Shadow Husband:I Have a Hidden SSS-Class System-Chapter 71: THE HUNT

7 HOURS UNTIL TRIALS

The war room exploded into controlled chaos.

"One of our candidates is a Dragon’s Gate plant," Sekar announced to assembled leadership. "False identity. Real mission: sabotage trials from inside. We have seven hours to identify and remove them before trials begin."

Hendra (Vice GM) pulled up the candidate roster. "Thirty-nine candidates. Yanto said male, twenties, excellent fake credentials. That narrows it to—" He highlighted profiles. "—eight possibilities."

Eight faces appeared on screen. All male. All early twenties. All with seemingly legitimate backgrounds.

"We can’t cancel trials," Sri said. "Public commitment. Families already here. Media watching. Canceling looks like we’re caving to Dragon’s Gate pressure."

"And we can’t openly accuse without proof," Johan added. "False accusation of one candidate destroys trust with all of them. Plus legal liability if we’re wrong."

"Then we identify correctly," Rama said, studying the eight profiles with [Tactical Overseer] active. "Subtly. Definitively. Before trials begin."

His Champion perception expanded, analyzing every detail of the eight suspects.

Candidate 12 - RIAN KUSUMA: Age 23, martial arts background, family in Surabaya. Credentials check. Family interviews match. But something about the file feels... rehearsed. Too perfect.

Candidate 18 - DENI HARTONO: Age 24, engineering student, parents both teachers. Background solid. But photo quality slightly different from others. Professional headshot versus casual photos. Why?

Candidate 21 - FAJAR SANTOSO: Age 22, former military, medical discharge. Story checks out. But discharge reason is vague. "Medical complications" could mean anything. Convenient excuse to leave service and become available.

Candidate 27 - BIMA WIJAYA: Age 25, athlete background, track and field. Clean record. But Wijaya surname—same as Hendra Wijaya of Dragon’s Gate. Common surname, but still. Coincidence?

Candidate 29 - AGUNG PRASETYO: Age 23, college dropout, motivational story about finding purpose. Background verified. But gaps in timeline. Three months unaccounted for last year. Doing what?

Candidate 31 - RIZKI NUGROHO: Age 24, tech startup employee. Credentials solid. References check. But company he works for—small startup, founded eighteen months ago. Could be cover company.

Candidate 34 - WAHYU KUSUMA: Age 22, student, excellent grades. Family verified. But too eager. Volunteered immediately, first applicant. Suspiciously fast decision for life-or-death trial.

Candidate 37 - FIKRI SANTOSO: Age 25, construction worker. Working-class background, family struggling financially. Strong motivation to succeed. But Santoso surname—same as Arif Santoso. Another coincidence?

"Four hours," Sekar said, checking time. "We need to narrow eight suspects to one definitive target."

"Start with credential verification," Rama ordered. "Deep background. Family interviews. Employment history. Financial records if legal. Find the crack in the fake identity."

Teams mobilized. Four hours of intensive investigation.

3 HOURS UNTIL TRIALS

Background checks returned results.

"Candidate 12 - Rian - family interviews don’t match," an investigator reported. "He told us his father is a teacher. Father says he’s a factory worker. Small discrepancy but suspicious."

"Candidate 18 - Deni - photo inconsistency explained," another reported. "He’s a model part-time. Has professional headshots for work. Legitimate."

"Candidate 27 - Bima - Wijaya surname is coincidence. Family tree verified back three generations. No connection to Hendra Wijaya’s family."

"Candidate 29 - Agung - timeline gaps explained. He was in rehabilitation for gambling addiction. Embarrassed to disclose. Family confirmed."

"Candidate 31 - Rizki - startup company is legitimate. Small but real. Tax records, business registration, employee verification all clean."

"Candidate 34 - Wahyu - eagerness explained. His brother died in a dungeon collapse. He wants to become Champion to prevent more deaths. Emotional motivation, not suspicious."

"Candidate 37 - Fikri - Santoso surname is common. No relation to Arif. Family is genuinely working-class, struggling financially. His motivation is legitimate—wants to support them."

Eight suspects narrowed to three: Rian (father occupation discrepancy), Deni (photo oddity despite explanation), and one they’d missed initially in the rush.

"Wait," Rama said, reviewing files again. "Pull up Candidate 21 - Fajar. The former military with medical discharge."

The file appeared. Age 22. Dishonorably discharged for "medical complications" six months ago.

"Cross-reference his military service record with Dragon’s Gate employee database."

The tech team worked. Two minutes later—

"No direct match. But his former unit commander is currently employed by a Dragon’s Gate subsidiary. Security consulting firm. Hired three months ago."

"That’s the connection," Rama said. "Former military, discharged, commander gets Dragon’s Gate job, suddenly candidate appears with perfect fake credentials. The commander recruited him. Helped create the false identity."

"That’s speculation," Hendra warned. "Not proof."

"Then get me proof. Three hours. I need definitive evidence before trials begin."

2 HOURS UNTIL TRIALS

Rama took a different approach.

He went to the candidate quarters personally. Observed. Watched. Used [Tactical Overseer] to analyze behavior, not documents.

Thirty-nine candidates preparing for trials. Most were nervous. Some praying. Some talking with families. Some meditating.

Rama watched Fajar specifically.

The young man sat alone, checking his phone repeatedly. Texting someone. Deleting messages immediately after sending.

Who deletes texts right before potentially dying in trials? Someone who doesn’t want evidence of communication found on their body if they don’t survive.

Rama circled closer, activating enhanced perception.

Fajar’s micro-expressions when other candidates talked about fears—subtle contempt. Hidden behind sympathetic nods, but there. The body language of someone who didn’t share their emotional investment.

He’s not afraid. Not like the others. Because he’s not actually risking himself. He’s here to sabotage, not succeed.

A candidate approached Fajar. "Hey, you okay? You look tense."

"Just nervous. Like everyone." But his heartbeat—Rama could hear it with Champion perception—was steady. Controlled. Not nervous at all.

Professional. Trained to lie convincingly. Military background makes sense.

Rama returned to the war room.

"It’s Fajar. Candidate 21. I’m certain."

"Based on what?" Sekar asked.

"Behavior analysis. He’s not afraid. Every other candidate shows genuine fear—elevated heart rate, nervous gestures, anxiety tells. Fajar is performing fear. His physiological responses don’t match his displayed emotions. That level of control suggests training. Military training."

"That’s not proof," Hendra said. "That’s perception."

"Champion perception. The same perception that coordinated a perfect clear. Trust me."

Sekar looked at the file. At Rama. Back to the file.

"One hour until trials. If we’re wrong, we destroy an innocent candidate’s dream and create legal nightmare. If we’re right, we prevent sabotage that could kill ten, fifteen candidates instead of six."

"I’m not wrong," Rama said with absolute certainty.

"Then we confront him. Now. Before trials begin."

1 HOUR UNTIL TRIALS

They brought Fajar to a private room. No accusations yet. Just questions.

Sekar sat across from him. Rama stood by the door. Hendra and Sri flanking.

"Fajar," Sekar began gently. "We’re doing final verification on all candidates. Standard procedure. Can you walk us through your background again?"

"Of course, Guild Master." Calm. Professional. "I’m twenty-two. Former military. Served eighteen months before medical discharge six months ago. I’ve been working construction since then. Heard about champion trials, saw it as chance to serve again. To be useful."

"And your medical discharge—what was the specific reason?"

"Knee injury. Training accident. Doctor said I couldn’t handle military physical demands anymore. But trials don’t require same physical capability. Champions use System enhancement."

All reasonable. All rehearsed.

"And your family?" Sekar continued. "Your file says parents in Medan. Have they been contacted? Are they here?"

"They couldn’t make it. Financial constraints. But they support my decision."

"We tried calling them. Number you provided doesn’t connect."

Fajar’s expression didn’t change. But his heartbeat spiked. Rama heard it clearly.

"Really? That’s strange. Maybe wrong number on the form. I can provide correct one."

"Please do."

Fajar pulled out his phone, reading off numbers. "That’s my father’s mobile."

Tech team called immediately. Number rang. Answered.

"Hello, this is Eternal Bond Guild. We’re verifying information for candidate Fajar Santoso."

A pause. Then: "I don’t know anyone named Fajar. You have the wrong number."

The tech team muted the call. "Number belongs to a taxi driver in Jakarta. No relation to candidate."

Sekar’s expression hardened. "Fajar. That’s not your father. Want to try again?"

"I—must have misremembered. Let me check my contacts—"

"Stop," Rama said quietly. "We know. Dragon’s Gate plant. False identity. You’re here to sabotage trials. Increase casualties. Create leverage for your employers."

Fajar’s calm facade cracked. Just slightly. But enough.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Your former unit commander works for Dragon’s Gate subsidiary," Sekar said. "Hired three months ago. Same time your identity was created. You’re not Fajar Santoso. You’re someone else. Working for Dragon’s Gate. Sent to sabotage."

"That’s insane. I’m a legitimate candidate—"

"You delete your texts immediately after sending," Rama interrupted. "You show no genuine fear despite trials starting in fifty minutes. Your physiological responses don’t match your emotional displays. You’re performing nervousness while actually being calm. That suggests professional training. Training to lie. To infiltrate. To sabotage."

Silence.

Fajar stared at them. Calculating. Assessing whether to maintain cover or break.

Then he smiled. Cold. Professional.

"Impressive. Especially the physiological analysis. That’s Champion perception, I assume. Reading heartbeats, micro-expressions, tells that normal people miss."

"Confession?" Sekar asked.

"Acknowledgment. You’re right. I’m not Fajar Santoso. That identity was created three months ago. Very good identity. Cost Dragon’s Gate significant money. Impressive that you broke it in seven hours."

"What was your mission?"

"Sabotage from inside. Disrupt other candidates during trials. Cause chain failures. Turn expected six deaths into twelve, fifteen. Make trials look incompetent. Force Eternal Bond to accept Dragon’s Gate partnership." He leaned back. "But you caught me. So mission failed. Congratulations."

"Who are you really?"

"Does it matter? I’m just a contractor. Arif hired me. Paid well. Nothing personal against your guild. Just business."

"Business that would’ve killed innocent candidates," Rama said coldly.

"Casualties of guild warfare. Happens." No remorse. Just professional assessment.

Sekar stood. "You’re removed from trials. Security will escort you out. And we’re filing charges. Criminal conspiracy. Attempted murder. Fraud. Enjoy explaining this to authorities."

"Dragon’s Gate will cover legal costs. I’ll be fine." Fajar stood calmly. "But you should know—I was just one approach. Arif has backups. Contingencies. You stopped this sabotage. There are others."

"What others?"

"If I knew, I’d be incompetent operative. Arif compartmentalizes. I knew my mission. Not anyone else’s." He smiled. "Good luck with trials. You’ll need it."

Security escorted him out.

The room went silent.

"Other sabotage," Sri said quietly. "He confirmed there are other approaches we haven’t found."

"Then we find them," Sekar said. "Thirty minutes until trials. We check everything again. Equipment, medical supplies, personnel. If there’s another sabotage point, we eliminate it."

"Or we proceed knowing sabotage might succeed," Hendra said. "Accept higher casualties. Deal with aftermath."

"No," Rama said firmly. "We found Fajar. We’ll find anything else. Thirty minutes. Maximum effort."

Teams mobilized again. Checking. Re-checking. Verifying.

But as the clock ticked down to trial start time, they found nothing else.

Either Fajar was bluffing about backups.

Or the other sabotage was too well hidden.

Or—

Rama’s blood ran cold as realization hit.

"Sekar. What if the sabotage isn’t in our systems? What if it’s in the candidates themselves?"

"What do you mean?"

"Fajar was supposed to sabotage others during trials. From inside. What if there’s a second plant? Another Dragon’s Gate operative among the remaining thirty-eight?"

"We removed all suspects. The eight we investigated—seven were cleared, Fajar was identified."

"We investigated males in their twenties matching Yanto’s initial profile. What if Yanto’s information was incomplete? What if there’s a plant we didn’t suspect because they don’t match the expected profile?"

"Female plant?" Sri suggested. "Older? Younger?"

"Or someone whose credentials are so perfect we never suspected them at all."

Sekar pulled up the remaining thirty-eight candidates.

Thirty-eight faces. Thirty-eight backgrounds. Thirty-eight potential saboteurs.

And five minutes until trials began.

Not enough time to investigate all of them.

Not enough time to find a needle in a haystack.

"We proceed," Sekar decided. "We watch carefully during trials. Enhanced monitoring. If anyone shows sabotage behavior, we intervene immediately. But we can’t delay trials based on paranoia. Families are waiting. Media is watching. We proceed."

"Agreed," Hendra said. "Maximum monitoring. Immediate intervention if suspicious."

Rama nodded reluctantly. It was the only option.

But as they headed to the trial chambers, he couldn’t shake the feeling.

Fajar was too easy. Too obvious once we looked closely. Arif is smarter than that. He wouldn’t rely on one plant we could find.

There’s another saboteur. Hidden better. Prepared better. Waiting for trials to begin.

And we’re about to send thirty-eight candidates into trial chambers without knowing who it is.

Dawn broke over Eternal Bond headquarters.

Thirty-eight candidates assembled in the trial preparation area.

Families watching from observation rooms.

Media cameras positioned at respectful distances.

Everything ready.

Everything prepared.

Everything checked and re-checked.

Except for the saboteur they hadn’t found.

The saboteur who was about to enter trials alongside thirty-seven innocent candidates.

The saboteur who would try to turn six expected deaths into catastrophe.

Rama looked at the assembled candidates. Searching faces. Reading body language. Trying to identify the threat before trials began.

But everyone looked nervous. Everyone looked scared. Everyone looked genuine.

One of them is acting. One of them is Dragon’s Gate operative. One of them is about to try to kill the others.

But which one?

Sekar’s hand found his. Squeezed.

"We do our best. That’s all we can do."

"What if our best isn’t enough? What if the saboteur succeeds?"

"Then we handle it. Together. Like everything else."

The trial coordinator called out: "First batch of ten candidates. Please enter the trial chambers."

Ten candidates stepped forward. Nervous. Scared. Determined.

One of them might be the saboteur.

Or the saboteur might be in later batches.

Or Fajar was bluffing and there was no other saboteur.

No way to know.

The trial chambers sealed.

The System activated.

Champion Worthiness Trials began.

And Rama could only watch.

And hope they’d found all the sabotage.

And pray that if they hadn’t, they could stop it before it killed anyone.

The countdown was over.

The trials had begun.

And somewhere in the thirty-eight candidates, a Dragon’s Gate operative was preparing to strike.