The bounty dropped into the Oracle Alliance platform like a neutron bomb.
[PRIORITY-OMEGA BOUNTY: OPERATION GATECRASHER]
The tag itself, a crimson OMEGA that seemed to pulse with an angry light, was enough to silence the entire community for a full ten seconds. Then, as the details flooded their screens—a secret human organization, a century of treason, a planned expedition into the Abyss—the silence shattered into a million pieces of pure, unadulterated rage.
The forum, normally a place of professional discourse, became a digital war cry.
User_AxeManiac: "TRAITORS! HUMAN TRAITORS WORKING WITH THE ABYSS?! I'VE HAD COMRADES DIE FOR NOTHING! SIGN ME UP FOR THE MAIN ASSAULT! MY AXE IS THIRSTY!"
User_StrayDogCroc: "My squad is in. We have experience with demolitions. Point us at a wall, and we'll turn it into dust."
Hundreds of squads, thousands of hunters—the forgotten, the underestimated, the independent wolves of the world—pledged their allegiance. The shepherd had called, and his flock, which had now become a ravenous pack, answered without hesitation.
While the Outer Court roared with a thirst for battle, the Inner Circle—the silent command center of [Channel: Zero]—became a hub of cold, calculated strategy.
Old-Man-Jiang: "This will be a three-phase campaign: Reconnaissance, Disruption, and Assault. I am building the strategic model now."
Nomad-Lead: "I will command the field operations. I'm vetting the squads. The best will be chosen for the most critical tasks."
Crystalline_Mind: "My Analysis Core is processing the last of the Leech's data. We've found a weakness in the Sichuan facility's power grid. Sending the schematics to your terminals now."
Hephaestus: "Their defenses will be military-grade. Our current gear is inadequate. Give me two days. I will forge them new teeth."
In his school library, Qin Mo observed the perfect, self-organizing machinery of his own creation. He only intervened once, when the General identified their greatest blind spot: the enemy commander. With a single, targeted data drop revealing the psychological profile of the assassin 'Specter', he provided his commanders with the key to victory.
He was the ghost in their machine, the unseen god providing the miracles they needed to win a war they didn't even know was possible a week ago.
Forty-eight hours later. The eve of the assault.
The night air over the remote mountains of Sichuan was thin and cold, carrying the clean scent of pine and wet stone. Hidden deep within this serene landscape, nestled against a colossal hydroelectric dam, the Prometheus facility was a tumor of dark science hidden in the heart of nature.
Lin Mei lay flat on a ridge overlooking the facility, a phantom wrapped in a state-of-the-art camouflage cloak. Beside her, three other figures from the elite recon squad "Silent Shadow" lay equally motionless. This was Phase One.
"All teams, check in," she whispered into her comms. The reply was a series of clicks from other recon squads, a silent confirmation from the invisible ring of eyes they had formed around the enemy stronghold.
Below, the facility looked like a simple power substation. But Lin Mei, armed with Oracle's intel, knew that the real facility was a multi-leveled fortress buried deep underground.
"We're moving in," she commanded. "Objective: plant Hephaestus's micro-sensors, confirm the Rift Stabilizer's location, and get eyes on the enemy commander. We are ghosts. No contact. No exceptions."
They descended the ridge, their 'Nyx' Boots making no sound on the loose rock. They moved through the perimeter's invisible energy tripwires as if they were nothing more than a gentle breeze, the boots absorbing their spiritual signatures completely. They reached their infiltration point: a ventilation shaft sealed with a heavy mag-lock.
"Biometric scanner," the team's tech expert, 'Echo', whispered. "We're blocked."
Before Lin Mei could even formulate a report, a new message appeared in her tactical visor, a direct data-stream from Oracle. It was a complex audio file. Oracle: Play this at 17.4 Hz against the lock's casing.
Confused but obedient, Echo played the low-frequency hum. With a soft click, the heavy mag-lock disengaged. A stunned silence filled the comms, broken only by Hephaestus's gruff, admiring voice from the distant [Channel: Zero]. Hephaestus: It's a resonance key! The boy is a damned wizard! He made the lock think it was being touched by an authorized hand! Now stop gawking and get in there!
They slipped into the dark, narrow shaft, navigating the maze with the schematics provided by Oracle. After twenty minutes of silent crawling, they reached their destination: a grate that looked down directly into the heart of the enemy's operation.
The sight below them stole their breath.
They were looking down into a vast, cavernous chamber. At its center, a colossal, intricate machine—the Rift Stabilizer—hummed with a terrifying power, its spinning rings of light focused on a spot in the air that seemed to shimmer and tear at reality itself.
In front of it, a team of twenty soldiers in black, state-of-the-art combat armor were making their final preparations. The Prometheus expedition team.
"I see the target," Lin Mei whispered, her own sensors already scanning and marking every position. "Staging area confirmed." Her gaze swept across the team and landed on their leader. A man who moved with a liquid, predatory grace, a cruel smirk on his face. Jiao Long. 'Specter'. "Enemy commander identified."
Her team began to silently deploy the micro-sensors, planting the invisible eyes and ears for the main assault. The mission was going perfectly.
Too perfectly.
It was then that Swift, her scout, suddenly stiffened. "Captain," she whispered, her voice tight with alarm. "The stabilizer... look at the core."
Lin Mei focused her binoculars on the heart of the massive machine. A small, holographic timer was counting down. [RIFT STABILIZATION SEQUENCE: 00:58:43]
Lin Mei's blood ran cold. Less than an hour. Their intelligence had suggested the expedition was planned for tomorrow night. "They've moved up the timeline," she hissed. "The main assault force is still hours away. They won't make it in time."
Old-Man-Jiang: "What?! That's impossible! Why would they change the schedule?"
As they watched, a Prometheus scientist approached Specter and handed him a data slate. Lin Mei zoomed in, her advanced optics reading the text on the screen. It was a copy of Su Liying's (Crystalline_Mind's) public analysis from the Alliance platform.
A Prometheus officer on the stage below spoke, his voice faintly audible through their sensors. "Our moles confirmed it, sir. Their new Chief Analyst found the Silent Lab. They're getting too close, too fast. The Director has pushed up the expedition timeline. We go tonight, before they can figure out what we're doing here."
Lin Mei felt a profound chill. Their own success, Su Liying's brilliance, had backfired. It had spooked the enemy into accelerating their plans.
Phase One of their operation was a success. But it had just triggered a catastrophic failure in the overall campaign.
The enemy was about to step into the Abyss in less than an hour. And their army was still a day away. They were alone, deep behind enemy lines, and the clock was ticking towards doomsday.