The air was heavy with humidity as the stormfront rolled over the city. The sky above buzzed with static — too quiet, too expectant, like something was about to happen.
Lin Chen sat cross-legged on the floor of his safehouse, eyes closed, surrounded by glowing system code. It floated like ethereal ink in the dim room, swirling in calculated spirals.
Across from him, Li Chu watched with a wary calm, one hand resting near the grip of her custom sidearm. She had been observing the system's patterns for nearly two hours and still couldn't wrap her mind around how something so advanced could exist outside of every known form of tech regulation.
Then it came.
[System Alert: Hidden Mission Unlocked][Mission Code: CH_57_OMNIVIRUS][Title: "Track the Unstable Host"][Description: An Erebus-modified system host has gone rogue after viral corruption. Trace the anomaly and retrieve its memory shard.][Reward: Temporary Psychic Sense – "Empathic Detection" + 150,000 Gold Coins][Risk Level: Extreme]
The display flashed blood-red.
Li Chu leaned forward. "That doesn't look like your usual mission."
Lin Chen's fingers twitched. "It's not. This one's hidden—unplanned. Which means it's dangerous even by system standards."
"Where is this host?"
[Location Beacon: South District – Slums Sector F][Time Sensitivity: 12 Hours Before Host Enters Critical Instability]
"South District?" Li Chu frowned. "That's the abandoned zone. Last time we were there, even the rats wore body armor."
"Then we gear up," Lin Chen said, standing. His eyes glowed faintly in the dark. "We've got 12 hours before this thing mutates beyond retrieval."
Slums Sector F – Three Hours Later
The street was silent. Buildings leaned like dying giants, crumbling into the asphalt. Power lines crackled occasionally above them, and graffiti layered over itself in chaotic stacks on every wall.
Li Chu pulled her scarf higher over her nose. "I forgot what this place smelled like. It's... rotten future."
"Stay sharp," Lin Chen said, tapping a switch on his wrist module. "System, begin sweep."
[Empathic Detection Activated][Scanning... scanning...][Anomalous signature detected – 421 meters west. Emotional state: Rage / Confusion / Loss of Identity.]
"Got him," Lin Chen muttered.
Li Chu glanced at him. "That detection thing—what exactly are you feeling?"
"Not what. Who. I can feel his fear."
The Warehouse
The source of the signature was a half-collapsed warehouse near the metro ruins. Inside, fluorescent lights flickered faintly. The walls were covered in blood and strange etchings—symbols that made Li Chu's stomach churn just looking at them.
"Is this... a ritual?" she whispered.
"No," Lin Chen said grimly. "It's a side effect. Viral corruption doesn't just mess with power—it warps minds."
They moved silently through the debris-strewn floor until—
[Proximity Alert – Target Host Within 50 Meters]
A rasping sound echoed down the corridor. Something was dragging metal across the floor.
Then it stepped into view.
The man was tall, emaciated, with wide eyes burning gold. His skin pulsed with veins of black code that shimmered like oil. Around his arms, flickers of reality bent and snapped back like a broken signal.
"Don't come closer!" he screamed. "I can feel you in my brain! Get out!"
"His system's overloaded," Lin Chen muttered. "He's on the edge."
[Warning: Mental Collapse Imminent][Chance of Recovery: 16%]
"System, initiate Memory Fragment Extraction Prep."
[Ready. Caution: Physical restraint required.]
"You distract him," Lin Chen said to Li Chu. "I'll get behind him. We don't have much time."
The Confrontation
Li Chu stepped forward, hands raised. "Hey. Listen to me. We're not here to hurt you."
The man growled, twitching. "Lies! Erebus sent you, didn't they?! They put it in my head! I can hear their voices!"
With a burst of distortion, he launched forward, smashing into a support pillar. Concrete exploded around him as he sent a sonic wave roaring at her.
[Skill Identified: Seismic Displacement]
Li Chu dove, rolling behind cover. "Now, Lin!"
Lin Chen blinked into the shadow behind the rogue host, his system flaring gold. He activated his shock restraint module and drove both electrodes into the man's back.
A burst of blue light erupted.
[Initiating Memory Extraction…][Stabilizing Host... Attempting Isolation...]
The rogue screamed, falling to his knees. Black code unraveled around him like burning paper.
Then he fell still.
[Memory Fragment Retrieved: Host 005-V][File Tag: "Umbra_Terminus"]
Aftermath
The rogue host was breathing, barely conscious, but no longer violent. His skin was pale, veins no longer pulsing with dark code.
"He'll live," Lin Chen said, panting. "Barely."
Li Chu exhaled slowly. "That's the second one. How many more are there?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he opened the memory fragment the system had just decrypted.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
Flashback Sequence – Inside the Fragment
A secret Erebus lab. A wall of monitors. System hosts in cryo-stasis.
A voice.
"We don't need them to survive the integration. Only long enough to test adaptability. If they go rogue, we collect what's useful and dispose of the rest."
Another voice, colder.
"The moment Subject Zero regains control, it's all over. Make sure he never remembers who he was."
Return to Present
Lin Chen shut the feed. His hands shook slightly.
Li Chu noticed. "What did you see?"
"They're not just testing systems. They're trying to erase identities. Every rogue host is another piece of a puzzle they're trying to bury."
He looked up.
"And I'm at the center of it."
System Prompt
[Hidden Mission Complete][Reward Granted: Temporary Psychic Sense – "Empathic Detection" (24 hours)][Gold Received: 150,000][New Thread Unlocked – Memory Tree Expansion Available]
Closing Scene – Erebus Internal Communication
Encrypted chat logs appeared in red font across a black screen.
Erebus Node 17: "Subject 01 has contacted Host 005-V. Fragment likely extracted."Umbra Overseer: "Initiate contingency sequence. Activate Subject 12. Begin convergence protocol."Erebus Node 17: "Understood. Shall we warn the others?"Umbra Overseer: "No. Let the hunter walk into the lion's mouth."