"There were a lot of logs to go through, but most of the data in them was corrupted beyond retrieval. Still, what Rin managed to learn was already enough to blow his mind.

First, there was the possibility that this apocalypse was artificial and had been created for the purpose of awakening an alien or supernatural creature. That alone sounded dangerous enough.

Secondly, the apocalypse was divided into regions, and so was the system board. Just because Shelly was first in their region did not mean she was first in the world.

Third, there was no telling how dangerous things could become once the apocalypse progressed further.

"Great! It’s one problem after another. But...can I even trust this space? How did I even get here?"

There was no system to tell Rin what was going on. That made it feel as though he were dreaming this whole thing.

But could a dream truly feel this realistic? Rin had never experienced one like this before.

"If this is a dream, then I should wake up any second now."

Rin closed his eyes, expecting to open them back in his room. But nothing of the sort happened.

Instead of waking up at home, Rin found himself in the same place with the same screens staring back at him. This became a problem he had not expected to encounter.

"Hahahah...now this is something else. How do I get back to my settlement? When will this dream end?"

Rin questioned, but there was no answer. There was no exit from this place either, which meant he was left wandering through the empty space.

"Don’t tell me...I am trapped here for eternity? Surely that can’t be right..."

Rin tried to make light of the situation, but sweat dripped down his brow. He was trying his best to remain calm, but it was not helping.

Panic slowly began to take root inside him and Rin’s heart started beating faster. He reached toward his chest when a sudden pain overtook his senses.

He was not sure what was happening, but the pain felt identical to the agony he had experienced while dying. He clutched his chest and looked toward the screen.

[Initiating merge with Segment #00. Merge started.]

[Progress bar: 0%...1%...5%...]

"Merge? Does this thing want to absorb me?"

Rin questioned as he forced himself through the pain and looked at the screen again. He did not get an answer, but his instincts told him he was right.

"Ha! Do you think I’m going to let you do that? This is my life, and I’m going to live it to the fullest."

Rin yelled as his vision began to blur. The blue screen in front of him suddenly turned red, but he was too busy trying not to die to notice.

[Error: Segment #00 is responding with hostility. Merge is not possible.]

[New course of action: Allow Segment #00 to take authority and become the new ’heart’.]

[Progress pending - conclusion...Overturn system authority and chart a new course.]

[Resolution: Segment #00-Prime will become the new ’heart’. Begin preparations.]

[Starting a new course of action for the apocalypse.]

Rin only managed to read fragments of the messages before his vision finally blurred and he fell unconscious. He was too exhausted to open his eyes again, so he allowed sleep to claim him.

’I will...sort this all out later...’

Rin promised himself as darkness finally consumed him.

...

’Ugh, my head feels like it’s being split open. Where am I...the system...’

Rin jolted upright in bed as he clutched his head and looked around. He was back in the same bed where he had fallen asleep, and everything appeared normal.

But the memories of the tree and the things he had read in that strange space remained vivid in his mind.

"Was what happened real?"

Rin questioned as he held his head. But there was no one there to answer him. No one except...

"System, are you there? Care to shed some light on what happened?"

Rin asked, and the system instantly appeared before him.

[( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ ) ]

[Rookie, the system is here to assist you. How may I help you today?]

The system behaved as though nothing was wrong. But Rin no longer felt the same sense of relief upon seeing it.

"What happened in my dream? What was that place? I need answers from you."

Rin demanded, but the system acted as though it had no idea what he was talking about.

[This senior has no idea what Rookie is talking about. The system does not peek into its employees’ dreams to monitor what they are dreaming about.]

Rin immediately called bullshit. The system clearly knew what had happened but was pretending otherwise. Which also meant he would not get any answers from it.

’Looks like I have no choice but to dig deeper into this mess myself. Those names involved in the apocalypse...some of them were familiar. I’m sure my parents’ names were there as well, along with Shelly’s mother’s.’

Seeing those names had shocked Rin. But more importantly...

"If this apocalypse is artificial, then whose memories do I have of reading about it in a novel? Is that part of this world’s setting?"

Rin was left with more questions than answers. But he had a feeling that all the answers he sought waited at the end of the apocalypse.

[You are thinking too much about this, Rookie. Why not focus on surviving first? If you want to uncover the secrets behind all this, then you need to keep moving forward.]

The system advised him like a caring mentor, but Rin was beginning to doubt its intentions. Compared to everyone else, it was far too helpful to him.

Was that part of the conspiracy as well? Or was it merely coincidence?

’As confusing as all this is, constantly questioning everything won’t get me anywhere. I need to take a chance and pretend to lower my guard. The system is the only lead I have to solve this mystery.’

Unfortunately, he did not get much time to think because Task Six was fast approaching.

Within an hour, the announcement for Task Six was released and an emergency meeting was called to prepare for it.