SSS-Class Profession: The Path to Mastery
Chapter 310: Breathing Room

Chapter 310: Breathing Room

We had forty-two hours left.

I kept telling myself that.

Forty-two hours.

It wasn’t as bad as twenty-four or zero.

But it didn’t help.

The moment I stepped back into the precinct, the air felt wrong. Everyone was talking in hushed voices, a tension so thick it clung to skin and clothes, impossible to wash off. The captains had dispersed, back to their sectors to maintain the illusion of normalcy. Grant stayed, the bags under his eyes heavier, his posture hunched, as if he were carrying the entire precinct on his shoulders.

But it wasn’t him carrying it.

It was me.

And I had no idea what to do now.

We couldn’t stall anymore. The borders couldn’t come down, the archives couldn’t be opened, not in forty-two hours, not even in a week if we tried. The system was a leviathan, slow and choking, and even if we burned the city’s rulebook, we wouldn’t be able to meet Hyena’s demands. Not to mention that the very demand was out of the book to begin with.

I was out of moves.

I paced the hall, boots thumping against the cracked tiles. Each step felt heavier than the last, the weight of every family on my shoulders pressing harder with every hour that ticked by.

Anthony was out there, somewhere in the dark, crawling dead channels, poking into corners Hyena might have overlooked, looking for something—anything. But Hyena wasn’t some amateur kid with a laptop in a basement. He was an S-Rank hacker, and he knew how to hide. Anthony could fail.

And if Anthony failed, those families would die.

It was hard to breathe.

"Reynard."

Grant’s voice pulled me from the spiral, but only for a moment.

"What?"

He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. His lips moved, then stopped, and he shook his head.

I clenched my fists, breathing in, breathing out, pretending that would help.

It didn’t.

There was nothing more to do here. I needed to think, and I couldn’t think in this building, not with the fluorescent lights buzzing above, not with the whispers, not with the pity in Grant’s eyes.

I needed to go home.

It wasn’t like Hyena didn’t know where I lived.

If he wanted to attack me, he would.

If he wanted to harm the girls, he could try.

The least I could do was spend what might be the last forty-two hours somewhere that didn’t smell like burnt coffee and fear.

I didn’t realize how cold the streets were until I started walking towards the taxi that and the neon lights flickering against the wet pavement creating puddles of refracted fractured colors which somewhat calmed me. The driver drove off without me having to say anything as my house was known by everyone by now. All I saw outside was the city’s blur of passing lights and shadow mixed with the tapping rain against the windshield with a rhythm that matched the headache I was having.

It pulled into the driveway, cutting the engine. For a moment, I just sat there, hands gripping the wheel, staring at the front door.

It was late, but the lights were on.

They were waiting for me.

The door opened with a soft click, the warm air of home spilling over me like a blanket I didn’t deserve. The faint scent of vanilla and something sweet—Sienna’s baking, probably—hung in the air, softening the sharp edges in my mind.

I heard them before I saw them, the quiet laughter, the hum of the TV, the soft rustle of blankets.

They were all in the living room.

Sienna was sprawled on the couch, her hair tied up, a bowl of popcorn in her lap. Camille was beside her, legs tucked under her, eyes on the TV but her hands busy scrolling through her phone. For once she didn’t look so tired, I guess she wasn’t lying when she said she’s a night owl. Alexis was curled up on the other end, hugging a pillow, her eyes bright, her expression soft.

Evelyn was sitting on the floor, leaning back against the couch, with a blindfold that she likely put on upon hearing the click of the door. Her head was tilted toward the sound of the movie, a small smile on her lips.

They didn’t see me at first.

I let myself watch them for a moment, memorizing the way they filled the room with warmth, the way the air felt lighter with them in it. For a moment, I could almost pretend everything was normal.

Then Camille’s eyes flicked up, and she smiled.

"Hey, you’re home," she said, her voice soft, warm, like it always was.

Sienna glanced back, grinning. "Finally. We were about to start another movie without you."

Alexis waved, her hand a blur, her smile bright. "Come sit!"

Evelyn’s head turned slightly, her blindfold shifting. "You’re tense."

I froze.

I hadn’t said a word.

But Evelyn’s Psychological Insight was sharper than most scanners or lie detectors. She could feel it.

"Work’s been stressful," I said, forcing a calm I didn’t feel, dropping my keys in the bowl by the door, kicking off my shoes.

"It’s nothing to worry about."

She tilted her head, and for a moment, it felt like her blindfolded gaze pierced straight through me.

She knew I was lying.

But she didn’t press.

"Come sit," she said instead, patting the floor beside her.

I put my coat and mask away as I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and moved to the couch. Sienna pulled me down beside her, Camille shifting to give me space, Alexis leaning in, her warmth pressing against my side. Evelyn leaned back until her shoulder touched my leg, grounding me.

The TV played on, the flicker of light dancing across the room, illuminating their faces in flashes.

They were watching a movie about a bank robbery, of all things.

The irony would have been funny if I wasn’t too tired to laugh.

I wasn’t really watching. The movie blurred in front of me, the sound muffled, the images blending together.

But the warmth was real.

Camille’s hand found mine, squeezing gently.

Sienna leaned her head on my shoulder, her hair tickling my neck.

Alexis hugged my arm, her small frame pressing close.

Evelyn’s head rested against my knee, her breathing calm and even.

For the first time in days, the tension in my chest loosened, just a fraction, just enough to let me breathe.

My eyes grew heavy, the weight of exhaustion pulling at me, the warmth of them surrounding me, comforting, steady, safe.

Sleep was a luxury I couldn’t afford right now.

But in that moment, I didn’t care.

I drifted, the sounds of the movie a distant hum, the rise and fall of their breathing a lullaby.

For a while, there was nothing but warmth and darkness.

A quiet, peaceful darkness.

I heard the girls mumbling about me snoozing, but they didn’t move, they simply made sure not to wake me up.

I don’t know how long I was out, but when I woke, the movie was near its end. The room was dark, lit only by the soft glow of the TV, the credits rolling.

On the screen, I saw the criminals being arrested, their hands cuffed, their heads bowed.

And something clicked.

An idea.

It was small, a flicker, but it was enough to pierce through the fog.

My eyes snapped open, my heart pounding, not with fear, but with something else.

Hope.

I shifted, and the girls stirred, Camille glancing at me, Sienna lifting her head, Alexis tightening her grip on my arm.

"Reynard?" Camille asked softly.

"Sorry...I just figured something out."

I kissed all their cheeks before pulling away, standing, moving toward the board in my personal office, filled with a mish mash of random documents and information regarding my jobs these last 2 years.

I had an idea.

A plan.

Something that might just work.

Hyena thought he had control.

But maybe, just maybe, it was time to remind him that he wasn’t the only predator in this city.