The rain had stopped. But the silence between them was worse.
Lin Chen stood near the reinforced console at the heart of his safehouse, half-shrouded in blue system light. Across from him, Li Chu leaned against the wall, arms folded, eyes unreadable.
"I still don't buy it," she finally said.
He raised an eyebrow. "Which part?"
She pointed to the air where the system's projection had been moments ago. "That thing. That interface you control. It's not a coincidence you suddenly went from a struggling nobody to a CEO, dodging bullets and blinking through walls like you're in some sci-fi thriller. What's really going on, Lin Chen?"
He hesitated.
[System Prompt: Side Mission Active – "Disarm Li Chu's Suspicion"][Progress: 37%][Hint: A lie wrapped in truth is more effective than truth wrapped in doubt.]
He sighed. "You're right. It's not coincidence. I was part of a failed program… something secret. The Genesis Initiative."
Her eyes narrowed. "Never heard of it."
"You weren't meant to." His voice dropped. "It was shut down after too many... side effects. I didn't even remember it until recently. But now—my body, my mind—things are waking up."
"You make it sound like it was done to you."
"It was," he said sharply. "When my father's company collapsed, it wasn't just about money. They used that as leverage. They took me—without consent. I was just a kid. I think you were involved too. Somehow."
Li Chu's expression didn't change, but her fingers twitched—just once.
"I don't remember anything."
He nodded slowly. "Neither did I. Until the memory fragments started returning."
Li Chu's Flashback
She closed her eyes. For a moment, silence fell over the room. Then—
She was in a hallway. White walls. A humming sound. Electrodes on her temple. The smell of metal and antiseptic. Her own voice screaming in protest.
She gasped, stumbling backward.
"What… what was that?"
"Your first fragment," Lin Chen said quietly.
She looked up at him, breathing hard. "What did they do to us?"
Between Emotion and Instinct
Something softened in her face as she looked at him—more fear than anger now, more uncertainty than suspicion.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she whispered.
"Because I didn't know who you were to them. Or if you were still working for them."
A beat.
"And now?"
"I'm not sure," he said honestly. "But you didn't shoot me when you had the chance."
She let out a laugh that wasn't laughter. "Don't tempt me."
Then came the silence again—but this time, warmer.
A Complication
[System Alert: Hostile Ping Detected – 11km Radius][Warning: Signature matches Subject #09 – Active Status: Rogue | Ability: Sound Resonance Manipulation]
Lin Chen's eyes narrowed.
"We've got company. Another one."
Li Chu snapped to alert. "What kind of company?"
"One of the others like Zhao Tian. Hostile. And getting closer."
[Side Mission Updated – Li Chu's Suspicion: 75% Resolved][New Objective: Let her witness your purpose.]
The Test
Li Chu stepped beside him. "What do we do?"
"We don't run."
Twenty Minutes Later – Rooftop Confrontation
The wind was sharp, slicing across the top of the adjacent skyscraper. Lin Chen stood alone under the moonlight, system interface active in his vision, data pouring in as footsteps echoed from across the rooftop.
And then he saw him.
The new hostile: Subject #09. Tall, wiry, eyes glowing faint silver, with tiny tuning fork-like implants jutting from his neck.
"You're the one from the video," the man said. His voice carried an unnatural reverb. "The golden boy. Erebus isn't happy."
"Erebus can wait in line," Lin Chen replied.
[Combat Simulation Module Active – Enemy Skill Profile: Acoustic Compression, Echo Displacement, Harmonic Stun][Estimated Risk Level: 6.2/10]
The man smiled—and disappeared in a pulse of reverb.
BLAM.
A sonic wave struck where Lin Chen had been, cracking concrete.
But he wasn't there.
[Quantum Evasion Activated]
He reappeared to the left, mid-air, flipping to the far side of the roof. His landing was clean this time—Spatial Balance kicking in.
"Nice trick," Subject 09 hissed.
Then he screamed.
The sound wasn't loud—it was focused, cutting the air in a spear-like ripple.
Lin Chen dove, barely avoiding it—rolling, flaring the system's energy to buffer the blow. His ears rang, vision flickering.
[Activating: System Counter Protocol – Sonic Shield Beta]
A thin dome shimmered to life just as the next wave hit.
This one shattered the edge of the rooftop.
Li Chu Enters
From the side stairwell, Li Chu emerged, eyes wide.
She saw Lin Chen moving with non-human agility, calling out tactics mid-fight to something only he could see, shielding himself with energy that shimmered and bent light.
And she saw the enemy.
"Lin!" she shouted—and the man turned.
In that second, the distraction was fatal.
[Engage – Counterstrike]
Lin Chen blinked behind him and drove the shock-dagger into the enemy's spine.
Subject 09 screamed, limbs seizing, waves of sound bursting outward and disintegrating the nearby satellite dishes.
Then—
Silence.
The man fell.
[Enemy Host Defeated – Memory Fragment Acquired][System Processing New Data – Origin Point: "Helix Zero" confirmed.]
Aftermath
They sat on the rooftop edge, looking out at the city.
Neither spoke for a while.
Then Li Chu turned to him. "You're not human anymore."
He glanced at her. "Maybe. But I'm still me."
She looked down. "I saw what you did for those people in the explosion. You saved them. No hesitation. And just now—if you hadn't blinked when you did—"
"I wouldn't be here."
She nodded. "I don't trust what's happening to you. But I trust you."
A pause.
"I want in."
He looked at her sharply.
"I want to know everything. All of it. From the beginning."
System Notification
[Side Mission Complete – Li Chu's Suspicion Resolved][New Bond Formed: Trusted Companion – Li Chu][System Bonus Activated: Synchronization Field – Shared Data Uplink enabled. Status: Passive Monitoring Initiated.]
Closing Scene: Erebus Council
A conference room. Dozens of black suits. A screen displaying Lin Chen's face, frozen mid-combat.
"He's stronger than projected," said a woman with silver streaks in her hair.
The man at the head of the table tapped a finger on the table.
"Then it's time," he said coldly.
"Activate Project: Umbra."