The Trap is Set
2019, Earth – The Trap is Set
Jin Xiao remained still, staring at the golden interface. The cheers of the ignorant echoed through the city.
"They have no idea what they just accepted."
He took a slow breath. Think. Analyze. Dissect.
1. These sects had hidden from Earth for thousands of years.
2. Now, they suddenly "gifted" cultivation to everyone? Impossible.
3. Power was never free. There was always a cost.
His fingers tightened. He glanced at the people around him.
Some had already activated their systems—and they were changing. Their eyes gleamed with a faint glow, their bodies becoming stronger, tougher. They laughed in excitement, believing they had gained a miracle.
Jin Xiao saw something else.
"It's not empowerment. It's synchronization."
The "system" wasn't just giving them cultivation. It was linking them to something else.
Then, he saw it.
For a fraction of a second, in the corner of his vision—a translucent thread extended from the bodies of those who had activated the system. Thin, nearly invisible lines of energy connecting them to the sky.
"Leashes."
His breath slowed.
"They turned themselves into livestock."
The realization sent a slow chill down his spine.
A Warning in Disguise
Jin Xiao exhaled softly and stood. If he had figured it out, others would too.
He scanned the city, searching for another person like him—someone who refused to activate the system.
And then he noticed.
There was no one.
Not a single person hesitated. Not one questioned it.
A small laugh escaped his lips, quiet and bitter.
"Of course. That's how you control the weak. Give them false hope, and they'll chain themselves."
At that moment, he realized something even worse.
If he was the only one without a system… that made him an anomaly.
And anomalies don't go unnoticed.
---
The Hunters Arrive
As if on cue, the sky rumbled. A massive, ancient sigil burned in the air above the city. The golden clouds parted as a group of figures descended like gods.
Their robes glowed with divine energy. Their eyes burned like stars.
Cultivators.
But Jin Xiao knew what they really were—harvesters.
One of them, a middle-aged man with a long beard, floated above the people and smiled gently.
> "Children of Earth, welcome to the true path of existence."
His voice was soft. Too soft.
> "You have all taken the first step toward enlightenment. You are now cultivators."
The crowd roared with joy. Some even knelt in worship.
Jin Xiao remained silent. He took a slow step backward. He needed to leave.
Then the cultivator spoke again.
> "However…"
His gaze swept over the crowd. Jin Xiao felt a strange, probing force pass over him.
> "There are those who have not activated their system."
The cheers died instantly.
The crowd turned.
People looked at each other in confusion, fear creeping into their eyes.
A single thought infected the masses:
"Who are the ones that refused?"
Jin Xiao's pulse remained steady. His expression didn't change. But his mind sharpened like a blade.
"They're testing for outliers. Anyone who doesn't submit will be labeled a threat."
His heart turned cold.
"So this is how it begins."