The air inside the Safe Zone barracks smelled musty and stale.
It wasn't the worst place Aron had slept, but that wasn't saying much. The cracked concrete walls were visible under a layer of dust, and old parking lines peeked through. The bunk beds were made from scavenged sheet metal. Static hummed softly in every corner, as if the system's presence was trapped in the walls.
[DAY 3: SYSTEM CYCLE ACTIVE]
No new missions.
That was the first relief he'd felt in days.
Aron sat on the lower bunk, hunched over his knees, flipping through his interface. His EXP was at 230/500. Still Level 2. Not quite there yet.
Dan hadn't moved much since the last mission. He lay curled up under a makeshift thermal blanket, murmuring some words in his sleep. The wound from the first train incident hadn't gotten worse, but it hadn't healed either. Not in a place like this, where they rationed rest more strictly than food.
A red light blinked overhead, signaling the system's general maintenance hour.
A new prompt appeared:
*------------------------------------------*
[SIDE MISSION: CLEANUP SHIFT – ASSIGNED]
Objective: Restore basic functionality to Sector 2 Barracks Storage.
Reward: +5 EXP, Possible Equipment Discovery
Failure: None
Timer: 60 Minutes
*-------------------------------------------*
Aron sighed. "Of course."
He accepted without saying much. These tasks were how you survived unnoticed. Blend in, stay useful, but never become important.
The storage area of the barracks was worse than he expected. Warped lockers lay scattered like fallen soldiers, and a collapsed support beam had turned part of a wall into rubble. Flickering bulbs cast long shadows over the mess.
He moved cautiously between broken crates, pushing debris aside with his foot. A faint crackle of static came from beneath one locker.
"Loose power line?" he muttered.
Instead, he discovered a sealed equipment locker. It was intact but covered in yellow system tape with jagged warning symbols.
*---------------------------------------*
[UNREGISTERED CONTAINER DETECTED]
Decryption Required.
Side Mission Available: "Decrypt the Lock"
Reward: +15 EXP, Unknown Item
Accept?
*---------------------------------------*
He hesitated. The last time he had unlocked something strange, he almost triggered a system lockdown. But ignoring anything the system offered was risky too.
He tapped "Accept."
A soft ping confirmed the mission. A virtual interface appeared, showing a rotating lock puzzle layered in static. It wasn't impossible, just old.
He crouched down, working through the first few combinations. A trail of logic began to form. Patterns emerged in the misaligned letters. It felt like something was watching.
"You shouldn't poke at broken teeth."
Aron jumped.
A figure stood behind him, wrapped in mismatched scarves and a patchy vest. Goggles rested on tangled gray hair.
"Riven," the man said with a smile. "I've seen the back-end code. The system reacts if you dig deep enough. You'll make it angry."
Aron blinked. "Do I know you?"
"No," Riven replied. "But you have eyes the constellations like. That makes you noisy."
Before Aron could respond, the lock clicked open.
*-------------------------------------------------*
[MISSION COMPLETE – "Decrypt the Lock"]
+15 EXP
+1 Achievement Progress: "Curiosity Protocol"
New Item Acquired: [Fractured Signal Compass – Tier ? – Inert]
Current EXP: 245/500
*-------------------------------------------------*
Inside the locker was a small circular device, about the size of his palm. Its center was cracked, and the needle twitched erratically even without movement.
"What is it?" Aron asked.
Riven tapped his temple. "It doesn't point north. It points toward interference."
"Interference?"
"You'll see."
Riven wandered off, humming a tune that had no rhythm.
Aron stared at the compass.
*------------------------------------*
[Item: Fractured Signal Compass]
Tier: ?
Status: Inert
Description: [REDACTED – Access Denied]
Function: [Unregistered]
Warning: Incompatible with current Authority Level.
*------------------------------------*
He quietly added it to his inventory.
*-----------------------------------------------------*
[INVENTORY]
– Basic Sword
– Cloth Shirt
– Broken Phone
– Broken Gear Cog (Tier ???)
– Mini-Map Chip
– Rust-Covered Tag
– Glitched Datacore
– Tactical Belt (+1 Item Slot)
– Fractured Signal Compass (Tier ? – Inert)
*------------------------------------------------------*
Later that night, as the lights dimmed for sleep cycles, Aron sat by one of the outer windows of the parking structure. No one else seemed to notice it.
But the sky, what little of it was left, glitched.
For a brief moment, the moon split into four jagged halves, pixelated, before reforming.
Above him, messages flickered through the system feed:
*-------------------------------------------------------------------*
[CONSTELLATION: The Masked Archivist observes in silence.]
[CONSTELLATION: The Glimmering Scale tilts toward Variable_07 with curiosity.]
[CONSTELLATION: The Withered Bell rings once for fate.]
[Alert: Observation Limit Approaching – Admin Override In Effect]
*--------------------------------------------------------------------*
Then all the messages blinked out at once.
Aron clenched his jaw.
"They're watching more now…"
He turned back toward the dark, empty space of the barracks.
"…I need to be ready before they do more than that."