The coastal mist rolled in thick and low as Arman dashed out of the basement tunnel into the dusky street behind the Masaki Depot, his lungs burning with adrenaline, the distant churn of the ocean served as background static to his thoughts.
As the metal hatch clanged shut behind him, he pressed forward not daring to look back, the agent's boots echoed off the concrete walls as they descended into the bunker he'd just escaped.
He sprinted into a small alley, turned left into a dense corridor betweeen warehouses and finally collapsed behind a stack of wooden crates, there, under the faint glow of a broken streetlamp, he pulled up his phone, Foxxie's name was at the top of his secure contacts list, he was about to call her when it buzzed first.
>Foxxie: I saw your trail, don't stop running, I'm on my way
>Foxxie: And Xiorra knows, he's already heading for the fallback point
Rain fell in rhythmic patterns againt the rusting canopy of Masaki Depot, the air was heavy, charged with something unspoken, Arman didn't slow his stride as he stepped through the access gate at Unit 43B, the pulse he had been feeling from the DG-2 USB in his pocket grew stronger as he advanced, then his watch buzzed again.
>Unit 43B proximity: 21 meters, signal trace diverging.
Diverging?
He turned sharply, noticing a narrow passage lit only by red emergency lights, between two freight containers that hadn't appeared on any map, he followed the pulse trail down the alley, breath ragged, untill at a thick steel hatch behind coiled wires.
Another buzz
> LEGACY NODE ACCESS - INSERT DG-2
Arman took out the DG-2 USB
His hands trembling
He plugged it in
>AUTHORIZATION MATCH: DAVID GONZALEZ - LEGACY USER.
>CODE RECOGNIZED...
>ACCESS GRANTED.
>INITIALIZING DRIFT PROTOCOL...
A lock hissed, a barrier slid open, revealing a narrow corridor lined with pale, blinking lights, then a loud hum filled the chamber.
.........
Peter's Pov
Peter's motorbike screeched as he made a sharp turn down a dirt path near Bahari Beach, the HUD on his helmet blinked with new coordinates.
He growled to himself "Drift Protocol is live."
He knew what that meant, David's old contingency plan, set up years ago, If Arman ever went underground, if things ever got too dangerous, the Ghost Knights would switch into drift mode, no fixed base, minimal comms, full infiltration.
Peter pulled over, unzipped his satchel and pulled out a worn notebook, the page labeled *DRIFT* had four entries: DROPPOINT ALPHA, BACKDOOR KH-ZETA, CONDUIT FOX and TRIDENT GRAY.
He tapped his helmet, "All right, boss, let's get the kid out of this"
........
Foxxie's Pov
Joyce jumped off the back of a speeding bodaboda near Oysterbay, pulled out the mini tracker she'd placed in Arman's schoolbag weeks ago durind one of their classes.
>Signal found... 92 meters northwest.
She darted across the street, narrowly missing a silver SUV that sped by, something about the way it stopped at the depot made her slow her pace
That wasn't just any vehicle, that was 'Government Plated SUV'
"Damn it" she whispered
As she moved into the shadow of a warehouse, her boots hit pavement as she moved along the edge of the cargo bay, eyes locked to her wrist monitor, Arman's beacon was still active but faint.
"Hold on, Arman" she muttered.
suddenly, the signal glitched, bouncing across different nodes
>Drift Protocal active?
She activated Ghost Veil and cloaked her outline as she climbed a pipe system to an overhead walkway, from this angle, she spotted someone scouring the lower grounds, it was then her comm buzzed.
> Xiorra: Foxxie, if you find him, activate Trident Gray, repeat, Trident Gray
She paused, Trident Gray was *Only to be used when life or death was certain*
.......
Arman's Pov
The corridor beyond Unit 43B stretched out like a vein in the city's bone, dark, humming, forgotten, Arman's feet tapped lightly over metal grating as he advanced inside a sloped tunnel, dim and humming with outdated tech, the USB chip still pulsed in his pocket, the hall hummed and at a far end a pedestral rose, on it sat a single item, a black chip with the initials 'CV' carved into the side.
He reached out his hand, then paused, his smartwatch buzzed.> Foxxie is closing in> Xiorra recommends fallback
But the chip called to him, the moment he touched it, a projection shimmered into a being..
David Gonzalez appeared once more, standing beside him a man Arman had never seen.
> This isn't a game, the matches were built as overlays, screens to broadcast encrypted plans
> NOKO turned on us, Arman, if you're here watching this, the Pulse Divergence has started, you won't be able to trust everyone in Ghost Knights, and you're their next target
> The leak began years ago, I buried the final access key in one of your squad's match histories, you have to find it, but be careful, one of them is not who they say they are.
The message distorted and behind David's image appeared the blurred outline of Professor Nwoko, this time with a badge: NOKO-COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR.
Arman's pulse quickened, he stepped back, stunned, Nwoko was no longer a rumor, he was part of whatever destroyed his father
He pulled out the chip embedded beneath the pedestral, it was labeled *Node Zero*, but it wouldn't eject unless paired with a second one, *Node One*
He scanned the notes left behind by his father, Node One was... hidden in a ranked match against Cherry, he paused in thoughts, as far as he knew, Cherry is his ally, but had she been chosen... or planted?
He descendend, passing screens on wall, it was then, each screen he passed flickered with glitching overlays, one by one, the screens on the surrounding walls activated, each playing a fragment of match replays, MLBB minimaps, Ghost Knights squad chat replays, unfinished match analysis and encrypted frame captures from Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
But something about them was wrong, positioning was off, matches were altered, details mismatched, his name appeared in roles he'd never played in such matches.
"Why are they replaying like this?' he muttered, then after observing for some time, a realization came to me, "This isn't memory" he whispered, "It's manipulation."
Then one screen stabilized.
It showed Arman.
Live.
In the corridor.
......
GHOST KNIGHTS HQ
Dubster, Cherry, Anime Girl and Gojo sat patiently as KT Suzume's fingers danced across the keys with high precision, after some time, she showed them the terminal.
"These aren't game files anymore, they're behavior markers" Suzume said,
"You're saying they've been watching our plays?" Cherry asked
"Not watching, Using, each of us unknowingly contributed data, especially Arman" Dubster corrected
Cherry raised an eyebrow
"You know by saying that makes him not just our teammate, he is also the main key" Anime Girl said as she looking at the terminal.
"Now that I think about it, he really is the key to all of this we're just minor pieces in this chess board" Gojo said after thinking for some time.
........
Foxxie's Pov
Foxxie stopped dead in her tracks, the silhouette she spotted up ahead moved, she raised a metal rod she had picked in advance, she watched the silhouettes but it wasn't Arman, it was someone wearing the Ghost Knights' uniform, except the logo had been re-stitched and they were armed
"shit!! those two are agents"
She stood and bolted, her feet splashed through puddles as she tracked the fading AR signal, every step towards Arman was laced with dread, she activated stealth again and slowed her breath
.........
Arman's Pov
Suddenly, a video clip played, it was David Gonzalez
"Son... if this is triggered, they've breached your server ID, you'll start to feel drift, your records will fragment, the truth buried in your matches,I hid the map key in a replay tagged as *Drift 04-X*, Its not public"
He unlocked the hidden terminal in the far corner using the data key his father embedded, a virtual battlefield appeared, simulated match terrain from a scrapped MLBB map called *Nightfall Plains*
> SYSTEM OVERRIDE - PHANTOM SYNC INITIATED
The lights dimmed, an AI voice flooded the chamber.
> SUBJECT: ARMAN DAVID GONZALEZ
> IDENTITY CONFIRMED
> INITIATING DRIFT ANALYSIS...
> SUBJECT ANOMALIES DETECTED.
Arman stepped back.
Suddenly, his own match history unfolded across the walls, every major tournaments, ranked battles, all layered with impossible stats, including matches he never played
.........
Foxxie's Pov
Joyce crept through the alleys, her visor flashing Arman's trail signature, she was still in Ghost Veil mode which helped her to disappear from street level drones, when she rounded the last shipping container near the hidden access point, her tracker went dead.
"What?"
She tapped her comms
"Xiorra, the trail's gone, like he vanished.
>Xiorra: He didn't vanish
Xiorra's voice replied
> He found something...important.
"Or someone found him" Foxxie expressed her worries
> Xiorra: The situation is way too tricky, do something to find out what happened.
"Aight, gimme some time."
She scanned the last place where Arman's location was spotted, after some time she found traces again, but her expression was grim, she spotted two agents around the perimeter but something else caught her attention, she tapped into her comms.
"Xiorra we've got a situation"
> Xiorra: Im all ears Foxxie> "He's inside a Phantom node" she whispered,
"Its syncing to his profile too."
Xiorra responded sharply,
> Then pull him out before it scans everything"
"I can't" Foxxie replied, "The sync has already begun"
She clenched her fists and tapped into a shared Ghost Knight channel.
> Xiorra, do you see what I see?
> Xiorra: Yeah, but I see something worse, someone just ran a drift trace on Joyce's profile too
"Wait... me?"
It was then... a ping.
One of the profiles shown in the match logs wasn't just Arman's, it was hers
> Xiorra: You are being copied just like him.
........
Arman's Pov
The Phantom Sync climaxed in a burst of data projection.
And then it all froze.
And from the center of the room, a tall figure materialized, not fresh, but coded entity, ghostly rendering, an avatar, his own avatar appeared in the simulation, except it wasn't him.
It was a version of him, it looked like him yet different, the avatar was much older and more calculated, then the projection turned, eyes locking to the camera, and spoke,
> They wanted you to be the memory, not the message> But there's still time to rewrite the game> The only way out is through the breach
Then the lights died, Arman stood alone, Foxxie's voice came in over comms
> Foxxie: Arman, we have to leave, NOW!
> Arman: Why?
> Foxxie: Someone just triggered a full breach protocal, Arman, you're not synced anymore, you've been mirrored
> Foxxie: And someone just entered the corridor
A soft mechanical whir filled the tunnel, suddenly, Arman's monitor flashed red
> AGENT SIGNAL DETECTED
"What the fuck now!!" he cursed silently, Foxxie's voice crackled again over comms> Foxxie: I'm outside the hatch, you've got ten seconds"
"I found something" he answered
> Foxxie: Then grab it and RUN
The simulation shut off as Arman ripped the chip from the reader, it pulsed in his hand, he slid it into the mobile hub clipped to his belt, the corridor lights flickered again then shut off.
Footsteps echoed, he turned, too late, a shadowy figure stepped out of the darkness
"Mr Gonzalez," the agent rasped, "We meet again"
Arman's back was covered in cold sweats, his adrenaline gave in and he sprinted up the corridor, the agents gave chase, in their hands were shock blades.
Just as he reached the door, one of the agents raised a shock blade, Foxxie quickly uncloaked and shouted
"Arman get down"
'Clanggg'
A burst of sparkles flared, weapon collided against weapon, Foxxie reacted more fast, launching a stun flare that disoriented the agents long enough for them to escape.
They ran, into the shadows, with a chip, and a truth too dangerous to be left behind.
The chase wasn't over.
It had just escalated.
...........
GHOST KNIGHTS' HQ
KT's fingers never left the keyboard, they hovered above keys like astronauts on the moon, Cherry sat at a terminal with Anime Girl, Dubster and Gojo scanning internal logs.
Anime Girl hovered beside her, "You see this? these aren't public servers"
"They're legacy stored match nodes" KT whispered, "Some of these are coded to auto activate if a player reaches certain GPS coordinates"
"So we were never just gaming?"
"We were decoding memories"
Dubster leaned back in his chair "Guys... we've got a situation."
He flipped the screen, dozens of Ghost Knights' streams were flashing, they watched as the system auto compiled a new match replay, the AI was recreating moments in real time, memory files overwriting, footages of match histories that didn't exist on public record were flickering.
KT Suzume muttered, "Where the hell did these come from?"
She paused, "One of the matches has your IGN in it, Dub"
"That match never happened" Dubster said.
"Yeah," Gojo replied, "But its using data from real players, see that move? that's mine from the Harken Invitational"
Cherry stared at one file, a replay of her match with Its_cana from three months ago, except, she had no memory of it and in that match, she had lost spectacularly.
"That too didn't happen"
"No," KT whispered, "But someone wants us to believe it did"
Cherry narrowed her eyes
"It's building a narrative" she muttered, "Someone is controlling the game engine itself"
Anime Girl whispered, "Someone is rerouting his entire life through matches"
It was then, one stream flashed red
> ID: 43B-CONFLICT-ZETA > SUBJECT COMPROMISED > TARGET IS LIVE
Dubster slammed a fist on the table
"Drift traces everywhere, it's not just Arman, we've all been mirrored"
Gojo stood up, "We're not players anymore"s
They all stood up, faces solid, no longer just In-game squad but a real life team for whatever's to come next