Chapter Three: Beyond Seven Seconds

Gu Chen connected all four senses. Static became rain; possible futures overlapped; broken bones burned in his shoulder; spatial boundaries shone like silver wire. He did not seek a winning move. He sought what the system was hiding. “Zhou, is there a sixth signal beneath the noise?” “Below the central mind. Same frequency as your headset.” “Pei Jin, treat the glass shaft as an enclosed space. Enter it, then escape.” “Who inherits the trap?” “The central mind.” Pei Jin jumped. The doorless shaft classified him as trapped. He snapped his fingers and exchanged places with the glowing machine. Its firewall refreshed at the wrong coordinates, and Oracle's attacks struck empty air.