Chapter 9: War Beneath Ashes
Section One: The Gray Facade of the Academy
Six-thirty in the morning.
The school field was still shrouded in last night's lingering mist.
Jason, in a faded school uniform, carried his backpack with one hand as he crossed the empty field.
In the distance, atop the teaching building, a weathered school flag hung limply,
Swaying feebly in the breeze like a tired hand.
A dry female voice crackled through the speakers:
"Today's schedule reminder:
Eight o'clock, Economic Geography class;
Ten o'clock, Social Upheaval History lecture;
Afternoon, club ranking evaluations—responsible parties, report on time."
The voice was monotonous, mechanical,
Yet it invisibly upheld the fragile order of this near-ruined academy.
Jason climbed the stairs slowly,
His footsteps echoing in the hollow corridor.
Students passed by in twos and threes.
Some hurried with heads down,
Others clustered, whispering.
Beneath this veneer of normalcy,
Jason could sense
An invisible thread on every person—
Some pulled taut,
Others weaving a hidden web.
[HEX64 Alert: Earth Water Master Hexagram Synchronization]
→ Current Situation Scan:
Resource anxiety index rising (+12%)
Academic facade stability maintained
Undercurrent node activity frequency moderate to high
→ Strategic Guidance:
Maintain surface compliance, deepen covert layouts;
Use official school activities to mask resource consolidation efforts.
Eight o'clock sharp.
Economic Geography class began on time.
At the lectern, Professor Covington, in a threadbare suit with thinning hair,
Spoke in a raspy voice:
"…After the collapse of societal resources,
What shapes new orders
Is never politics,
Nor technology,
But—
Control over resource flows."
Jason sat quietly in the back row,
His pen gliding slowly across his notebook,
Not taking notes,
But drawing spirals.
Layer upon layer.
Circle upon circle.
Each stroke
Precisely traced the veins of his virtual empire.
In the middle of the classroom,
Zhao Mingxuan occasionally glanced back at Jason.
Lisa Peng, by the window,
Scribbled rapidly in her notebook—
Data for the afternoon's club ranking update.
While Professor Covington lectured,
And students feigned attentiveness,
The first dynamic adjustment of the underground resource list
Was silently completed.
[HEX64 Alert: Resource Dynamics]
→ 3 new core resource points added:
Underground storage in the north district's abandoned lab building (medical supply remnants)
Bunker behind the west field (short-range energy modules)
Second basement of the abandoned library (black-market communication access port)
Ten o'clock.
Students filed out of the classroom,
Heading to the lecture hall for the Social Upheaval History talk.
Jason, backpack in tow,
Walked among the crowd,
His expression calm, but his eyes glinting with sharp intent.
At a corridor corner,
A freshman tripped and fell.
A few upperclassmen watched coldly.
No one offered a hand.
No one stopped.
Business as usual.
—This was the natural ecosystem of the FSA's educational ruins.
The weak fended for themselves.
The strong observed with indifference.
In the lecture hall,
A massive electronic screen flickered.
A female professor with silver-rimmed glasses began:
"Throughout history, every power shift
Began with resource control.
Be it information flows or energy supplies,
Those who control resources
Control the future."
Below,
Jason lowered his head,
His fingers tapping the armrest lightly.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The rhythm mimicked a heartbeat,
Or a hidden charge primed to detonate.
[HEX64 Alert: Resource Competition Phase Initiated]
→ All pseudo-node teams have entered the resource exploration stage
→ TRACE signal tracking disrupted successfully
→ First wave of peripheral fracturing imminent
Afternoon.
Club ranking evaluations.
A battered electronic screen
Flickered on a makeshift stage by the field:
[Tech Club]: Ranking risen (due to active external partnerships)
[Survival Expansion Group]: Ranking stable
[Freshman Alliance]: Ranking wildly fluctuating
Behind the chaotic data,
Jason's hand grazed his backpack strap,
While the other covertly sent out information streams.
His empire's nodes
Were sprouting naturally in every corner,
Like vines creeping through ruins.
[HEX64 Alert: Node Affiliation Dynamics]
Core nodes stable
First-layer peripheral nodes under screening
Second-layer inducement nodes forming (21%)
The sun sank.
A few crows flew over the field.
Jason stood among the crowd,
His gaze piercing through tattered banners and the grim skyline,
Seeing a vast,
Silent, dangerous web
Slowly tightening.
And he
Stood at its center.
Quietly
Awaiting the first drop of blood.
Section Two: The First Drop of Blood
Six o'clock in the evening, west district abandoned parking lot.
The ground was split with jagged cracks,
Rusted streetlights flickered feebly with their last glimmers.
Wind whistled through shattered car windows,
Carrying the stench of oil, mold, and gunpowder residue.
In the distance, the ruins of a long-abandoned lab building loomed.
Beneath it,
Rumors spoke of emergency medical supply kits and small energy units—
Fragmented resources left behind after the FSA's collapse.
Jason was absent.
He watched from a higher vantage point,
Through a pair of modified, battered binoculars,
Observing silently.
Beside him, Zhao Mingxuan crouched, rapidly logging each group's movements.
Lisa Peng clutched a modified data jammer,
Ready to cut off any rogue signals.
[HEX64 Alert: Risk Index Surging]
→ Peripheral node spontaneous conflict probability: 75%
→ TRACE probe activity detected
At the parking lot's edge,
Two peripheral node groups approached stealthily.
One, led by Damian Craig,
Tall and broad, his eyes glinting with restless ambition.
The other, commanded by Lily Sutton,
Lean and agile, her gaze cold as a blade.
The air crackled with unspoken hostility.
Damian cursed under his breath:
"Damn it, we scouted this area first!"
His second-in-command, Vincent Hale, a short-haired teen, licked his cracked lips:
"Should we make a move?
No one's watching."
Damian's fist clenched, then loosened.
He knew the rules.
—On the surface, it was peaceful competition,
But whoever seized the prize was the true victor.
Across from them, Lily's eyes locked onto Damian's group.
She whispered to her companion, Claire Armitage:
"Don't panic.
Let them strike first—
Then we've got a reason to hit back."
Claire nodded tensely, her teeth gritted,
Her hand instinctively brushing the concealed stun rod under her clothes.
The atmosphere grew stifling.
The wind scraped like a dull knife on rusted iron,
Time stretching taut.
Suddenly—
A faint crunch.
Vincent had stepped on a shard of glass.
The sound, sharp and piercing,
Cut through the silence
Like a bullet through the night.
Lily's brow twitched.
She saw her chance.
"Hostile move!"
Lily shouted, her voice clear and commanding,
Loud enough for nearby lurking nodes to hear.
She charged forward,
Claire close behind, their team swarming in her wake.
Damian swore, reacting instinctively.
The two groups collided.
Fists and elbows clashed in the dark,
Stun rods sliced the air,
Thudding against flesh with muffled impacts.
Jason watched through his binoculars,
Unmoving.
He issued no orders to intervene.
This conflict—
Had to erupt.
It had to teach the peripheral nodes:
Resources
Weren't negotiated.
They were claimed in blood.
[HEX64 Alert: Localized Fracturing Achieved]
→ Estimated casualties: Minor
→ Node belief stability under screening
→ TRACE micro-probe interference signals surging
At the parking lot's center,
Vincent lay sprawled, blood streaming from his nose.
Damian roared, lunging back,
His elbow smashing into Claire's shoulder,
Knocking her down.
Lily retaliated, jabbing her stun rod into Damian's side,
A crackle of electricity sparking.
Damian stumbled back, eyes blazing.
Three minutes.
The skirmish ended.
Both sides bore light injuries.
Lily, panting,
Stared coldly at the groaning Damian,
Then tossed down a simple strip of cloth, inscribed:
[Affiliation Agreement: Violators Forfeit.]
Short, direct,
Ruthless.
She turned and left,
Leaving chaos in her wake.
From afar,
Jason narrowed his eyes.
Zhao Mingxuan muttered:
"Cleaner than expected…"
Jason replied flatly:
"Because they all know—
Lose this time,
And they'll never stand again."
The wind swept through the broken parking lot,
Dust swirling as
The first drop of blood
Fell silently.
And the empire,
With this drop,
Began its true
Screening.
Section Three: The Mask of Order
Night fell, the air tinged with faint blood.
In a corner of the abandoned parking lot, under dim light, footprints, torn cloth, and a few drying bloodstains remained.
Within half an hour of the conflict's end, Jason summoned the peripheral group leaders.
This was no invitation.
It was—
A summons.
The meeting took place on the library's abandoned second floor.
The ceiling sagged, exposed metal beams creaking in the cold wind,
As if the building might collapse at any moment.
Jason sat behind a battered desk,
Zhao Mingxuan and Lisa Peng standing silently at his sides, their faces stern.
Across from them stood the group leaders: Lily Sutton, Damian Craig, Claire Armitage, Vincent Hale, among others.
Each bore scratches or bruises,
Their movements stiff, the atmosphere heavy.
The air seemed frozen.
Jason didn't speak immediately.
He scanned each person slowly,
His gaze a blade.
As it passed over each leader,
They lowered their eyes,
Fingers twisting clothing,
Or spines stiffening to mask anxiety.
No one dared speak first.
No one dared move.
As if awaiting judgment.
Finally,
Jason rose slowly.
In the silence,
His voice was cold, clear:
"In this world,
There are two kinds of people.
One—
Fights only for resources,
And dies for them.
The other—
Knows resources are merely a means,
And power
Is the true end."
No one responded.
Only the wind howled through broken walls,
Wailing mournfully.
Jason's gaze sharpened,
Slicing through each person's facade:
"Today,
What you shed wasn't blood.
It was eligibility."
Vincent clenched his jaw,
But bowed his head.
Damian's face darkened,
His fists tight, yet he stayed still.
Lily stood firmest,
Her eyes calm, alert.
Claire swallowed subtly,
Sweat trickling down her temple.
Jason surveyed the room,
His voice steady, forceful:
"From now on,
We enter the [Order Election Mechanism].
Every group,
Every action,
Will be recorded and scored.
Not just resource volume,
But execution,
Unity,
Loyalty."
Zhao Mingxuan stepped forward,
Holding a modified old projector.
It hummed,
Casting a new scoring system onto the peeling wall:
| Item | Details | Score Change |
|---------------------|---------------------------------------|------------------|
| Resource Acquisition | Recorded per batch of resources | +10 to +50 |
| Member Casualties | Per casualty incident | -30 |
| Internal Conflict | Per recorded internal conflict | -50 |
| Affiliation Oath | Public pledge to core node | +100 |
| Betrayal Leak | Member defection or betrayal | -100 |
Jason added flatly:
"Scores will directly determine your future resource priority,
Action command precedence,
And—
Whether you'll ultimately join the true empire."
The air grew colder still.
The peripheral members' expressions varied:
Damian gritted his teeth, veins pulsing, but nodded reluctantly.
Vincent kept his head down, a flicker of resentment in his eyes.
Claire's face stiffened, sensing the harsher future ahead.
Lily's lips curved slightly, a glint in her eyes.
Not submission.
But resolve.
She understood—
The real rules of the game had begun.
[HEX64 Alert: Localized Order Facade Established]
→ Peripheral nodes preliminarily stabilized
→ Loyalty screening mechanism activated
→ TRACE interference paths temporarily blocked
Jason whispered to himself:
"Surface loyalty
Doesn't equal true allegiance.
But
Once they start calculating their scores,
Start craving a higher tier,
They've already
Become prisoners of the empire."
The meeting dispersed.
The nodes scattered,
Returning to their nests like ants in the ruined campus.
In the library's broken walls,
Jason stood alone in the dark,
Gazing up at the pale, starless sky through the shattered ceiling.
Section Four: The Lure of the Abyss
The night deepened.
Atop the abandoned library,
Cold wind tore at tattered cloth, shrieking like rending fabric.
Jason stood before the broken railing,
His gaze piercing the ruins,
As if seeing
Another, more covert web
Stirring in the city's dark crevices.
[HEX64 Alert: TRACE Anomalous Activity Detected]
→ Signal pattern shift: Latent infiltration → Inducing defection
→ Target: Lowest-scoring nodes in the peripheral scoring system
→ Projected Action: Lure defections, create localized order collapse
Jason calmly reviewed the system's data.
A faint, cold chuckle escaped him.
"Finally,
It's starting to squirm."
Meanwhile,
In the basement of the north district's abandoned dorms,
Two outer-layer nodes, Ethan Davis and Natalie Krause,
Leaned against a damp wall, whispering.
Ethan muttered:
"Our scores are too low…
Keep going like this, we'll be cut."
Natalie gritted her teeth, her eyes flickering with struggle:
"But if we quit,
We lose all resources—
And might even be… eliminated."
The air reeked of mold and despair.
At that moment,
A stealthier voice
Slipped into their minds.
TRACE's pseudo-communication signal silently infiltrated their personal data terminals.
A vague message popped up:
[Protocol Invitation: Freedom Corridor]
[Conditions]: Defect, bring usable node data;
[Rewards]: Access to a higher-tier free network, resource sharing, protection guaranteed.
Three short lines,
Like an icy hand
Pressing on their fragile, anxious hearts.
Natalie clenched her jaw:
"Do we even have a choice?"
Ethan was silent for a long time,
Then whispered:
"If the world's already a lie,
At least
We'll be smarter prisoners."
They exchanged a glance.
—Resolved to defect.
Unbeknownst to them,
The moment they confirmed,
Atop a distant high-rise,
Jason tilted his head slightly,
A frigid smile curling his lips.
[HEX64 Alert: Pseudo-Intelligence Lock Successful]
→ False intelligence packet injected into TRACE access point
→ Inducement coordinates set: North district fake communication hub
Jason murmured:
"Want to tear apart the order?
Fine.
But—
It comes at a cost."
Two hours later,
Natalie and Ethan cautiously approached the north district's abandoned communication hub.
There—
According to TRACE's guidance—
A secret access point to the Freedom Corridor supposedly lay hidden.
Collapsed antennas sprawled,
Cables tangled in chaotic knots,
The air thick with rust and ash.
They stepped forward hesitantly.
As they neared the center,
[Beep—]
A hidden detector emitted a faint alert.
The next second—
From all directions, figures emerged from the dark.
Peripheral patrol nodes, deployed covertly by Jason,
Armed with crude but lethal gear,
Moving with cold, mechanical precision.
"Targets confirmed."
"Defector nodes."
"Execute isolation."
Ethan and Natalie screamed in panic.
Natalie tried to flee but tripped over a nylon cord flung from the shadows.
Ethan fought desperately,
But was quickly overwhelmed.
Beneath broken walls,
Their communication devices, trackers, and documents were stripped.
Gagged,
They were hauled away.
[HEX64 Alert: TRACE Node Hijack Disruption Successful]
→ False intelligence injection completed
→ Defection operation captured successfully
→ TRACE micro-control group communication delay increased (+31%)
Above the ruins,
Jason approached slowly.
He looked down at the subdued pair,
His gaze devoid of warmth.
Softly:
"Freedom
Is never a reason to run."
And deeper,
In a place no one could hear,
He whispered:
"The true cage
Isn't confinement,
Nor rules.
It's believing
You have a choice."
Section Five: Silent Severance
Three in the morning.
Above the north district's abandoned communication hub,
Dark clouds hung low, pressing the ruins like a sealed coffin.
A battered electronic screen
Flickered faintly in the night,
Displaying scrolling numbers:
[Affiliated Nodes: Stable +7]
[Defector Nodes Locked: -2]
[Peripheral Pseudo-Signal Suppression Rate: +42%]
[TRACE Localized Interference Feedback: Restricted]
Jason stood by the hub's main console,
One hand in his pocket,
The other holding a worn scanner.
Head lowered,
He watched the screen's shifting data on resource flows and node stability.
Zhao Mingxuan, beside him,
Monitored another data panel nervously.
Lisa Peng leaned against a wall,
Arms crossed,
Her eyes scanning every shadow.
[HEX64 Alert: False Spiral First Purge Completed]
→ Defector nodes successfully severed
→ Primary resource consolidation achieved
→ TRACE localized access node failure rate +35%
First round of pseudo-empire cleansing complete!
Jason switched off the scanner.
His eyes narrowed in the dark.
He spoke, low and calm:
"Severance
Must be silent.
Only then
Will those unaware of their shackles
Remain undisturbed."
Zhao Mingxuan whispered:
"What about the ones left after the screening?"
Jason glanced up,
At the silhouettes of groups still moving in the ruins.
Quietly:
"They don't need the whole truth.
Just that—
They're needed,
They're useful,
They can still rise.
That's enough."
[HEX64 Alert: Node Psychological Structure Prediction]
Active affiliation rate increased (+12%)
Loyalty driven by ambition (promotion/resource security) dominates
Potential defection tendencies temporarily reduced
Before dawn,
Jason issued the day's final command:
Distribute the resource allocation table to the newly screened peripheral nodes;
Archive defector processing (publicly reported as "resource loss fatalities");
Insert the organization's composite score ranking into the club activity update board.
Within six hours,
The empire's peripheral node structure
Completed its first natural elimination and replacement.
The sun had yet to rise.
Atop the distant teaching building, the tattered school flag
Unfurled slowly in the morning breeze.
Its red and white fabric,
Like a conquest banner riddled with cracks and blood.
Jason stood before the library's broken walls,
Squinting at the gray sky.
His fingers tapped the railing lightly,
Whispering to himself:
"An empire
Is never built by the most loyal.
It's piled up, bit by bit,
By those who need to cling,
Fear loss,
And know how to sacrifice themselves."
[HEX64 Alert: Wind Mountain Gradual Hexagram Convergence Complete]
→ Current spiral stability rate: 83%
→ TRACE misdirection sustained
→ Mainline influence increased: +6%