2025-12-10 04:20:55Zane woke exactly at 4:30 AM, not by the sun, but by the System’s internal chronometer. His mortal body was still in intense pain, a consequence of the Temporal Shift (Lv. 1) that had saved him from Caius. The System's warning was a constant, low thrum in his mind: Core Power at 5%. Recovery Protocol Active.
He needed external resources—money, technology, and information—faster than his body could heal naturally. The Chen family, for all their power in the mortal realm, were nothing more than a wealthy, arrogant target practice for the Scions of Chaos. Zane was done being their zero. Now, he was their invisible predator.
He sat on the edge of the cot in his dusty utility room, pulled up the System interface, and mentally commanded: Analysis of Current Obstacles and Required Resources.
[Analysis Complete.]
[Obstacle 1: Financial Deficiency (Debt to Chens: $50,000).]
[Obstacle 2: Information Deficiency (Scion Activities on Campus).]
[Obstacle 3: Technology Deficiency (Need Secure Communications).]
[Recommendation: Utilize Chen Family Banking Network to Resolve Obstacles 1 & 3.]
The Chens' private business account was a sprawling network of offshore funds and hidden deals, but Zane knew their internal systems. The family's vast wealth was controlled by a complex, antiquated security server located deep within the university’s Finance Department, secured by the very influence Liya Chen wielded as Student Council President.
Targeting the Chen network... requires penetration protocol.
[Mission Generated: System Override.]
[Objective: Access Chen Family Primary Bank Account. Reward: Skill Unlock: Divine Code (Lv. 1).]
Zane rose, the promise of a new utility skill mitigating the agony in his muscles. He needed to be physically present at the server location before the university’s security protocols intensified at dawn.
Penetration Protocol
The Finance Department was on the third floor of the Administration Tower—the same tower where he had fought Caius. The irony was almost amusing.
He moved silently through the deserted campus at 5:00 AM, relying on the Temporal Shift (Lv. 1)—not to stop time, but to predict the movement of the few security guards based on their previous rotations. He was a ghost moving through the future.
The server room was shielded by a biometric lock and a keypad. Zane placed his hand on the metal door. This would take a mortal hacker an hour. For the Commander...
He focused on the System. Execute Skill Unlock: Divine Code (Lv. 1).
[Skill Acquired: Divine Code (Lv. 1).]
[Function: Allows the Host to perceive and manipulate complex digital, mechanical, or arcane sequences with minimal output. Efficiency: Low-Level Security and Basic Technological Interfaces.]
Zane's vision flickered. Suddenly, the complex network of wires and circuits behind the keypad became transparent. He didn’t see numbers or wires; he saw a stream of energy signatures flowing through the system—like an arcane river of data. The biometric scanner’s security sequence was a series of weak, looping seals.
He pressed the keypad, not with physical force, but with the precise, controlled intent provided by the Divine Code. He bypassed the keypad’s logic gate, essentially telling the lock what it wanted to hear.
Click. The door opened silently.
Inside, the server room hummed with the steady drone of cooling fans. The Chen family’s primary server—a bland, industrial housing unit—sat against the far wall, sealed with redundant physical locks.
Zane sat down at an empty terminal, plugging in a cheap, obsolete USB drive he’d bought at the campus bookstore. He accessed the family’s main terminal and began typing.
A normal hacker attempts to break the code. Zane used Divine Code (Lv. 1) to rewrite the code’s reality. He wasn't cracking passwords; he was simply making the system believe he was the authenticated user.
Within minutes, the Chen family’s entire financial structure was laid bare on the screen. Millions of dollars in assets, investments in property, and vast liquid cash reserves.
Obstacle 1: Financial Deficiency.
Zane quickly executed three transfers. First, the $50,000 debt the family had fabricated was nullified. Second, a new, untraceable offshore account Zane established was funded with a modest $5 million—enough liquid capital to purchase high-end tactical gear, secure black market weapons, and lease safe houses without raising any mortal alarms.
He left a final, cryptic message on the Chens' private terminal, signed with an untraceable signature: Debt Paid.
The Collateral Threat
As the money transferred, the System provided the mission update.
[Mission Complete: System Override.]
[Financial Deficiency Resolved. Core Power Stabilization at 20%.]
[Alert! Rival Clan Activity Detected.]
The screen flashed a map of the campus. A powerful rival family, the Zhang Clan, was making a coordinated move. The Zhangs were the Chens' main competitors for influence and wealth—a classic mortal feud. This afternoon, they planned to publicly humiliate Liya Chen during her televised Student Council presentation, potentially causing the Chens' stock to plummet.
The Zhangs aren't Scions, but they are a useful distraction, Zane thought. If the Chens lose face, their security becomes chaotic, creating opportunities for me to operate. But if Liya is harmed, the containment risks a breach.
[New Mission Generated: Secondary Objective: Sabotage Zhang Clan Operation. Reward: Skill Unlock: Basic Surveillance.]
Zane closed the banking application and navigated to the university’s internal surveillance server. The Zhangs' weakness was their reliance on high-tech spying equipment and a central communications hub located off-campus.
He used Divine Code (Lv. 1) again, not to hack, but to plant a silent, invisible digital parasite into the Zhangs' surveillance network—a low-level countermeasure designed to feed them false information during Liya’s speech. He made sure the feed they would receive showed Liya walking off-stage in failure, when in reality, she would be excelling.
Let them celebrate their false victory. When the truth hits them, the chaos will be exponentially higher.
The Zero’s New Demands
Zane finished the sabotage, wiped his presence clean from the server, and slipped out of the Administration Tower. The sun was just beginning to touch the skyline, coating the university in a deceptive, golden glow.
He made it back to the utility room just as the cleaning staff began their morning rounds. The door to his room swung open violently.
It was Mr. Chen, Liya’s father, a man accustomed to authority and fear, flanked by two burly security guards. His face was a mask of cold, controlled fury.
"Zane! You broke Victor's arm! And you disappeared last night! You think this is a joke?" Mr. Chen roared, pointing to the soiled clothes Zane was wearing. "You are worthless, you are indebted, and you are going to pay!"
Zane met his father-in-law's gaze, his eyes calm and clear, no longer showing the fear the man expected.
"The money is paid, Mr. Chen," Zane said simply. "The debt you manufactured no longer exists. Check your primary account statement from fifteen minutes ago."
Mr. Chen paled, reaching instinctively for his phone. His security guard was already frantically checking a tablet.
"That's impossible! You have no access!"
"I am the Son-in-Law," Zane replied, stepping closer, closing the distance. "I am here under your protection. If you treat me like a dog, I will be useless when the real threats arrive."
He lowered his voice, delivering the message that only the Commander could manage. "The $50,000 is gone, Mr. Chen. But what if I told you that, for a few minor privileges—a private apartment, better clothes, and access to a clean office—I could guarantee that the Zhang Clan will fall flat on their faces today, and your daughter's reputation will be untouchable?"
Zane looked past Mr. Chen's shock to the security guard's tablet, which was now confirming the impossible transfer.
"The price of my continued service is respect, Mr. Chen," Zane concluded, leaning in, his gaze pure steel. "Or you will lose far more than just your fifty thousand."
The humiliated, worthless Son-in-Law was gone. Only the strategic Commander remained, and he had just seized control of the Chen family’s entire operation.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 15
Liya Chen stared at the flashing red warning on the Sanctuary's main console: ACTIVATION OF REGIONAL CHAOS ANCHOR IN 12 HOURS. The message was clear, absolute, and terrifyingly precise. In half a day, the city—her city—would become the launching pad for a global Scion invasion.She looked down at Zane, who was completely unconscious, his breathing shallow but steady. He was a dying god encased in a broken shell, and she was the only one left to operate his fortress.Twelve hours. I almost killed him. And now I have to save him, or the world ends.The guilt and terror transformed into the icy focus she usually reserved for ruthless political maneuvering. She had been the most effective Student Council President for a reason: when faced with chaos, she prioritized the objective.Stabilizing the CommanderLiya's immediate priority was Zane's mortal shell. She dragged him onto a clean metal table near the central pillar—the brains of the Sanctuary. She used her phone’s flashlight to
Chapter 14
Liya Chen drove a borrowed, nondescript utility van—one of the Chen family’s logistics vehicles—at terrifying speeds through the deserted industrial roads toward Warehouse 7. Zane lay inert on the passenger seat, his body unnaturally still, wrapped in a blanket salvaged from the back. The silence in the van was broken only by Liya’s ragged breathing and the distant wail of emergency sirens heading toward the Student Union.I broke him. The thought hammered at her. She wasn't processing the god-war; she was processing the shock of her own, accidental violence. She had aimed for control, and she had achieved utter, devastating destruction."Hold on, Zane," she muttered, gripping the wheel until her knuckles were white. "We're almost there. You said this was the only place."The Commander's Last CommandZane’s mind was a black, chaotic void. His consciousness was reduced to a flicker—a single core process fighting the systemic failure of his mortal body.[Host: Zane (Ares)][Core
Chapter 13
The fist charged with the malevolent, raw power of the Dormant Containment Unit was rocketing toward Zane's face. Liya, eyes blazing with ecstatic, purple light, was determined to end the life of the "zero" who had dared to control her.Zane was pinned, critically injured, his Core Power plummeting from 40\%. His body was too slow to dodge, and his shell integrity was too low to absorb the impact. This was the end.But the Commander’s mind, honed by millennia of warfare, never accepted defeat."System! Execute Zero-Point Gambit!" Zane roared, the command ripping the last ounce of air from his burning lungs.[Warning: Zero-Point Gambit is an unstable, self-destructive protocol. Requires full Core Power commitment.]"Commit! Use the fall damage! Inject the remaining Core Power into the Unit's source code!"In the fraction of a second before Liya’s blow landed, Zane didn't try to defend himself. He let the Temporal Shift (Lv. 2) run one final, devastating prediction: the exact mom
Chapter 12
Zane did not take a car. He was operating at 70% Core Power, and the Temporal Shift (Lv. 2) was his only way to traverse the city's chaotic streets in seconds. He focused his mind, pushing the limits of the mortal shell.Temporal Shift: Full Activation.The city blurred into streaks of light and color. The cars became slow-moving obstacles, the people frozen snapshots of motion. In the space of three breaths, Zane had covered three miles, arriving at the deserted East Wing Student Union—the site of his original humiliation and now the stage for his most critical battle.The area was silent, eerily devoid of the police presence one would expect after the Museum heist. The silence confirmed Zane's dread: This was an Obsidian Hand operation designed to be unnoticed.He burst through the main doors, his eyes immediately locking onto the primary energy signature: Liya. She was standing in the center of the vast, dusty lounge—the very spot where he had scrubbed wine stains just days ag
Chapter 11
Zane stepped out of the Chen compound, the early afternoon sun doing nothing to mitigate the cold resolve in his eyes. Liya was safely contained, her terror-induced compliance confirmed by the hidden micro-sensor he'd planted on her desk. Mr. Chen was busy manipulating the mortal media to blame the Zhangs for the Museum heist, creating the perfect smoke screen. The battlefield was prepared.His objective was singular and urgent: Asset Sigma.The Scions had deployed a superior operative specifically to target the Containment Key (Liya). Zane could not allow this asset to familiarize itself with the campus environment or the city's power structure.Search Protocol: Temporal Shift and Divine CodeZane slipped into a large, deserted campus parking garage, the silence broken only by the hum of the air conditioning units. He needed to find an operative who was actively trying to conceal themselves.He initiated his search, combining his two most powerful utility skills:Temporal Shif
Chapter 10
Zane emerged from the sewer tunnels an hour later, shedding his ruined, debris-caked suit near a secluded storm drain. He walked toward the Sanctuary, the Void Fragment now fully absorbed and integrated into his core. The pain was gone, replaced by a cold, absolute sense of control.[Host: Zane (Ares)][Core Power: 99% (Stable).][Mortal Shell Integrity: 85% (Recovery Protocol Complete).][Acquired Skills: Temporal Shift (Lv. 2); Divine Code (Lv. 1); Iron Fist (Lv. 1); Basic Surveillance (Lv. 1).]The 99% power level was a revelation. He didn't just feel stronger; he felt correct. The limits of the mortal shell were still there, but now they felt like sturdy, well-maintained armor instead of a fragile cage. The trauma of the heist had strengthened his vessel.He activated Temporal Shift (Lv. 2). The world didn't just give him predictive data; the entire environment subtly slowed down around him. He could perceive the flicker of a fluorescent bulb, the minute vibrations of the co
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