Elena stared at Jinsu across the steam of the noodle bowls, her eyes wide. "Jinsu, you're not thinking. Your license was revoked. The moment you step into a Guild recruitment center, the System will flag you as a 'Revoked Patient' and the Pruners will be on you in seconds."
Jinsu didn't blink. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, metallic card. It looked like a standard Hunter ID, but the gold trim was flickering, shifting between a deep blue and a dull grey.
"The Association deleted Ha Jinsu, the Porter," Jinsu said, his voice dropping into that cold, metallic resonance. "But the Null-Broker just created a new entry in the database."
He slid the card across the table.
[ID: Kang Han-eol]
[Class: Porter (F-Rank)]
[Compliance: 92%]
[Status: Active / Unassigned]
Elena picked up the card, her fingers trembling. "Kang Han-eol? This... this is a Ghost Profile. It's a dead person's ID that the Broker re-activated."
"I'm a Dead Pixel, Elena," Jinsu said, his Processing stat highlighting the micro-glitches on the card that only he could see. "To the System, Ha Jinsu is a broken man rotting in a slum.
But Kang Han-eol is a fresh, compliant worker looking for a paycheck. And the Heavens-Gate Guild is desperate for porters for the A-Rank raid."
Elena leaned back, a mixture of horror and awe on her face. "You're going to walk into the most guarded A-Rank Gate in the country... as a luggage carrier?"
"The higher the rank of the Gate, the more 'Unstructured Data' there is," Jinsu explained, his violet eyes flashing. "My Stability is at 25%.
If I don't consume A-Rank mana soon, my body will de-compile. I don't just want to survive this raid, Elena. I'm going to eat it."
THE HEAVENS-GATE PLAZA
Two days later, the plaza in front of the A-Rank Gate was a sea of flashing lights and news drones. The Heavens-Gate Guild—the top-ranked guild in the country—was putting on a show.
"Step in line! Gear check to the left! Non-combatants to the right!" a loud, mechanical voice boomed.
Jinsu, wearing a generic grey jumpsuit and a heavy reinforced backpack, stood in the line of porters. His Processing [65] was turned down to a low simmer to avoid drawing attention, but he could still feel the "Optimized" pressure of the S-Rank Hunters standing on the stage.
A Recruitment Officer—a man with a 99% Compliance bar—walked down the line of porters with a handheld scanner.
Ping. "Next."
Ping. "Next."
He stopped in front of Jinsu. The scanner swept over Jinsu's chest, where the hidden silver shard from the Broker hummed against his ribs.
[Scanning ID...]
[Result: Kang Han-eol | Compliance: 92% | Clear]
"You look a bit pale, Kang," the officer muttered, barely looking at Jinsu's face.
"Just nervous, sir," Jinsu said, pitching his voice to sound timid and weak. "It's my first A-Rank."
The officer chuckled, a condescending, programmed sound. "Just stay behind the tanks and don't trip over your own feet. If you die, we don't pay out to ghosts."
"Understood, sir."
[STABILITY: 24.2% - CRITICAL]
[Objective: Enter the A-Rank Gate]
As the massive blue swirl of the Gate roared to life, Jinsu looked up at the Heavens-Gate S-Rank leader, a man named Choi Sang-min. Sang-min's golden armor was glowing with so much System-blessing it was blinding.
Enjoy the spotlight, Sang-min, Jinsu thought, his fingers tightening on the straps of his pack.
Because once we're inside, there are no cameras. And the Void is hungry.
[HOST: KANG HAN-EOL (Mask Active)] | LEVEL: 26