A cold wind howled through the mountain pass as Lin Chen descended from the secure uplink facility. The encrypted message from Li Chu was still fresh in his mind—but before he could make a move, the world moved faster.
His wrist-terminal chimed.[System Alert: World Broadcast — Priority Level: Omega]
Across the globe, emergency frequencies lit up. Screens in homes, terminals in bunkers, giant digital billboards in sprawling metropolises—every single one interrupted its feed.
The Erebus insignia appeared.
A mechanized voice, emotionless and glacial, echoed through every device:
"This is an international emergency declaration, enacted under the joint defense protocols of the Global Sovereignty Compact. Effective immediately, all known and suspected System Hosts are classified as high-priority bio-anomalous entities."
"Capture is authorized. Lethal force—permitted in cases of noncompliance. The following is a list of Tier-S and Tier-A anomalous subjects…"
Then the screen shifted—A digital wall of faces, one after another. Each image tagged with biometric overlays, threat levels, bounty markers.
At the top of the list:
[Name: Lin Chen | Alias: Salvator-01 | Threat Level: S+ | Status: Global Priority Target][Reward: 10,000,000 credits | Dead or Alive]
His pulse didn't spike. He had expected this. But the number of names—hundreds, maybe more—was staggering.
From Cairo to Seoul, from Lisbon to Lagos… System Hosts—some still unaware of what they were—had just been branded as existential threats.
And Lin Chen had become enemy number one.
The System's interface flared to life beside him, the usual cool tone now edged with urgency:
[System Warning: Host status has shifted to "Rogue Prime." All international tracking satellites are targeting your last known location.]
[Multiple Hostiles Approaching. Evasive protocols recommended.]
Lin Chen narrowed his eyes. "They're forcing a war."
He didn't have time to think further. A sharp whine pierced the air overhead—a drone squadron had locked onto his coordinates. Within seconds, five high-altitude pursuit units breached the stratosphere, descending like metal hawks. Each bore the insignia of Erebus's Counter-Anomalous Division.
He muttered under his breath, "Of course they'd send the big toys."
He reached for the energy blade module on his belt—but something strange happened before he could activate it.
A second feed opened on his terminal—an unauthorized transmission.
"Chen… it's me."
Li Chu's voice.But this time, it wasn't a recording. It was a live link, audio-only. Her tone was uneven, rushed.
"I hacked into Erebus's deployment logs. They've activated Global Purge Protocol Alpha. It's not just you—they're coming for all System Hosts, everywhere. Hundreds of them. Many won't even know why they're being hunted until it's too late."
Lin Chen dodged behind a cliff wall as plasma fire scorched the ground where he'd just stood.
"You need to get to the Safe Node I sent. It's shielded from orbital tracking. I've… I've started remembering things. The implant… I was there when they gave it to you. I don't know why yet, but—"
Her voice cut out as the signal jammed. Lin Chen cursed under his breath.
He didn't know how long she had before they reached her, too.
[System Interface Update: Stealth Route Calculated — ETA: 17 minutes to Li Chu's Safe Node.]
[New Quest Received: "The First Resistance"]Objective: Evade Erebus Pursuit Units and rendezvous with key ally.Bonus Objective: Rescue or warn as many other System Hosts as possible.Reward: New Module – "Phantom Relay" unlocked upon completion.
He sprinted through the trees, shadows blurring as he manipulated kinetic currents to stay ahead of the drones. His thoughts weren't just on survival now—they were on what came next.
Because this wasn't just a manhunt.
It was a mass cleansing.
And he was going to stop it.