Episode 42: Shadows in the System
It started with static.
Flickers across the screens. Brief distortions. Then blackouts. Alex was the first to notice. His monitor flickered, then started streaming random sequences of encrypted code.
His brows furrowed.
"Guys!" he called, fingers already flying across his keyboard. "This isn't normal system lag. Someone's in our network."
Kevin, Minjae, Dohee, Guen, and Miran rushed into the control room, eyes trained on the screens that were now blinking red.
"We're being hacked?" Guen asked, voice tight.
"More than hacked," Alex muttered. "This is ZEROFACE. I recognize the signature. They're not just looking for data. They're planting something."
"A virus?" Dohee asked.
"A trap," Minjae said darkly.
Suddenly, Miran let out a soft gasp.
She staggered back from the wall, eyes wide.
"The hallway," she whispered. "It's burning... why is Grandma crying? She's... she's in the flames..."
Minjae caught her just before she collapsed.
"Miran!"
She blinked rapidly, confusion clouding her features. Her body trembled.
"They're back," she whispered. "The voices... the... shadows in the mirrors..."
Kevin exchanged a worried glance with Alex.
"We need help. Real help. Not a medic. A mind expert."
---
Twenty minutes later, Kevin's aunt, Dr. Jang Eunhee, a renowned psychiatrist specializing in trauma and psychoneurological disorders, arrived at the CHIPER headquarters.
"You weren't exaggerating," she said, gently brushing Miran's hair aside as she studied her glazed eyes. "She's under something much stronger than stress."
Kevin frowned. "What do you mean?"
Dr. Jang turned to the group. "This is a synthetic hallucination cycle. Not natural. Someone is feeding her visual and emotional stimuli."
"Feeding... as in remotely?" Minjae asked, jaw clenching.
"Yes. And from the patterns I'm seeing..." she glanced at the EEG-like monitor Alex had connected to Miran's pulse reader. "This isn't random. Whoever is doing this knows her mind well."
Miran blinked up at her. "He knew my lullabies... he hummed them inside my head."
Dr. Jang straightened slowly. "This person has been inside her mind before."
Silence fell like a hammer.
Alex turned to his console and began cross-tracing the neural signal echo left behind during the attack.
Dr. Jang stood and looked at the group. Her tone shifted—warmer, more human.
"I always wondered what you kids were doing behind the cover jobs. Hacker... medic... chemist... strategist."
Kevin looked sheepish. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"
She smiled. "Not unless you want me to. But please, take care of each other. You're playing in deep, dark waters now."
Minjae nodded. "We trust you. That's why we called."
Dr. Jang lingered by Miran one last time, brushing her fingers across her forehead. "You're stronger than you think, sweetheart. But even strong people need to rest."
Then she left.
---
"Got something," Alex suddenly said.
Everyone turned.
"I just filtered the neural code and found an embedded timestamp and digital fingerprint." He paused, voice tight. "It's from the same server that used to house Project Mirror."
Miran's eyes widened.
"Project Mirror... the facility where I... where I was..."
Alex nodded.
"There's more," he said. "Look. These documents were encrypted and wiped. But someone tried to recover them. The name associated with that attempt..."
He turned the screen.
ZEROFACE: PRIMARY ACCESS HOLDER PROJECT OBSERVER: YOON MIRAN
"What?" Kevin stepped forward. "Observer? What does that mean?"
"She wasn't just a subject. She was a control."
Miran's face went pale. She backed away slowly.
"No... no, I don't remember that..."
Minjae stepped toward her. "They erased your memory. But ZEROFACE didn't. He wants you to remember."
A harsh beep sounded from the side monitor.
Alex paled. "Motion sensors triggered in the south corridor. No one should be down there."
The room fell silent.
Then a scream echoed from the hallway.
---
Minjae and Kevin bolted forward, weapons drawn. Guen and Dohee followed close behind. Alex stayed with Miran, frantically working to shut down the system override.
They reached the south hallway—only to find an empty corridor and a shattered glass panel.
"Where is she?!" Kevin shouted.
Alex's voice came through the comm. "She's gone. MIRAN IS GONE."
Back in the command room, the last camera frame showed a figure in all black, mask over their face, pulling Miran into the shadows. Her mouth opened in a scream before the footage cut to black.
ZEROFACE.
A chilling voice played through the audio feed.
"Game start."