Shadow Husband:I Have a Hidden SSS-Class System-Chapter 27: INTERROGATION

The drive to the penthouse was silent except for the sound of Rama’s labored breathing.

Sekar drove with mechanical precision, her knuckles white on the steering wheel. Sari and Budi followed on their motorcycles, a cautious distance behind.

Rama pressed his hand against the chest wound. The bleeding had slowed but hadn’t stopped. His [Titan’s Endurance] was working overtime, but Kuro’s Shadow Edge technique was preventing proper healing.

[HP: 31/159]

[WARNING: PERSISTENT WOUND DETECTED]

[REGENERATION REDUCED BY 80%]

The System was telling him what he already knew—he was dying slowly.

"How bad?" Sekar asked without taking her eyes off the road.

"Bad. The wound won’t close properly."

"Why?"

"Special technique. Designed to kill Players."

"Players." She said the word like it tasted bitter. "We’re going to have a very long conversation about what that means."

They arrived at the building. Sekar parked in her reserved spot, ignoring the No Motorcycles sign as Sari and Budi pulled in beside her.

In the elevator, Sekar finally looked at the other two Players. Her S-Rank perception analyzed them completely in three seconds.

"You," she said to Sari. "Level 34. Assassin-type class. Combat experience equivalent to B-Rank." She turned to Budi. "You. Level 43. Tank specialization. You’ve killed before. Recently."

Budi’s expression didn’t change. "Last week. Corrupted dungeon boss."

"Liar. You’ve killed humans." Sekar’s voice was flat. "I can smell it. Three days ago. Two victims. Defensive wounds on your knuckles that are still healing."

The elevator was silent.

"Ascended Players," Budi said finally. "They attacked a civilian family to get to their daughter—a new Player. We intervened. Two of them died. The rest fled."

"So you have a war happening," Sekar said. "And my husband is in the middle of it."

Nobody answered.

The elevator reached the top floor.

Inside the penthouse, Sekar gestured to the couch. "Sit. All of you. Don’t touch anything. Don’t move without permission."

Her S-Rank aura was fully unleashed now—a crushing pressure that made breathing difficult for anyone without significant power.

Rama collapsed onto the couch. Sari and Budi remained standing, professional and wary.

Sekar disappeared into the bedroom and returned with a massive first aid kit—the kind designed for field surgery on high-rank Hunters. She knelt in front of Rama and started cutting away his blood-soaked shirt.

The wound was ugly. Deep. Black veins of corrupt energy spreading from the edges.

"Shadow Edge technique," Sari said quietly. "It prevents normal healing by injecting shadow mana directly into the wound. If left untreated, it will slowly kill him over the next six to eight hours."

Sekar’s hands paused. "How do I treat it?"

"You can’t. Not with normal methods. We need a Player healer or specialized System healing items."

"Where do I get those?"

"The Network has a healer. I can call her, but she’s in Bandung. Three hours away minimum."

Sekar looked at Rama’s HP—somehow she could see his status, probably through some S-Rank ability.

"He doesn’t have three hours."

"I know."

Sekar’s jaw clenched. She pulled out her phone.

"What are you doing?" Rama asked weakly.

"Calling someone who can help." She dialed. Waited. "Director Hartono. I need your personal healer. Now. My location. No questions." She paused, listening. "I’ll explain everything later. Just send them. I don’t care what they’re doing." Another pause. "Good. Ten minutes."

She hung up.

"You just called the Association," Budi said flatly.

"I called the one person who can save my husband’s life." Sekar’s eyes were hard. "And yes, he’ll have questions. You have ten minutes to decide how you want to handle that."

Sari and Budi exchanged looks.

"If Hartono learns about Players from you—" Sari began.

"Then he learns about Players from me." Sekar interrupted. "My husband is dying. Everything else is secondary."

"That’s not your call to make," Budi said. "The Network—"

"Can go to hell." Sekar stood, her aura intensifying. "I’ve been patient. I’ve listened to lies for weeks. I’ve watched my husband sneak around, come home injured, and refuse to tell me what’s really happening. And now he’s dying from a wound that shouldn’t exist, attacked by people I didn’t know were a threat." Her voice was ice. "So here’s how this works. You have ten minutes to tell me everything. Every secret. Every truth. Every lie. And then when Director Hartono arrives, we all decide together how much he learns. Or I tell him everything myself and let the Association sort it out."

The ultimatum was clear. Absolute.

Rama looked at Sari and Budi. "Do it. Tell her."

"Rama—"

"That’s an order from someone who’s bleeding out on your behalf." His voice was weak but firm. "She deserves the truth. All of it."

Another long silence.

Then Sari sat down across from Sekar and began to speak.

She talked for eight minutes straight.

The System. The Players. How it chose people seemingly at random. The exponential growth. The hidden abilities. The double lives.

The Player Network. Ratna’s coordination. Monthly gatherings. Information sharing. The unspoken rules about secrecy.

The Ascended. Their ideology. The recruitment tactics. The assassination cell. Shadow Killer. The three dead Players in one week.

And finally, Rama’s role in all of it. His C-Rank solo clear that shouldn’t have been possible. His rapid level gain. The Forge training. His marriage to an S-Rank making him a target.

Sekar listened without interrupting, her expression unreadable.

When Sari finished, the silence was deafening.

"Show me," Sekar said finally.

"Show you what?"

"Your System. This interface you claim gives you power."

Sari pulled up her System status and projected it—a holographic display only visible to Players and those they chose to share with.

[PLAYER: SARI]

[LEVEL: 34]

[CLASS: PHANTOM BLADE]

Sekar studied it for a long moment. Then she turned to Rama. "Show me yours."

Rama hesitated.

"Show. Me."

He pulled up his full status for the first time without hiding anything.

[PLAYER STATUS]

Name: Rama Kusuma

Level: 35

Class: Vanguard (Evolving)

Titles: Solo Conqueror, Dedicated Student, Lone Hunter

STATS:

Strength: 82

Agility: 70

Vitality: 153

Intelligence: 70

Mana: 90

HP: 31/159 (CRITICAL)

Sekar stared at the numbers. At the level. At the stats that dwarfed his official registration.

"Level 35," she said quietly. "Your official registration says level 28. E-Rank."

"Yes."

"Everything you told me—the breakthrough, the rapid growth, the training results—all of it was a cover story."

"Yes."

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long have you had this System?"

Rama’s throat tightened. "Since the day I died in that C-Rank dungeon. Twenty-six days ago."

"Twenty-six days." Sekar’s laugh was bitter. "Twenty-six days of lying to my face. Every morning. Every night. Every conversation."

"Sekar—"

"Don’t." She stood, pacing away. "I’ve been investigating you for two weeks. I had evidence. Suspicions. I gave you six days to come clean on your terms." She turned. "And you would have kept lying for all six days, wouldn’t you?"

"I—"

"Wouldn’t you?"

The accusation hung there, undeniable.

"Yes," Rama admitted. "I would have."

"Why?"

"Because I knew you’d try to stop me. Lock me away. Keep me safe by keeping me controlled."

"Is that what you think of me?" Her voice cracked slightly. "That I’m some monster who would cage you?"

"You’re not a monster. You’re terrified of losing me. And that fear makes you controlling."

"I’m controlling because you keep almost dying!" Sekar’s composure finally broke. "Three weeks ago, you nearly died in a C-Rank dungeon. Two nights ago, you disabled your emergency beacon and went into another C-Rank that could have killed you. Tonight, an assassin nearly murdered you in a convenience store. When exactly should I stop being terrified?"

Rama had no answer.

The doorbell rang.

Hartono’s healer had arrived.

Sekar buzzed them up without a word. An older woman with the calm efficiency of a high-level healer entered, assessed Rama’s wound in three seconds, and got to work.

"Shadow Edge technique," she identified immediately. "Nasty. I’ll need to burn out the corrupt mana before I can heal the wound. This will hurt."

"Do it," Rama said.

Her hands glowed white-gold. Pain erupted through Rama’s chest as the corrupt energy was forcibly purged.

[DEBUFF REMOVED: SHADOW EDGE]

[HP REGENERATION RESTORED]

[HP: 31 → 67 → 103]

The wound began closing. Not completely—the damage was too severe—but enough to stop the dying process.

"He’ll need rest and proper healing potions. But he’ll live." The healer packed her supplies. "Director Hartono will want a full report about what required emergency services at three in the morning."

She left.

Sekar, Rama, Sari, and Budi sat in heavy silence.

"Here’s what’s going to happen," Sekar said finally, her Guild Master voice fully engaged. "I’m going to call Director Hartono and tell him that Rama was attacked by a hostile Hunter using illegal techniques. That’s true. I’m going to tell him the attacker escaped and is still at large. Also true. I will not mention Players or the System."

"Why?" Sari asked.

"Because if the Association learns about this, they’ll try to control it. Weaponize it. And my husband will become a government asset instead of a person." She looked at Rama. "I won’t let that happen. No matter how angry I am."

"Thank you," Rama said quietly.

"Don’t thank me. I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it because it’s the right tactical decision." She turned to Sari and Budi. "You two need to leave. Now. Before Hartono asks too many questions."

They stood.

"One more thing," Sekar added. "Tell your Network coordinator—Ratna, was it?—that an S-Rank Guild Master now knows about Players. And while I won’t expose you, I will be watching. If any Player threatens civilians or causes problems in my city, I will handle it personally."

"Understood," Sari said.

They left through the balcony exit—apparently preferring to climb down thirty floors rather than risk the elevator.

Finally, Sekar and Rama were alone.

She sat across from him, exhausted and furious and hurt all at once.

"I need time," she said. "Time to process this. Time to decide if I can trust you again. Time to figure out what this means for us."

"How much time?"

"I don’t know. Days. Maybe weeks." She stood. "You can stay here tonight. But starting tomorrow, I want space. Real space. Not you sneaking around and lying—actual, honest distance while I figure out if this relationship can survive what you’ve done to it."

"Sekar—"

"I love you," she interrupted. "I need you to know that. I love you so much it terrifies me. But love isn’t enough when there’s no trust." She headed for the bedroom. "Get some rest. We’ll talk more tomorrow."

The bedroom door closed.

Rama sat alone in the living room, his chest half-healed, his marriage hanging by a thread, and his secrets finally exposed.

[Hidden Quest Progress: 23/30]

[New Objective: Repair Broken Trust]

[Days Remaining: 4]

His phone buzzed. Message from Sari.

[SARI: Network emergency meeting. Tomorrow night. Mandatory. Your wife compromised operational security. There will be consequences.]

And another from an unknown number.

[UNKNOWN: The Architect knows about tonight. You embarrassed Shadow Killer. That’s unforgivable. Watch your back. This isn’t over. -H]

Hasan. The Ascended recruiter.

Rama closed his eyes.

His wife knew the truth and might leave him.

The Network blamed him for exposing them.

The Ascended were coming back.

And he still had four days to complete his hidden quest while gaining fifteen levels.

Everything was falling apart.

But at least the lying was over.

For better or worse.

The truth was finally out.