Chapter One: The Second the World Went Silent

The technician inhaled sharply. “That mark is embedded in the audio firmware.” Xu Duo’s face changed. Lin Mo caught it. “You’ve seen it before.” The coach said nothing. At the far end of the corridor, the medics suddenly shouted. He Chuan, Emberstar’s flex player, dropped to his knees with both hands clamped over his ears. Sixteen hours and forty-two minutes remained. What Emberstar had lost was spreading from the computers into the players themselves. And Lin Mo knew the echo arriving three seconds too early was the only crack their enemy had left behind.