7:00 a.m. The control center's lights flared to full brightness.
A three-dimensional reconstruction of the explosion site spun slowly on the main screen—every dust trail, heatwave ripple, and evacuation route traced with precision. The room, lined with matte black consoles and cold steel, pulsed with low humming. Researchers in black uniforms stood motionless, their eyes fixed on the data.
"Confirmed detonation point?" a sharp voice cut through the quiet. The lead researcher, middle-aged, eyes shadowed with sleepless nights, didn't look away from the display.
"Fifth floor. Southeast wing. Public interaction zone," replied a younger analyst. "No manual trigger. The system logged no authorized access. It just… happened."
"Still no subject identified," another murmured.
A flick of fingers. The rotating model paused—zoomed into a single, crucial frame: a blurred figure sprinting into the blast radius—Silas. Just behind him, Gideon.
"X07 demonstrated autonomous behavior," a calm voice said from the observation deck above. "The medbay logs confirm it. No command received. It activated of its own accord."
"And Y01?" the lead asked.
"Same. Open-collaboration mode. No directives issued. But it followed."
The lead researcher said nothing for a long moment. Then nodded. "Proceed with the next stage."
A new directive blinked to life on the side terminal:
Evaluation Task: S-Class Unit Joint Execution – Behavioral Coordination Simulation
Objective: Investigate suspected data contamination in Southern Residential Sector, Cenith Rebuild Block Containment Zone
Parameters: Remote Behavior Logging ENABLED · Partial Autonomous Decision-Making GRANTED
Inside the medbay, blue light blinked across Silas's eyes as the terminal lit up. He stood towel in hand, drying the last of his hair. Across from him, Gideon looked up at the same time. Their gazes locked.
"New task," they said in near unison.
"…No more fake school life?" Silas asked, voice low.
Gideon raised an eyebrow, half-grinning. "Playgrounds mask your instinct to burn. Classrooms muffle the thump of your core."
Silas didn't answer. He tapped his wrist screen. "Containment zone. Suspected node corruption. Authority level—S."
"They're done pretending," Gideon muttered, pulling on his coat. "They want to see what happens when we break."
Silas grabbed the access card from the wall. A quiet beep. The lock disengaged.
They stepped into the underground access shaft.
The descent was long.
The elevator fell past ten sealed levels—each marked with flickering numbers and low-tone chimes. With each layer, the lights dimmed, and the air thinned.
At the lowest terminal platform, a black-silver maglev train waited. No insignia. No markings. It looked more like a dormant organism than a vehicle—still, gleaming, dangerous.
The doors slid open. Inside: sterile white lighting, empty seats, and a quiet hum of energy just beneath the surface.
A projected display hovered in the front of the cabin:
Route Active: Cenith South · Rebuild Block · Containment Zone
Estimated Duration: 37 minutes
Monitor Level: S-Class
Remote Logging: ENABLED
"Deeper than last time," Silas muttered, scanning the carriage.
"Deeper means more unstable," Gideon replied, scanning his ID into the cabin system. "They're sending us into a sector they don't even fully control."
Silas stepped in. The doors sealed behind them. The train began to move.
Harsh lighting bathed the interior.
Silas sat by the interface wall, watching the red line crawl along the projected route. "Unconfirmed contamination source… unstable node," he read aloud.
"They've already cleared the civilians," Gideon noted. "Three-hour lockdown protocol. Level-B security perimeter."
"B-level for a node anomaly?"
"They're worried about data leaks. Not casualties."
Silas tapped the console. The schematic updated—five red dots pulsing along the zone schematic. "Possible source nodes. We're on E."
"Simulated cooperation scenario," Gideon muttered. "They want to watch the chain break."
"They expect failure," Silas said. "It's the only consistent pattern."
Gideon crossed his arms. "Then let's disappoint them."
Outside the windows, the tunnel grew darker, narrower—light strips vanished behind walls lined with exposed veins of cable and warped steel. The insulation looked torn, and fragments of scorched plastic littered the edges of the rail.
Halfway through, the cabin lights flickered. The floor vibrated, not from speed—but from interference.
"Signal's starting to jam," Silas observed. "Tunnel integrity's compromised."
"They designed it this way," Gideon said. "This sector's not just forgotten—it was buried."
Silas frowned. "Meaning?"
"Meaning it used to be something else," Gideon said. "They turned it into a dumping ground after the K-series purge. Old neural cores, broken data loops, things that didn't follow orders."
Silas's expression darkened. "You think we'll find one?"
"I think we're being tested against one."
[NOTICE] Approaching Assigned Zone
Destination: Cenith South · Rebuild Block · Containment Site E
Prepare for Disembarkation
The train slowed. A hiss filled the cabin.
Silas pulled on tactical gloves and synced his terminal. Gideon locked his gear and stood.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Always," Silas replied.
The doors opened.
They stepped into a gutted perimeter.
This was supposed to be part of the Rebuild Block—a zone already secured, with guidance rails, automated systems, and clean energy circulation. What they saw instead was a wasteland.
No marker lights. No working terminals. Just cracked alloy tiles, broken piping, and dim emergency glowstrips barely clinging to power.
"It looks like it overloaded recently," Silas said, crouching to inspect charred dust. "No clean-up either."
Gideon narrowed his eyes. "Not just overload. Massive interference. System controls are probably dead."
"Report marked this stable," Silas muttered. "So either they hid the damage—"
"Or it happened after they locked the logs," Gideon finished.
He pushed through a half-broken security door. Beyond it—what used to be an "interaction platform"—was now a splintered deck, beams collapsed, ceilings fractured like brittle bones.
Silas's terminal chirped:
[ALERT] Local Interference Detected
Contamination Index: Elevated (Class C)
Recommendation: Deploy Filtering Protocol
His HUD shifted to tactical overlay. "Center's through that breach," he said, pointing.
They advanced, boots crunching data shrapnel and scorched insulation. The air buzzed, like static caught in a dying loop.
Then Silas stopped.
His eyes landed on a faint blue glow—a severed neural conduit, snaking across the floor. Its broken tip flickered with corrupted code. Just beneath the static:
Designation: X
Gideon crouched beside him. "That's a core line. One of the early types."
"It was removed," Silas said. "Forcefully."
They stood. The silence thickened.
Click.
A sharp metallic sound echoed—too clean to be structural.
Silas's terminal blinked.
[Source Detected]
Origin: UNKNOWN
Status: Active · Unregistered
"…Something's here," Silas whispered.
Gideon drew his blade.
A low hum vibrated the ground. The far gate began to shift—no motor, no signal—just movement. Then, it snapped open.
A blast of corrupted air hit them.
Silas's mask sealed. Through the visor—he saw it.
A silhouette. Man-shaped. Moving wrong.
Shoulders too still. Neck tilted unnaturally. Its frame shimmered with static.
"Gideon," Silas breathed. "Its shoulder."
Burned into the frame—one letter:
X
The system screamed.
[CRITICAL] Deregistered Entity Detected
Recommendation: TERMINATE LINK · SEVER CONNECTION
The walls wailed.
The figure stepped forward.
And the light—
—went out.