[Time: 2:13 AM | Location: Undisclosed Server – Blacklight Command Net]
A red alarm flashed across the tactical board.
SUBJECT LX – S-RANK SOLO RIFT CLEAR
LOCATION: ZONE 9-B (CLASSIFIED)
NEW TAG: OMEGA-TIER
A woman in a lab coat frowned. "That Rift wasn't just sealed—it was sealed for a reason."
Her assistant typed quickly. "Pulling footage now—wait. What the hell is that?"
On screen, Lin Xuan's silhouette stood in a burning hall, mirror fragments dissolving around him.
Then came the pulse. The feedback. The snap of reality reasserting dominance over a Rift Lord.
They went silent.
Until the Director spoke:
"Send the invitation."
7:45 AM | Back in the City – Lin Xuan's Apartment
[Ding—New Item Manifested: Echo Memory Shard (Bound)]
A faint blue crystal hovered before him, humming with residual energy.
He tapped it.
[Memory Fragment Playback: Rift Lord – Last Core Thought Logged]
"Code Zero… lives?"
Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Again with that name."
Just then—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
He froze.
Not because someone knocked.
But because the person on the other side wasn't human.
[Entity Detected: Shadowborne Courier | Affiliation: Ghostline Syndicate]
[Threat Level: Variable | Status: Passive unless provoked]
The door creaked open by itself.
The figure stepped in—hooded, face wrapped in Voidthread silk. It held out an envelope sealed with black wax.
Lin Xuan took it.
[QUEST RECEIVED – "Invitation to the Dead"]
[Type: High-Risk Social Engagement]
[Location: Unknown – Requires Deathwalk Token to Enter]
[Reward: ??? | Penalty: None. You're already being hunted.]
He stared at the message.
"You want me to walk into a room full of the world's most dangerous rogue players… and make friends?"
The courier tilted its head slightly, then evaporated into mist.
Lin Xuan grinned.
"Fine. Let's meet the people who want me erased."
Location: The Mortuary
The entrance was beneath a shut-down crematorium.
No guards. Just a panel asking for the Deathwalk Token, which manifested in his Rift UI the moment he accepted the invite.
He placed his hand on the gate.
[Access Verified – Welcome, Ghostwalker]
The door opened into a candle-lit chamber full of people who shouldn't exist.
People with legendary status.
People who had been erased from the system.
Some turned to look.
Others didn't bother.
But every single one felt it when Lin Xuan stepped in.
The room shifted.
Reality bent for a moment.
And someone muttered—
"He's not supposed to be here."
A figure stepped out from the shadows, wearing a bone-white suit and a smile made of secrets.
"Mr. LX. Or should I say… the anomaly."
Lin Xuan smirked. "You invited me."
"We did. And now we want to offer you something no one else will."
A pause.
Then the man snapped his fingers.
Behind him, a screen flickered to life. Images of Rift locations all over the world, glowing red.
"War is coming. Not between countries. Between manifested players and the world that refuses to accept them."
He turned.
"And we want you to be the face of the revolution."
Lin Xuan didn't answer.
Not yet.
Because a ping popped up in his HUD:
[Quest Branching Choice Available – Accept the Ghostline Offer or Go Rogue]
[Accept: Gain Syndicate Support, Access to Hidden Tech, Political Immunity]
[Refuse: Become a wildcard. All factions will escalate tracking. Rewards will scale with risk.]
He looked at the room full of monsters dressed like kings.
And said:
"Why would I follow anyone… when I can just rule?"