Chapter 26: Hidden Queen

The morning was too quiet.

No alarms. No threats. No gang ambushes.

Jihan sat in the back of the class, head lowered, hood over his eyes. But his mind was anything but calm.

The Dominance Code hadn't sent a single mission since last night.

Not a pop-up. Not a penalty.

Not a whisper.

That silence was louder than any scream.

"What are you planning now?" he muttered, eyes darting toward the black screen of his phone. For the first time, it didn't feel like his tool. It felt like it was watching.

[9:45 AM – System Alert]

New Mission: "Break the Queen's Mask."

Objective: Expose the identity of the hidden manipulator interfering with the Dominance Code system.

Time Limit: 12 hours.

Failure Penalty: -30 ALL STATS, +1 Permanent Debuff (Hacked).

Reward: +20 to INT, +15 to PERCEPTION, Skill Upgrade Token (x1), Unlock 'Black Layer' Missions.

Jihan's heart skipped.

He read it again.

The Queen.

The one who'd been helping him. Interfering with missions. Saving him when death was inches away.

She was real.

And now the system wanted her exposed.

"So this is how you're playing it..." Jihan whispered, voice laced with a smirk.

He opened his locker. Inside—three burner phones, fake IDs, brass knuckles, and a folded note.

The note hadn't been there yesterday.

He opened it carefully.

"Don't follow the mission. It's a trap. The system wants her erased, not exposed."

"You'll lose more than stats."

- From Her.

He froze.

No signature. No handwriting he recognized. But the message was laced with her fingerprints—precise, sharp, and a step ahead.

She was warning him against the mission the system just gave him.

But the rewards were insane.

A Skill Token. Perception boost. Unlocking new missions.

He exhaled. His mind spun.

Then—

[10:00 AM – Emergency Alert]

System Interference Detected.

User 'JIHAN' has received unauthorized data.

Penalty Engaged: Mini-Wipe.

-10 DEX, -5 STR. Cooldown Lock Engaged: 6 hours.

"F**k."

His knees nearly buckled. The surge of weakness hit like a bullet to the chest.

His limbs felt heavier. His balance off.

A mini-wipe.

The system was punishing him for reading the note.

And it didn't care how.

[1:25 PM – Gym Hall, West Sector]

Jihan stood with his core crew—Minho (brawler), Sora (scout), and Taejin (logistics). His faction had taken control of the 2nd-year West Wing. Rival gangs were either kneeling or out cold.

But now something bigger loomed.

Gang leaders from the North Zone had entered the school.

And they weren't students.

"Adults?" Taejin whispered. "That's not normal. This is a student-only territory."

"They're from outside. System users. Older ones," Jihan said, tightening his fists. "They're here because of her."

They all turned as the gym doors slammed open.

A girl walked in.

Slim build. Shoulder-length black hair. Cold, intelligent eyes behind clear lenses.

She walked like a ghost. No sound. No fear.

She was the one from the shadows.

Jihan knew it instantly.

"...You're her."

She smiled faintly.

"Took you long enough."

[Flashback – 7 Days Ago]

She sat in an underground server room, watching Jihan's mission feed on a cracked monitor. Dozens of tabs open. The system's weak points flickering in her code.

"Dominance Code... you really let someone like him get this far?" she murmured. "Then you deserve to be broken."

Present – Gym Hall

Chaos exploded.

Three of the adult gang enforcers surged forward, moving faster than average humans.

System-enhanced. Full users. No limits.

Jihan barely dodged the first strike. The punch shattered a support beam behind him.

Minho intercepted the next one with a brutal uppercut—only to be thrown through a wall seconds later.

The hacker girl didn't flinch.

Instead, she dropped a USB drive on the floor and said:

"You want the system's truth? You want to win this game?"

"Then survive for 3 minutes. I'll handle the rest."

She raised her hand.

And the lights cut.

[3-Minute Deathmatch Begins]

Jihan's screen lit up:

Hidden Event Unlocked: Co-Op Override Activated

You are now paired with [User: HELL_QUEEN]

Temporary Skill Shared: Blackout Code – Cloak Vision & Tracking

Duration: 3 Minutes

The gym turned pitch black.

Screams. Crashes. A bone snapped.

System users were blind.

But not Jihan.

He could see them.

With enhanced Perception now shared from her, he ducked, twisted, and slammed a steel bar into one enemy's throat.

Another tried to grab him—too late.

He smashed a fire extinguisher into their face and kicked them through a table.

The third enemy landed a hit.

Jihan stumbled back, ribs cracking—but the pain didn't matter.

Not now.

He grabbed a broken pole, spun it, and jabbed it into the final enemy's knee, then their eye socket.

3 minutes later...

Silence.

The gym lights flickered back on.

The enemies lay unconscious. Some wouldn't wake up for days.

And the girl?

She stood in front of him, unharmed.

"My name is Hana."

"And if you want to break the system... you'll need me."

[System Message – Hidden Mission Completed]

Covert Ally Unlocked: 'Hana / HELL_QUEEN'

Skill Shared: Blackout Code (Cooldown 48 hours)

Mission Failure Overridden by Special Circumstance. No penalty applied.

'Black Layer' Missions Unlocked.

Jihan wiped blood from his cheek, eyes locked on hers.

He didn't smile.

But something sharp sparked in his gaze.

"Then let's burn this system to the ground."

End of Chapter 26