In the silent abyss of his own consciousness, Qin Mo felt her message arrive. It was not a data packet. It was a whisper across the soul, a vow of fealty that resonated with a warmth that was entirely alien to him.
> Crystalline_Mind: I have read the file. I understand. > Crystalline_Mind: My watch begins now.
He, the Observer of 99,999 lonely lives, the being who had watched empires rise and fall with the same detached interest as a man watching clouds drift by, felt an unprecedented data point register. It was not a variable to be calculated. It was a constant. A fixed point of loyalty in a universe of chaos. For the first time, in this one, single reality, he was not entirely alone.
He considered his reply. His standard protocol would be a simple "Acknowledged." It was efficient. It was impersonal. It was the voice of Oracle. But the message he had just received was not from his Chief Analyst. It was from Su Liying.
He typed a new reply, one that was still in character, but carried a new, subtle weight.
Oracle: A watchman is most vulnerable when they stand alone on the wall. Oracle: Your first and most important duty, Chief Analyst, is to ensure your own safety. Do not be reckless. You are too valuable an asset to lose.
It was an order. A strategic imperative. But woven into the cold logic was something else, something he himself was only just beginning to process. It was the closest he could come to saying, "Be careful."
His mind then accessed the secret file he had created just days before: [Project Sanctuary]. He added a new, top-priority directive. [Directive 2: Enhance asset 'Crystalline_Mind's' personal survivability. Task: Commission a personalized, S-Rank defensive artifact from Hephaestus. Top secrecy.]
The next day at the academy was different. Su Liying walked through the crowded halls, but the chaotic, screaming noise of her empathy was… muted. The knowledge she now possessed acted as a shield, a new context that made the petty anxieties and prides of her classmates seem distant and insignificant. For the first time, she understood a fraction of the profound detachment that Qin Mo must feel every single day.
The other students noticed a change in her. The school goddess seemed calmer, more serene. The bright, investigative energy in her eyes had been replaced by a quiet, unshakable confidence, the look of someone who had seen the far shore and was no longer afraid of the storm.
Her new role as guardian was tested almost immediately. In the hallway, Wang Feng, still smarting from his numerous humiliations, tried to make a snide remark at Qin Mo's expense as he passed. "Still enjoying your free ride, Zero?" he sneered. "Don't you get tired of being useless?"
Before, Su Liying might have ignored him or offered a polite rebuttal. Not anymore. She didn't raise her voice. She didn't even turn to fully face him. She simply met his gaze with a look of such cold, profound disappointment that the arrogant A-Ranker physically flinched as if he had been slapped.
"Is your own talent so weak, Wang Feng," she asked, her voice quiet but cutting like a razor, "that you must try to diminish others to feel powerful?"
Wang Feng's face went from pale to red. He stammered, but no words came out. He was completely disarmed. Su Liying simply turned and walked away, her message clear. The ghost has a guardian now.
Later, during the study period, she found Qin Mo in his usual secluded spot in the library. The silent game of testing him was over. She no longer needed to probe for the god behind the mask; she was now here to offer a moment of quiet companionship to the boy who wore it. She sat at a nearby table, not speaking, and opened her own terminal. The silence between them was no longer tense or questioning. It was comfortable. It was the shared, knowing silence of the only two adults in a room full of children.
A new piece of intel from her Analysis Core flashed on her screen—a report on a suspected Prometheus supply route. She began her analysis, her fingers flying across the holographic keyboard. But now, she wasn't working alone. She was acutely aware of his presence nearby. She worked with the quiet confidence of a master strategist's apprentice, trusting that if she went down the wrong path, her silent mentor was there, watching over her.
Their partnership was now seamless, unspoken, and absolute.
That evening, Hephaestus came online in [Channel: Zero], his text radiating a grumpy, impatient energy. Hephaestus: Well? The war's not going to win itself. What's next, Oracle? Another impossible, world-breaking toy for me to build?
Oracle's reply was immediate. Oracle: Yes. Oracle: A new, top-priority project. A personalized defensive artifact for the Chief Analyst.
The channel fell silent. Oracle had never commissioned a personalized item for any of them. General Jiang Wei's strategic mind immediately understood the implication: Oracle was publicly declaring the Chief Analyst's untouchable status.
A new blueprint file was uploaded. It was not a weapon. It was a small, impossibly elegant piece of jewelry—a pendant shaped like a stylized silver crescent moon cradling a single, dark crystal.
[Blueprint: 'Aegis of Stillness' Pendant]
Oracle: This device contains a micro-array of psycho-receptive crystals, all networked to a central processing core. It has two primary functions. One: it will passively absorb and neutralize hostile spiritual intent directed at the wearer, rendering them effectively invisible to malicious observation and psychic probes. Two: upon detecting an imminent, life-threatening physical attack, it will activate a one-time, S-Rank defensive shield capable of withstanding a direct blow from a high-level assassin.
Hephaestus stared at the design, his craftsman's soul completely captivated. It was the most elegant, most beautiful piece of defensive engineering he had ever seen. Hephaestus: ...It's a masterpiece. But the materials... Oracle, this is impossible. The design requires a flawless 'Starlight Core' crystal for the power source, and at least three grams of pure, phase-stabilized 'Orichalcum' for the shield emitter. I can't just buy those on the market. They're rarer than a dragon's teeth.
Just as Hephaestus pointed out the impossibility of the task, a new alert flashed on the main Oracle Alliance bounty board, visible to all 734 members.
It was a new set of bounties, posted by Oracle himself.
[RESOURCE BOUNTY: A Fallen Star][OBJECTIVE: Satellite analysis has detected the impact site of a recent, spiritually-rich meteor shower in the Gobi Desert Scarred Lands. Analysis predicts a high probability of 'Starlight Core' crystal deposits. Secure any and all samples. High reward offered for flawless specimens.]
[INTERCEPTION BOUNTY: The Dragon's Vein][OBJECTIVE: Our intelligence indicates a Prometheus Initiative mining team is currently moving to excavate a recently rediscovered, pre-Revival Orichalcum vein in the Kunlun mountain range. The Prometheus team is a secondary target. Their cargo is the primary objective. Intercept and secure the raw Orichalcum at all costs.]
The Alliance forums exploded with activity. A treasure hunt! A high-stakes interception against the hated Prometheus! Squads began to form, hunters clamoring for a chance at the massive CP rewards and the rare materials.
They had no idea. They had no idea they were being mobilized, the entire might of a secret army being directed to gather the components for a single, personal gift.
But in the quiet sanctum of [Channel: Zero], the three commanders understood perfectly. The Shepherd had just commanded his entire flock to protect its most important member. The message was clear.
Su Liying was untouchable.