Dawn in District 13 was always accompanied by a low, rhythmic rumble—the sound of overnight wastewater from the Upper Sector rushing through the underground pipes. Here, there was no sunlight to wake you up; just poverty and the rhythm of acid rain slapping the windows.

  John Doe’s daily routine usually kicked off like this: Woken up at 6:00 AM by Bone smashing two scrap tires together; queuing for discount meat at the alley entrance at 6:30; cooking breakfast for Mom at 7:00; then starting his day of "sitting in" at the clinic.

  But today was different.

  At 5:30 AM, a rapid, rhythmic knocking on the door jolted John awake.

  "Who is it? At this ungodly hour..." John rubbed his bleary eyes, threw on a coat, and went to open the door.

  No one was outside.

  Just a palm-sized, jet-black grass turtle lying upside down on the doormat, looking like it couldn't flip itself back over. Hanging from its neck was a vaguely familiar yellow paper talisman tag with a messy cinnabar character for "Safety" (安) scrawled on it.

  John looked left and right. The hallway was empty, save for a few aging wires sizzling overhead.

  "Is this... a delivery?"

  He had just picked up the grass turtle and hadn't even had time to look closely when the "Yin-Yang iPad" in his chest pocket suddenly vibrated. The screen lit up automatically, and Daoist Singularity’s sunglass-wearing face shoved itself into the camera frame.

  "Yo, disciple, up early, huh? Did you get the goods?" Singularity’s signature punchable voice blared from the speakers.

  "Master? You sent this turtle?" John held the flailing turtle up to the camera. "What's this meant for? For me to stew a soup for strength?"

  "Stew it? If you dare turn him into soup, the Underworld PETA will sue you into bankruptcy!" Singularity rolled his eyes behind his shades. "This is the 'House-Guarding Divine Beast' I spent a fortune to get for you!"

  "This thing?" John looked skeptical.

  "Don't judge a turtle by its shell. His name is 'Xuanwu' (Black Tortoise)." Singularity adjusted his sunglasses, looking mysterious. "Though he's still a juvenile (or in a sealed state), this little guy has thick skin, tanks damage like a boss, and comes with built-in thorns armor. Most importantly, he has supernatural intuition for danger. Your clinic is attracting too much attention now. Moriarty is definitely still watching you. I can't rest easy without a bodyguard there."

  "Xuanwu?" John looked at the clumsy turtle in his hand. "The name sounds badass, but besides having trouble flipping over, what can he actually do?"

  "He's got plenty of skills; you'll see later." Singularity waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway, put him next to the shrine and make an offering. Don't feed him meat yet; he's still in his vegetarian cultivation phase."

  The video call ended. John looked at the "Divine Beast" in his hand and sighed.

  "Fine, since Master sent you, I'll keep you." John placed it by the shrine. "Xuanwu, right? This turf is under your watch now. Help me keep an eye on the incense."

  Xuanwu blinked his beady green-bean eyes lazily, tucked his head into his shell, and instantly turned into a lifeless rock.

  With the new member settled, John turned to the desk to check if there were any new orders for the day. Since teaching the Guild investigator a lesson, the clinic’s fame had skyrocketed. More and more people were coming to him for "strange diseases," and he desperately needed to earn Merit to pay off his debts.

  However, the moment his finger touched the tablet screen, a scorching heat radiated from it.

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  "Why is it so hot?"

  John’s heart skipped a beat.

  Instead of the solemn Tai Chi Bagua diagram, the screen was pitch black. Then, a pixel-art skull icon popped up in the center, its eyes flashing an eerie red light.

  Zzzt... Zzzt...

  A piercing screech of electric current came from the tablet's speakers, like someone scraping fingernails on a blackboard.

  The next second, the art style shifted violently.

  The screen lit up with an eye-searing neon pink background. An anime girl in a weird Lolita dress with bunny ears started dancing frantically on the screen to the rhythm of the hyper-fast, ghost-looping "Nyan Cat" music.

  "Meow meow meow meow meow—!"

  The volume was deafening, threatening to blow the roof off.

  "Holy shit!" John nearly threw the tablet in fright. "What the hell is happening?!"

  He mashed the power button—no response.

  He tried to swipe the dancing girl away with his finger, but she just made a funny face at him, split into two, and kept dancing.

  Worse, the number in the top right corner representing "Merit Points" was dropping at a rate visible to the naked eye.

  [WARNING! SYSTEM RESOURCES OCCUPIED!]

  [EXECUTING UNKNOWN PROCESS...]

  [MERIT LEAKING: -1... -2... -5...]

  Although it wasn't dropping in large chunks, the frequency was like bleeding out!

  "My money! My Merit!" John let out a wretched scream. That was his lifeblood for Mom's medicine!

  Just then, Xuanwu by the shrine suddenly opened his eyes. His originally lazy gaze turned sharp. He stretched his neck and let out a low hiss at the tablet.

  The tablet screen flickered. The dancing girl’s movements stuttered for a second, but then she recovered, dancing even more happily, as if taunting them.

  "Boss, this thing ain't right."

  Bone walked in carrying two tires, attracted by the noise. Seeing this, his jaw clicked. "Is this tablet possessed? Should I give it a hammer smash? I specialize in percussive maintenance."

  "Don't!" John quickly shielded the tablet. "If you break it, we have to pay for it! Plus my account is in there!"

  Just as John was spinning in circles with anxiety, the tablet's screen flickered, and the dancing girl disappeared. She was replaced by Daoist Singularity, forced online once again.

  "Master! Help!" John grasped at the straw. "The tablet has a virus! My Merit is tanking! What kind of trash equipment did you give me? Does it not even have antivirus software?!"

  Singularity looked at John’s anxious face from the other side. Instead of worrying, he revealed a playful expression.

  "Virus? Impossible. This is a dedicated Underworld terminal with encryption; mortal viruses can't infect it."

  "Unless..." Singularity narrowed his eyes. "This isn't a normal virus. This is... a Spirit Invasion."

  "Spirit?" John froze.

  "Exactly." Singularity pointed at the screen. "These days, even ghosts keep up with the times. Some souls with strong grudges and elite tech skills don't report to the Underworld after death. Instead, they crawl through network cables into the data stream, becoming 'Cyber-Wraiths' (Electronic Evil Spirits)."

  "These things are the biggest pain. They have no physical form, so physical attacks are useless. Talismans don't work because they are essentially code. They specifically parasitize psionic devices to suck the user's spiritual power or Merit."

  "So what do I do?" John watched his Merit bleeding out, his heart aching. "Can we kick it out?"

  "Can't kick it out. It's already bound to your system kernel." Singularity shrugged. "Either you throw the tablet away and buy a new one (which costs money). Or... you go in yourself and drag it out."

  "Go in? In where?"

  "Into the tablet." Singularity pointed at John's head. "Use your 'Soul Dive.' This tablet has a hidden feature that digitizes the user's consciousness and enters the system's deep space. In there, the 'Cyber-Wraith' has a physical form."

  "But I have to warn you," Singularity paused. "In there, if your consciousness gets deleted, you turn into a vegetable in reality. Use at your own risk."

  John looked at the overheating tablet.

  Throw it away? No, Mom's medical records are in there, plus his hard-earned contacts (Hero spirits). And buying a new one means taking on massive debt again.

  Go in? That's risking his life.

  But looking at the dwindling numbers... that was Mom's life.

  "Damn it..." John gritted his teeth. "These days, being broke is scarier than ghosts."

  He found a data cable (given by Singularity earlier), plugged one end into the tablet, and stuck the other end onto his temple (via a specialized psionic patch).

  "Bone, watch my body. Don't let anyone touch me."

  "And you, Xuanwu." John glanced at the turtle. "Since you're a bodyguard, don't just watch. If I don't come back... take care of my mom."

  Xuanwu didn't speak, just silently crawled to John's side and rested his head on John's leg.

  "Hoo..."

  John took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and pressed the red [DEEP LINK] button on the screen.

  VMMM—

  A strong sensation of weightlessness hit him.

  The sounds, lights, and smells of reality vanished instantly.

  John felt like he fell into a bottomless vortex, streams of light rushing past him.

  When he opened his eyes again, he discovered he wasn't in that shabby rental anymore.

  He stood on a desolate wasteland made of countless fragmented green codes. Giant, broken circuit boards floated in the sky, and in the distance stood a teetering Data Tower.

  This was the inner world of the tablet.

  And at the top of that tower, the bunny-eared girl was sitting there, swinging her legs, looking down at him coldly.

  "Welcome to my world, loser."

  [Message from Singularity]

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