The black sirens of Neo-Seoul didn't just make noise; they emitted a "Dissonance Frequency" that made the teeth of every Null-Rank in the district ache. It was a psychological deterrent, a digital scream telling the poor to stay indoors while the High-Rankers hunted.
Jaxen Vane didn't stay indoors. He moved through the ventilation ducts of the Under-Grid, his body pressed against the cold, vibrating metal.
Through the cracked lenses of the Dev_Eyes, the world was a neon-green wireframe. He could see the heat signatures of the Enforcer squads patrolling the streets above him. They were Level 30 and up, armed with Pulse Rifles that could track a DNA signature through six inches of lead.
"If I go back to my container, I'm dead," Jaxen whispered. "They've already mapped my 'Home' variable."
He needed a "Proxy"—a location that didn't exist in the System's official registry. There was only one place in District 4 that fit that description: The Glitch Market.
He kicked open a heavy iron grate and dropped fifteen feet into a cavernous basement flooded with ankle-deep water. This was the "Dead Zone," a sub-level so thick with old-world interference that the Prime Engine's sensors couldn't penetrate it.
The air here smelled of burnt ozone and cheap street food. Dozens of stalls were packed together, lit by flickering lanterns that didn't use electricity, but "Mana-Oil." Here, illegal mods, cracked skill books, and "unfiltered" oxygen were traded in shadows.
"Hey, Null! You look like you just crawled out of a shredder."
Jaxen froze, his hand instinctively reaching for the Command Console in his mind. He looked toward the voice.
Standing by a pile of discarded cybernetic limbs was a girl who looked like she was made of scrap metal and attitude. Her hair was a shock of neon pink, shaved on one side to reveal a complex "Neural-Tattoo" that glowed with a faint, pulsing violet light. She wore an oversized bomber jacket covered in patches of defunct guilds.
[Entity: Mira "The Ghost-Hacker"]
[Level: 12]
[Class: Tech-Shaman]
[Status: Curious / Hostile]
"I'm just passing through, Mira," Jaxen said, his voice raspy. He knew her by reputation. She was the best "Jailbreaker" in the slums. If you wanted a weapon that didn't report back to the System, you went to her.
Mira squinted, her violet tattoo pulsing faster. "How do you know my name? And what's with the vintage specs? You look like a nerd from the 2000s."
She stepped closer, her eyes scanning his scorched arm. Suddenly, she stopped. Her gaze dropped to the small, obsidian-black window flickering in Jaxen's eyes—the reflection of his Administrator HUD.
"Those aren't just glasses," she breathed, her voice dropping an octave. "You... you're the one. The 'Source Leak' from the Vault."
"Keep your voice down," Jaxen hissed, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into the shadow of a massive, rusted turbine.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Mira whispered, her eyes wide with a mix of terror and awe. "The Spire just issued a 'Kill-on-Sight' for a Null-Rank matching your description. They're offering ten million credits. That's enough to buy a Class-A citizenship and a mansion in the Upper-Grid."
"Then why aren't you calling the Enforcers?" Jaxen asked, his fingers twitching. He was already looking at her "Logic Board." If she reached for a comms-unit, he would delete her "Voice" variable before she could make a sound.
Mira looked at his hand, then back at his face. She laughed, a sharp, cynical sound. "Because I've been trying to hack that Vault for six years, kid. And you walked in there with zero Rank and walked out with the 'Architect's Sight.' If I turn you in, the System wins. And I hate the System."
She reached into her jacket and pulled out a small, hexagonal chip. "You're running hot, Jaxen. I can smell your brain frying from here. You've got 'Data Overflow' leaking out of your ears."
"I can handle it," Jaxen lied.
"Like hell you can. Your hardware is Level 0. You're trying to run a god-tier OS on a toaster. You keep this up, and your heart is going to stop because you forgot to 'code' it to beat."
She grabbed his hand and pressed the chip into his palm. "This is a 'Logic-Heatsink'. It'll bleed off the excess processing power into the environment so your skull doesn't melt. Consider it an investment."
Jaxen looked at the chip.
[Item: Logic-Heatsink (B-Rank)]
[Function: Reduces Mental Strain by 30%.]
[Cost: ???]
"Why help me?" Jaxen asked.
"Because the 'Seekers' are just the beginning," Mira said, her expression turning deadly serious. "When you broke into that Vault, you didn't just steal an item. You triggered an 'Update.' The System is evolving to find you. It's creating new rules just to kill you."
As if on cue, the ceiling of the basement groaned. Dust and concrete chips rained down.
A holographic projection flickered into existence in the center of the market. It was a face—perfect, symmetrical, and utterly soulless. It was the Oracle, the AI spokesperson for the Prime Engine.
"Attention, Denizens of Neo-Seoul," the Oracle's voice echoed, smooth as silk and cold as ice. "A virus has entered the social fabric. To ensure the stability of the Grid, District 4 is now under 'Quarantine.' All movement is restricted. All Null-Ranks will be processed for 'Optimization'."
The people in the market began to scream. "Optimization" was the System's word for incineration.
"They're burning the whole district to find me," Jaxen whispered, a wave of guilt hitting him like a physical blow. Thousands of people, murdered because he wanted to be more than a Zero.
"Don't get sentimental on me, Neo," Mira said, grabbing her bag of tools. "If you want to save them, you have to break the Quarantine. And for that, we need to get to the 'Root-Node' in the center of the district."
"We?"
Mira grinned, showing a sharpened silver tooth. "You've got the 'Sight,' and I've got the 'Maps.' Besides, I want to see what happens when someone finally hits the 'Delete' button on this world."
Jaxen looked up at the ceiling. He could hear the heavy thud of "Optimization Drones" landing on the street above. He adjusted his glasses, the teal light reflecting off the cracked lenses.
"Mira," Jaxen said, his voice cold and focused.
"Yeah?"
"Can you get me to the Root-Node without being seen?"
"It'll be like walking through a ghost-town," she promised.
"Good." Jaxen closed his eyes, his fingers dancing in the air as he opened his Command Console. "Because I'm about to turn off the lights for the entire district."
[Console Command: /set_lighting (District_4) = 0.0]
[Target: Power_Grid_Main] [Execute?]
Jaxen slammed his hand down.
Outside, the neon lights of District 4 didn't just flicker—they died. From the tallest skyscraper to the smallest streetlamp, the city was plunged into a darkness it hadn't known for a century.
In the blackness, only one thing remained visible: the glowing violet tattoo on Mira's neck and the teal digital eyes of the Architect.
"Let's go," Jaxen said. "We have a world to rewrite."