White.
An absolute white that devoured everything.
There was no sense of direction—no up, no down, no left or right. Not a single sound existed. Even the flow of time had been completely stripped away, as if all things in existence had melted into this boundless expanse, leaving behind nothing but silent void.
Zhang had no idea how long he had "existed" in this state.
More precisely—
he couldn't even tell whether he was standing, lying down, or had any physical posture at all.
Because when he instinctively lowered his head, trying to see his own body—
there was nothing.
No torso. No limbs. No human form whatsoever.
Only a pitch-black, vaguely outlined shadow floated alone within the endless white—
like the only crack in this void.
—
He jerked his head up, a sharp contraction rippling through what remained of his consciousness.
The world around him had not changed. The white remained infinite. Yet suddenly—
a faint but distinct sound slipped into his awareness.
It didn't come from outside.
Not from afar. Not from above.
It came from within—
from deep inside his consciousness… from that shadow.
"Don't move."
The voice was light, like a strand of smoke—
yet unbearably familiar.
It pierced straight through his chaotic awareness.
Zhang's breath halted. Even his consciousness trembled.
"Lin Wan?"
The name escaped him before he could stop it, filled with disbelief and urgency.
No response.
The white remained silent.
Then the voice came again, calm and emotionless:
"What you're seeing… was never reality."
"This is the residual layer of consciousness—after deletion."
—
The words hit like a shockwave.
Zhang's mind went numb, thoughts tangling into chaos—shock, confusion, fear flooding every corner of his awareness.
"Where are you?!"
He reacted instinctively, trying to move toward the source of the voice.
But in the next second—
something profoundly wrong happened.
It wasn't him that moved.
It was the shadow beneath him.
The shadow stepped forward first—
before his will.
And his consciousness was dragged along, bound to it, completely unable to control itself.
—
"Don't resist. You can't."
Lin Wan's voice echoed again, steady, almost indifferent.
"You are no longer fully human."
The words sent a freezing wave through him.
Like thousands of icy needles piercing his awareness, plunging him into a bottomless cold.
"What do you mean?!" he demanded, panic bleeding through his voice.
—
"You're still alive."
Lin Wan paused, then spoke slowly, each word precise:
"But only half of you is."
—
The moment her words ended—
a crack appeared in the flawless white space.
Then another.
And another.
In an instant, fractures spread like a web—hundreds, thousands—covering everything.
—
Inside those cracks—
was not darkness.
But images.
Fragments.
Scenes flickering rapidly like broken film reels.
Different basements.
Different faces.
Fear. Despair. Struggle.
But always the same ending—
—
Seven.
Dead.
The eighth—
remains.
—
"This was never the first time."
Lin Wan's voice was cold, almost detached.
"This selection system has been running… far longer than you can imagine."
—
Zhang stared at the shifting images, his consciousness shaking violently.
Different eras.
Different places.
Different people.
Even different cities.
His mind reeled.
"This… is nationwide?"
"No."
Lin Wan corrected softly—
her tone heavier now, almost suffocating.
"It's everywhere."
—
Everywhere.
The word exploded in his mind.
Across space. Across time. Indiscriminate.
A system of endless selection.
What had they been fighting all along?
"What the hell are we up against?!" he roared.
—
Silence.
For a moment—
Lin Wan did not answer.
It was the first time she hesitated.
—
"What we're facing…"
she finally said, voice lower than ever—
"…was never just a single 'entity.'"
"It is—"
—
Before she could finish—
a massive crack tore open beneath them.
The white world split apart, revealing a bottomless abyss.
—
And from that abyss—
an eye opened.
—
Enormous.
Unfathomable.
Cold beyond comprehension.
There was no pupil. No sclera.
Only a vast, empty awareness that seemed to perceive everything.
It looked at them.
Not like prey.
Like data.
—
Closer than ever before.
More real.
More terrifying.
—
"The system itself."
—
The final word fell.
The eye locked onto them.
—
And in the next instant—
the white world shattered completely.
Breaking into countless fragments of light—
before dissolving into nothingness.
—
This time—
there was no loop.
No reset.
No second chance.
—
Only—
a hunt.
A real one.
And it had already begun.