As Lin Xiu's tactical boots stepped across the damp asphalt, the Nanocore at the back of his neck suddenly gave off a faint burning sensation, like an invisible needle had lightly pricked him.
His steps paused slightly as he looked up at the surveillance camera on the street corner—the red light was blinking erratically, as though someone had seized its pulse. Intermittent flecks of light reflected across his stern face, carrying a strange sense of unease.
"Oracle, scan all electronic devices within a five-hundred-meter radius." He lowered his voice, and the micro-microphone at his throat converted the command into brainwave signals sent into his armor.
Before he had finished speaking, a faint electrical hum sounded in his ears, as if insects were whispering beside them.
The Nanite Swarm spread blue streams of data across his retina, and Lin Xiu's pupils contracted slightly.
A convenience store Wi-Fi node three blocks away was transmitting data back to an unknown IP every 0.03 seconds. A cluster of industrial cameras at an abandoned machine factory had rebooted simultaneously. Even the old radio at a newsstand was crackling—hidden within the static was the rhythm of Morse code, like a forgotten string of passwords silently beating in the air.
"Level-three anomalous tracking pattern detected." Oracle's mechanical voice rang in his mind. "The other party possesses quantum entanglement positioning capabilities and may have locked onto residual energy from your Nanocore." Lin Xiu reached for the Vibranium dagger at his waist. His fingertips brushed the newly carved tender-leaf marking, and the cold metal carried an unexpected warmth, as if it were responding to his vigilance.
For the first time since crossing over, he could clearly feel that the danger did not come from alien technology or magic, but from... the gaze of his own kind.
It felt as