The room was heavy with silence, broken only by the steady hum of the ceiling fan slicing through the air.
The faint glow from William’s phone screen cast blue reflections across the floor, making the place feel colder than it was. He had barely slept. Something about the system’s last message still clung to his thoughts like static.
> [System Booting...]
[Syncing recent activity...]
[Error: Incomplete data stream.]
William leaned forward on the bed, staring. “Incomplete data stream? What does that even mean?”
The glow flickered, then steadied again.
> [Minor interruption. External interference detected during network sync.]
He frowned. “External interference? You mean someone’s trying to hack you?”
> [Unknown. Trace inconclusive.]
William exhaled sharply. “That’s not e
