment. Stay alert. Do not act alone. Keep watch on any changes in your shadows."
Silence.
The only sounds left in the factory were the hum of the lights and the deep echo of waves striking the seawall in the distance.
Before long, Dirk was the first to see it.
From beneath a pile of discarded steel in the factory's northwest corner, a semi-transparent shadow slid out.
Its shape was exactly like the drawing Harding had brought: a flattened humanoid outline, without facial features or details of limbs, like a human-shaped paper cutout made from translucent black plastic, gliding silently across the ground.
The way it moved was bizarre.
It was as if someone had smeared oil beneath its "body," allowing it to glide in a manner untouched by friction.
The Shadow Thief was not fast, but it was incredibly quiet—so quiet that when you stared at it, you began to wonder whether you were hallucinating. "Target confirmed," Dirk said in a low voice. "Northwest corner, approximately fifty meters away."
The Shadow Thief did not come straight toward them.
It glided along the base of the wall, as though searching for something—or testing the waters.
Its "body" turned nimbly at the angle where wall met floor, hugging the corner as it slid toward the southern side of the factory.
Then it passed beneath the first set of lights.
Light shone down from above, casting clear shadows across the ground.
The Shadow Thief paused at the border between light and darkness. Its "body" trembled faintly at the edge of the light, as if sensing something that made it uncomfortable.
But it did not retreat. Instead, it curved around the edge of