Beneath the shadow of war clouds, the Punklorde Oasis Zone was steeped in an oppressive atmosphere. Newspapers throughout the city spread word that war was about to begin, leaving everyone in the Oasis District fearing for their safety. People began stockpiling supplies and shutting themselves indoors. The once-lively city instantly grew far quieter, while prices soared within a short time.
Almost every day, drones flew in formations high above the city, conducting round-the-clock patrols and surveillance. Drones were also frequently dispatched to the Great Wilderness to carry out missions.
In this environment, you intensified your efforts to improve your hacking skills and began researching the Dark Domain. To Punklorde, the Dark Domain was a legendary cyberspace.
The story of the hacker who called herself "The Deceased," creator of the Aetherium Chip, was nearly known to every household in Punklorde. In exchange for abandoning her physical body, she had successfully infiltrated the Dark Domain and become a ghost wandering the interstellar internet. There were also rumors that whoever first breached the Dark Domain could find the first Aetherium Chip left behind by The Deceased—the original chip. It had many names, but Punklorde hackers preferred to call it the Origin Chip.
Possessing that chip was, in a sense, the ultimate pursuit of every hacker.
But you wanted to crack the Dark Domain not because of that chip, but because within that space, you could obtain any information you wanted.
Outside of work, you occasionally kept an eye on the fast-food restaurant. Yet the news you received was that Silver Wolf had bid the proprietress farewell one day and left. If you remembered correctly, she was only fourteen that year.
As for where she had gone, Silver Wolf had told no one. She only occasionally sent an email to the fast-food restaurant, telling the proprietress that she was safe and asking whether Bai Heng had returned... If he had, she asked to be contacted immediately.
At twenty years old, you made breakthrough progress in your research into the Dark Domain and had nearly torn open a breach in that space. That same year, with Owl Serpent's promotion, you became a first-class inspector for the Punklorde Oasis Zone government. This rank placed you squarely within the core tier of the Punklorde Network Corporation.
After entering the core tier of the Punklorde Network Corporation, you gained access to more confidential materials concerning Aetherium Chips, preparing you to completely open the Dark Domain.
During this period, you also received some news from Scrap Mountain. It was said that a new genius hacker had emerged there and single-handedly wiped out an entire Slag Gang stronghold. Ordinarily, such a minor matter would not have required your personal attention, but another rumor about this prodigious hacker caught your interest.
It was said that the hacker had come to Scrap Mountain to find her older brother—the Demon Lord White Fox, once renowned throughout Scrap Mountain. Thus, whenever she challenged a hacker, she would leave behind an electronic graffiti notice seeking information about him.
But before she could learn anything at Scrap Mountain about the whereabouts of the genius hacker called White Fox, the storm brewing above Punklorde descended ahead of schedule.
In late autumn, Punklorde's streets were wrapped in cold, with withered yellow leaves tossed chaotically in the wind.
On Golden Arch Bridge, the largest bridge spanning the river in the city, countless cars were trapped in a traffic jam.
Rain poured from the dark gray sky, striking the churning river and splashing up black spray.
Horns blared one after another across the bridge, playing out the clamorous rhythm of this neon metropolis.
Yet this familiar scene, so frequently seen throughout the city, was suddenly interrupted by a series of strange sounds.
Every signal light began flickering erratically in an instant. It was not only Golden Arch Bridge—traffic signals on roads across the entire city displayed the same phenomenon.
Red, yellow, and green lights began leaping and flashing without pause, falling across the dim ground beneath the rain curtain.
The collapse of the traffic signals soon developed into the collapse of the entire city's transportation system.
A massive number of vehicles clogged the roads, accidents occurred one after another, and terrified cries rose from the crowds amid the previously constant blaring of horns.
Because at that very moment, it was no longer just raindrops falling from the sky, but drones with spinning miniature propellers.
At first, they looked like mere black stones. But as their roaring grew clearer, they smashed into car windows, shattering glass and bringing down a black, bloody rain.
Even some patrol drones seemed to be controlled by some unknown force. One after another, they extended their pitch-black gun barrels, aimed them at buildings and crowds, and began indiscriminately pouring out ammunition.
Flames lit up the sky. From afar, they resembled fireflies circling within the rain.
The buildings' projections of celebrity portraits on data screens were altered at that moment into several blood-red words:
"Game, begin."
Before you continue