Chapter 1: Replaced and Gone
For Nelen, life had become a routine measured down to the minute with eight hours a day, five days a week, year after year.
Every day was the same staring at the blinking cursor, listening to the soft hum of computer fans, and hearing the quiet sounds of the office.
He worked in a small six-by-six cubicle with beige walls and bright lights.
There, he spent his time entering data into spreadsheets, day after day.
He wasn't an analyst, and he didn't try to act like one.
He was a data entry worker just a small part of a big system that turned people's time into profit.
The job was easy, predictable, and safe.
But deep down, it wore him out.
Each day, he felt a little more empty, like he was slowly disappearing into the gray walls around him.
This job wasn't just what he did, it had slowly become who he was.
And that thought scared him more than anything.
The rumors started about a month ago, floating through the stale office air.
"Did you hear? Project Helios."
At first, people joked about it, saying it was the name of the new coffee machine in the breakroom.
But the jokes stopped once the emails started coming in one after another announcing a new AI system.
It was supposed to "streamline workflow" and "increase efficiency."
Nelen, like everyone else, knew what that really meant many jobs were at risk.
His job, the one he had done for five years was now on a countdown.
He had a cold feeling in his stomach that wouldn't go away.
Today, the email arrived in his boss's inbox.
Nelen saw the subject line: "Helios Implementation Review." It hit him like a punch.
His boss, a friendly man who often talked about his kids went into his office.
The door closed softly, but to Nelen, it sounded like something final.
The office went quiet.
The clicking of keyboards slowed down, then stopped completely.
An hour later, the door opened.
"John, can I talk to you?" His boss's voice was quiet and polite but somehow, even quieter, it felt more terrifying than a yell.
John, a man with a wife and three kids, stood up. His face was pale and hard to read. He walked into the office.
Five minutes later, he came out without even looking at Nelen. He grabbed his framed family photos and left.
Then it was Sarah's turn.
Then Mike's.
One by one, empty cubicles appeared, each like a silent reminder of a life that was suddenly gone.
It wasn't a punishment or a big scene.
It was a quiet, digital wipe-out because of AI.
When his name was called, Nelen didn't feel surprised.
Instead, there was a quiet emptiness inside him.
He walked into the office and sat down, his heart heavy and slow.
His boss looked at him with a kind, tired expression no anger, no pity, just understanding.
"Nelen," he said gently, "Helios is very efficient. It can do your job faster and without mistakes. I'm really sorry."
The apology felt like a gentle way of saying he was being replaced.
In that moment, Nelen realized everything he had built his life around was now just a line of code.
Packing his belongings felt like packing up his life.
His little cactus, his favorite pen, a few photos of a friend he hadn't seen in years.
He walked out of the office and into the cold, indifferent city.
The streets were filled with people, but he had never felt more alone.
The AI hadn't just taken his job, it had taken his future. It had taken his very worth.
The next few days passed in a haze of fear and hopelessness.
He sent out job applications, but almost every reply was an automatic rejection.
His savings started to run low, and his small apartment didn't feel like home anymore, it felt empty, like a quiet prison.
At night, he lay awake staring at the ceiling, hearing the same word over and over in his head:
Replaced. Replaced. Replaced.
He felt useless, a thing from the past, left behind.
His life had been wiped out, made useless by something faster and newer.
One day, after another job interview that ended with a polite but firm rejection, Nelen found himself wandering the streets with no real direction.
His mind was heavy, clouded with the same crushing thought, he wasn't wanted anywhere.
He'd left the office that morning with a hopeful heart, but the interview had been a reminder of everything he'd lost.
The questions felt sharp and distant, and the smile on the interviewer's face never quite reached their eyes.
When the polite "thank you, but no" came through an email later that afternoon, it crushed what little hope he had left.
With his head down, Nelen walked aimlessly through the city, the noise of traffic and strangers fading into a dull background hum.
The buildings around him blurred together, just a gray maze he couldn't escape.
His feet carried him to a quiet street, far from the bustle, where the weight of loneliness pressed down on him like a stone.
He stopped, staring at the ground, feeling smaller and more lost than ever before.
In that moment, the world felt cruelly indifferent to his pain.
The job he'd held for five years, the life he'd built around, it all felt gone, erased without a trace.
He stepped forward without thinking. His foot slipped on the curb, and he stumbled into the street.
Suddenly, bright headlights shone right at him.
The sound of screeching tires filled the air.
Before he could move, the car hit him hard.
The pain was sharp and everywhere.
The force threw him to the ground, and everything went dark.
For a moment, everything was empty and silent.
He felt himself drifting away, like a lost signal floating through space.
Then, a calm, distant voice echoed in his mind.
[Host found: Nelen. Job ended by Helios AI. Life ended after being hit by a car. Data shows deep emotional damage from being replaced. Searching for new host. Soul match: 99.8%. Starting new host setup. Waiting for system reboot. Scanning… scanning… Rebirth complete. New identity: Nie Lianfeng. Clear Sky Sect. Trash Disciple. Starting self-correction protocols.]
Nelen felt like he was floating in a dream.
Sounds were soft and far away, like whispers he could barely hear.
He wasn't sure if he was awake or somewhere else.
Then, just before everything went quiet, he heard a calm voice gentle and familiar, telling him that this was only the beginning.