Rain splattered against the windows of Rin's hideout as the storm outside matched the storm brewing within. The decrypted data core lay open on her screen, its lines of code crawling like digital spiders across holographic panels.
Kael paced behind her, his fists clenched. "So they've been tracking every potential System Candidate... before they even activated?"
Rin nodded slowly. "Not just tracking. Experimenting. Manipulating life events, orchestrating 'accidents,' even system-triggered awakenings. These people didn't stumble into power. They were... chosen. Engineered."
Aria sat nearby, flipping a knife between her fingers. "So what are we, Kael? Test subjects in someone's twisted game?"
Kael stopped pacing, staring into the hologram. His voice was low. "Not anymore."
The System chimed.
[New Echo Trial Phase Unlocked – Phase 2 of 3]
Objective: Intercept Mobile Data Convoy – CODE: GLASSHOUND
Location: Sector 12, Perimeter Highway
Time Limit: 6 Hours
Reward: Echo's Trust (2/3) + Tactical Module Blueprint
Rin raised an eyebrow. "Convoy jobs are suicide runs. You're talking full-speed hacks, vehicle infiltration, live ammo drones, and at least two escort mechs."
"Then we move fast and hit harder," Kael replied. "Rin, can you handle the override once we breach their grid?"
"I'll need five minutes inside their signal. Maybe less."
Kael turned to Aria. "Think you can hijack a convoy truck mid-chase?"
She smirked. "Please. Make it harder."
---
Night fell over Granis City's outskirts. The highway stretched like a digital artery through the industrial wasteland. Kael and Aria crouched behind rusted crates at the overpass, overlooking the road below. Hover-bikes hummed under them, modified for speed and EMP evasion.
Rin's voice buzzed in. "Convoy inbound. Three armored haulers, two drone scouts, and a rear mech walker. You've got a 90-second window once they enter the dead zone I created."
Kael took a breath. "Let's make it count."
As the convoy roared into view, he and Aria launched from the overpass, landing on top of the rear hauler with magnetic grips.
Kael cut through the top hatch with a plasma cutter. Alarms screamed. Drones swarmed down from the lead vehicle.
"Rin, now!"
"I'm in. But they're countering—fast!"
Aria vaulted inside the truck, disabling two guards with brutal precision. Kael followed, planting the decryption device into the vehicle's core data port.
"Upload starting... 40%... 60%..."
Outside, plasma fire rained from the sky. Kael ducked as a drone burst through the roof. Aria impaled it with her blade, sparks dancing off her combat vest.
"90%... 100%! Data secured!"
Kael shouted into the comm. "Rin! Pull us out!"
She activated their bike recall system. The hover-bikes re-engaged, auto-driving themselves toward the convoy. Kael and Aria leaped from the hauler seconds before it exploded—detonated by the system itself to wipe evidence.
They hit the ground hard, rolled, then climbed onto the bikes and vanished into the night.
---
Back at the hideout, Rin analyzed the new data.
"This… this is a map. Not just of the city—but of the buried nodes under it. System servers, experimental labs, even sealed-off zones marked 'Forbidden.'"
Kael's eyes narrowed. "And the Order?"
"They're using the nodes to rewrite reality—locally. Micro-changes. That's how they control so much."
Aria's grip on her knife tightened. "So Echo wants us to know the truth before we can act."
Kael nodded. "Then we'll finish this trial... and meet him face to face."
The System chimed again.
[Final Trial Phase Unlocked – Phase 3 of 3: "Judgment Protocol"]
Echo will contact you in 12 hours. Prepare your team. Prepare for war.