Chapter 4: Invisible Threads

  Jin blended into the crowd, his senses on high alert.

  The city was watching. Not the people—the system. Cameras. Drones. Even light poles seemed to track motion. With the CHEAT MODULE humming low in his mind, he walked like he belonged. Head down. Movements calm.

  Passive Scramble: 43% Effective

  Probability of Detection: 12%

  Suggestion: Secure Shelter. Observe. Do not engage.

  The module didn’t lie. He wasn’t ready to engage with anything. His heart still thudded from the alley.

  He passed through a narrow market sector, weaving past holographic signs and food stalls that looked—and smelled—too real. Someone had programmed spices into the neural feed. That level of detail wasn’t standard. He knew it.

  A family sat at a stall table, quietly eating synthetic rice and meat. A child ughed at something projected from their father’s comm-link.

  Were they real?

  Were they pyers?

  Were they… NPCs?

  He couldn’t tell. And that terrified him.

  The CHEAT MODULE pinged.

  Analysis: 72% Probability – System-Bound Avatars (No Physical Bodies)

  Status: VR Residents

  Economic Bracket: Css D

  Employment: Menial Programs

  Jin stopped.

  People lived here.

  Not visited. Not pyed.

  Lived.

  And he was jobless, ID-less, and possibly illegal.

  A rge screen on the side of a building bred a sleek promo: “Echelon—Where You Become More.” It showed a businessman giving a presentation with virtual hands. A mother attending school through haptic learning. A soldier leading a simution force through strategy drills.

  This wasn’t a future. This was now.

  Jin ducked into a transit center and slipped onto a low-tier city tram. Seats were half-full. Faces were tired. Mostly silent. Just like the real world.

  Objective: Establish Identity

  Suggestion: Visit Welcome Center or Forge Entry Document

  Alternate Path: Seek Unreguted Job Channel (Danger Level: Medium)

  “I don’t have money,” Jin muttered.

  But the module offered a solution.

  Skill Insight Activated: Observation

  Temporary Boost: Street Scanning – +21%

  Passive Trait Unlocked: Urban Drift

  His vision shifted—edges sharpening. In the crowd, he spotted movements others missed. A man with fake boots hustling fliers. A teen slipping a chip under a bench. A woman adjusting a signal jammer under her coat.

  There was an underground here.

  Not criminal. Not noble.

  Just… surviving.

  Like him.

  The tram stopped at a lower-tier district—“Scrap Hollow.” As he stepped off, the CHEAT MODULE pulsed again.

  Unreguted Job Node Detected

  Hidden Quest Thread Avaible

  Jin followed the signal into an abandoned structure marked with an old logo: HeliosCorp – Decommissioned Sector. Inside, the air shimmered faintly with data residue. It smelled of rust and damp code.

  “Hey,” a voice growled.

  A man stood from behind a broken console. Rough clothes. Augmented eye.

  “You looking for creds or a cause?”

  Jin hesitated. “Whichever keeps me alive.”

  The man grinned. “Then welcome to the bck wall, rookie.”