System Error: The NPC's Reign of Terror

Chapter 5 Code Injection

Blood-red system text seared before my eyes.

【New Ability Unlocked: Code Injection (Basic)】

My heart hammered wildly against my ribs.

It wasn't fear.

It was a primal, wild premonition.

Code Injection.

This didn't sound like "Physical Overwrite," which could only distort reality. This sounded deeper, more fundamental—closer to the world's operating system.

"What's wrong with you?" Old Doc’s cold voice was like a pair of tweezers, plucking me out from the abyss of data. His unaugmented eyes stared intently at me, as if he could see every nerve beneath my skin.

I instantly snuffed out all emotion, burying the ecstasy deep within my marrow.

"It's nothing," I said, shaking my head, my voice a flatline. "I was just thinking... Seventh Avenue is a long way off."

"Of course it is," Old Doc grunted, turning back to wipe his scalpel. "That’s Midtown territory. Athena’s eyes are everywhere. Even with that 'Ghost Cloak,' if you so much as fart near a gang leader, you'll have a security team's gun barrel shoved down your throat within three seconds."

His words were like cold steel nails, driven one by one into my newly kindled hope.

But this time, I didn't despair.

Because I held a trump card that neither he nor even Athena knew about.

The informant in "The Lost" bar.

The intel Old Doc had casually let slip was now exploding in my mind. That man who was always in the same corner at the same time, uploading data through his personal terminal. If he really was an informant for the Olympus Group, where would his data eventually go?

To Athena.

A crazy plan took root and grew wildly in my mind. If I could intercept his data, I could learn more about Brute. If... if this "Code Injection" was truly what I thought it was... I could even tamper with the data he uploaded.

I could give Athena a fake coordinate. A decoy Nova.The idea was so bold, so insane, that my fingers were trembling. For the first time, I wanted to take the fight to the massive system hunting me down, rather than hiding like a rat.

"Mission deadline: less than forty-eight hours," I whispered to myself.

I had no time to hesitate.

As nightfall completely swallowed the last sliver of light in the Sinking District, I slipped on the ice-cold "Ghost Coat."

"I'm heading out," I said to Old Doc, who was busy welding a prosthetic knee.

He didn't look up; the sparks from the welder cast hellish shadows across his face. "Don't go dying out there. My clinic still needs cleaning," he rasped.

I didn't answer. I zipped up, pulled up my hood, and vanished completely into the darkness that could distort electronic signals. Like a true ghost, I slipped back into the fringes of Midtown.

Midtown at night was a blur of flashing neon; massive holographic advertisements distorted through the acid rain mist, casting grotesque shadows. I moved like a rat, hugging the shadows of the buildings to avoid patrolling security bots and the red-pulsing "Eyes of Athena." The "Ghost Coat" was incredibly effective; surveillance cameras swept right over me without a hint of a reaction, as if I were nothing more than a wisp of moving air.

My objective was a derelict communication relay station near the "Lost" bar. I knew the place—a forgotten corner covered in graffiti, visited only by the homeless and addicts. Most importantly, it had a public network access point where the data traffic of several surrounding blocks converged.

On the maintenance hatch, I saw it again—the familiar circuit board symbol drawn in fluorescent paint, identical to the one in the sewers. I didn't have time to dwell on it. I ducked behind a pile of construction debris as cold rain dripped from my hood. I activated "Data Vision," and the world before me was instantly overlaid with a web of countless crisscrossing blue lines of light.

I waited. Just as Old Doc had taught me—like a hunter.

As midnight hit, my heart began to race. This was it.Sure enough, a new data stream with an extremely high encryption level connected to the network node from the direction of the "Lost" bar. It was like a viper shimmering with golden light, glaringly obvious amidst the countless blue data streams.

That was him. The Olympus informant.

I locked my eyes on that data stream, focusing all my willpower on it. *Come on, respond!*

That familiar red glow appeared again, followed by an interactive option.

【Vulnerable data channel detected...】

【Use 'Code Injection (Basic)' on target?】

【Yes/No】

My breath hitched.

In my mind, I slammed down on "Yes."

Instantly, my consciousness was violently ripped from my body, transforming into an invisible current that surged out along the data lines!

My vision was submerged in a waterfall of 0s and 1s. Countless lines of code, data packets, and encryption protocols flashed past my eyes. I felt like a ghost intruding onto a highway, surrounded by the roaring traffic of data.

Then, I slammed into that golden data stream.

Boom!

An invisible wall blocked me cold. The encryption protocols on the surface of the data stream were like searing flames, trying to repel and incinerate me.

【Attempting forced injection... Cracking encryption protocols... 1%... 15%... 42%...】

A violent headache struck, like a red-hot iron poker churning my brain. My vision began to flicker, and fragments of memories that didn't belong to me flashed by—a stranger's smile, a field scorched by war, the cold glint of a metal operating table...

【Data Corruption: 0.5%... 0.8%... 1.1%...】

The corruption level was climbing fast! I gritted my teeth, enduring the agony that felt like it would tear me apart. I couldn't give up! This was my only chance!

"Open... damn it!" I roared in my mind.

【Decryption successful! Code injection complete!】As if breaking through a thin membrane, all resistance vanished in an instant. The frenzied data streams before my eyes grew tame. A rudimentary yet comprehensible control interface, like a crude projection, surfaced within my consciousness.

To the left was a file package being uploaded, its progress bar at 34%, titled [Abnormal_Signal_Source_Tracking_Report_Sinking_District_Wk48]. To the right was a blank text box, the cursor blinking steadily.

I did it! I actually hacked his comms!

I quickly skimmed the report’s contents. It contained a detailed log of every anomalous signal captured by Olympus probes on the edge of the Sinking District over the past two days. Several of them pointed directly to the vicinity of Old Doc’s clinic. They were closing in. In another day at most, they would be able to pinpoint my exact location.

Cold sweat instantly drenched my back.

I immediately shifted my focus to the text box on the right, frantically typing in new information, overwriting the truth with lies. I spoofed my location data to place myself on the other side of the city—a notorious gangland war zone on the edge of District 9. I even mimicked the report’s format, fabricating a record of a skirmish between myself and a small-time gang that left behind a strong signal trail.

Once finished, I hit the "Replace and Resume Upload" button.

The progress bar continued to tick upward, but the contents had been completely doctored. Neither that poor informant nor the "Athena" system behind him would ever suspect that the intel they were about to receive was a plant, hand-delivered by their own prey.

Just as I was about to disconnect, something else in the file package caught my eye. Beneath the main report was a sub-file protected by multiple layers of encryption. It was small, but its encryption level was far higher than that of the main report.

I attempted to read the filename. When the string of characters finally materialized, my blood nearly turned to ice.

【IE_Project_Cargo_Manifest_#B7】

IE_Project... Project Eden!

The format was nearly identical to the fragment that had flashed through my mind when I first awakened—【Project_Eden_Observation_Log_#3】!

My heart hammered against my ribs. This was no coincidence.I immediately attempted to copy this sub-file. The system blared an overload warning again, and my headache intensified.

【Data Corruption: 1.3%... 1.4%... 1.5%...】

A wave of intense vertigo hit me; the world spun wildly before my eyes, and I felt like I could lose consciousness at any moment. But I gritted my teeth hard, forcing myself to stay conscious. I *had* to get it!

【File Interception Successful!】

The instant the system notification pinged, I severed the connection. My consciousness, like a rubber band stretched to its limit, snapped back into my body with a jolt.

*Splash!*

I collapsed into the freezing water, gasping for air like a diver surfacing from the deep sea. I was soaked through, my brain felt like mush, and countless disjointed images flashed before my eyes. That brief moment of memory fragmentation made me forget who I was or where I was.

It took a few seconds for the dizziness to slowly recede. I struggled to my feet, using the wall for support. My body was incredibly weak, yet a massive wave of euphoria filled my heart.

I hadn't just misled "Athena"; more importantly, I had secured another piece of critical intelligence.

The encrypted file I had intercepted slowly unfolded in my mind. Its contents weren't complex—it was a cargo manifest. But the header made my pupils constrict sharply.

【Consignee: Iron Fist Gang - Brute】

【Cargo: Military-grade 'Berserk' Series Combat Cybernetic Upgrade Kit】

【Delivery Time: Tomorrow, 16:00】

【Location: 7th Avenue, Warehouse No. 3 under the Overpass】

【Transport Route: Via...】

My gaze locked tight onto the transport route, which was detailed down to every single turn.

I had precise intelligence on Brute's movements. Time, location, route... everything I needed was now in my head.

I was no longer that bar waitress who could only sit and wait for death.

I looked at the dazzling neon lights of Midtown, appearing cold and illusory through the curtain of rain. The countdown had over twenty hours left, but for the first time, I felt the scales of victory beginning to tip in my favor.Carrying this burning intel, I turned and vanished into the darkness of the Undercity.

I needed a plan. A meticulous plan, one capable of hunting down "Bone Crusher" Brute.

Back at the clinic, I pushed open the door to find Old Doc sitting at his desk, as if he had been waiting for me. In front of him lay a large-caliber pistol and an odd-looking bullet.

"I knew you'd come back." He looked at me, his eyes holding no surprise, only a complexity I couldn't read. "'Cause I know you, like me, have been cornered by Olympus. Now, tell me your plan."