Chương 1: Integration

Something was wrong, and Mark felt it before he fully understood why. The office lights flickered once while he sat at his computer; the familiar background hum of the office shifted strangely. Mark frowned and looked up from the screen in front of him. His monitor distorted for a fraction of a second before snapping back into place.

"That's new." The office had gone unusually quiet. Not completely silent, but in a way that immediately put him on edge. A faint ringing started in his ears, subtle at first but growing stronger with every passing second. Mark straightened in his chair and glanced around the room.

"Hello?" Nobody answered him. The ringing grew louder. The lights flickered once and then again. Before Mark could react, the world around him vanished. One moment he was sitting in his office chair. The next moment, he was standing somewhere else entirely. The office was gone. No carpet, cubicles, or desks remained. In their place was a small clearing with patches of grass, uneven dirt, and scattered rocks. Thin unfamiliar trees surrounded him on all sides. Cool air blew across his face.

Mark blinked several times, trying to process what he was seeing. Where had these trees come from? They were narrow and twisted. Nothing like what he was familiar with. For a moment his mind refused to accept what he was seeing. Then a faint glow formed in the air in front of him. Mark flinched, stepping back as pale blue lines gathered together, forming a translucent screen. Words began to appear. [System Initialization Complete] Welcome, Candidate. You have been selected for Integration.

All participants will undergo a survival trial. Failure to adapt will result in termination. Good luck. ◈ ◈ ◈ Mark stared at the message, unable to process what he was reading.

"What the crap?" His voice sounded too loud in the open air. He slowly turned around, scanning his surroundings. There were no buildings, no roads, no people. The constant sounds of the city were gone. Just wind moving through the trees and an unsettling silence pressing in around him.

"A candidate?" he muttered.

"I'm too old for this kind of nonsense." The breeze felt cool against his skin, almost refreshing. But something beneath it made the hair on the back of his neck rise. He looked at the trees around him; this place was wrong. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Okay," he said quietly, trying to steady himself.

"This has to be a joke." A sharp rustling sound cut him off. He turned toward the sound immediately. His eyes scanned the trees from left to right, but he could not see anything. He closed his eyes briefly, forcing himself to breathe.

"Just calm down. You're dreaming. You'll wake up any minute now." The sound came again. This time he could tell it was to his right. His pulse jumped. This was not a dream. He slowly turned, taking a cautious step back.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Nothing answered him. Then the brush shifted. A small animal came into view. Mark let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It was just a small gray rabbit standing in the brush. He let out a shaky laugh, pressing his hand to his chest.

"You just scared the crap out of me." The rabbit didn't run. It stayed there watching him. Its head tilted slightly. Mark's relief started to fade. There was something wrong with the way it looked at him. Too focused, too aware. It didn't blink. It only watched him.

"Yeah, that's not normal." Then the rabbit moved. Not away from him, but directly toward him. It moved far too fast. It lunged at him. Mark barely had time to react before it slammed into him. It knocked him backwards. His heel caught on the uneven ground. Then he hit the dirt hard. The air rushed out of his lungs. The rabbit was on him instantly. Its mouth opened. Sharp, jagged teeth filled its mouth. Not how a rabbit should look. Pain flared across his upper arm as he threw it up to protect himself.

The rabbit latched onto his arm and bit down hard.

"Get off!" He jerked his arm wildly, panic flooding through him. The rabbit clung tightly, biting again, claws scraping against his sleeve. It bit down harder, and pain shot through his arm, erasing the last part of him still trying to deny what was happening. Mark's free hand scrambled across the ground until his fingers closed around a rock. Without thinking he swung. The rock connected with a sharp crack. The rabbit went limp and dropped to the ground. Mark scrambled backward, breathing hard.

His eyes locked on the rabbit. It twitched once and then went still. Silence returned. Mark stayed where he was sprawled on the ground. One hand braced behind him, the other gripping the rock so tightly that his knuckles ached. His heart hammered in his chest. He breathed hard, trying to steady himself.

"What is going on?" A faint shimmer appeared in front of him. Mark flinched again, nearly dropping the rock as another translucent screen formed in the air. [Razor Rabbit Level 1] Defeated +7 XP ◈ ◈ ◈ [Level Up Available] Mark stared at the message, completely frozen.

"No. No. This can't be happening." The screen remained floating in front of him. It did not disappear. It hovered there patiently, as if waiting for him to respond. His gaze shifted from the text to the small broken body of the rabbit. Then back to the screen. His stomach turned. He had done that. He had killed it. He had never killed anything before. Slowly the rock slipped from his hand, landing softly on the dirt. For a long moment he just sat there. He was alone in a place that made no sense.

His arm was throbbing where the creature had bitten him. He stared at something that should not have existed. This was not a joke. It was not a dream. Something had taken him. A system? His chest tightened. Thoughts of his family hit him like a punch. Where were his wife and kids? Had they been taken like him? Were they out there somewhere alone? Mark forced himself to breathe, pushing the panic down before it overwhelmed him. Panicking wouldn't help them. It wouldn't help anyone. He looked back at the message.

If this was real, and if this was how the world worked now, sitting here was not an option.

"I can't," he whispered, his voice shaking before forcing himself to steady his voice.

"I can't die here. Not like this. Not without finding them." It still hung in the air. [Level Up Available] Mark swallowed.

"Then I need to survive." He reached out.