Chapter Eleven: Whispers of the Undercurrent
Section One: The First Stirrings of the Subtle Flow
Deep night.
At the northern edge of the campus, outside the abandoned library, a faint breeze stirred the dust.
Shattered glass reflected fractured moonlight, like wary eyes glinting in the dark.
In the distance, the soft tread of cat-like footsteps occasionally brushed past a street corner.
The air was thick with the damp scent of decay, as if something were on the verge of hatching.
Jason Carter stood on the half-ruined second-floor platform, his elbow resting against the cold railing.
His wrist-mounted personal terminal vibrated faintly.
Not an alert.
A communication.
A virtual interface materialized, displaying a name both familiar and caution-inducing:
[Contact: Kael Ferrin]
[Request Type: Temporary Private Node Channel]
[Note: Independent Agenda]
Jason narrowed his eyes.
The wind tugged at his hoodie, producing a faint rustle.
His heartbeat remained steady, his rationality sharp as a blade.
—Kael.
—Initiating contact himself.
The terminal glowed softly in his palm, illuminating the fine, sharp lines of his knuckles.
[Fuxi System Prompt]
Wind Over Water (Huan): Subtle currents shift, undercurrents begin to stir.
Do not break, yet do not yield.
Control through stillness, entice through motion.
Jason's fingertip tapped lightly, opening the channel.
He didn't speak.
In the darkness, from the other end of the line, came a low chuckle.
Hoarse, restrained, laced with a trace of provocation.
"Jason Carter."
"Seems we're not the only ones noticing… you've been making waves lately."
No pleasantries, no preamble.
Direct, yet edged with hidden barbs.
Jason paused for two seconds, his voice calm and concise:
"Waves? Perhaps some are just overly sensitive."
A brief silence from the other side.
Then Kael let out a scoff:
"Sensitive? In these ruins, sensitivity is a survival instinct."
"You, of all people, should know that. After all—not everyone wants to be a pawn on the board."
Jason's eyes narrowed slightly.
Moonlight glinted in his gaze, sharp and cold.
[System Whisper]
Node wavering detected.
Undercurrent rising.
Use dialogue to create psychological leverage, guiding the opponent toward misjudgment.
Jason's mind raced, but his voice remained slow and deliberate:
"Not everyone realizes they're already on the board."
A light, almost casual remark, yet it pierced the charged air like the tip of a blade.
The atmosphere on the other end stiffened momentarily.
Kael didn't retort immediately, only letting out a low laugh,
As if a hidden vulnerability had been grazed.
Half a minute later,
Kael spoke again, his voice lower, more guarded:
"Tonight. The abandoned building."
"We talk rules, not allegiances."
His tone was clean, decisive, leaving no room for debate.
The connection cut off.
The virtual interface dissolved into a faint gray shimmer, fading at Jason's fingertips.
He stood still, unmoving.
Cold wind slipped through the cracks of broken windows,
Brushing the outline of his shadow behind him,
Stretching it long and eerie.
Jason looked down,
At the shadow trembling in the breeze,
A faint smirk curling his lips.
"Rules? Allegiances?"
"…Just the moves of someone betting early, afraid of being swallowed before the game takes shape."
He adjusted the hood of his sweatshirt,
His figure melting into the night.
[System Prompt]
Path generated: Route to the abandoned building node.
Danger probability: Moderate increase (23%).
Potential variables: Unknown.
On the Fuxi System interface, a shimmering flow of dispersed water glided slowly,
As if foretelling—
Beneath the undercurrent,
The true storm was only just beginning.
---
Section Two: The Pact at the Ruined Building
The abandoned district, north side, derelict building.
An unfinished lecture hall, its concrete exposed, rebar rusted, like a corpse forsaken by time.
Wind whistled through broken window frames, a sharp, keening sound, as if whispering secrets.
Jason crossed the perimeter, where weathered safety barriers, nearly transparent with age, stood as mere relics.
His steps were featherlight, each landing precisely on the seams between concrete slabs and iron frames, silent as a specter.
[Fuxi System Prompt]
Wind Over Water (Huan): The situation scatters, undercurrents intertwine.
Those who walk steady in chaos claim the game; those who move covertly in motion claim life.
He didn't charge toward the main structure.
Instead, he circled slowly, his ears attuned to the faint shifts in the night's airflow.
About seventeen meters away, on the second floor, east side—
A barely perceptible rhythm of breathing.
Kael's people.
Jason didn't pause, merely adjusting his path slightly.
On the surface, he betrayed no hint of awareness, but in his mind, he'd already mapped the terrain and personnel positions.
The ruins were a natural chessboard.
Tonight, every move could determine the future's territorial lines.
Inside the building, a lone portable light hung from an exposed ceiling hook.
Its cold white glow was clinical, like an operating table's illumination.
Kael stood at the center of the light's circle, tall and upright, gripping a broken metal pipe, tapping it idly against the floor.
The crisp metallic clinks echoed through the dilapidated structure, prodding at every nerve.
Seeing Jason, Kael's lips curved into a half-playful, half-razored smile.
"You actually came."
His voice was soft, yet it stirred faint ripples in the stillness.
Jason stepped slowly to the edge of the light's circle, offering no reply.
[System Prompt]
Psychological confrontation initiated.
Opponent: Suppressive probing.
Recommended response: Neither advance nor retreat, prioritize observation.
He paused briefly, then stood firm, maintaining a precise distance—
Neither too close to seem eager, nor too distant to appear timid.
Kael studied him,
His gaze a knife, slicing at Jason's exterior, searching for cracks.
After a moment, he chuckled lightly:
"Jason Carter."
"You think you can reshape the rules in these ruins with a handful of peripheral fleas?"
His tone was flippant, but the edge was unmistakable.
Jason's expression remained impassive, his voice flat:
"Rules don't need the majority's approval.
They only need the approval of those who control resources and nodes."
A flicker of something—surprise, perhaps—flashed in Kael's eyes.
—This kid was tougher than expected.
[Fuxi System Prompt]
Undercurrent scatters, nodes remain unclaimed.
Entice with the game, borrow momentum with the tide.
Jason's gaze swept the surroundings lightly,
Lingering briefly on the second-floor broken window,
As if "accidentally" noticing the hidden sentries.
Kael's lips twitched,
Realizing his setup had been seen through in an instant.
A chill crept into his gut, though he masked it quickly.
Jason withdrew his gaze, a faint, almost mocking smile on his lips:
"If tonight's just about showing off your defenses,
It's… mildly entertaining."
Kael's eyes tightened,
The rhythm of his pipe-tapping faltering for a split second.
Their gazes clashed in the air,
Silent, yet fierce as clashing steel.
The silence held for several seconds.
Finally, Kael's smile faded, his tone turning cold:
"I'm giving you a choice."
"Join forces—share the future resource network."
"Or, when the storm hits, be crushed entirely."
Jason's lips curved upward slightly,
His voice calm as still water, yet brimming with hidden currents:
"Storm?"
"I thought—wind was meant to be borrowed."
A single sentence,
Hiding all his restraint, schemes, and ambitions
In a veneer of breezy nonchalance.
[System Prompt]
Peripheral nodes nearing unrest.
Risk of situational fracturing rising (Alert Level).
Recommended action: Set the stage to guide Kael into revealing more intentions.
Jason lowered his head, as if pondering.
The next moment, he looked up, his expression almost disarmingly gentle:
"Cooperation is possible."
"But—cooperation hinges on me knowing
What ''you'' want."
A brief sentence,
Turning the tables.
Kael's eyes narrowed, the smile vanishing from his face.
Outside the ruined building,
The wind grew colder still.
---
Section Three: Beneath Conditions, Undercurrents Surge
Inside the derelict building, the cold wind whispered, swaying the hanging portable light.
Light and shadow danced across the broken floor, like invisible blades probing one another.
Jason stood at the edge of the light's circle,
His expression relaxed yet aloof,
His eyes a deep, unfathomable lake, calm yet hiding turbulent depths.
Kael tossed the metal pipe aside,
Hands slipping into his pockets as he took a step forward.
The shift in his weight
Tightened the air by a fraction.
"What I want?"
Kael scoffed, "Simple—freely flowing resources, clean darknet channels, and…"
"A group of partners who won't falter when the storm hits."
Jason listened quietly, in no rush to respond.
[Fuxi System Prompt]
Wind Over Water (Huan): The game is unformed, undercurrents unclaimed.
Draw out true desires with enticing words, control the hidden from the visible.
The system interface displayed a faintly scattered ripple of water,
Swirling and expanding in his vision.
Jason already saw through it—
Kael's so-called "cooperation" was merely a ploy to leverage Jason's peripheral node system,
To seize more control before chaos descended.
—A classic [shell-borrowing strategy].
He remained impassive, asking softly:
"So, you need a stable platform?"
Kael flashed a cryptic smile:
"Or rather, a platform that can weather the first wave of impact."
Jason nodded faintly.
He understood.
Kael had sensed—
The true storm was far beyond the current peripheral skirmishes.
TRACE's core group, Blackvine Circle, even the scavenger legions—all were stirring in the shadows,
Waiting for their moment.
Jason and his peripheral nodes were merely the first "test subjects" to surface.
But Kael was clever.
He didn't want to stand in the storm's path himself.
He wanted to use Jason's platform—to ride the wave, while keeping an exit ready.
Jason fell silent for a few seconds,
His gaze lifting to a slanted beam of moonlight filtering through the cracked ceiling.
His fingers brushed the terminal interface silently.
[System Analysis]
Kael's current intent: Borrow momentum + mitigate impact + reserve betrayal path.
Risk index: Moderately high (46%).
Recommended action: Offer the perception of a platform, covertly set diversion paths, gradually ensnare.
Jason refocused,
His voice as indifferent as sand in the night breeze:
"Cooperation is possible."
"But the platform's rules are mine to set."
Kael's eyes narrowed,
His gaze sharp, as if trying to dissect Jason's intentions.
"Rules?"
"Hmph, let's hear them."
Jason stepped forward slightly,
Entering the light's circle, where shadows and light carved their figures in stark relief.
He raised a hand,
Tracing a simple arc in the air.
The terminal projected a clear, concise set of rules:
- Unified Scoring System: All node resource changes must sync with the scoring framework.
- Transparent Node Flow: Transaction records open to audit, with encrypted personal details.
- Dynamic Resource Allocation: Resources distributed based on node activity and contribution rates.
- Mandatory Intervention for Anomalies: Any sudden risk nodes may be frozen or liquidated.
- Alliance Restricted to Node Level: No private recruitment of external allies; all affiliations subject to evaluation.
As the rules appeared,
The temperature in the building seemed to drop further.
Kael stared at the projection,
His face betraying a faint, almost imperceptible darkening.
The rules seemed reasonable on the surface,
But in truth,
They heavily favored Jason's platform control system.
Any node that joined
Would have its resource flows, score changes, and anomalies
Fully in Jason's grasp.
—Silent control.
—Silent reaping.
A cold glint flashed in Kael's eyes.
He realized
This wasn't a simple alliance offer.
It was a layout for gradual absorption into a hidden empire.
The air fell silent again.
Only the howling wind echoed from the building's depths,
As if the ruins themselves awaited an answer.
Jason stood calmly,
Neither urging nor explaining.
He knew.
In such a situation,
A single extra word would expose weakness.
A true strategist
Offers options,
Never revealing the lethal intent behind them.
Finally,
Kael's lips twitched slightly,
A half-smile, half-sneer, as he muttered:
"What a… lunatic."
A deep wariness flickered in his eyes,
But ultimately, he nodded.
"…Cooperation, for now."
Jason smiled faintly, his gaze as still as water:
"Good."
"You'll thank yourself for this choice."
[System Prompt]
Node probing successful.
Preliminary peripheral alliance structure formed (unstable state).
Wind Over Water (Huan) game progress: 23%.
Danger index temporarily reduced.
Jason stowed the terminal,
Turning toward the building's exit.
Wind poured through the cracked walls,
Like a low, sinister chuckle.
He knew—
This was only the beginning.
The true storm
Was just spreading its black wings.
---
Section Four: Beneath the Darknet, Nodes Converge
Outside the ruined building, the wind cut like ice.
Jason descended the broken steps, his palm tightly gripping the now-stowed personal terminal.
The metal casing's cold bite sharpened his clarity.
Behind him, Kael lingered in the shadows, silent.
No further words passed between them.
Cooperation had been struck.
But cooperation did not mean trust.
And that was precisely the situation Jason desired.
[Fuxi System Prompt]
Wind Over Water (Huan) game transitioning.
Those who win hearts shape the board; those who waver sink into the depths.
Jason's steps were steady, deliberate in the night.
Each inch of ground he trod
Seemed to pave an invisible path for his future empire.
Nearby, a battered electric vehicle, its exterior worn but its internals encrypted and modified, waited quietly.
In the driver's seat, Emily Lin raised a hand in a subtle gesture.
"Everything go smoothly?" she asked softly.
Jason nodded faintly, sliding into the passenger seat.
The terminal linked with the vehicle's system, instantly syncing a new node map.
In the dim light, the virtual interface unfolded:
Eighteen peripheral nodes, seven gray connection lines, three red alert lines.
Each line represented a resource exchange, a covert power flow, a potential betrayal or fracture.
Emily glanced at the interface while driving:
"Kael… actually agreed?"
Her tone carried a trace of skepticism.
Jason replied flatly:
"He didn't agree to me."
"He agreed to the tide."
Emily fell silent for a moment, a faint smile curling her lips:
"Compared to Kael, I'm more worried about the other peripherals."
"They might not grasp what the tide means."
Jason's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.
"They don't need to."
His gaze settled on the interface's bottom, where a newly generated sub-node chain flickered faintly.
[System Prompt]
Node flow data anomaly detected.
Two potential fracture factors identified in peripheral nodes.
Recommended action: Covert monitoring, with preemptive liquidation if necessary.
Jason's fingers tapped the interface lightly,
Placing hidden markers on the two potential fracture nodes.
Two steps lead to four;
Four steps lead to eight.
Nodes weren't for unification—
They were for culling.
Jason closed his eyes,
A faint glow of the Fuxi hexagram shimmering in his mind.
Wind Over Water.
Scattering, converging, lurking, infiltrating.
The perfect phase for cultivating the "primal cells" of an empire.
Emily drove through the dim alleys of the district.
In the distance, the campus's edge lights blurred,
Like stars on the verge of extinction.
Jason mentally marked his next move:
The periphery was just ants scurrying.
The semi-core was the nerve center pulling the true strings of the ruined continent.
[Fuxi System Prompt]
Next phase proposal:
[Node Culling Plan: First Round]
Objective: Eliminate weak nodes, increase affiliation density.
Estimated risk fluctuation: Rising to 27%.
Potential backlash index: Moderate.
Jason opened his eyes slowly,
His gaze deep as the night.
His finger tapped the terminal,
Activating the preliminary framework for the culling program.
In the ruins,
Those who survived to the end
Were never the most numerous,
But—
The ones who understood the rules first.
[Fuxi Hexagram]
Wind stirs water, momentum scatters into flow;
The path lies not in gathering,
But in culling.*
---
Section Five: The Culling, Merciless
East campus, abandoned gymnasium.
Two in the morning.
The air reeked of mold and rusted metal,
Mingled with the raw blood of youth and the decay of old dreams.
Jason sat quietly at the top of the bleachers.
Broken seats formed a staircase of the dead around him,
And he, like a sovereign in these ruins,
Overlooked a blood-soaked theater yet to commence.
His personal terminal hovered above his knee,
Its virtual interface running silently.
Peripheral node profiles were pulled up one by one—
Influence index, loyalty trends, resource control weight, potential fracture factors.
Cold data points floated and intersected in the air,
Converging into two anomalous lines.
—Two potential tumors.
[Fuxi System Prompt]
Node culling plan initiated.
Culling criteria:
- Affiliation score < 60%
- Risk variance probability > 40%
- Behavioral disruption tendency > 20%
Pass: Enter preliminary assimilation list.
Fail: Elimination.
Jason's fingers slid across the interface,
His gaze calm as a mirror,
Not a trace of hesitation.
[Culling Mode Selection]
Dark Marking → Natural elimination later
Swift Liquidation → Human-accelerated collapse
Jason chose the latter.
In the Wind Over Water game,
No blade, no blood—
How could hearts truly align?
He shifted his shoulders,
The faint sound of shoes brushing dust echoing in his ears.
Kael appeared, accompanied by several peripheral node representatives.
They thought tonight was merely for routine information syncing and resource planning.
But Jason knew—
The true culling began the moment they stepped into the gymnasium.
Kael cast an uneasy glance at Jason atop the bleachers,
But said nothing.
Jason rose, descending slowly,
Each step carrying a subtle weight,
As if walking at the center of a tightening net.
At the central court, on a cracked floor, stood a battered table.
On it, three copies of documents—
Preliminary resource division and affiliation plans.
Jason wasted no words,
Speaking flatly:
"Sign this, and tonight, you join the platform officially."
"Don't sign, and after tonight, you'll never be recorded."
His tone was as casual as a weather report.
Whispers rippled among the node representatives below.
Some faces stiffened, others' eyes darted nervously.
A palpable tension spread through the air.
Kael stood aside, his brow twitching faintly,
But he remained silent.
—Because he knew
The Jason before them was no longer an ordinary student to be trifled with.
He was turning the periphery into his fully controlled domain with silent means.
Soon, the first person stepped forward,
Head bowed, signing their name quickly.
The second, the third.
As Jason predicted,
Most, under the immense pressure of the undercurrent,
Instinctively chose submission.
But—
When it came to the two potential tumor nodes,
One hesitated.
His eyes flickered,
Fingers tapping the table's edge,
Sweat sliding down his temple.
Jason watched him quietly,
Offering no urging.
[System Prompt]
Wavering coefficient risen to 61%.
Potential betrayal probability surged to 47%.
Signal clear.
Jason made a subtle swipe on the terminal,
A hidden command sent silently.
Outside the gymnasium,
Peripheral node personnel, arranged by Emily, received the order,
Quietly adjusting darknet permissions.
The man's account was frozen,
Resource links severed,
Score flow halted.
—A silent death notice issued.
Five minutes later,
The signing was complete.
Jason stood on the platform,
His gaze sweeping the crowd below,
His expression cold as carved stone.
He stowed the terminal,
Announcing indifferently:
"From tonight onward,
You are not free individuals."
"You are nodes."
In the empty gymnasium,
Only the wind howled through the broken ceiling,
Resounding like a low, raging tide.
[Fuxi System Summary]
First round of culling complete.
Affiliation stability coefficient risen to 74%.
Wind Over Water (Huan) game stabilization progress: 39%.
Next target: Semi-core node infiltration.
Jason turned,
His shadow stretching long in the mottled light,
Like a tightening rope of darkness.
He knew—
A true empire
Wasn't built on words.
It was forged, bit by bit,
Through culling, assimilation, liquidation, and control.
Tonight
Marked the true beginning
Of the *HEX64* empire's silent weaving of the undercurrent.