Dohyun didn't sleep. He couldn't.
He spent the dark hours of the early morning meticulously cleaning the 5.56 rifle in the silent, cramped bathroom of his apartment. He was operating purely on the muscle memory of the future and the white-hot adrenaline from the exchange with the traffickers. The small man, the one with the sharp eye, had seen his pulse—had seen that Dohyun was not a novice. His old, soft body was his greatest vulnerability. He was a warrior's mind trapped in a student's shell.
He finally emerged at 5 AM, the rifle broken down and stashed inside the thick, sealed camping backpack. He was pouring a cup of lukewarm instant coffee when it happened.
A cold, metallic voice, not audible to his ears but resonating deep within the core of his skull, sliced through the quiet morning air:
"Analysis Complete. Host Psychological Profile: Extreme Post-Traumatic Stress, High Vengeance Impulse, Survival-Priority. Host History: Time-Line Re-Iteration Detected. Temporal Anomaly Classified. System Activation: Revenant Protocol Initiated."
Dohyun dropped the coffee mug. It shattered on the linoleum floor, the hot liquid splashing across his bare feet. He didn't flinch. His vision momentarily warped, and a strange, crystalline text shimmered into existence a foot in front of his face, superimposed over the messy reality of his kitchen. It was a digital Heads-Up Display, alien and commanding.
"Dohyun, Kim. Title: The Revenant (Returned from Death). Level: 1. Experience: 0/100 (Locked). Current Stats: Strength 8 (Average Male), Agility 9, Endurance 7, Perception 15 (Extreme Paranoia, Future Insight). Note: Stat thresholds must be met to access further functions. Upgrade immediately. Prerequisite for XP Unlock: Perform a decisive, life-altering action that affects the temporal integrity of the Host's timeline."
A cold, terrifying hope mixed with the lingering shock. It was a system. Real, quantifiable power—the cheat code he needed to survive the end and enact his revenge. His Perception was already maxed out, validating his trauma. But to grow, to gain experience, he had to kill. The system demanded a bloody change to the timeline.
He knew what that meant. His mind immediately flashed back to the previous night: the small man, the one with the razor-sharp perception. The one who knew Dohyun was a liar.
The first decisive action has to be eliminating the only person who sees the new me.
11:00 AM, Downtown Seoul.
Dohyun was unrecognizable. He wore a dark hoodie and a surgical mask, his movements crisp and efficient, honed by the cold clarity the System had provided. He relied on future knowledge of the criminal underworld to find his target: the small trafficker, loitering outside a dilapidated warehouse used as a storage front for illegal goods.
He moved with the silence of a hunter. The street was quiet, perfect.
He took the hiking knife from his pack. The steel was cold and unfamiliar, but the image of Min-ji's mocking smile and Hyuk-jin's cruel face hardened his resolve. This is necessary.
He approached the man from behind. The target was distracted, tapping a cigarette. Dohyun covered the man's mouth with one hand, cutting off the scream before it started. With the other, he drove the reinforced knife deep under the man's ribcage.
The target convulsed. The struggle was brief, brutal, and silent. Dohyun didn't look at the man's eyes; he focused only on the sickening resistance of the blade and the System's requirement: a decisive action.
He pulled the knife out, the wet, sickening sound echoing in the alley. The man crumpled, a growing, dark stain blooming on the concrete.
Dohyun stood over him, his breath ragged, his hands slick with hot blood. His mind screamed in protest. He had killed a man.
But before the guilt could fully take root, the metallic voice roared inside his mind, silencing all doubt:
"Prerequisite Met: Temporal Integrity Altered. System XP Unlock Complete! Host has killed an enemy. +500 XP! Level Up! Current Stats Updated: Strength 9, Agility 10, Endurance 8, Perception 16. The Revenant has gained power."
The power surge was instantaneous. His muscles tightened. His mind sharpened further. His hands, though still coated in blood, felt steadier. He was physically better, faster. The system had provided the ultimate justification, turning the murder into a necessary stat-boost.
He quickly rifled through the man's pockets, taking a keycard and a second phone. He didn't feel remorse; he felt efficiency. He forced himself to see the wallet with the picture of the smiling woman inside, a quick glance that served as a grim reminder of the lives he was destroying for the greater goal. He shoved it back. Don't look back. Don't feel.
He used the dead man's phone to find a contact labelled "Broker."
He had the money now. He had the power. He needed the bunker. And he needed it before Hyuk-jin's network, or the dead man's boss, realized what had just happened.
The next target: The Fortress.
The acquisition of the Civil Defense Bunker—the perfect, ready-made fortress—should not be easy, despite Dohyun's new power and money.
The major hurdle should be the Broker.
Now that Dohyun has been identified as a potentially volatile buyer by the traffickers, the Broker he contacts—who may be linked to the gang leader, Hyuk-jin, or the larger criminal network—will smell blood.
The conflict: The Broker demands an absurdly inflated price (maybe double the auction price) in cash, to be delivered immediately, knowing full well this is a desperate situation. The Broker also recognizes the man Dohyun just killed and decides to use the sale as a subtle trap or shakedown.
How should Dohyun handle the Broker's demand and the realization that his enemies' network is already wider than he anticipated?