Han-Jun woke not to the agonizing burn of electro-execution, but to a sensation of absolute silence. No racing heartbeat, no hum from the Aegis System, no screaming.
He opened his eyes. The ceiling was a crystal dome overlooking a sky of impossible azure. This wasn't Seoul. This wasn't the Island.
Biometric Analysis: Heart Rate 60 BPM (Constant). Physical Integrity: 100%. Neural Status: Synchronized.
NEW SYSTEM DETECTED: THE CROWN PROTOCOL.
STATUS: KING ARTHUR (SUBJECT ZERO).
POWER LEVEL: CALCULATION UNNECESSARY. YOU ARE THE APEX.
Han-Jun rose from a bed of silk. His hands were no longer charred; the skin was smooth, but beneath the surface, he could see thin veins of pale gold pulsing with light. He was no longer just flesh. He was the Synthesis.
"Do you like your new skin, Han-Jun?"
The man in the grey suit, The Chairman, sat in a leather wingchair nearby, sipping tea. He had no guards, no weapons. He radiated a confidence that made the First Apex look like a street-level thug.
"Where am I?" Han-Jun asked. His voice was deep, resonant, as if speaking through a perfect acoustic chamber.
"You are in the Celestial Sector. A floating city above the clouds, invisible to radar and to the poor devils fighting for scraps below. This is where the true 1% of the world resides. The ones who funded Aegis, the First Apex, and even the revolt of your little friends."
The Truth Behind the Chaos
Han-Jun lunged toward him with a speed that should have shattered the floor. But inches from the Chairman's face, his body jerked to a violent, absolute halt. It wasn't his will. His muscles simply... locked.
"Ah, the Crown Protocol," the Chairman smiled. "It grants you god-like power, Han-Jun, but it carries a titanium clause: you cannot lift a finger against your creators. You are our most expensive weapon. Why would we let you break the toy?"
Han-Jun growled, the gold veins in his neck glowing intensely. "So-Mi? Han-Hee? If you've hurt them..."
"They're fine. They are in the lower sectors, treated as guests of honor. But they are also your anchors. If you rebel, their heartbeats will stop along with yours. It's a very... symmetrical system."
The Chairman stood and walked to the panoramic window. "The world below us is in shambles. The fall of Aegis created a power vacuum. The student gangs you 'liberated' are butchering each other for control of the cities. They need a King, Han-Jun. And that King will be you."
Mission One: The Return of the Ghost
"Why would I help you?" Han-Jun spat.
"Because there is someone even I cannot control," the Chairman replied, his tone sharpening. "Your brother, Han-Seol. After the substation explosion, he vanished with the original Queen Database. He's recruiting the 'Failures' from the pit to create a bio-mechanical army. He wants to raze the Celestial Sector... and he'll take So-Mi and your sister down with him if he isn't stopped."
The Chairman handed Han-Jun a mask. It wasn't plastic or metal; it was made of a liquid gold resin that molded to his features.
"Go back down. Find Han-Seol. Recover the database. If you do, I will give you the override key to free So-Mi and Han-Hee from the Crown Protocol. You have 48 hours before the first city, New Seoul, is wiped off the map."
The Leap of Faith
Han-Jun didn't wait for a second word. He sprinted toward the edge of the dome and, with a gold-boosted punch, shattered the reinforced glass.
He threw himself into the void from a height of ten thousand meters.
As he plummeted through the clouds, his new System began mapping the city below. New Seoul was a cluster of fire and neon. But at the center of the city, he detected a familiar energy signature. A blue trail, like the Queen's.
"Han-Jun… can you hear me?"
So-Mi's voice crackled through his new neural implant.
"So-Mi! Where are you? The Chairman says you're prisoners!"
"The Chairman is lying, Han-Jun! We aren't prisoners... we're in hiding! Your brother isn't building an army of monsters; he's trying to destroy the Icarus Satellite! That's what controls your gold veins! If he hits the target, everyone with the Crown Protocol will explode—including you!"
Han-Jun activated the kinetic thrusters in his boots to break his fall. He was caught in a crossfire of lies. Who was telling the truth? The Chairman who gave him a second life, or his brother who wanted to burn the system down at the cost of Han-Jun's survival?
Han-Jun slammed into the center of a crowded plaza in New Seoul. People fled in terror at the sight of the Golden Man falling from the sky.
From the shadows of an alley stepped a figure in a torn black school uniform. He had a crude mechanical arm and eyes that flickered with an unstable red light.
It wasn't Han-Seol. It was Min-Ho, the Executioner Han-Jun had defeated in Chapter 3.
"Zero," Min-Ho said, spitting blood. "Back to finish the job? Or are you here to see how your brother turned this city into a slaughterhouse?"
Min-Ho raised his mechanical arm, which began charging a plasma discharge. "Choose quickly, because Han-Seol just gave the order. The hunt for the 'Golden King' is open."
Behind Min-Ho, hundreds of students with red eyes began emerging from the alleys. They weren't Aegis drones. They were Fanatics.