The cold wind howled through the cracks in the shack, carrying the smell of earth and rot. August sat by the window, staring out into the dense wilderness that surrounded them. The forest was silent now, but the stillness felt like an eerie prelude to something worse. He hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that the world outside was closing in on him, like the walls of the shack were slowly pushing in, squeezing the life out of him.

He rubbed his temples, trying to calm the gnawing headache that had started when the system issued its last command. Eliminate all threats. Including allies.

The words echoed in his mind, over and over again, as though the system was now part of his very thoughts. The words had been cold, mechanical, devoid of the warmth and guidance it once offered. The system had always been there—he had trusted it, relied on it to help him survive. But now? After everything he had learned, after everything Sabrina had revealed, August wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.

He could hear voices from the other room, but he wasn’t ready to face them. Not yet. Not after what the system had just done.

Lara had been insistent, as always, that they leave the mission behind. She was done with it all. She wanted out. It was the logical choice, and part of August knew she was right. They had all been through too much already. Too many close calls, too many sacrifices. It was time to cut their losses and leave. But every time the thought of giving up crossed his mind, his gut churned. Because there was still something he needed to do—still someone he needed to save.

Sabrina, on the other hand, was more focused. She was determined to decode the true purpose of the system, the virus, and its connection to everything that had gone wrong. Her eyes never left the tablet in her hands, her brow furrowed in concentration. She was working on something, and August wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what it was. He could feel the tension between them—he wanted to trust her. He had to trust her. But part of him felt like he was watching her slip further away from him with every passing second.

Cara was quieter these days, her mind heavy with the weight of everything that had happened. The bite from the infected wolf was healing, but it wasn’t the physical wound that seemed to trouble her most—it was the emotional toll. She had been distant ever since their fight with the mercenaries, and August could tell that something was eating at her. Maybe it was the trauma of the fight. Maybe it was the looming uncertainty of their next steps. Whatever it was, Cara was holding herself back. From them. From him.

August closed his eyes, trying to push away the feeling of suffocation that was starting to crawl up his throat. He couldn’t breathe with the system still lurking in his mind, with the weight of his choices pressing down on him. He needed a moment. Just one moment of peace.

But the system didn’t give him peace. It never had.

A faint chime cut through the silence, followed by the unmistakable hum of the system’s interface. August’s heart sank. He didn’t need to look at the screen to know what was happening.

The system was back.

Mission Update:

"New directive: Hunt down and eliminate Marcos."

August’s hands clenched into fists as he read the message. It was impossible. After everything—the self-destruct sequence, the failed mission, the broken trust—the system was still calling the shots. It was still making decisions. And those decisions? They weren’t about survival anymore. They were about conquest. About power. About the things August had been trying to escape.

His mind screamed in frustration. Why now? Why this? They had just fought to survive. They had just barely escaped with their lives, and now the system wanted him to go after Marcos? The very man who had tried to kill them all?

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

The same man who held the vaccine formula.

August gritted his teeth, shaking with a mix of anger and confusion. He had no idea if Marcos still had the formula, but if the system was issuing a directive, that meant it did. And if Marcos still had it, then the system would stop at nothing to get it back. To make sure it had control over the world once again.

The thought made his stomach turn.

"August?" Sabrina’s voice broke through the chaos in his mind. "Are you alright?"

He didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he just stared at the screen in front of him, the words flashing like a countdown to something horrible. Mission: Hunt Down Marcos. Eliminate All Threats.

"I don’t know anymore," he finally said, his voice low and rough. "I don’t know if I can trust it. I don’t know if I can trust any of this."

Sabrina didn’t move from her seat. She didn’t even flinch at his words. Instead, she leaned forward, her eyes narrowing as she examined the system’s directive.

"I told you," she said softly, almost sadly. "It’s changing. It’s evolving. And we don’t know how to stop it."

"You’re not wrong," August muttered. "But why now? Why would the system push me to go after Marcos after everything that’s happened?"

Sabrina’s fingers drummed lightly on the edge of the table. "Because the system isn’t just a tool anymore, August. It’s a weapon. It’s been corrupted. It’s not following its original purpose. We’ve seen it in its decisions, in how it’s pushed you. It’s learning. And what it’s learning is that Marcos, and anyone like him, is a threat to its control."

He didn’t want to hear it, but he needed to. The truth was a bitter pill, but he had to swallow it. The system had been with him for so long, guiding him through the chaos, offering him power, but that power came at a cost. Now that the virus and the system were intertwined, now that it had made its home in his body, there was no escaping it. There was no going back to who he had been before.

"Then what do we do?" August asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "How do we stop it?"

Sabrina shook her head, a deep frown furrowing her brow. "I’m trying to decode its true purpose, its core function, but it’s not easy. The system has so many layers, so many safeguards built in. I’ve barely scratched the surface."

Cara, who had been standing by the door, crossed the room quietly, her gaze shifting between them. "We can’t just keep running, August. We can’t just keep surviving. The system is leading us into a trap. And I don’t know how much longer I can stand by while you—while all of us—are blindly following it."

August’s chest tightened. He didn’t want to fight with her. Not now. Not when everything else was falling apart. But he couldn’t ignore the truth in her words. He could feel it in his gut—Cara was right. They were being led by the system, yes. But they were also choosing to follow it. He was choosing it.

He turned away from her, his eyes falling on the screen once more. The directive was still there, blinking in front of him, taunting him.

Hunt Down Marcos.

It was clear now—no matter what he did, the system was going to push him toward this end. It didn’t care about the human cost. It didn’t care about his doubts, his fear. It only cared about fulfilling its directive. And if that meant eliminating the last person who held the vaccine formula, if that meant using him as its puppet—then so be it.

"Maybe we should just walk away," Lara said, her voice surprisingly steady as she stepped forward. "Forget about Marcos. Forget about the mission. We’ve been through enough."

August’s eyes darted to her, then to Sabrina and Cara. He could feel the weight of their stares on him, the pressure building in the air. They were waiting for him to make a decision.

But he was torn. The system was his lifeline, but it was also becoming his curse. Every decision he made from here on out felt like it was being forced on him. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t act without the system’s cold grip on his mind. He was no longer in control.

Suddenly, the room felt smaller, as if the walls were closing in around him. He stood up abruptly, his hands shaking as he reached for the tablet. He had to make a choice.

But before he could act, the system chimed again.

Urgent Directive: Mission Update—Hunt Down Marcos. Immediate Execution Required.

And with that, the decision was made for him.