Chapter 34: The Sleeper’s Awakening

New Omo never truly slept. Even after the destruction of Echelon's core facility, the city thrummed with an uneasy energy. Lin Yuan stood on the balcony of the safehouse, looking out over the neon skyline. The weight of their victory felt hollow—like a fleeting breath before the next storm.

Behind him, Rei tapped furiously on her console. "Lin, you're gonna want to see this."

Lin Yuan turned, stepping inside. The screen was filled with fragmented data—lines of Covenant code interwoven with something new. Something… alive.

Evelyn leaned over her shoulder. "Tell me that's not what I think it is."

Rei bit her lip. "It's the remnants of Echelon. I thought we purged it, but… it's still running in the background. Look."

She pulled up a city-wide scan, revealing faint, pulsating signals across multiple districts—spreading like a virus.

Lin Yuan's jaw tightened. "Someone's using the fragments to rebuild."

Xu Wei's voice trembled. "Or they never really stopped."

Lin Yuan stepped forward. "Where's the source?"

Rei zoomed in on the Wraith District, where a concentrated burst of activity blinked on the map. "Here. Deep in the undercity. Looks like someone's using sleeper agents—people who were implanted with Covenant neural chips years ago."

Evelyn cursed under her breath. "You're telling me they've got an army living among us, waiting for a trigger?"

Rei nodded grimly. "And I think they're about to wake up."

The Hunt for the Trigger

Lin Yuan led the team through the rain-soaked streets of the Wraith District, the air thick with the scent of burnt ozone and rotting metal. The district was a sprawling underbelly of abandoned buildings and repurposed tech hubs—where the city's forgotten found refuge.

Xu Wei checked his scanner. "I'm picking up fluctuating energy signatures from a repurposed power station ahead. If they're transmitting signals to sleeper agents, it's coming from there."

Lin Yuan gestured to Evelyn. "You take the high ground. Cover our exit."

She nodded and disappeared into the shadows.

Rei adjusted her visor. "I'll patch into their system remotely. But if they're still using Covenant encryption, it'll take some time."

Lin Yuan unsheathed his blade. "Then let's buy you some."

They breached the power station silently, slipping past unsuspecting guards. Inside, the hum of old machinery filled the air, punctuated by flickering monitors displaying rows of encrypted code. In the center of the room stood a massive relay device—its circuits glowing with a sinister red hue.

Rei connected her tablet to the mainframe. "I'm in… and it's worse than we thought. They're sending activation pulses to neural implants citywide."

Lin Yuan's fists clenched. "How long do we have?"

Rei's eyes widened. "Minutes. Maybe less."

A voice echoed from the rafters above. "You're too late, Yuan."

Lin Yuan's blood ran cold. He looked up to see Blackthorn descending the stairs, flanked by two heavily armed enforcers.

"Did you really think you could destroy something as… beautiful as Echelon?" Blackthorn smirked.

Lin Yuan took a step forward. "It's over, Blackthorn. Walk away."

Blackthorn chuckled darkly. "Oh, Lin. You still think this is about me? No… this is about you."

With a flick of his wrist, the relay device surged, and across the city, thousands of sleeper agents awoke—blank stares turning into deadly precision as they moved toward their pre-programmed objectives.

Rei gasped. "Lin… it's happening."

Lin Yuan lunged at Blackthorn, their blades clashing in a flurry of motion. Sparks flew as their weapons met again and again, neither willing to give an inch.

Evelyn's voice crackled over comms. "We've got chaos in the streets, Lin! Civilians are panicking!"

Xu Wei shouted, "We need to shut that thing down—now!"

Lin Yuan gritted his teeth. "Rei, override the system!"

Rei furiously typed. "I'm trying, but the encryption is evolving—it's like it knows we're here!"

Blackthorn sneered. "Because it does."

Lin Yuan delivered a brutal strike, knocking Blackthorn back. He turned to Rei. "Forget the hack—shut it down manually!"

Rei's hands hovered over the panel. "That'll fry the entire grid… might take the whole district offline."

Lin Yuan's voice was cold. "Do it."

Rei slammed her fist down on the emergency override, and the relay exploded in a burst of sparks, sending a shockwave through the building.

The sleeper agents across the city staggered, their connection severed.

Blackthorn grimaced, clutching his bleeding side. "You think you've won, but you're just fighting the inevitable."

Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes. "Stay down."

Blackthorn's lips curled into a sinister smile. "Not today."

Before Lin Yuan could react, Blackthorn threw down a smoke grenade, vanishing into the chaos.

The Aftermath – Scattered Pieces

Back at the safehouse, the atmosphere was tense. The city had narrowly avoided disaster, but Lin Yuan knew this wasn't the end.

Evelyn wiped sweat from her brow. "We stopped the activation, but how many more sleeper cells are out there?"

Xu Wei scrolled through the data they managed to salvage. "Too many. Blackthorn's been working on this for years. There's no telling how deep this goes."

Rei shook her head. "We need to hit them harder next time."

Lin Yuan stared at the flickering Core in his hand. "No. We don't just react anymore. We go on the offensive."

Evelyn crossed her arms. "And how do you propose we do that?"

Lin Yuan looked up, his eyes steely. "We find Blackthorn. And this time, we end it."

Epilogue – The Dark Council

Deep in an undisclosed location, Blackthorn stood before a group of shadowed figures seated around a long, polished table. Their faces were hidden, but their voices dripped with authority.

"You lost the relay," one voice said coldly.

Blackthorn smirked. "A minor setback. The sleepers have been neutralized… but our endgame remains intact."

Another figure leaned forward. "Lin Yuan and his team are becoming a problem."

Blackthorn chuckled. "And problems… are meant to be solved."

The figure nodded. "Then solve it."

A low hum filled the air as a holographic blueprint appeared on the table—an intricate design labeled "PROJECT OBLIVION."

Blackthorn's grin widened. "With pleasure."