Chapter 20: "The Sigma Protocol"***
> *"There are monsters you fight in the alleys. And then there are the ones you don't even know exist—because the system made sure of it."*
> — Archive Fragment, Level Sigma Clearance
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### **\[1] — Midnight Scars**
Jungho sat alone on the rooftop of an abandoned library.
His hoodie was soaked in rain, blood still drying on his knuckles.
The city was quiet—but it was never truly silent. Somewhere, someone was always trying to climb the food chain.
Tonight, one of those climbers had made the mistake of trying to drag Jungho down.
Jungho didn't talk to corpses, but if he did, he would've said: *Wrong guy. Wrong day.*
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### **\[2] — The Data Core**
Suhyeon arrived at the library fifteen minutes later.
He didn't say anything. Just handed over a flash drive and sat beside Jungho.
"Encrypted data from Baekho's last stronghold," Suhyeon said. "Hard to crack."
Jungho plugged it into a burner laptop. The screen flickered.
Lines of red code. Then a title appeared.
> **PROJECT: SIGMA PROTOCOL**
> *Access Level: Black Box / Ghost-Level Clearance*
Jungho raised an eyebrow. "That sounds ominous."
"It's beyond Baekho," Suhyeon whispered. "This is government-class encryption."
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### **\[3] — The Black Box**
They worked through the night. Daniel joined halfway through with coffee and protein bread.
As the layers of encryption peeled back, something horrifying came into focus.
Not just bio-engineering like Chimera.
But full-spectrum manipulation of *awakening conditions.*
Weapons designed not to be strong—but to *create strength in others.*
Human trials. Gang territories used as field experiments.
A map appeared on screen.
Dozens of red pins.
> *Gyeonggi, Incheon, Gangbuk… Busan.*
And one final marker, in blinking blue:
> **"Asset-0: Unidentified Variable — Jungho"**
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### **\[4] — The Watching Eye**
The moment the blue pin blinked, Jungho's instincts screamed.
He slammed the laptop shut.
Across the city, in a concrete room, a woman in a white suit adjusted her glasses.
"Subject Zero just pinged us. Location: Gangbuk."
The room darkened.
"Activate Omega cell. And inform Director Mina—we've got a live one."
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### **\[5] — The Visit**
The next day, Jungho walked alone through a crowded street.
A girl in school uniform bumped into him.
"Sorry!" she said—but slipped something into his jacket.
By the time he checked, she was gone.
Inside the envelope: a photo of him.
On the back: *"Meet us. 2 AM. Yeouido Bridge."*
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### **\[6] — Yeouido Bridge**
At exactly 2 AM, Jungho arrived.
A man stood there—bald, formal suit, no expression. Not a gang leader. Not a thug.
But dangerous. Military kind of dangerous.
"Jungho," the man said. "We're here on behalf of Sigma Protocol."
Jungho didn't speak.
"We've monitored your evolution. Your... deviation. You don't have a system, but you break the rules anyway."
"So?" Jungho asked.
"So you're the mistake we didn't plan for."
The man reached for his earpiece.
Jungho snapped his arm before he could finish the sentence.
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### **\[7] — No Negotiation**
Gunfire erupted. But Jungho moved like death through mist.
He disarmed one, shattered another's jaw, and kicked a third into the Han River.
In 12 seconds, five men were unconscious. The sixth had a broken spine.
Jungho walked away, silent.
He didn't bother looking back.
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### **\[8] — Suhyeon's Theory**
Back in the hideout, Suhyeon was pacing.
"They're not targeting gangs anymore. They're targeting *variables.*"
"Like me," Jungho said.
Daniel frowned. "How many others?"
"Too many," Suhyeon replied. "I found files. Codenames like Apex, Frostbite, Draconis. We're not the only city. It's a nationwide web."
Jungho cracked his neck. "Then it's time to cut through it."
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### **\[9] — The Broadcast**
The next day, a video leaked online.
Grainy footage of Jungho dismantling the Sigma agents.
Masked. Silent. Unstoppable.
The caption read:
> *"No system. No mercy. No leash."*
It went viral.
WhisperNet exploded.
> *RustPulse: Whoever this guy is... he's not part of the game. He IS the game now.*
> *PhantomByte: I work with systems. I've never seen anything move like that.*
> *ZeroReign: That's not a human. That's entropy in a hoodie.*
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### **\[10] — The Message from Sigma**
Later that night, an envelope arrived at Jungho's apartment.
Inside: a photo of Suhyeon, circled in red.
And a message:
> *"You survived Chimera. Let's see how you handle regret."*
Jungho stood still.
Then smiled.
A slow, dark, terrifying smile.
"Good," he whispered.
"You finally gave me permission to start breaking things."
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