The early morning sun filtered through the glass walls of Polaris Holdings, casting long golden rays across the office where Lin Chen sat motionless, staring at the message he had received just hours ago:
"You're not the only one with a system."— Omega
The words rang like a prophecy. Chilling. Undeniable.
But even more disturbing was the subtle shift he had sensed the night before—in her.
Li Chu.
She had always been enigmatic—measured, sharp, and almost too perfect at times. As if someone had built her to survive in the world of high finance and power games. But now, cracks were starting to show.
And Lin Chen had learned to pay attention to cracks. They revealed what was beneath the surface.
Three Hours Earlier – A Penthouse in the Eastern District
Li Chu stood alone, barefoot on the cold marble floor of her penthouse. The blinds were half-drawn, painting the room in streaks of sterile morning light. Her phone buzzed again—an unknown number. Third time this week.
She picked up with practiced calm.
Silence.
Then a voice—modulated, distorted. But familiar, somehow. As if it spoke from within her bones.
"They said you were the perfect vessel. But the system failed in you… or so they thought."
Her breath hitched.
"Scan your left shoulder. Subdermal layer. You'll know this isn't madness."
Click. Line dead.
Li Chu's hand trembled. Not because of fear—but recognition. That voice—it stirred something ancient in her memory. Something she had long buried under success, under survival, under control.
She grabbed her emergency medscanner from the shelf and pressed it against her left shoulder. A faint glow emitted as it ran a subdermal scan.
Beep.
Foreign microchip detected.Inactive system node: STATUS—Dormant.Codename: Project Helix.
Her legs gave out.
She collapsed onto the cold floor, the scanner slipping from her hand.
"What the hell is this…?" she whispered.
But deep down, a part of her already knew.
Now – Polaris Holdings, CEO Floor
Li Chu entered Lin Chen's office two hours late, uncharacteristically disheveled. No makeup. Wrinkled blouse. Eyes red, like she'd been crying or not sleeping—or both.
"You're late," Lin Chen said softly, not accusatory, but observing.
She didn't respond. Just walked past him and dropped her leather briefcase on the table with a thud.
He stood slowly. "Li Chu… what happened?"
She looked at him, and for the first time, the woman who had helped him structure his first 10-million-yuan acquisition, who had taught him negotiation tactics over midnight ramen and confidential dossiers—looked lost.
"Do you…" she hesitated, biting her lip. "Do you believe people can be programmed to forget who they are?"
That stopped him cold.
"Why are you asking me that?"
She walked over, leaning against the edge of his desk, hugging her arms. Her body language screamed of internal collapse—unseen battles tearing her apart.
"I think… I think something's been hidden inside me. Not metaphorically. Literally. I found something."
Lin Chen's eyes sharpened. The System in his mind pinged softly.
[Emotional Instability Detected – Subject: Li Chu][System Alert: Dormant Node Resurfacing — Unidentified System Signature]
He stepped forward carefully. "Show me."
She flinched but nodded, reaching into her coat pocket and handing him the scanner. Lin Chen activated the replay.
Foreign microchip detected.Project Helix — Dormant.Last ping: 6.3 years ago.
He stared at the name. Project Helix. That was one of the defunct codenames mentioned in the System Archive Logs—experimental programs in system implantation, allegedly destroyed by Erebus after catastrophic results.
No survivors. No records. Only whispers.
But she was standing here. Breathing. Broken, but alive.
And she had been one of them.
Flashback – Six and a Half Years Ago
The girl in the lab was only 17. Li Chu, though she didn't know her name at the time. She was Subject C-11.
Strapped to a cold metal table, heart racing, head buzzing with static.
The scientists whispered words like "consciousness encoding", "personality shielding", and "adaptive rejection". She remembered nothing after that—except a voice that told her, "Sleep now. When you wake, you'll be perfect."
Back to Present
"I don't know who I really am," Li Chu whispered, more to herself than to him. "Everything I've built… my career, my logic, my emotional control. What if all of it was a side effect? What if I'm just a failed experiment?"
Her voice cracked.
Lin Chen took a step closer.
"No. You're not failed," he said firmly. "You're alive. That's more than most who went through those experiments can say."
She looked at him, startled. "You… you know about the experiments?"
He hesitated, then nodded.
"I didn't know they touched you too."
For a long beat, they just stood there—two people caught in a web spun years before they even knew each other. Different systems. Same shadow.
Then Li Chu asked quietly, "Is that why you've been changing? Growing… so fast? Your intuition, your timing, your control. You have one, don't you?"
Lin Chen didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Li Chu smiled, bitterly. "I figured."
But then she added something unexpected.
"I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid of what I might become again."
System Message: Side Mission Triggered
Mission: Soften the CollapseHelp Li Chu come to terms with her past and prevent a second system awakening.
Reward: Emotional Sync Bonus + Access to Helix System Archive (Locked)
Time Limit: 72 hours
"Come with me," Lin Chen said suddenly.
"Where?"
"My personal virtual chamber."
"What—"
He didn't wait. The system portal activated, dragging them both into a controlled shared memory space—white rooms, simulated snow falling, no danger, only calm.
Li Chu blinked, stunned. "Where are we?"
"Somewhere safe. For both of us."
He extended a hand.
"Let me help you carry this, Li Chu. You're not alone anymore."
For the first time in her life, she took someone's hand and believed the words might be true.