The room was dead silent—save for the distant hum of the city and the soft beeping of medical monitors attached to the unconscious cyber-host known as ZERO.
Lin Chen stood motionless, eyes locked on the data chip extracted from ZERO's neural implant.
[System Alert: High-density memory fragment detected][Content classified: "Erebus Phase II – Neural Network Integration"][System Suggestion: Upload fragment into virtual consciousness module for decryption. Entering memory-based instance dungeon...][WARNING: Instance is derived from an enemy host's corrupted consciousness. Threat level: S-]
He took a deep breath.
"Do it."
The chip slotted into his portable neural interface with a soft click. Instantly, the world around him darkened—
And then shattered into white.
He awoke in a place that wasn't real—but felt real.
The air was heavy with static. Sky black, streaked with scarlet lightning. Towering skyscrapers loomed around him, their surfaces flickering between digital wireframes and corrupted city textures. This was ZERO's inner world—a twisted mental labyrinth built from fragments of stolen memories and malware.
[System Notification: Entered Instance Dungeon – "Neural Collapse Sector: Echo"][Objective: Reach the Memory Core and eliminate the corruption. Hostile constructs: HIGH.][Bonus Reward: Class-Two Ability Module (Undiscovered).]
Steps echoed on the fractured digital street as Lin Chen advanced. All around, shadows blinked—distorted figures formed from the faces of people he knew. His father. His classmates. Even Li Chu. All corrupted, twitching and murmuring incoherently.
They weren't real. But the emotional weight was.
He steeled himself.
[System Alert: Mental Stability Check… PASSED (Current Stability: 89%)][Cognitive Firewall: Engaged][Skill Enabled: Quantum Dodge]
Lin Chen turned a corner—and suddenly, the world convulsed.
An enormous figure rose from the concrete—a monstrous titan shaped like a bloated human brain, wires snaking from its stem like roots. Its "face" had no features, just a glitching eye in the center pulsing red.
[System Analysis: Firewall Guardian - Cerebral Parasite Variant][HP: 145,000 | Weakness: Electric Disruption | Immunity: Illusion-based Attacks][Hostile Code Detected: Memory Erasure Wave / Mental Spike Protocol]
It launched first.
A pulse of raw thought-energy surged toward him—an attempt to scrub his memories like data from a disk.
[Defense Activated: Empathic Shield Lv.1 – 60% Damage Reduction][Counter Skill Activated: Logic Disruptor Blast]
He countered with a full-strength shot from his gauntlet, laced with system gold-energy.
The creature screeched, lurching backwards, bits of its mind-flesh flickering with code static.
Lin Chen leapt upward, flipped, then warped mid-air behind it using Quantum Dodge, slamming a charged strike into its "brainstem."
The creature thrashed—and collapsed into a pile of code fragments.
[Boss Defeated][+15,000 System EXP | +25,000 Gold | Data Fragment Recovered][Access to Inner Sector Unlocked]
Deeper in, Lin Chen entered a central chamber. A vast sphere of swirling data hovered in the center—caged by rings of malware and encrypted barriers.
Inside it, a memory loop played on repeat.
A shadowy boardroom. Erebus figures. A subject writhing on an operating table—being injected with something glowing blue.
And…
Li Chu.
She was strapped to the same table, unconscious.
Lin Chen's fists clenched.
[System Note: Memory is fragmented and unstable. Prepare for mental hazard. Starting Data Purge Protocol…][Purge Wave Incoming. Protect the Core for 120 seconds.]
Suddenly, walls crumbled and mind-wraiths flooded the chamber—defensive constructs meant to stop anyone from seeing the truth.
But Lin Chen had no intention of retreating.
He drew upon every skill he'd gained:
Tactical Vision Boost: Active.
Quantum Dodge: Cooldown reduced.
Mental Interference Lv.1: Activated to confuse incoming constructs.
He fought like a shadow—one with the battlefield.
Spinning. Dodging. Countering.
At 87 seconds, one construct sliced his shoulder—data leaking like digital blood.
But he stood his ground.
At 119 seconds, he unleashed a charged core pulse, vaporizing the final attacker.
[System Purge Complete][Corruption Level: 0%][Memory Fragment Unlocked: Subject D – Timeline #47 — "Host Genesis Project"][Reward Unlocked: New Ability Available – "Cerebral Override (Passive)"][New Skill Option Available for Purchase: "Psychic Mirror Lv.1"]
As the data settled, Lin Chen saw a clean playback.
Erebus had used system prototypes on a batch of test subjects.
Only three survived.
Himself.
ZERO.
Subject D. …Whose face was Li Chu's.
He staggered slightly.
So she had a system once… and maybe still did.
[System Notification: Memory Fragment stored. Decision Point approaching. Recommend immediate debrief with Subject D.]
The virtual world dissolved.
He found himself back in reality, seated alone in his control center.
He touched his temple.
"Li Chu… What were they doing to you?"