But the surveillance feed showed no one in the corridor.
Doors on both sides opened and closed by themselves. At the far end, an elevator stopped and its doors opened. It was empty too.
Yet the map showed twelve identity signals entering the elevator.
Tserriednich leaned closer to the screen.
"Is the equipment malfunctioning?"
Pariston switched to stairwell three.
Five red dots were heading downstairs.
On the surveillance feed, the fire door swung open, but no one was on the stairs. As it closed, the light beside the handrail warped for an instant, then returned to normal.
He pulled up the lobby feed.
More than thirty identity signals had gathered at the entrance.
In the empty lobby, a row of footprints pressed into the carpet. Several rifles lifted themselves from the weapons rack, their barrels turning in unison toward the outside of the main building.
"That isn't Skre's ability."
Pariston stopped smiling.
Moving through shadows could still be explained.
But avoiding cameras and bending the surrounding light so that even Gyo could barely detect them—that was the Specialist Association's president, Bait.
Bait had long overseen the sealing of large ruins. He could refract light within a designated area, concealing vehicles, buildings, and living people. The survey camps on the outskirts of the Caspian Sea had evaded the Joint Fleet's searches thanks to his ability.
But how could the samples in the estate have come into contact with Bait?
Pariston checked the transport records.
Bait hadn't been aboard Skre's returning ship, and there was no way he could have been.
Nor had he been in Kakin when the samples entered the hospital.
Their assignments had never overlapped.
"Interesting."
"What's interesting?"
Tserriednich seized his wrist.
"What exactly have you found?"
"These samples have learned a second ability. I haven't found its source