The mist acted like a living shroud, wrapping around us as we crept forward. A 3.2-kilometer trek should have taken thirty minutes, but now, every fifty meters felt like clearing a high-security checkpoint.
The Zombie Processes didn't appear in swarms. Instead, like a slow-creeping memory leak, they seeped out of the fog—sporadic and stubborn. They didn't scream or growl; they only emitted the rhythmic click-clack of a hard drive head seeking a track. Their overhead error windows blinked in the gloom like distant, dying signal lights. One crawled out from a rusted UPS cabinet by the roadside, tangled in frayed Ethernet cables, its window looping:
[Error: ConnectionResetByPeer]
[Error: SocketTimeoutException]
As it drew near, Marcus swung his axe. But the fiber-optic cables lashed out like living vipers, wrapping around the handle. A surge of current crackled through the metal with a sharp zap.
Marcus grunted, his HP bar dipping as his arm went momentarily numb. Lin Xiao lunged forward, thrusting her frying pan into the fray, the surface shimmering with an oily sheen.
[Food Passive: Greasy Shield – Electric Damage Reduction 15% → Active]
The current deflected off the pan in a shower of sparks. The monster short-circuited briefly, its HP plummeting.
"Don't just hack at it," Zhang Jing cut in, her voice as calm as a board meeting. "Their weakness is the power module. Cutting the cables just triggers self-healing. You have to reboot the UPS cabinet to clear the process." She pointed to the half-buried unit behind the creature.
I reacted instantly. "Marcus, smash the cabinet!"
Ignoring the numbness, Marcus slammed his axe into the cabinet door. Boom! A discharge of blue-white arcs exploded outward. The monster went limp like a router with its WAN cable pulled, collapsing into a heap of smoking wires and shattered glass.
[Zombie Process Terminated! +78 XP (Team Shared)] [Drop: Low-Level Code Fragment x1 (Type: Exception Handling)] [Drop: Frayed Fiber-Optic Cable x4]
I picked up the "Code Fragment." It wasn't a physical object, but a small, translucent floating text window containing a few lines of pseudocode:
Python
try: target.attack() except Exception as e: log_error(e) self.heal(20)
[System Prompt: Low-Level Code Fragment – Exception Handling] Can be used for a temporary Hot-swap of a teammate's skill:
Effect: Converts "Abnormalities" into "Recovery" effects (One-time use, can be attached to any teammate's skill).
Fragment is consumed upon use.
My heart raced. This was effectively a programmable temporary buff. "This is insane," I whispered. "We can rewrite our own skills with this."
Zhang Jing pushed up her glasses. "Keep moving. The thicker the fog, the higher the process density. The Data Center's server cluster is leaking memory."
The rest of the trek played out like a high-stakes tower defense game. The enemies grew more frequent, but the "Code Fragment" drops piled up: Loop Optimization fragments (increased attack speed), Garbage Collection fragments (clears debuffs), and even a Deadlock Breaker fragment (breaks CC effects).
Lin Xiao gathered them, sorting them like a chef organizing spices. "I can add these to my cooking," she said, pointing to an Exception Handling fragment. "Next time I prep a meal, I can turn individual HP recovery into an AoE effect."
I nodded. "Save it. We'll need it for the crunch."
Finally, the Data Center doors emerged through the thinning mist. The three Overseers were still there, standing like grey statues. Fine streams of code flowed across their jumpsuits, and logs scrolled endlessly through their monitoring windows.
Overseer-07 spoke again, his voice flat but carrying a hint of... exhaustion? "Remaining decision time: 47 minutes. Player Alex Chen, Core corruption has spread to 19%. Collapse probability increased to 11% per combat instance."
I stopped ten meters away. The team fanned out into a combat stance—Marcus with his axe ready, Lin Xiao guarding with her pan, and Zhang Jing beside me, clutching a Garbage Collection fragment.
Overseer-14's window suddenly flashed: [Detection: Player holds Low-Level Code Fragments x4] [Intent: Reverse-engineer Core Overload exploit. Risk Assessment: High.]
Overseer-07 tilted his head, as if listening to a non-existent frequency. "You are running a Gray-Box Test," it said. "Attempting to convert debt into a feature. Clever. But dangerous."
I took a deep breath. "Who are you people? System NPCs? Or... assimilated players?"
Overseer-22 spoke for the first time, his voice deeper, echoing as if from a server vault. "We were players once. Early Beta. We volunteered to be Overseers. The cost was... partial autonomy. Now, we are the System's eyes, hands, and blades."
Overseer-07 added, "We are tired of patching. Every bug, every line of debt, is a reason for us to work overtime. The overload you left behind is the patch we'd have to pull an all-nighter for."
I froze. They were... "working overtime"?
Overseer-07 held out a hand, the Patch Kit icon glowing brighter. "Submit. Take the patch, clear the debt. Let us clock out early."
I stared at the icon, my mind whirring. Submit = safety, but we lose the backdoor and remain at the System's mercy. Reject = Blacklist +1 and likely 'optimization'.
But the gray path... I'd already been caught.
"What if I use these code fragments to patch the Core right here, on-site?" I asked slowly.
Overseer-07's window flickered as if calculating. "Possible. But success rate is unknown. Failure results in immediate Core collapse and the permanent downgrade of your territory to an 'Unstable Zone'."
I looked at the team. Marcus nodded. "Do it." Lin Xiao raised her pan. "I've got the buffs." Zhang Jing handed me the Garbage Collection fragment. "Clear the debuffs first, then hot-reload the Exception Handling."
I took the fragments, my palms burning. With a deep breath, I activated all four simultaneously, projecting my intent toward the Core.
The System interface went wild: [Hot-Reload Initiated...] [Exception Handling Fragment Injected...] [Garbage Collection Fragment Active – Clearing Corruption Debuff] [Loop Optimization Attached – Repair Speed +30%] [Deadlock Breaker Triggered – Breaking Core Self-Lock...]
The Core's hum suddenly shifted from a jagged click-clack to a continuous, high-pitched BEEP—BEEP—BEEP—
Blue light flared, blindingly bright—the herald of an imminent overload. Overseer-07's window was a blur of scrolling logs: [Warning: Unauthorized Hot-Reload] [Player attempting to convert Technical Debt into Controlled Feature] [Calculating success rate...]
Sweat beaded on my forehead. The light intensified; the black spots of the bad sectors roamed across the surface like struggling viruses.
Then—CLACK. The sound of a lock turning. The black spots stopped spreading and began to shrink slowly.
[Hot-Reload Successful!]
Core Repair Rate: 19% → 92%
Exploit Converted to Controlled Feature: [Emergency Overclocking (Manual Trigger)]
Effect: Grants 30 seconds of Invulnerability + AoE Damage Reflection (72h Cooldown).
Cost: Each use increases corruption by 3% (Repairable via fragments).
System Verdict: Gray-Box Test Passed.
Blacklist Progress: 0/3 (Warning Cleared).
Overseer-07's window went silent for three seconds. Then, it slowly withdrew its hand, the Patch Kit icon fading into darkness.
"...It passed," it said, its voice sounding strangely like... relief?
Overseer-22 muttered, "Don't make us work overtime again."
The three figures stepped back, dissolving into the mist like flickering holograms. The fog cleared slightly, revealing the open doors of the Data Center. Inside, rows of server racks stood like tombstones in the dim yellow light.
I exhaled a long breath and turned to the team. "Inside. Find the master console. We're rebooting this whole damn place."
Lin Xiao whispered, "Did... did they really just leave?"
Zhang Jing pushed up her glasses. "They left. But the System is still watching."
I looked back. Deep in the mist, I thought I heard a faint click. It wasn't a Zombie Process. It was the Overseers, watching from the shadows.