Raen didn't sleep.
He couldn't.His nerves wouldn't let him.
By the time dawn broke, he was dressed in his usual black hoodie, hair still damp from a rushed shower, and the borrowed laptop zipped tightly in his backpack. His eyes were dry, and his thoughts raced faster than the subrail under his feet.
HexaGrid Development CenterEntry Time: 8:30 AM – 9:30 AMEvent Start: 10:00 AMMax Participants: 200
The Bytecrashers 7.0 Challenge.
A city-wide open programming competition.Winner takes 100,000 Lux.
He'd entered on impulse. Paid the entry fee with nearly everything he had. Now he was on his way to something that felt too big, too sudden.
The tech district was already buzzing when he arrived. Towering buildings wrapped in holo-screens flashed ads for gadgets, crypto banks, and ultra-fast neural headsets. He felt out of place with his battered sneakers and second-hand smartwatch.
Inside the venue, the tension thickened.
A massive hall had been converted into a coding arena. Rows of terminals, screens overhead, drones quietly recording for stream broadcast. Security bots scanned entries and cleared bags.
Raen checked in and was directed to Seat #42.
His terminal blinked to life. He plugged in Kane's old laptop, wiped his palms on his jeans, and tried not to look nervous.
A screen above the stage flashed:
BYTECRASHERS 7.0 — CHALLENGE STARTS SOONObjective: Build a Voice-Based AI Assistant• Must understand natural speech• Learn from behavioral patterns• Execute complex multi-step instructions
Rules:– No external libraries– No pre-trained models– No teams or outside assistance– Run-time must stay under system benchmarks
Raen leaned back.
So this was the real deal.
"Build your own brain," he muttered under his breath. "Alright, then."