Dawn in Sector 09 did not begin with the blaring horns or the mechanical roar of combustion engines from centuries past. Instead, it began with a symphony of light.
An Nhien slowly opened her eyes as the biological wall of her bedroom transitioned from a cool quartz blue to a warm, honeyed amber. This was no ordinary electric light; these were artificial chlorophyll particles embedded within the smart glass, absorbing the day's first ultraviolet rays and transmuted them into a soft radiance. She stretched her arms, feeling the crisp, pristine chill of the air—an atmosphere meticulously purified through three layers of bio-membranes that enveloped the city.
Behind her left ear, the "Seed of Wisdom" pulsed with a gentle, rhythmic vibration. It sent no written text, only a wave of serene sensation transmitted directly into her mind: "Good morning, An Nhien. Your happiness index is at 85%. A perfect start to begin your journey to the Borderlands."
The young woman smiled, stood up, and approached the window. Before her, the city was no longer a collection of lifeless concrete monoliths. Skyscrapers spiraled upward like colossal vines, interconnected by suspension bridges woven from transparent carbon fiber. Between the towering floors, hanging gardens drifted in the air, where "Eternal Blooms" exhaled fragrances designed to dissolve the fatigue of any passerby.
Far below, the Saigon River of 2150 was no longer murky. The water was so crystalline that one could see schools of bio-mechanical fish darting beneath the surface; they weren't merely for aesthetics but served as miniature filtration units, keeping the currents at a constant standard of purity.
She pressed a hidden sensor on the lithic wood wall. A suit crafted from "Light-cloud" fabric automatically draped itself over her body. The material could intelligently adjust its fiber density to cool or warm the skin based on the wearer's body temperature.
Today was a monumental day. She was to leave the sanctuary of this cellular metropolis for the "Legacy Zone"—a place where modern technology had yet to fully reach, and where the secrets of the gift her grandmother so deeply cherished remained hidden.
CHAPTER 1 - PART 2: MESSAGES FROM MEMORY
Moving past the hallway, she entered the living room, where a fine mist carrying the scent of the ocean had just been released by the central atomizing system to help her lungs expand to their fullest. With a gentle wave of her hand in the air, a screen made of water crystals materialized. This was the "Nexus Mirror"—a place where family members could touch one another's lives despite being tens of thousands of miles apart.
"It's me, Nhien."
A 3D image of her father appeared in the center of the room, so lifelike that she could clearly see the faint wrinkles at the corners of his eyes—rare traces of time that rejuvenation technology could never truly erase. Her father always called them "the etchings of experience." He was currently at an agricultural research station on the moon, surrounded by stalks of rice with deep purple leaves—plants capable of photosynthesizing from starlight.
"I heard you're planning to find the Acoustic Box for your grandmother?" His voice was warm and resonant, projected through the multi-point audio system.
The girl nodded, her fingers absentmindedly brushing against a small metallic sphere hovering around her. This was the "Silent Companion"—an artificial intelligence without a voice, communicating only through shape-shifting. Sensing its master's nervousness, the sphere suddenly transformed into a pristine white jasmine flower, emitting a subtle fragrance to soothe her.
"Yes, Dad. Grandma says she misses the sound of rain falling on the tin roofs of the last century. In our time, buildings are all sound-absorbent; rain falls without that 'pitter-patter' sound, and she says it makes her soul feel withered."
Her father remained silent for a long moment, then smiled, his eyes filled with boundless tolerance. "Nhien, technology gives us silence, but sometimes the heart needs noise to know it's still alive. The path to the Legacy Zone isn't difficult, but the challenge lies in seeing the world through the eyes of someone without technological aid. Don't just rely on the 'Seed of Wisdom' behind your ear; use your own senses."
He paused briefly before saying something that gave An Nhien pause: "We, the people of the future, often mistakenly believe we master time because we live longer, but in reality, we are merely prolonging existence. Only when you feel the fading of a flower or the shattering of a raindrop do you truly touch eternity."
The water curtain dissolved after her father's parting wave. An Nhien stood still, her father's words like a seed newly planted in her mind. She picked up her backpack made of synthetic spider silk—ultra-light and infinitely stretchable.
She stepped onto the balcony and summoned a personal flight pod. The jade-colored pod glided toward her, its crystal glass door sliding open smoothly. Her destination was the "Echo Valley"—the only place on Earth that still preserved humanity's most primal sounds.
But just as the pod took flight, the "Seed of Wisdom" behind An Nhien's ear suddenly emitted a strange beep. A faint jolt of electricity ran down her spine. A set of mysterious coordinates, absent from any map, flickered onto her display—pulsing a vivid red like a furious eye...
CHAPTER 1 - PART 3: THE COORDINATES THAT "DO NOT EXIST"
The crystal pod hurtled through artificial cloud layers, engineered to release negative ions that kept the city's inhabitants in a state of perpetual refreshment. But inside the pod, An Nhien's mind was anything but at ease.
The red coordinates continued to flicker against her retina through her smart contact lenses. It was located at the edge of "Echo Valley"—a territory long considered a dead zone for telecommunications. How could an urgent signal be transmitted from a place with no signal?
"Reroute journey. Head to coordinates X-215," An Nhien commanded.
"Warning: These coordinates lie outside the city's protection zone. Safety systems will be deactivated. Are you certain?" the pod's AI inquired in a cold, metallic voice.
"Confirmed."
The pod banked sharply, diving beneath a thick layer of clouds. As the mist cleared, a breathtaking vista emerged. The lush skyscrapers were gone; before her lay an ancient valley framed by towering limestone ridges—a primitive beauty from thousands of years ago, preserved in its entirety.
At the foot of the mountains, she spotted stilt houses crafted from "Cloaking Ceramics." This material could refract light, allowing the structures to blend seamlessly into the deep green of the old-growth forest, visible only from a very close distance. This was how the inhabitants of the Heritage Zone lived in absolute harmony with nature, without disturbing a single living creature.
Her pod landed beside a small stream. The water here did not flow by ordinary laws; it drifted in spheres of water bubbles suspended in mid-air, influenced by gravity-modulating machines deep underground. She reached out to touch a water bubble, inside of which several tiny white lotus petals were swirling.
"So beautiful..." she whispered. The fusion of nature's purity and pinnacle technology created a sensation that was both sacred and ethereal.
But the tranquility was shattered by a piercing sound. Zzzzt! The "Seed of Wisdom" behind her ear suddenly grew searing hot, as if scorched by fire. A dark shadow lunged from the thicket. It was neither human nor an ordinary machine. It was an entity resembling a clouded leopard, but its body was composed of ribbons of deep violet energy. It didn't run; it "slid" through space.
The beast stopped a few meters from An Nhien, its eyes emitting a verdant glow that pierced through her. In her mind, a voice suddenly echoed—not in language, but in images: An image of her grandmother smiling, but behind her was a black hole devouring everything.
The beast let out a roar, then turned and bolted toward the solid limestone cliff. But instead of a collision, it phased through the rock as if it were mere mist. A secret entrance appeared, revealing ancient characters shimmering on the stone surface: "Only those who carry the heart of the past shall see the future."
Her body refused to move. The red coordinates from earlier were inside that very cliff. Something was linked to her grandmother, to the gift, and to the fate of the perfect world she inhabited...
CHAPTER 1 - PART 4: THE FACELESS GATEKEEPER
Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, bracing herself for whatever lay hidden in the shadows. The air at the mouth of the limestone cave bore no artificial scent of purifiers; instead, it was thick with the smell of damp earth, green moss, and a peculiar fragrance... like the scent of burning ancient parchment. She stepped across the threshold, moving from the sunlight into the shadows of the cliff.
The moment she crossed over, a hollow sensation washed over her. The "Seed of Wisdom" behind her ear went completely dead. This was the "Zone of Absolute Silence"—a place where all modern technology was rendered void.
"Is someone there?" An Nhien asked softly, her voice echoing off the stone walls.
"One who awaits a question, not one who awaits an answer," a voice replied. Neither distinctly male nor female, it resonated with the melodic chime of bronze wind bells.
From the darkness, a figure emerged. They wore a traditional ao dai, yet the fabric seemed woven from microscopic optical fibers, emitting a faint golden glow sufficient to light the path. The strangest part: the person's face was entirely blank. No eyes, no nose, no mouth. It was merely a flat, smooth surface, like a polished mirror.
Nhien recoiled, her hand instinctively reaching for her backpack. "I came following these coordinates. The beast... it led me here."
The faceless being tilted its head. The mirror upon its face suddenly displayed An Nhien's own reflection—but it was an An Nhien weeping amidst a pile of ruins. "What you see upon my face is not me, but your own fear. To venture further inside and find the gift for your grandmother, you must leave something behind."
"I don't carry physical currency; I only have citizen credit points..."
The figure let out a soft, ethereal laugh. "In this place, money is but the refuse of the past. What I require is your saddest memory. Give it to me, and I shall use it as the catalyst to blast open the door to the acoustic archives. You will feel lighter, and I will have the energy to keep this cavern from collapsing."
An Nhien fell into a stunned silence. Her saddest memory? It was the very thing she always sought to bury, the thing the city's emotional regulators purged from her mind every day. If she gave it away, she would no longer be herself. But if she refused, she would return empty-handed, and her grandmother would never again hear the rain of the past.
A psychological war played out across the young girl's face. In a future world where humanity evades pain through machinery, facing it as a trade for a piece of humanity was a cruel and harrowing trial.
CHAPTER 1 - PART 5: THE SHATTERING OF CRYSTAL
Her eyes drifted closed as she took a long, trembling breath. She focused on her deepest memory—the day her mother left the family to join the "Eternal Hibernation" project, unable to endure the world's artificial perfection. She vividly remembered her mother's searing tear falling onto her cheek just before she stepped into the crystal chamber.
"I agree," she whispered.
The faceless gatekeeper extended a slender hand, lightly touching An Nhien's forehead. A stream of deep violet light was drawn out. An Nhien felt her heart skip a beat; a vast void opened within her mind, yet strangely, her body felt as light as air.
BOOM!
The cliff wall behind the gatekeeper split wide open. A chaotic flood of sound rushed out like a storm: the roar of ocean waves, the chirping of birds, the blaring of ship horns, and the laughter and chatter of millions from centuries past. All were preserved within hexagonal crystal blocks that spiraled in mid-air.
But just as Nhien prepared to step forward to find the "Acoustic Box," the ground beneath her feet shuddered violently. A crimson notification flashed across the gatekeeper's mirrored face:
"UNAUTHORIZED INTRUSION DETECTED. CITY ADMINISTRATION FORCES APPROACHING. HERITAGE ZONE DESTRUCTION ORDER ACTIVATED."
Above the mountain peaks, hundreds of the city's mantis-shaped drones descended, their electronic eyes scanning the valley with vivid red laser beams.
The horrific truth finally hit her, crashing down like a wave of ice: the coordinates that led her here were not an invitation, but a trap. The Administration had used her to track and erase this place—the final sanctuary of genuine human emotion.
"Run, Nhien! Take any crystal and run!" the gatekeeper shoved her forcefully into the cascade of sound.
The stone portal slammed shut just as a high-energy missile struck the cave entrance. The heavy thud of the portal closing was the last thing she heard before the darkness took her while clutching a freezing crystal block to her chest. In her ears, a strange voice echoed—not her father's, nor the gatekeeper's:
"Welcome, child, to the revolution of the dreamers."