The world as Su Yuan knew it was a strange one—both terrifying and awe-inspiring in its technological advancements, yet inexplicably torn apart by a force no one could explain. His once peaceful life in the tech-savvy metropolis had been slowly unravelling, the steady hum of innovation overshadowed by bizarre occurrences no one could explain. The boundaries between the physical and the digital were becoming increasingly blurred, and with each passing day, reality itself seemed to be slipping into something… otherworldly.
That was until everything changed.
Su Yuan had been walking home from work, his mind preoccupied with the usual concerns of a modern-day office worker: his job, his finances, and his daily routine. The streets, busy with commuters, had suddenly grown eerily silent. It was as though the whole world had taken a collective breath. A ripple in the air, a shiver running down his spine, and suddenly, he felt… different.
The ground beneath him trembled for a brief moment, and his surroundings flickered like a corrupted screen. His phone buzzed, but when he looked at it, it was nothing but a blank, static-filled screen. That's when he noticed something—a strange symbol had appeared in the corner of his vision, glowing faintly.
His head felt heavy, as though something was awakening within him.
Suddenly, a voice—calm and detached—echoed inside his mind.
[Initializing Mythical Deduction System…]
The words felt both foreign and familiar, as though they were meant for him, yet he couldn't fathom how. His body froze as his surroundings warped once more, and before him, the image of a vast, networked system appeared—an infinite web of interconnected lines and nodes, each one pulsating with potential. A voice, not entirely human, resonated in his mind again.
[Welcome to the SoulNet. Your journey begins now.]
A wave of dizziness washed over him, and before he could process the implications of what had just occurred, the world shifted around him. The streets of the city had disappeared, replaced by a vast expanse of glowing light and digital code. It was no longer a world of solid structures, but a realm made of interconnected data.
The SoulNet, a name that echoed in his mind with an eerie sense of authority, had activated.
[System: SoulNet Initialization Complete.]
His surroundings stabilized, and Su Yuan found himself standing in the centre of a strange, glowing grid. At first, it seemed like nothing more than a surreal dream, but as he scanned the area, a realization hit him—he wasn't just a bystander in this world. No, he was part of it. His every move was being processed and analyzed by something far beyond human comprehension.
Suddenly, a new message flashed in his vision:
[System: Connecting all souls. Network ready for use.]
His heart raced as he understood the magnitude of what was unfolding. The SoulNet was linking human souls, creating an interconnected network unlike anything the world had ever seen. His mind raced—this wasn't just a virtual space. It was reality itself, rewritten by the SoulNet.
He reached out, almost instinctively, to touch one of the glowing nodes in front of him. As his fingers brushed the light, a burst of energy shot through him, and his body was flooded with sensations—images of past and future, knowledge beyond his years, skills he never thought possible. The SoulNet granted power, but at what cost?
A screen appeared in his vision.
[System: SoulNet Access: Level 1. Deduction Capacity: 0.01%.]
The words seemed cryptic, and he had no idea what they meant. But one thing was clear—he was now part of something greater, something that transcended anything he had ever imagined. This network, this SoulNet, had vast potential, but it was not without its dangers.
The voice spoke again.
[System: The SoulNet grants access to the collective computational power of all connected souls. Use it wisely. Deduce the mysteries of the world, and shape your fate.]
Su Yuan was left in stunned silence. There was a price to pay for this power, he realized. As the world around him shimmered, like the flicker of a faulty screen, he understood that the rules of this new existence were still unknown, and every decision he made from this point forward could alter the very fabric of reality itself.
But first, he needed to understand how this system worked. The knowledge, the powers, the abilities—it was all within reach, yet so distant, like a puzzle waiting to be solved. And the deeper he delved into the SoulNet, the more he realized that he wasn't the only one connected to it. There were others, hidden across the world, whose fates were intertwined with his own.
He couldn't help but wonder: Was this gift a blessing… or a curse?