His eyelids twitched. A nasty smell slammed straight into his nose, making his throat itch like crazy.
"Where… am I?"
The words barely made it out as Chen Guang pushed himself up with one hand.
Total darkness—except for a weak streetlight nearby, flickering on and off.
The stench hung heavy in the air. Chen Guang covered his nose and slowly got to his feet, still rubbing his throat as he looked around.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Just him and the night.
He lifted his left hand and squinted at his old, scratched watch.
"2 A.M.? I've been lying here this whole time?"
He muttered, tapping the watch again and again.
[MISSION IN PROGRESS. ACCELERATE]
That cold, metallic voice rang out in his head again.
"Right… I took a mission earlier."
The memory suddenly rushed back. He waved a hand in the air, half-expecting nothing.
A blue screen blinked into existence. White words floated there.
In the middle, just one line.
[APEX GENESIS SYSTEM]
"Apex… Genesis System? So I wasn't dreaming?"
He pinched his arm, hard. It damn stung.
"Yeah, definitely real."
"But how does this even work?"
He backed into a dark corner, leaning against the wall as he stared at the screen.
There were tabs, most of them locked. Only one glowed.
"Guess I'll try the [MISSION]."
He tapped it.
[MISSION]
[HOST: CHEN GUANG]
[CURRENT MISSION: DEVOUR 300 ARMY ANTS]
[PROGRESS: 100/300]
[REWARD: MONARCH PHEROMONE]
[TIME REMAINING: 5 MINUTES]
[WARNING: FAILURE WILL RESULT IN PUNISHMENT]
"Devour… three hundred ants?"
Sweat slicked his back as his whole body trembled. It felt like something was crawling under his skin—wriggling, struggling to get out.
"And progress 100 out of 300?"
His stomach twisted. He lurched toward the wall and gagged, but nothing came up—just sour spit.
[MISSION IN PROGRESS. ACCELERATE]
A chill shot down his spine.
The screen pulsed red.
[COMPLETE THE MISSION TO UNLOCK REWARDS AND ABILITIES. ACCEPT?]
That line flashed back in his mind. He remembered now—he had chosen to accept without a second thought. The regret hit him hard.
[TIME REMAINING: 3 MINUTES 15 SECONDS]
"Shit! Can I back out?"
He waved wildly at the screen.
[A MISSION THAT HAS BEEN ACCEPTED CANNOT BE CANCELED. ACCELERATE.]
The voice was dead, metallic, not an ounce of feeling.
The countdown kept going.
[TIME REMAINING: 3 MINUTES 12 SECONDS]
[TIME REMAINING: 3 MINUTES 10 SECONDS]
He glanced down.
Black ants. Hundreds of them, maybe more, spilling from a crack in the pavement. Packed together, moving fast. And they were heading straight for him.
Closer.
And closer.
They swarmed up his shoes, then his legs. A chill shot up his neck. Something brushed against his mouth.
He sucked in air, jaw locking tight. A sour, disgusting taste burst across his tongue.
[PROGRESS: 101/300]
"Do I… really have to swallow them?"
Chen Guang stared at the screen, pale as chalk. Goosebumps prickled across his skin.
The clock didn't care.
[TIME REMAINING: 2 MINUTES 50 SECONDS]
Every second crawled by.
Each tick hammered the truth into his skull: if he kept hesitating, something worse than this was waiting at the end.
He didn't know what the punishment was, but it was called punishment for a reason.
"Don't think. Just do it!"
He started grabbing ants, shoving them in his mouth one after another. Sweat dripped down his cheeks.
[PROGRESS: 105/300]
[PROGRESS: 110/300]
[TIME REMAINING: 2 MINUTES 30 SECONDS]
Slow. Way too slow.
"At this rate, I'll never finish, I need to..."
He sucked in a breath, grabbed a writhing handful of ants crawling up his arm, and shoved them in.
His throat burned. Every crunch echoed in the empty night.
[PROGRESS: 130/300]
"Hang in there! Just hang in there!"
He grabbed another handful and forced them down. His tongue went numb, and his throat felt like it was full of splinters.
[PROGRESS: 150/300]
Again and again, he stuffed them in, barely chewed. Ants squirmed in his throat, desperate to crawl back up.
Now they were everywhere—covering him, crawling all over, like he'd put on a coat made of ants.
[PROGRESS: 290/300]
[TIME REMAINING: 10 SECONDS]
This time, he swallowed everything. Ants crawled over his lips and disappeared down his throat. He could barely breathe.
[PROGRESS: 300/300]
[TIME REMAINING: 1 SECOND]
He hit the ground, throwing an arm over his face, gasping for air, every muscle screaming.
Silence fell. Even the ants stopped moving.
A sharp chime rang out.
[MISSION COMPLETED]
[REWARD UNLOCKED]
[OBTAINED: MONARCH PHEROMONE]
[ARMY ANTS HAVE RECOGNIZED THE HOST AS THEIR KING. ALL COMMANDS WILL BE OBEYED]
He pushed himself up, his back scraping against the wall. His shirt stuck to him, damp with sweat.
The ants crawled off, forming a perfect ring around him. Not a single one moved.
A soft, steady rustling filled the room.
He glanced down.
That awful writhing in his throat was gone.
A strange, honeyed scent drifted from his skin.
The ants began to tremble violently. The smaller ones simply toppled over, their legs curling inward.
"Retreat."
His voice sounded different, deeper somehow.
The swarm exploded into motion. They scattered—some scrambling up the wall, others vanishing into the cracks.
He drew a shaky breath, the air tasted different now—clean, almost sweet.
A calmness settled into his bones.
He pressed a hand against the wall and stood.
Crack.
The plaster split beneath his palm, dust spilling down.
"I have to get a grip on this power, somehow."
He clenched his fist; even his own hand felt strange now, like it belonged to something else.
Bzz… bzz… bzz…
His pocket buzzed.
He fished out his battered old phone. The screen was a mess—cracks everywhere, lines slicing through the display.
[16 MISSED CALLS]
"Who calls sixteen times in a row?"
He unlocked it. The color drained from his face. His breath came short and shaky.
He called back right away. Only a flat, empty beep answered.
"Your account balance is insufficient to complete—"
He hung up, dialed the airtime credit code, and borrowed 50,000 credits.
"Where were you all day? Why didn't you answer?"
A woman picked up right away. Her voice snapped, but underneath, she sounded worried.
"Sister Kim, sorry, I was working late. Had my phone on vibrate… didn't notice."
He nodded as he apologized, even though she couldn't see him.
She let out a long sigh.
"Honestly. Did you at least eat?"
"Yeah, I ate. They served food today. I'm stuffed."
He tried to sound upbeat, pressing his hand to his stomach as it rumbled.
"Good. Come to the hospital. Your sister is showing a little progress."
His eyes widened.
"For real? Thank you, Sister Kim. Thank you."
His voice shook as he wiped at his eyes with his sleeve.
"Alright. Get here safe, okay? I'm hanging up."
Beep...beep.
The night went quiet again.
He swung his worn-out bag over his shoulder and hurried toward Central K Hospital.
Halfway there, he ducked into a convenience store, counted out the last of his coins, and bought a tiny rice ball. It barely dulled the hunger.
*****
"Today's EEG showed a response. Her hand moved—a tiny flicker, but it was there."
A woman in her thirties, dressed in a nurse's uniform, handed Chen Guang a stack of paperwork.
"Yes, thank you, Sister Kim. About the hospital fees…"
He took the papers, fumbling for the right words.
"It's been five days now. I can only stall for one more."
She said softly, worry in her eyes.
"Thank you, Sister Kim. I'll figure something out. Please, just a little more time."
He gave her a deep bow, his voice thick with gratitude.
"Don't take it too long. I can't keep covering for you,"
She sighed, and shot him an almost scolding look.
"Honestly, this hospital costs a fortune. Why bring your sister here? A public hospital would be cheaper, you know."
She pushed open the door to Room 308 and sprayed Chen Guang with disinfectant, not missing a spot.
"The doctor said only this place has the equipment she needs."
He said, rubbing his hands together. The disinfectant stung slightly.
There was resignation in his eyes—like a man who had already run out of excuses.
He stepped inside.
The hospital bed sat right in the middle, white sheets, wires everywhere, machines humming and beeping—cold, steady sounds filling the room.
"Twenty minutes. Same as always."
Nurse Kim left, shutting the door behind her.
"Ling…"
He sat beside his sister's bed. Her breathing was steady and peaceful. Like she was just sleeping.
He glanced at the medical file on the cabinet.
[Chen Ling, 20 years old. Admitted: XX-XX-XXXX. Diagnosis: Unknown illness]
His eyes burned, turning red.
"I'm sorry, I'm just useless."
He buried his head against the mattress, clutching her thin hand, tears soaking into the blanket.
"I just want a miracle. I just want you to have a normal life."
He leaned back and stared at the ceiling, completely lost.
"I should've just taken that five million today…"
His jaw tightened. The guilt wouldn't let up.
Then, out of nowhere—
[NEW MISSION INITIALIZING]
A translucent screen popped up right in front of him.
He froze as fresh lines flickered to life.
[NEW MISSION: COLLECT 10 E-RANK CRYSTAL CORES]
[REWARD: UNLOCK SKILL INTERFACE]
[COMPLETE BEFORE THE TIME LIMIT TO RECEIVE A BONUS REWARD]
[BONUS REWARD: 100,000,000 CREDITS]
He actually forgot to breathe.
One hundred million. He had never even dared imagine a number that big.
[TIME LIMIT: 24 HOURS]
[NO PENALTY FOR FAILURE]
[HOST: CHEN GUANG]
[ACCEPT MISSION?]
Two buttons hovered in the air, blue for "Accept" and—
He didn't hesitate.
He slammed the blue button.
[MISSION ACCEPTED]
[TIME REMAINING: 23 HOURS 59 MINUTES]
"Wait for me."
He brushed his sister's forehead gently, then took off.
"Hey! Where are you going? It hasn't even been twenty minutes!"
Nurse Kim called after him as he tore down the hall.
"Something urgent! Please keep an eye on her for me!"
He called back, his words echoing.
And just like that, Chen Guang vanished into the night.