Location: Brooklyn, NY – Abandoned Internet Café (Cover: "ByteNite")
Rain fell in sheets outside, obscuring the rusted neon glow of the sign above. Inside, the café had long since gone dark—its computers fried, wires stripped. But in the hidden basement below, "ByteNite" was anything but dead.
You followed Daredevil through a steel-reinforced door until you met him.
Codename: DeadTrace
Former S.H.I.E.L.D. cybersecurity ghost. Current deep-net informant.
He was covered in mismatched gear, wires hanging from his coat like roots. His eyes were tired but sharp.
"So you're the ghost they tried to bury," he muttered, sliding a drive across the table. "I heard of you. Project Ascendant's golden boy."
You said nothing.
Daredevil answered for you. "We need everything you can find—blueprints, internal comms, project leads. The system's going dark, but we think they're regrouping."
DeadTrace nodded. "Then let's peel the mask off."
⸻
[Quest Accepted: Digital Shadows]
Objective: Recover lost Project Ascendant archives from the deep net.
Bonus Objective: Trace the Director's ID and digital signature.
Rewards: EXP, Black Data Keys, Passive Skill Unlock
⸻
As DeadTrace hacked into private blacknet clusters, your system hummed.
You focused.
[Skill Acquired: Deep Analysis – Lv. 1]
Allows user to break down encrypted files or corrupted data faster. Stacks with INT and WIS.
(+10% decryption speed, +5% chance of uncovering hidden metadata)
DeadTrace let out a whistle. "Whatever's in your head, it's not normal code. You're accelerating my decryption time by 40% just standing there."
[System Trait "Cognitive Sync" Triggered]
Your proximity allows passive acceleration of nearby digital operations.
After twenty minutes of silence, DeadTrace's monitor lit up with red folders.
PROJECT ASCENDANT // CLASSIFIED NODE
• Recruitment Logs
• Augmentation Protocols: Batch Alpha, Beta, Delta
• Subject Tree: Key Candidates
• Directive: SUBJECT Y/N
You opened the last file.
"Subject Y/N has adapted to five sequences. Recommendation: escalation to Adaptive Trial Phase – Omega. Subject must remain unaware until genetic stability peaks.
Director's note: 'We created evolution. Now, we guide it.'"
A second signature was below the line.
Name: Dr. Elyra Monroe
Status: Unknown
Last Known Location: Manhattan – Old S.H.I.E.L.D. BioTech Outpost
Daredevil leaned over. "You recognize that name?"
You nodded slowly. "I saw her... in the memory flash."
DeadTrace tapped his keyboard. "If she's alive, she's either hiding from them—or running something worse."
⸻
[Quest Updated: Memory Echoes – Part II]
New Objective: Locate Dr. Elyra Monroe.
Secondary Objective: Investigate Manhattan BioTech Outpost for Subject Records.
Reward Preview: Passive Trait – Genetic Awareness, Rare Crafting Component, EXP Boost
⸻
Back at the safehouse, Subject 13-C had stabilized. Her eyes fluttered but didn't wake. You sat beside her, head bowed, fists clenched.
They took your past.
Now they were trying to shape your future.
But you had something they didn't: a system they couldn't predict.
And soon... you'd take everything back.