Chapter 3: Silent Hunt
I. Beneath the Undercurrent
The night wind, weary yet cunning, slunk through the sports field, past abandoned bleachers, and into every unlocked window crack.
Jason stood in the alley behind the library's west wing, back against cold concrete, toying with a crumpled note.
The paper was rough, edges curled, bearing a single line:
Whoever controls the voice controls the direction.
No signature. No mark.
But Jason knew—this was the echo.
His first signal line was quietly sprouting, entwining, weaving new paths.
The air held an unspoken tension, like the humid stillness before a storm, suppressed by the icy night.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Local Social Penetration Rate at 31%]
> - Peripheral nodes forming.
> - Recommended Strategy: Silent screening, micro-interaction to build basic execution units.
> - Resource State: Low energy distribution, controllable deviation: ±2%.
Jason narrowed his eyes, a local dynamic grid unfolding in his mind.
In the pulsing flow of the crowd, he saw hidden nodes, faint but real momentum, like subtle undercurrents stirring.
Tonight, the first prey would step into his design.
All he had to do was wait.
After evening study hall, the corridor's dim lights flickered, fragmented footsteps echoing on worn tiles like a fracturing symphony.
Jason moved through it, his gaze discreetly scanning each passing shadow.
By the water fountain, a lanky student hunched over, twisting a bottle cap with mechanical stiffness.
Ryan Klaus—
Average grades, low presence;
Social outsider;
Inward emotions, highly suggestible;
No fixed circle, no clear faction tags.
A perfect peripheral node.
Jason paused, his fingers twitching. A heavy English math textbook slipped from his hand.
Thud.
The sound cut through the quiet corridor.
Ryan instinctively bent to pick it up, handing it over.
"Your book…"
His voice was soft, almost afraid to disturb something unspeakable.
Jason smiled faintly, nodding with a calm, deliberate strength:
"Thanks."
Two words, precisely piercing Ryan's psychological guard.
Ryan froze, a flicker of unconscious relief in his eyes. He rubbed his fingers on his pant seam, then retreated around the corner.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Node Perception Response Complete]
> - Emotional Curve Shift: Positive attachment.
> - Recommendation: Initiate second micro-interaction within three days to solidify trust seed.
Jason retrieved the book and continued, his steps steady, silent.
Prey marked.
The hunt went on.
Midnight.
Back in his dorm, Jason opened his notebook, logging today's actions in the system's memo.
His keystrokes matched his heartbeat.
The system displayed a denser dynamic map.
From him, faint lines extended, fragile yet stabilizing.
Each was an unawakened control path.
This was just the start.
True construction happened before the prey realized they were hunted—while they still believed they were freely choosing.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Peripheral Signal Traffic Entering Micro-Movement Phase]
> - Current Node Activity: 3%.
> - Predicted Structural Expansion Curve Generated.
Jason closed the laptop, leaning back, eyes shut.
The midnight wind slipped through the door crack, rustling scattered notes on his desk.
The sound was like grass brushing trembling prey.
And he waited.
Waiting for more undercurrents to merge into an unstoppable flood.
II. Whispered Probes
At the edge of the library's abandoned west parking lot, the evening wind whipped up grit, pinging rusted railings with sharp, fleeting whistles.
The sky was dark, stars sparse, the air thick with damp, covert unease.
Jason stood in the shadows, a dark stone blended into the environment, his breathing nearly nonexistent.
He wasn't waiting.
He was screening.
True hunting wasn't chasing prey—it was crafting a seemingly safe path and letting the prey walk into the trap.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Peripheral Node Trajectory Monitoring…]
One minute. Two.
The wind sliced like wire through the air.
Then, hurried, hesitant footsteps shattered the frozen night.
Stephen McNaughton appeared.
Hoodie up, a worn laptop bag slung over his shoulder, moving like a wary hamster in unfamiliar terrain.
He stopped, glancing around, then approached slowly.
"Hey… Jason?"
His voice was low, trembling with unease.
Jason didn't move, just nodded, gesturing to a chipped concrete step nearby.
Stephen hesitated.
Then sat, body tense, like a creature poised to flee.
A subtle distance separated them.
The wind hissed through the building's corner, like countless invisible ears listening to their whispers.
Silence.
Long silence.
Jason was patient. He excelled at waiting.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Node Psychological Tension Accumulating]
> - Current Tension Index: 72%.
> - Collapse Threshold: Estimated 45 seconds.
Stephen broke first.
"…The showcase thing, was that really you?"
Not an accusation. Not a question.
A primal need for belonging.
Jason turned slowly, his gaze cutting through the dark, locking onto Stephen's eyes.
No denial. No confirmation.
Just silence as the answer.
Stephen clenched his jaw, hands twisting on his knees.
"I… I can help. Really."
His voice quivered, like he was betting something vital.
Jason's eyes narrowed, his voice low and steady:
"Why?"
Two words, slicing the tense night air.
Stephen froze.
He looked down, his voice scattering like dust:
"Because this place… it's all ruins…"
His words faded to nothing.
Jason watched, his gaze cold and sharp.
Those trembling between fear and desire were the easiest to weave into the structure.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Node Motivation Identified]
> - Primary Drivers: Self-worth seeking × discontent with status quo.
> - Compliance Tendency: High.
> - Betrayal Risk: Moderate (control environmental stress to reduce variance).
Jason leaned closer, his voice a whisper only audible up close:
"If you want to help,"
He paused, letting each word sink deep,
"Learn one thing first."
Stephen looked up, holding his breath.
"Don't act in the light."
No threat, no warning.
Just bottomless calm and inevitability.
Stephen shuddered, nodding frantically, his expression a mix of nerves and awe.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Peripheral Node Binding Complete (Temporary Protocol Mode)]
> - Stephen McNaughton (Peripheral Node ID: S-12).
> - Assigned Permissions: Peripheral intelligence gathering × informal signal carrier.
> - Current Loyalty Index: 62%.
> - Stability Rating: Adequate, suitable for initial tasks.
The meeting ended.
Jason stood, leaving without a trace, as if he'd never been there.
Stephen lingered on the step, fingers rubbing his jeans' seam, clinging to the last shred of control.
The wind grew fiercer.
The parking lot's scrap metal clattered, like the prelude to a distant tide's collapse.
Midnight, back in his dorm.
Jason sat on his bed, opening his laptop.
New signal lines emerged on the local structure map.
Faint, but real.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Peripheral Node Stratification Complete]
> - Current Peripheral Structure Stability: 18%.
> - Warning: System recommends first-round loyalty test to prevent future chain collapse.
Jason closed the laptop, fingers tapping the desk in a slow, precise rhythm.
Each captured node was a cornerstone of a future empire.
But before building—
He had to sift out the grit.
III. Signal Lockdown
2 a.m.
The dorm corridor was a winding void, emergency lights casting pale blue glows, slicing the tiles into cold fragments.
Jason sat on his bed, fingers lightly tapping the laptop keyboard. The screen displayed one line:
Peripheral Signal Test: Code S-12 · Execution Deployed.
The air mixed antiseptic and dust, heavy, viscous, like liquid about to solidify.
Jason stared at the screen, his eyes deep, as if peering through reality's surface into hidden structures.
No hesitation.
His finger hit Enter.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Peripheral Loyalty Test Program Initiated]
> - Target: Stephen McNaughton (S-12).
> - Signal Content: School to cut science club budget (unpublicized internally).
> - Propagation Directive: Low-frequency release, restricted dissemination.
A silent seed, planted in the social flow.
Not a storm. Not an explosion.
Just a root, waiting to grow.
Morning, cafeteria.
Voices buzzed, metal utensils clinked, blending into chaotic noise.
Jason sat in the corner, seemingly eating, but his perception system was fully active.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Signal Tracking Synchronized…]
> - Keyword Diffusion Detected:
> Science club
> Budget cuts
> Inside info
> - Diffusion Rate: 0.7%.
> - Source Drift Rate: 6%.
> - Controllable.
Jason sipped cold coffee, a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.
The signal had spread precisely, without excessive disruption—exactly as planned.
More crucially, Stephen hadn't exposed the source or amplified the issue.
He was usable.
Evening, outside the science club's activity room.
Through the half-open door, Jason saw a small group whispering.
"Heard the school's slashing our equipment budget next year…"
The voice was low, laced with anxiety.
"True or not?"
"Someone heard it from someone… sounds like an insider."
As designed.
The signal had detached from Stephen, spreading autonomously.
Source obscured.
Responsibility diffused.
Focus shifted.
Jason smirked coldly.
This was the first step of structural control:
No need to shout—just let them whisper.
10 p.m.
On the dorm roof, the wind roared, tearing at the tattered remnants of an old flag.
Jason stood by the railing, holding a folded square of paper.
Written on it:
Signal zeroed, node established.
No signature. No timestamp.
Only signal, only command.
Minutes later, Stephen crept onto the platform, panting faintly.
He saw Jason, hesitated, then approached, taking the note.
His expression was a tangle of fear, excitement, and strange relief.
He might not fully grasp the logic.
But he instinctively knew—he was caught in a larger, inescapable orbit.
After Stephen left, Jason stood at the roof's edge, gazing at the city's fractured skyline.
Streetlights blurred into dirty yellow halos in the fog, streets crawling like deep-sea creatures, gasping, struggling, undying.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Peripheral Node Control Layer Formed]
> - Current Peripheral Nodes: 6.
> - Stability Assessment: Basic viability.
> - Deployable Function: Peripheral Tactical Chain (BETA) Activated.
> [System Reward Prompt: Privilege Escalation]
> - Momentum Capture Frequency: Upgraded to low-frequency visualization.
> - New Strategy Module: Structural Induction × Node Fission Warning.
Jason exhaled slowly.
A small peripheral network was complete.
This was just the first layer.
Next, he'd weave a denser, stealthier, unshakeable web of control across higher dimensions.
From class, to clubs, to school, to the broken Federated States system—
Layer by layer. Circle by circle.
Silent.
Irreversible.
Moonlight glinted coldly on his fingertips, like a blade awaiting its draw.
And Jason had already gripped the hilt.
IV. Peripheral Micro-Ripples
At the field's end, an old flagpole swayed in the wind, creaking intermittently.
Jason stood under moonlight, fingers cold and resolute.
The periphery was forming.
But true control wasn't just building a network.
It needed screening.
It needed tempering.
It needed its first ripple.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Peripheral Node Status Analysis…]
> - Node Stability: Moderately low.
> - Internal Fluctuation Risk: Present.
> - Recommended Strategy: Micro-signal release to observe loyalty responses.
Jason inhaled deeply, sensing the restless undercurrent in the night wind.
The next test wasn't for expansion.
It was for screening.
Not for pressure.
But to see who could withstand subtle strain without breaking.
Noon the next day, in the cafeteria's rear lounge, Jason casually dropped a note.
It read:
The game has begun. Not everyone will survive to the end.
Simple, vague, stoking primal anxiety.
The note rolled slowly down the aisle, stopping at a pair of feet.
Zhao Mingxuan.
Student council peripheral.
High information hunger, stability untested.
Jason watched from the corner.
Zhao bent down, picked it up, frowned, scanned the area, then slipped it into his pocket.
Clean, no hesitation.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Node Response Assessment]
> - Preliminary Loyalty Stability: Adequate.
> - Panic Propagation Risk: Low.
One.
Half an hour later, Jason left an anonymous message on the library's board:
The wind has shifted. Who's watching, who's moving.
Subtler, requiring sharper perception to catch the hidden meaning.
Result—
Lisa Peng, literature club peripheral, saw it.
She lingered at the board for three minutes.
Her fingers traced the message, eyes glinting, but she didn't snap a photo or talk to anyone.
Just a faint smile, as if decoding a private language.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Node Perception: Above Average]
> - Loyalty Potential Increased.
> - Recommended Action: Mid-term cultivation.
Two.
But not all nodes were stable.
Afternoon, on the path behind the basketball court.
Ben Grant, the physically strong but mentally fragile sports club peripheral.
After receiving a misleading signal Jason planted, he cracked.
Loud complaints, questions, even half-joking to peers:
"Heard some psycho's pulling strings around here? Man, who is it? I'd deck him if I knew!"
The system flashed coldly:
> [HEX64 Warning: High Peripheral Node Exposure Risk]
> - Ben Grant
> - Stability Assessment: Dangerous (Red Alert)
> - Recommended Action: Isolate / Eliminate.
Jason stood at a distance, ears catching every fractured word, fingers sliding silently along his pant seam.
A chill rose in his blood.
Not anger.
A near-ruthless inevitability.
Midnight, behind the basketball court.
The wind tore through the darkness.
Jason approached a blind spot, pinning a note with Ben Grant's name to the wall's corner.
No threat.
No accusation.
Just four cold words:
You have been seen.
The next day, Ben's nerves collapsed.
He quit the science club's peripheral group and requested a class transfer.
On the structure map, his node—severed.
A dangerous signal, naturally purged.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Peripheral Node Screening Complete]
> - Current Stable Peripheral Nodes: 6.
> - Network Contraction: Complete.
> - Structural Integrity: Up to 47%.
Jason stood at the field's end, watching morning mist roll over the concrete.
He hadn't struck, hadn't used force.
The system had simply culled the unfit.
The future world needed no weakness, no flaws.
He was building a network that could contract, purify, and evolve through undercurrents and storms.
This was just the start.
V. Peripheral Stabilization
5 a.m.
The sky hadn't fully brightened, the campus steeped in gray-blue dampness.
Distant birdsong sounded like the sleeping city's unconscious groans.
Jason stood on the library roof, gripping a nearly dry pen.
Behind a worn bulletin board, he scrawled a faint shadow signal:
Nodes intertwine, signals echo, structures form.
No one would notice such a contextless phrase.
But those silently marked would sense it subconsciously.
Not a command.
A guide.
Not gathering.
But making them think they found each other.
True control wasn't issuing orders.
It was crafting an environment where targets chose what benefited him.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Peripheral Shadow Signal Deployment Initiated]
> - Current Peripheral Node Sync Rate: 53%.
> - Signal Response Potential: 32%.
> - Recommended Action: Low-frequency rhythm guidance to prevent premature exposure.
Jason pocketed the pen, shouldered his bag, and crossed the field's cracked concrete like any other senior, blending into the day's first crowd.
Behind him, the shadow structure grew.
Formless signals spread like microbes, weaving, splitting, recombining among the crowd.
First period.
Jason noticed Lisa Peng and Zhao Mingxuan linger together after class.
No secrets were shared.
They just stood closer, spoke softer.
Unaware themselves.
But in the system's web, their faint but real link was woven into the structure.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Peripheral Node Linkage Confirmed]
> - Lisa-Zhao Chain Stable.
> - Peripheral Micro-Group Mode Activated.
A flicker of satisfaction crossed Jason's mind.
Afternoon.
In the cafeteria's second-floor corner, peripheral nodes formed a small, unconscious circle.
They chatted about classes, club gossip, school rumors.
But Jason knew.
This was the first natural aggregation of peripheral nodes.
Like plankton in the deep ocean condensing into the earliest food chains.
No external push needed.
Just environment and subconscious at work.
> [HEX64 Prompt: Peripheral Structure Stabilization Complete]
> - Current Stable Nodes: 6.
> - Connection Density: 44%.
> - Signal Induction Module: Deployable (BETA).
After evening study hall, Jason walked back to his dorm.
Cold moonlight, wind whistling through corridor gaps.
Each step on the ground sent faint, orderly ripples.
In his perception, the school was no longer a chaotic organism.
It was a vast machine, pulsing undercurrents, reorganizing.
And he was quietly installing its core.
Not overt.
Not violent.
Silent. Irreversible.
> [HEX64 Prompt: First-Generation Peripheral Structure Complete]
> - Current Local Control Index: 11%.
> - System Assessment: Basic situational intervention capability.
> - Reward Modules Unlocked:
> - Small-Scale Signal Guidance (Level 1)
> - Local Event Prediction (Low Frequency)
Jason paused in the teaching building's shadow, gazing at the night sky.
The wind traced the building's edges like a beast's spine.
He'd grasped his first blade.
But this was just the beginning.
The real hunt hadn't yet begun.
He felt it.
A future storm was brewing.
And he was the one guiding its silent blade.