The chaos of the firefight died in an instant, replaced by a silence so profound it was more terrifying than any explosion. The elite Prometheus guards, who seconds before had been ruthless killing machines, now stood frozen, their faces pale masks of pure, existential terror. They weren't looking at Lin Mei's team anymore. They were looking at the screens that surrounded them, at the impossible, undeniable proof of their most private sins displayed for all to see.
Lin Mei and her team could only stare in stunned silence. The battle had been won, not by their bullets, but by a whisper from a god.
"All teams, secure the objective," she finally managed to say, her voice hoarse. Her order broke the spell. Her team, moving with a new, almost fearful efficiency, disarmed the catatonic guards and secured the server room.
The rest of the operation was a formality. The main assault force, led by a roaring AxeManiac, stormed a facility whose will to fight had already been shattered. They encountered sporadic resistance, but the heart of the enemy's defense had been broken. The crippled assassin, 'Specter', was captured. Key researchers were apprehended. The retreat was clean, efficient, and devastatingly successful.
As the Oracle Alliance vanished back into the shadows, leaving behind a crippled and terrified enemy, the hunters celebrated their greatest victory. But for the four members of the elite infiltration team, the celebration felt distant. They had not just won a battle. They had witnessed a miracle. And it had changed them forever.
In the digital sanctum of [Channel: Zero], the debriefing began. The mood was different from any meeting they had ever had. The usual professional analysis was now tinged with a deep, profound sense of awe.
Lin Mei's report was concise, but its contents were earth-shaking. She described the battle, the impossible odds, and then, the intervention.
Nomad-Lead: ...the enemy's will to resist was nullified. Not by force, but by a direct, facility-wide cognitive and digital assault from an unknown source. The operation succeeded because of this intervention. Oracle... was that you?
Hephaestus, who had been monitoring the team's gear diagnostics, was the one who answered, his usual gruffness replaced by a tone of near-reverence. Hephaestus: It was him. The data logs from the team's comms units... they picked up the signal. It wasn't a broadcast. It didn't travel through any conventional channel. It was as if the voice and the data simply... *appeared* inside their systems. The level of processing power, the sheer control required to do that in real-time... it's not possible with any known technology on this planet. It's not science as we know it.
General Jiang Wei, the man of logic and strategy, was deeply shaken, but also strategically thrilled. Old-Man-Jiang: He has transcended strategy. He is no longer a player on the chessboard; he has become the hand that moves the pieces. The psychological impact of this event on the Prometheus Initiative will be devastating. They now know they are fighting an omniscient entity. Fear will be our greatest weapon.
Su Liying, the only one who knew the human face behind the divine act, felt a profound sense of isolation. She listened to their awe and terror, and it mirrored her own. Her report was a masterpiece of understatement. Crystalline_Mind: The Janus virus has been successfully planted in their server core. The long-term intelligence gathering has begun. The mission is a success.
As his commanders processed the new reality of their leader's power, Oracle came online. He did not address their awe. He did not explain his methods. He was, as always, focused on the next move.
A notification appeared, flooding the channel with a wave of triumphant green text. [PRIORITY-OMEGA BOUNTY: OPERATION FORGEBREAKER - COMPLETE.][REWARD: 10,000 Contribution Points have been distributed to participating squads.]
A second, private notification appeared for the inner circle. [Inner Circle bonus awarded for strategic command: 2000 CP each.]
But his next directive was not a new mission. It was a change in their very purpose.
Oracle: The data retrieved from the Silent Lab and the captured Prometheus personnel has revealed a new, disturbing trend. They are accelerating their 'Project Chimera' human experimentation. Their failures are increasing, and they require a constant supply of new test subjects.
He uploaded a new file to The Archive. It was available for a single, symbolic Contribution Point. [File: Known Prometheus Abduction Targets - Threat Assessment (Next 30 Days)]
Oracle: This list contains the names of over one hundred independent hunters, rogue scientists, and disillusioned guild members that Prometheus has flagged for abduction. They are being hunted. Oracle: Our purpose is not merely to attack our enemies. It is to protect our own. Your new standing order is to use the full resources of the Oracle Alliance to warn these individuals. Offer them sanctuary. Offer them a place within our ranks. The flock must protect its own from the wolves.
The directive was a masterstroke. It was an act of benevolence that would also serve as the single greatest recruitment drive in the history of the hunter underworld. By offering sanctuary to the enemies of Prometheus, he was not just building an army; he was building a nation of shadows, bound together by loyalty and gratitude to their unseen shepherd.
The inner circle understood immediately. Their war was no longer just about sabotage and revenge. It was now about salvation.
In his quiet bedroom, Qin Mo observed his commanders accepting their new mission with a grim, determined fervor. Strengthening his organization, turning it into a true sanctuary, was the most efficient way to achieve his primary objective for Project Sanctuary: the absolute protection of Su Liying. By surrounding her with a thousand loyal wolves, he would make her untouchable.
His new power was a tool, and he was using it with the precision of a master surgeon to shape the world to his will.
His attention then turned to the data stream from the Janus virus, which was now silently bleeding the secrets from the crippled Forge facility. The flow of information was steady, a river of dark knowledge. His consciousness sifted through the petabytes of data, sorting, analyzing, categorizing.
Then, he found it. A file, buried deep within a corrupted and half-deleted research archive. It was a secondary project, seemingly unrelated to the Rift Stabilizer. It was titled: [Project Chimera - Phase IV: Vessel Acquisition Protocol].
His mind effortlessly peeled back the layers of encryption. He began to read. It was a profile. A profile of a potential host for their Abyssal god, a candidate with the perfect genetic and spiritual makeup to become their vessel. The file listed the candidate's age, their school, their family background, their academic record...
And their name.
[Candidate Name: Su Liying][Genetic Marker: 99.7% compatibility with 'Weaver of Fates' entity.][Spiritual Talent: A-Rank Empathy. Ideal for psychic resonance and control.][Status: High Priority. To be observed. Acquisition authorized upon graduation.]
The air in Qin Mo's room seemed to drop by twenty degrees.
He stared at the words, his ancient, detached soul feeling a flicker of an emotion he had not experienced in a thousand lifetimes. Pure, cold, absolute rage.
He finally understood. Prometheus's interest in Su Liying was not because she was a brilliant analyst who had discovered their secrets. She was not a threat to their plans. She was the goal.