Kade barely took two steps before the entire gala changed.
The lights dimmed. The music cut. The ceiling panels shifted, revealing a swirling hologram of the city below—rotating slowly like a digital snow globe. Lines of code shimmered across the air like floating scripture.
And then came the AI voice again:
> "Welcome to the Legacy Hunt."
"Hidden among you is a data fragment known as the Echo Code. It may take any form. It will move. You will not be told twice."
"Winner receives 1,000,000 Credits and a Legacy Favor."
"Losers will be… archived."
People moved fast.
Dresses split into combat skirts. Suit cuffs hissed open to reveal data-blades, microdrones, or worse. The air pulsed with scanners, silent systems scanning for anomalies. Even the champagne fizzed slightly more aggressively.
Kade took a calm sip of his now-warm Galaxyblood. "Okay then. Let's play."
> [MISSION STARTED]
Locate: The Echo Code
Status: Mobile
Location: Unknown
First Hint: "Where secrets reflect, the code listens."
Reward: 1M C + Legacy Favor
Penalty: Reputation Burn, ID Trace Risk
"Secrets and reflections," he muttered. He looked up.
Mirrors. There were dozens suspended from the ceiling—some ornamental, others practically disguised as art. He moved swiftly but smoothly, not drawing attention, weaving through clusters of overdressed killers and data-tycoons sniffing for clues.
One woman scanned her wine glass like it might explode into treasure. A man in chrome robes actually licked the marble floor.
Kade didn't trust any of them.
> [Ping Detected: Environmental Anomaly – Mirror 12B]
Classification: "Non-synced Surface. Possible Host."
Distance: 27 meters. Elevation: 3 meters.
Up. Of course.
He tapped his wrist and activated the nano-treads in his shoes. They gripped like suction as he stepped up a pillar—effortless. Smooth. The crowd below either didn't notice or assumed he belonged. Being "Kael Orien" had perks.
Mirror 12B hung crooked, flickering slightly. Not a crack, but a stutter. A tiny loop in the reflection.
Kade reached for it. "Gotcha."
But just as his fingers brushed the surface, it morphed—twisting like metal smoke, slipping through his hand and streaking across the ceiling like a dart of light.
> [TARGET ESCAPED]
Echo Code Status: Mobile. Aware.
New Hint: "Where envy gathers and truth is bought."
"It's sentient?" Kade whispered. "Or just mean?"
He dropped down and scanned the room. People had noticed something. A subtle shift of eyes, a few trackers recalibrating.
Kade moved toward the second clue's location: a sculpture garden on the side wing of the venue. Digital statues pulsed with emotional data—anger, love, betrayal—broadcast in waves. High-society buyers were bidding on them like stock.
"Envy and truth," Kade muttered, narrowing in on a piece labeled "The Original Lie." It was a humanoid shape, mouth open, heart missing. Reflections bounced strangely off it.
> Ping: Echo Code Signature Found. Locked.
Condition: Encrypted
He placed a hand on the sculpture. Instantly, his System screamed.
> [CODE LOCKED – ENCRYPTION BARRIER: RANK A]
Options:
— [Brute Force] (Risk of Trace)
— [Decipher Riddle]
— [Spoof High Clearance ID]
"I'm not brute forcing anything in a room full of armed rich people."
He selected "Spoof ID."
> Spoofing… Processing… Success: Clearance Temporarily Raised – House Orien Match.
The sculpture shuddered. A slot opened near the base. Inside: a glass vial holding a black shard of light—fractured, humming.
> [YOU HAVE OBTAINED: ECHO CODE FRAGMENT]
Next Phase: Escape
Status: Competitors Aware. Target Status: Hunted
Kade froze. "Oh… so now I'm the thing they're hunting."
Below, someone screamed. A man in a gold vest disintegrated mid-sentence.
The others started running.
> [WARNING: YOU ARE CARRYING A CODED LEGACY OBJECT]
> Traces Enabled
Threat Level Raised
Escape Path Calculated: Emergency Tunnel C4 – 112 Meters South
"Of course it's never easy."
Kade sprinted, activating a cloaking field from his suit. The corridor twisted ahead of him, lighting up with danger pings—someone else was closing in fast.
And then he heard it.
A low chuckle, smooth and dark. From above.
He didn't even have to look.
> [Vel is Watching]