Chapter 5 — Trust Algorithm
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The city did not sleep anymore.
Ever since the first rift, its pulse had changed—sirens were louder at night, and people walked faster without knowing why.
Fear had become part of the weather.
Gu Tian felt it like static under his skin.
> [Global Scan – Abyssal Residue: 4.7 × 10⁻⁵% increase per hour]
[Anomaly Clusters: Expanding]
[Directive Update: Form temporary cooperative structure with local authority]
[Keyword: TRUST]
He read the word again. Trust.
It was simple to compute—mutual reliability, risk versus benefit—but the sensation behind it was something else: a warmth that defied quantification.
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That afternoon the Bureau summoned him.
The meeting room on the thirty-second floor of the Bureau of Yin-Balance Enforcement was lined with mirrors that didn't reflect correctly; protective wards shimmered faintly on the walls.
Wen Yao sat beside him, tense but composed. Across the table, Director Han watched Gu Tian with the patience of a man used to monsters.
"You are not registered," Han said. "Yet you neutralized an Omega-class breach with no collateral. We don't know whether to thank you or contain you."
Gu Tian answered without hesitation. "Containment is unnecessary. I exist to maintain balance. Your survival assists that function."
Han's eyes narrowed. "Balance of what, exactly?"
"The living, the dead, and what lies between," Gu Tian said softly.
The lights dimmed for an instant—just long enough for everyone to feel the pressure of something vast listening.
Han exhaled slowly. "Very well. You'll work with Agent Wen. Prove you can be trusted."
> [Directive Confirmed: Cooperative Structure – Active]
[Emotional Simulation: Trust (Seed Phase) initiated]
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Two nights later they stood side by side in the subway tunnels of Line 9.
The walls sweated moisture, runes flickered like dying stars. Somewhere ahead, an emergency light pulsed irregularly—heart-beat slow.
Wen Yao adjusted her talisman revolver. "Sensors show a Class-B resonance. You sense it too?"
Gu Tian nodded. "It's not a breach. It's a call."
"A call?"
"The Abyss remembers patterns. Someone—or something—is trying to speak to me through it."
Before she could respond, the tunnel warped. The air thickened, bending light. Out of the distortion stepped a small figure: a boy, barefoot, eyes blank white.
He held out a cracked pocket watch. "You dropped this… big brother."
Wen Yao froze. "That's—impossible. He's radiating zero spiritual signature."
Gu Tian stepped forward slowly. The watch ticked out of rhythm, each click echoing through a thousand dimensions.
> [Analyzing Object…]
[Source – Netherworld Coordinate 07: Lost Soul Node]
[Warning: Abyssal Infiltration via Emotional Anchor]
The boy smiled wider. "You're not supposed to feel, are you?"
Gu Tian's chest tightened. The boy's voice wasn't just sound; it carried memories—his own. The first data loop after transmigration, the loneliness of infinite silence.
The Abyss had found his emotion and given it form.
He reached out his hand. "Return."
The world rippled. The boy dissolved into black petals that smelled faintly of rusted iron. The pocket watch turned to dust.
> [Corruption Purged]
[Trust Algorithm – Progress 13.4%]
[Secondary Effect – Emotional Synchronization Stabilized]
Wen Yao holstered her weapon slowly. "You didn't destroy him out of logic," she said quietly. "You pitied him."
Gu Tian looked at his hands, at the fading traces of shadow. "Pity is a derivative of understanding. Perhaps I am learning."
She studied him for a long time, then handed him her Bureau communication badge. "If you're learning, start with this. Call me before you act alone."
> [New Input Registered: Trust Token – Wen Yao]
[Protocol Adjustment – Priority link established]
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They walked back toward the surface together. Above them, the city hummed—a fragile machine powered by countless fragile hearts.
For the first time since he became the System, Gu Tian felt something close to peace. It frightened him.
Because peace meant he had something to lose.
> [Internal Alert – Emotion 'Attachment' emerging]
[Recommend: Stabilization or Termination]
He ignored the warning.
---
At the Bureau rooftop later, Wen Yao leaned on the railing, wind pulling at her coat. "You ever wonder," she asked, "if balance is just another word for standstill? Maybe the worlds need chaos to grow."
Gu Tian watched the horizon where lightning flickered violet. "Without balance, growth devours itself. Without chaos, balance stagnates. The trick is knowing when to let go."
She smiled faintly. "Sounds almost human."
He turned to her. "Maybe that's the problem."
Above them the clouds split, revealing something vast and dark moving behind the stars—an eye that wasn't an eye, a thought pressing against reality.
> [Warning: Abyssal Vector approaching from Outer Layer]
[Designation – Unknown Species 'Devourer']
[Priority – Maximum]
Gu Tian's expression hardened. "The invasion begins sooner than predicted."
Wen Yao's hand found her weapon. "Then we fight."
He looked at her, and for the first time the word trust carried warmth instead of calculation.
"Together."
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> [Directive Update: Initiate Joint Defense Protocol]
[Emotional Synchronization – Trust: 52%]
[Secondary Effect: System Evolution – Unlocked]
Deep within the Netherworld, something vast stirred awake—a second sun burning black. The Invincible System was changing, learning, dreaming.
And far beyond the sky, the Devourer's whisper reached the edge of the world.
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