2026-01-27 16:24:36The sound of crunching bone was the only thing Han Jin could hear over the howling wind of the Mana Storm.
It was a wet, sickening sound—the sound of his own ribcage collapsing under the weight of a Level 4 Shadow Beast. The creature was a mass of shifting black smoke and jagged obsidian talons, its eyes glowing with a hateful, violet hunger.
"Please... Captain... don't leave me!" Han Jin wheezed. Each breath felt like swallowing broken glass. His fingers, frostbitten and blood-slicked, clawed at the frozen, purple-stained earth.
Ten feet away, the extraction portal was shimmering. Captain Steve—the "Golden Hero" of the Dawn Squad—didn't even look back. He was busy ushering a crying, beautiful woman into the safety of the light.
"Sorry, Han," Steve’s voice carried over the roar of the storm, sounding impossibly calm. "You’re a Shield Class. This is what you were born for. Your sacrifice will save the future of humanity. We'll make sure your name is on the memorial wall."
Liar.
Han Jin knew the truth. Steve hadn't just "encountered" this beast; he had lured it here. He needed a distraction to escape with the High-Tier Mana Core they had found in the ruins. Han was just the "expendable" builder, a man with no offensive skills, hired to carry the bags and build temporary shelters. To the "Awakened," he was nothing more than a human sandbag.
The Shadow Beast let out a guttural roar, its breath smelling like rotting ozone and death. It raised a massive claw, the light of the portal reflecting off the obsidian tips.
If I had one more chance... Han thought, a surge of pure, icy hatred momentarily dulling his pain. I wouldn't build a single wall for these 'Heroes.' I’d build a tomb for every last one of them.
The claw descended.
[System Error: Host Vitality at 0.01%]
[Detection: Extreme Regret and Killing Intent...]
[Initiating 'Final Blueprint' Protocol...]
[Time Regression Sequence: Activated.]
Flash.
Han Jin bolted upright with a gasp that tore at his throat. He expected the freezing wind; instead, he felt the humid, stagnant air of a small apartment. He expected the smell of blood; instead, he smelled stale instant ramen and cheap coffee.
"Gasp... Hah... Hah..."
He lunged forward, his hands frantically roaming over his chest. His heart was hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird, but the skin was smooth. No holes. No crushed bone. Just a faded gray t-shirt.
He looked around. He was in his studio apartment in the city of Linford. A stack of unpaid bills sat on his desk. A half-eaten bowl of noodles sat next to his laptop.
With trembling fingers, he grabbed his phone.
January 27, 2026. 9:45 AM.
His heart nearly stopped. He was back. This was the exact day the "Pre-Collapse" tremors began. In exactly 100 days, at noon, the sky would turn a bruised purple, the "Mana Collapse" would occur, and 80% of the population would either be slaughtered or mutated into monsters.
Ding!
A translucent, neon-blue screen flickered into existence directly in his line of sight.
[Welcome, Architect.]
[The Divine Architect System has been successfully bound to your soul.]
[Host: Han Jin]
[Class: God-Tier Architect (Locked)]
[Level: 0 (Human Trash)]
[Current Objective: Construct a Sanctuary before the 'Mana Collapse' begins.]
[Time Remaining: 99 Days, 23 Hours, 57 Minutes.]
Han Jin stared at the screen. "Human Trash," he whispered, a dry, jagged laugh escaping his lips. "The System is as blunt as ever."
In his past life, he had been a simple laborer. He had no System, no "cheat," only his hands and a basic knowledge of construction. He had spent his life being stepped on. But now?
He checked his bank account. Balance: $4,200.
A bitter memory surfaced. In his previous life, he had spent this exact money on a diamond engagement ring for Sarah, his college sweetheart. He had proposed to her a week before the apocalypse. When the world fell apart, she had traded that ring—and Han—to Captain Steve for a spot in a "Safe Zone" bunker.
"Four thousand dollars for a ring?" Han Jin muttered, his eyes gleaming with a dark, predatory intensity. "In this life, that money is the first brick of my empire."
He focused his mind on the System. "Show me the first blueprint. I need a base."
The screen shifted instantly. A complex 3D wireframe expanded in the air, spinning slowly. It was a subterranean structure, reinforced with hexagonal plating and thermal shielding.
[Blueprint Unlocked: The Iron Foundation - Tier 1]
[Type: Personal Survival Bunker]
[Requirements:]
Capital: $50,000 (For land and initial materials)
Location: 'High-Ground' or 'Geologically Stable' zone.
Materials: 10 Tons of Scrap Metal.
[Estimated Build Time: 72 Hours (System-Assisted)]
[Reward: Absolute Defense (Level 1), Basic Life Support, Automated Sentry Turret (1x).]
Han’s eyes widened. A sentry turret? In the early days of the apocalypse, a single turret was the difference between a king and a corpse. But the $50,000 requirement was a wall he couldn't climb with his current balance.
Then, he remembered.
Today was the 27th. Tonight was the "Annual Construction Gala" hosted by his boss, Mr. Thompson. Thompson was a billionaire who had made his fortune by underpaying laborers and stealing their architectural designs. He currently owed Han Jin over $60,000 in unpaid bonuses and stolen patent royalties for a new "modular housing" design Han had created.
In his past life, Han had gone to the gala to humbly beg for his money. He had been laughed out of the room by Thompson’s security guards while Sarah watched in embarrassment.
Not this time.
Han Jin stood up, his joints popping. He grabbed a heavy, rusted pipe wrench from his toolbox. The weight of the steel felt good in his hand.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed. It was a text from Sarah.
‘Han, don’t be mad, but I’m going to the gala with Mr. Thompson’s son tonight. It’s a networking thing for my career. You wouldn’t fit in there anyway. Let’s talk tomorrow?’
The old Han Jin would have been devastated. The current Han Jin didn't even feel a spark of anger. To him, Sarah was already a ghost from a dead timeline.
"You're right, Sarah," Han whispered, tossing the phone onto the bed. "I won't fit in. Because by the time I'm done with that gala, there won't be a room left to stand in."
[System Notification!]
[Host’s 'Will to Dominate' has triggered a Sub-Quest!]
[Quest: The First Brick]
[Objective: Obtain $50,000 in 'Seed Money' from the 'Debt-Holder.']
[Reward: 500 Architect Points & 1x 'Random Material' Crate.]
[Failure Penalty: System Unbinding (Death).]
Han Jin grabbed his jacket. He had 100 days to save himself, but he only had four hours to get his money.
He walked out of his apartment, the blue light of the System HUD reflecting in his cold, unwavering eyes. The hunt had begun.
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Chapter 20
The white light didn't fade; it shattered like a glass mirror.Han Jin woke up with the taste of copper and salt in his mouth. The rhythmic hum of the [Divine Architect System]—the constant digital companion that had dictated his every breath since the reboot—was gone. No HUD. No status bars. No reassuring pings of "Level Up."Silence. The kind of silence that usually precedes a burial.He was lying on a beach of black volcanic sand. Beside him, the rusted wrench of the First Architect was half-buried in the tide. Further up the shore, the massive, jagged remains of Babylon lay beached like the carcass of a dead whale, its enchanted granite cracked and its violet lights extinguished."Zhao? Aris?" Han croaked, his voice raw."Over here, Boss," a muffled voice groaned. Zhao Wei crawled out from under a piece of hull plating, his massive frame shaking. He wasn't wearing his mana-reinforced apron anymore; just a tattered shirt. "The Turbine... it's dead. The System... I can't feel t
Chapter 19
The pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench was over sixteen thousand pounds per square inch—a weight that should have turned Babylon into a ball of scrap metal. But Freya’s [Zero-Point Ice] held, the translucent shell glowing with a rhythmic, ghostly blue light as the mountain-fortress finally settled onto the silt of the ocean floor.[Depth: 36,000 Feet][External Pressure: CRITICAL][Status: Hull Stabilized by Cryo-Reinforcement]"We’re on the bottom," Zhao Wei gasped, his breath visible in the freezing air of the command deck. "But we’re blind. The sonar is just... bouncing off something massive."Han Jin stepped toward the primary viewport. He didn't need sonar. Through the crystalline ice, he saw it: a structure of smooth, white obsidian that defied the darkness of the trench. It was a pyramid, perfectly preserved, and it was emitting a signal that resonated with Han’s very soul.[System Link Established...][Welcome, User 001: The Original Architect.]"User 001?" Aris
Chapter 18
The impact wasn't a crash; it was a planetary concussion.When ten billion tons of enchanted granite and reinforced alloy slammed into the Pacific Ocean, the resulting displacement sent a tsunami three hundred feet high racing toward the shattered remains of the California coastline. Inside the core room, Han Jin felt his internal organs shift as the inertial dampeners shrieked in agony.[WARNING!][Altitude: 0 Feet (Sea Level)][Hull Integrity: 32%][Buoyancy Compensators: FAILED]"Brace for submersion!" Han roared, his voice barely audible over the sound of screaming metal.Babylon didn't float. It sank like a jagged, metallic tooth. The boiling white foam of the ocean surface vanished, replaced by the deep, oppressive turquoise of the abyss. The roar of the wind was instantly silenced, replaced by the terrifying, rhythmic thrum of water pressure against the outer shell."Administrator," the Foreman’s voice flickered back to life, now tinged with a cold, aquatic resonance. "Ini
Chapter 17
The descent was no longer a flight; it was a plummeting execution.Babylon groaned as its gravitational anchors snapped one by one, the sound like violin strings made of steel being torn apart by a giant. Below them, the Earth was a swirling vortex of purple mist and jagged, silver-domed cities. Above them, the Planet-Eater loomed—a mechanical moon of gears and grinding teeth, descending to harvest the world’s very core.[WARNING!][Babylon Altitude: 15,000 Feet... 12,000 Feet...][A.I. Takeover: 94%][Foreman Status: CORRUPTED]"Han! The turrets are locking onto us!" Zhao Wei screamed, his hands white on the SUV’s manual steering column as they screeched onto Babylon’s main landing pad.The base’s own defense system, hijacked by the traitorous Xerxes, swiveled its twin railguns toward the SUV. A blast of blue plasma scorched the air inches from Han’s head, melting the rearview mirror into a puddle of slag."Aris, get to the Core! Use that chip!" Han yelled, leaping from the movi
Chapter 16
The air inside the Pillar of Genesis was too clean. It lacked the grit of the shipyard, the metallic tang of Babylon’s forge, and the scent of ozone that Han Jin had come to associate with survival. It smelled like nothing—a sterile, vacuum-sealed void.Han Jin stepped off the ramp, his charred [Kinetic Suit] hissing as it pressurized. Behind him, Zhao Wei gripped his hammer, and Aris stood frozen, her violet eyes darting between the silver-skinned woman and the ten colossal statues lining the hall."The other planets?" Han Jin asked, his voice rasping. "You're saying this isn't a global apocalypse. It's a galactic culling?"The silver woman—the Herald—inclined her head. "Earth is the twelfth seed, Han Jin. A late bloomer. The others have been 'refined' for eons. They have already integrated their worlds into the System. Now, they compete for the right to exist in the next Great Cycle."[System Notification!][Entering: The High Architect Council Chamber][Warning: Physical Combat
Chapter 15
The silver dome didn't just cover the continent; it hummed with a frequency that vibrated in Han Jin’s very marrow. It was the sound of a trillion nanites weaving a cage around humanity.Inside the command deck of Babylon, the atmosphere was thick with the scent of ozone and the heavy silence of a death row cell. Han Jin stood at the panoramic window, his reflection ghostly against the backdrop of the shimmering, metallic sky.[Current Status: Global Registration Phase][Target: The Central Hub - 'The Pillar of Genesis'][Warning: Unregistered Fortresses will be designated as 'Debris' and recycled in 23 hours.]"They aren't just managing the world," Aris whispered, her fingers flying across the holographic medical bay interface as she treated Freya’s frost-burned skin. "They're domesticating it. Han, the energy reading from that dome... it's not mana. It's Order.""Order is just another word for a cage," Han Jin growled. He turned to Zhao Wei, who was frantically recalibrating the
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