Location: Global Net Stream – Reconnected after Orchid Collapse
When Orchid fell, the world didn't know what to do with freedom.
Some cities held elections.
Others crowned warlords.
But all of them watched. And when word leaked—just fragments, whispered through data-smugglers and broken feeds—that Orchid had left behind a successor...
The world began to hunt.
Not out of malice.
Out of fear.
Interlude: A Council Divided – Crimson Circle Interior Chamber
Twelve crimson lanterns flickered in the dark. Only nine were occupied.
Xu Shanyue's chair remained empty.
An old man coughed. "You confirmed it?"
A woman replied, "A living artifact. THREAD-echo genome. Hybrid. The child listens to systems."
Another voice cut in. "Then he can be used."
And then a fourth—colder than the rest.
"No. He can be worshipped."
The room fell quiet.
They all knew the truth.
Orchid was gone.
But her seed was growing—and it had no owner yet.
Back in Huajin
Mouse's voice crackled through Lin Feng's wrist unit.
"I just intercepted six overlapping surveillance payloads. Not ours. All aimed at Sector 9. Crimson's not the only one watching."
Su Qingyue narrowed her eyes. "They want the boy."
Lin nodded. "Not as a person. As a device."
Qingyue looked down at the ruined city. "Then we can't leave him here."
The Extraction Begins
Night cloaked Huajin in fragmented silence. No drones. No sentries. Just shadows moving with intention.
Lin Feng carried the boy—who still had no name—through broken streets as Mouse rerouted infrared sweeps.
Qingyue covered them, her silencer glowing red only once.
A single sniper from the EON Collective fell with a grunt.
"That's one," she muttered. "Won't be the last."
Elsewhere – A Black Helicopter Over the Ocean
Xu Shanyue stared out the open hatch.
Wind whipped her coat. Her eyes were unreadable.
A silent operative passed her a device—a playback recording of the boy's voice.
"I want… nothing."
She listened twice.
Then said, quietly:
"Then perhaps we give him something to want."
Final Scene – On the Move
The VT transport lifted from Huajin's outskirts.
Inside, the boy sat beside Lin Feng, watching the stars blur past.
He finally spoke.
"You said the world should choose."
Lin nodded.
"Then tell me," the boy whispered, "what if it chooses me?"
Lin didn't answer.
Because deep down, he knew—
That choice was already being made.