Dopamine Addiction - Chapter 71

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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71.
At first, he didn’t know why. Liam seemed no different than usual, yet something had seized her chest with an icy grip.
Then she realized—he wasn’t smiling. It was deeply strange. Liam’s face always wore a loose, easy smile.
Especially when he looked at Hee-ju.
A nameless unease settled over her. A smiling Liam and an invisible Hee-ju.
Noel shook her head deliberately. Perhaps her instinct was wrong. After all, she’d never been good at reading a room.
Noel forced brightness into her voice as she asked.
“Where’s Hee-ju, Liam? Did she go out for pizza? Should we play cards again today? Lucas and I practiced hard, so this time you won’t be able to beat me.”
“Kid.”
“I’m not a ki—”
Noel’s words trailed off. The ominous premonition had swollen too large to ignore.
The forced smile she’d plastered on faded slowly away. The air seemed to strangle her throat.
She swallowed hard, her mouth dry. Carefully, she opened her lips.
“Tell me.”
“I need your help with something.”
“Of course. But where’s Hee-ju—”
“She’s been taken. By the Russian Mafia.”

Noel’s eyes went wide. Her heart plummeted, hitting something solid with a dull thud. She looked down quickly.
Fortunately, she didn’t see her heart rolling across the floor. It must have stayed in place.
No, wait.
“Hee-ju… the Russian Mafia.”
Noel blinked rapidly, trying to parse the words she’d just heard. Unable to bear the silence, Liam spoke again.
“Here’s the thing.”
Noel’s gaze fell slowly.
Liam’s voice carried no emotion. His expression was equally blank. He was Liam, but not the Liam she knew.
Then who was this man before her? This figure exhaling the chill of death itself.
I’m frightened.
The thought came unbidden, and Noel’s fists clenched.
“I need your help.”
“Of course. I’ll do anything. Whatever you need—just tell me.”
“Can you get the blueprints for Sergei’s residence?”
“Do you know the address?”
Liam nodded. Noel fell silent for a moment, then answered.
“It should be registered on the City Hall website. They would have submitted the blueprints when the building was constructed.”
“How long will it take?”
“To hack the City Hall website? Ten minutes.”
Noel bent down and opened the door beneath the glass wall.
“Come in. But…”
She asked, suspicion coloring her voice.
“Why do you need the blueprints? Don’t tell me you’re planning to rescue Hee-ju yourself?”
Without a word, Liam followed her into the Workspace.
“How many police units will respond? Surely the SWAT team will be deployed? Finally, my taxes are being put to good use. They squeeze us so mercilessly for them.”

“Speaking of which, security in San Francisco has gone to hell. It’s like the police don’t even exist anymore. The Russian Mafia runs wild because of corrupt cops. They take bribes and look the other way.”
Noel’s rambling suddenly stopped.
She knew well that she lacked intuition. She’d heard it her whole life.
But in this moment, it occurred to her that perhaps, just perhaps, she might have developed some. It was an encouraging thought.
As she booted up the computer, Noel turned back to Liam, her expression suspicious.
“You’re not… going alone, are you? With no police, no SWAT team?”
Liam looked down at his wristwatch. A Rolex Cosmograph Daytona—or formally, a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona.
“Nine minutes and twenty-five seconds left.”
“Um. Yes.”
Noel made an unintelligible sound and spun her chair around. Her fingers flew across the keyboard.
She hated Liam when he didn’t smile. He felt like a stranger.
***
A low rumble.
The sky growled like an enraged beast. Rain seemed imminent.
Snow would have suited the season, but the weather had been mild lately—rain was far more likely than snow.
Either way, both were a nuisance.
Liam’s eyes left the sky as he raised the car window. When he turned his head, Noel stared at him with a tense expression.
Yet she couldn’t hide the anxiety beneath. Liam muttered under his breath.
“Hee-ju will have my head. For dragging you into this.”
“That statement has several errors. First, I’m not a kid. Second, you didn’t drag me in—I jumped in of my own will. And third.”
Noel continued firmly.
“A scolding is when an adult reprimands a child for doing wrong. Neither you nor I have done anything wrong. We’re just rescuing Hee-ju. If anything, we deserve praise.”
“Then I’ll be the one getting scolded.”
“Why? What did you do wrong?”
Liam nodded, staring through the windshield ahead.
“I let go of Hee-ju’s hand.”

“If I’d never let her go alone, none of this would have happened. So it’s all my fault.”
Noel stared blankly at his profile. His expressionless face seemed twisted with pain.
She wanted to say something. But she didn’t know what.
She wished Hee-ju or Lucas were here.
As Noel’s gaze fell, the sky growled once more. A deep rumble.
Liam glanced at her.
“Looks like it’s about to pour.”
“Yes.”
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Noel swallowed hard. She tried deep breathing, but her heart refused to settle.
She hesitated, then spoke. “Um.” Liam’s gaze snapped toward her.
“You’re really going to infiltrate from the back of the building?”
Liam nodded matter-of-factly.
Noel looked toward the Residence. Though she couldn’t see it from here, she’d glimpsed the sheer, jagged Cliff earlier with Liam.
“…Yes.”
It was the weakest point in the perimeter. But wouldn’t you die trying to climb it? Then I’d have to rescue both of you—can I even do that?
No. I have to. No matter what, I have to pull this off!
Noel straightened up, her eyes on the Laptop. The screen displayed the Residence’s floor plan, obtained through her hack into City Hall’s website.
“You know the Cliff isn’t made of just one type of rock. The reddish stone is Chert—a sedimentary rock formed from the accumulation of tiny marine organism remains. The dark gray or greenish Sandstone is hard stone, and Basalt is reddish-brown or green. Serpentinite is scattered throughout as well.”
Though she knew she should stop, Noel couldn’t keep her mouth shut. When anxious, she became a runaway mouth beyond her own control.
“Be careful with the Chert—it tends to crumble and fall away in your hands. Serpentinite is slippery, so watch your footing. Put your weight on it wrong and it’ll just crumble to nothing.”
Instead of answering, Liam reviewed the blueprints he’d already memorized, then looked back at Noel.
“Stay in touch.”
“Don’t worry. I know what I have to do. First, I’ll access the Residence’s server and disable the Security System—”
Before Noel could finish, Liam opened the driver’s door and stepped out. “Liam!” she called after him.
A man dressed entirely in black, black Gloves on his hands—a living shadow, moving slowly as he turned back.
“You have to bring Hee-ju back.”
Liam let out a soft laugh. Or seemed to, at least. The darkness made it hard to tell.
He melted into the shadows and vanished from sight in an instant. His parting words reached her ears a moment later.
“That’s the plan.”
Noel snapped to attention and began setting up her equipment rapidly. Her only role was support—she couldn’t afford a single mistake.
Another rumble shook the sky, raw and violent. Noel’s brow furrowed. Her voice came out tight with worry.
“The rain can’t come. Not now.”
***
Liam stood at the base of the Cliff, surveying the area. Black stone lay scattered across the sandy beach, and above it rose a Cliff easily dozens of meters tall.
At its edge stood the Residence. The modern gray structure looked like a black shadow swallowed by darkness.
With each gust of wind, enormous waves crashed over the rocks. They shattered into spray against the stone.
With fluid grace, Liam vaulted over the scattered boulders and reached the base of the Cliff.
Rocks of all sizes lay tangled together with neither rhyme nor reason, bound solid only by the passage of time.
Liam gripped a suitable handhold. After confirming his footing with his eyes, he hoisted himself up. He pressed himself against the Cliff face and wedged his feet into a narrow crevice.
Then he stretched his arms and grasped a jutting stone firmly. Like a Climbing athlete scouting holds, he began ascending the Cliff slowly, methodically.
Despite the cold, sweat beaded on his forehead. But then—

Tap. Tap-tap. A droplet fell on his brow.
He thought it might be spray from the waves, but the drops grew fatter. The sky had stopped hesitating; it was finally beginning to rain.
“When it rains, it pours.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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