Chapter 3: The First Threat
Part 1: A Knock in the Night
The knock came again—sharp, louder this time—reverberating through the dim silence of Lin Feng's small apartment. He froze by the door, hand still hovering above the knob, heart thudding in his chest. A strange, unsettling chill swept through him, and the quiet hum of the Digital Dynasty System pulsed more prominently in the back of his mind.
Who could possibly be knocking at this hour?
The faint echoes of the recent message still reverberated in his thoughts—Level 1 AI combat assistance activated. His abilities were awakening, that much was clear, but now this knock? An uninvited guest? It couldn't be a coincidence. Lin's instincts screamed caution.
After a moment's hesitation, Lin took a breath, steeling himself. He gripped the doorknob and pulled the door open, his mind already on high alert.
A man stood in the hallway. He was tall, well-built, dressed in a simple black suit that was too immaculate for the grimy building. His face was calm but his sharp eyes, cold and calculating, betrayed a practiced air of control. They assessed Lin in a fraction of a second.
"Lin Feng?" The man's voice was quiet but carried an unsettling weight, like a blade concealed beneath silk.
Lin's pulse quickened, but he met the man's gaze evenly. "Who's asking?"
The man's eyes flickered with something—satisfaction, perhaps—but he didn't smile. "People have taken an interest in you," he said, his words deliberate, measured. "Your recent… achievements haven't gone unnoticed."
Lin's heart thudded once in his chest. The presentation at his startup? Or was it something deeper—the Digital Dynasty System? Did this man somehow know about the file that had fused with his mind, the power that had surged into him?
"You've got the wrong person," Lin said, keeping his voice steady. He wasn't about to reveal anything to this stranger.
The man's gaze didn't waver. Slowly, he reached into his jacket. Lin tensed, preparing to react—his enhanced reflexes already calculating the angles. But the man merely pulled out a small, glossy black card. The surface was marked with an intricate gold symbol, one that seemed to shimmer in the dim light of the corridor.
The man handed it over, his expression unreadable. "You've been invited."
"Invited to what?" Lin asked, eyeing the card warily but taking it. The symbol was strange, familiar yet unplaceable—something ancient, almost.
The man didn't answer. He turned, his polished shoes clicking softly on the worn floor as he walked away, disappearing into the stairwell without another word.
Lin stood in the doorway, staring after him, the card still clutched in his hand. The moment stretched on, and a growing sense of unease settled over him.
The stranger had said nothing of substance—just vague warnings, veiled hints. But his presence carried something much more sinister. Noticed by who? Lin thought. His mind raced as he shut the door, locking it securely behind him.
Back at his desk, Lin stared at the black card again. The symbol on its surface felt significant, though he couldn't pinpoint why. The digital world was full of symbols and codes, but this one… this one had the weight of history behind it. As though it had roots far deeper than anything modern technology could offer.
His fingers itched to search for answers, and before he knew it, he was back at his laptop, tapping into the Digital Dynasty System. The moment his fingertips touched the keyboard, the system came alive, feeding him data, thoughts flowing faster than any conscious process.
He ran a series of scans, algorithms designed to search every known digital and historical archive for a match to the symbol. But no matter how deep he went, the result was the same: Nothing.
The symbol didn't exist. Not in any record he could access, not in any digital database.
Lin's frustration grew. Who was that man? And why was Lin suddenly the target of such interest?
He leaned back, staring at the card, his mind swirling with possibilities. Whatever this was, it wasn't normal. And the longer he thought about it, the more certain he became that this was somehow tied to the Digital Dynasty System—the very thing that had transformed his life overnight.
But the answers weren't here. Not yet.
Part 2: Return to the Past
Lin's thoughts wandered to his past—specifically, to his grandfather. The old man had often spoken of destiny, of hidden truths passed down through their bloodline. Stories of ancient martial arts masters, secret legacies buried beneath layers of modern civilization. Back then, Lin had dismissed it all as fantasy, relics of a forgotten time. But now, with the Digital Dynasty System fused into his mind, the echoes of his grandfather's words rang louder.
The card, the symbol—there was something familiar about it, something connected to his family's past.
His grandfather had kept an extensive library of old books and scrolls, collected from decades of study into history and ancient lore. Perhaps… perhaps the answers were there. A part of Lin recoiled at the thought—he hadn't visited his grandfather's house since the funeral. But if he wanted to understand what was happening, he had no choice.
Lin grabbed his jacket and left the apartment, the black card carefully tucked into his pocket. The streets of Beijing were quieter now, the usual buzz of the city muffled in the late hour. His steps quickened as he made his way across town, the looming skyscrapers casting long shadows over the older, smaller buildings that dotted the neighborhood where his grandfather had lived.
His grandfather's house stood unchanged, a modest, weathered building tucked away in a quiet corner of the city. It felt like stepping into another world, far removed from the endless noise of the modern metropolis. As Lin unlocked the front door and stepped inside, the familiar scent of old wood and dust greeted him, bringing with it a rush of memories.
He made his way through the dim hallway to the back room—the library. It was a small, cluttered space, shelves lined with books and ancient scrolls, many of them untouched for years. Lin had spent hours here as a child, listening to his grandfather's stories of forgotten clans and mysterious powers. Stories that now felt disturbingly relevant.
His gaze swept over the shelves, scanning for anything that might match the symbol on the card. After several long minutes, his eyes fell on a small, worn book nestled among a collection of older texts. The cover was plain, the leather cracked with age, but something about it drew him in.
He pulled the book from the shelf and opened it carefully. Inside, the pages were filled with old script, written in archaic Chinese. Lin's heart skipped a beat—this was it. This was what he'd been searching for. But as he flipped through the pages, something extraordinary happened.
The Digital Dynasty System activated again, pulsing in his mind. And suddenly, the unfamiliar characters on the page became clear, the text translating itself in his mind as if he had always known the language. His eyes widened as he read.
The book spoke of ancient clans, of secret powers hidden from the world. It spoke of dynasties long forgotten, of martial arts sects that had combined ancient wisdom with newly emerging technologies. But there were no clear answers—only fragments of knowledge, half-explained references to organizations that no longer appeared in modern records.
Yet, among the scattered mentions, there was one consistent thread—something called The Heavenly Mirror. A system of unparalleled power, shrouded in secrecy, capable of controlling the flow of information across time and space.
Lin's mind raced. Could this Heavenly Mirror have something to do with the Digital Dynasty System inside him? He felt a strange tug, an invisible connection between the two. But before he could delve deeper, his thoughts were interrupted by a sharp, unnatural sound.
A creak. Footsteps.
Lin tensed, his senses sharpening instantly. He wasn't alone.
Part 3: The First Fight
The house was supposed to be empty. Lin's breath caught as his enhanced senses kicked in, the Digital Dynasty System responding to the sudden threat. Time seemed to slow as he focused, listening. Three men—he could hear the faint but deliberate sound of boots moving through the house. Their movements were practiced, precise. Whoever they were, they weren't here by accident.
Lin's heart pounded, but his mind was calm, clearer than it had ever been. The system had prepared him for this. His body, once sluggish and tired, now moved with a speed and fluidity that defied his own expectations.
The door to the library swung open.
The first man stepped inside, dressed in black, his face masked by a hood. Lin reacted instinctively. He didn't think—he just moved.
His body seemed to flow with unnatural speed, and before the intruder could fully enter the room, Lin had already closed the distance between them. A swift strike to the man's chest sent him stumbling back, crashing into the wall. Lin followed up with a quick, calculated blow to the side of the man's head, knocking him out cold.
Two more men appeared in the doorway, momentarily stunned by how quickly their partner had fallen. But Lin was already in motion. The Digital Dynasty System was in full control, calculating every movement, predicting their attacks before they could even act.
The second man lunged, his fist aimed for Lin's face. But Lin sidestepped easily, his body moving like water around the strike. He countered with a precise kick to the man's knee, sending him sprawling to the ground.
The third man hesitated. He had seen enough.
Lin's eyes locked onto him, cold and unyielding. "Tell me who sent you," he demanded, his voice deadly calm.
The man didn't respond. Instead, he bolted for the exit, vanishing into the night as quickly as he had come.
Lin stood there, breathing hard, adrenaline coursing through his veins. The system slowly quieted in the back of his mind, but its presence remained—powerful, constant.
He looked down at the unconscious men on the floor, his mind swirling with questions. Whoever they were, they had come for a reason. Someone was watching him. Someone powerful.
Lin's grip tightened around the black card in his pocket. Whatever game he had been pulled into, it was just beginning.