The timer on Arthur's Samsung screen bled a deep, neon violet. The world around him seemed to stutter, the colors of the street desaturating until everything looked like a charcoal sketch.
Sarah Vance erupted from the gym doors, her eyes wide as she took in the sight of the faceless men in tactical gear. "What the hell are those? Those aren't Silvano's men!"
"They aren't men at all, Sarah! Get down!"
The lead faceless figure raised a suppressed submachine gun. There was no muzzle flash, only a ripple in the air. A bullet whistled past Arthur's ear, disintegrating a brick in the wall behind him into fine white powder. This wasn't standard lead; it was anti-matter rounds designed to erase "anomalies."
[The First Encounter]
Sarah didn't hesitate. She didn't ask questions. She moved like a predator. She dove behind a rusted dumpster, grabbed a discarded iron pipe, and looked at Arthur. "If I die for twenty grand, I'm going to haunt you forever, kid!"
"You're not dying today," Arthur growled. He tapped his phone.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: PROVISIONAL SKILL UNLOCKED – 'TIME LENS' (30 SECONDS)]
Suddenly, the world froze. The faceless men moved like they were trapped in honey. Arthur could see the trajectory of every bullet, glowing like golden threads in the air.
"Sarah! Left! Three steps!"
She moved, reacting to his voice. As the 'Time Lens' ended, she swung the iron pipe with a roar. It connected with the lead attacker's visor. The helmet shattered, but there was no head underneath—only a swirl of purple smoke that evaporated instantly.
"What... what are they?" Sarah gasped, stepping back.
"Glitches," Arthur said, his heart pounding. "The System is trying to delete the patch. And right now, we're the patch."
[The Tactical Retreat: 00:42:15 remaining]
They were being surrounded. Three SUVs, at least twelve "Erasers."
"Into the docks!" Arthur commanded. "We need a bottleneck!"
They sprinted toward the labyrinth of shipping containers. Arthur's mind was racing. He remembered this district from his first life—this was where Julian Thorne would eventually build his black-market shipping empire. He knew every alley, every blind spot, and every trap.
"At the end of this row, there's a crane with a loose cable!" Arthur yelled over the sound of silent gunfire. "When I say now, pull the lever!"
They slid into the shadows of the containers. The Erasers followed, their movements synchronized and robotic. They didn't breathe. They didn't speak. They simply hunted.
"Now!"
Sarah yanked the rusted lever. A three-ton steel crate plummeted from the crane, crushing two of the SUVs in a roar of twisted metal and violet sparks.
[NOTIFICATION: 2 ERASERS DELETED. +10 SECONDS ADDED TO TIMER.]
[The Final Stand: 00:05:00 remaining]
They were cornered at the edge of the pier. The water of the Atlantic was black and freezing below them. Four Erasers remained, moving in a semicircle, their weapons leveled.
Arthur's phone screen was burning his palm.
"Sarah, get behind me," Arthur said.
"Like hell! I'm the one getting paid to protect you!"
"Trust me," Arthur whispered. He looked at the timer. 00:01:00.
He didn't look at the enemies. He looked at the air in front of him. He reached out and literally grabbed the violet frequency wave on his screen, pulling it out into reality.
[SYSTEM ALERT: CRITICAL OVERRIDE!]
[SKILL EVOLVED: 'GHOST REACH' – PERMANENT.]
Arthur's hand turned translucent. He lunged forward, thrusting his hand into the chest of the lead Eraser. He didn't hit flesh. He grabbed the "Core"—a glowing violet cube—and crushed it.
The shockwave sent the remaining Erasers flying into the ocean, where they dissolved into foam before they hit the water.
[The Aftermath]
[QUEST COMPLETE!]
• Reward: $1,000,000 Transferred to 'Aether Holdings'.
• Skill Unlocked: Spirit Vision (Passive).
• New Status: Hunter.
The color returned to the world. The silence of the docks was replaced by the distant sound of a police siren.
Sarah stood there, breathing hard, looking at Arthur as if he were a monster. "That... that thing you did with your hand. What are you, Arthur?"
Arthur looked at his phone. The Samsung A55 was perfectly normal again, but his reflection in the screen was different. His eyes now held a faint, violet ring.
"I'm the person who's going to buy this city, Sarah," Arthur said, his voice cold. "And you're the person who's going to help me keep it."
His phone buzzed. A new message from the Man in White:
"Level 1 cleared. Don't get cocky, Ghost. The next Event isn't a hunt. It's a 'Betrayal'. See you at school on Monday."