Power without limits usually concealed a price.
Qian Wei welcomed the system’s assistance, but she did not intend to depend on it completely. The warning about its low energy had reinforced that decision. If its functions failed during a crisis, she needed enough knowledge and strength to survive without them.
She locked the warehouse and began walking home.
The streets were quieter than they had been earlier. Shops in the industrial district were closing, while delivery vehicles moved through the roads without making much noise.
Qian Wei had no fear of walking alone. Her police training allowed her to defend herself against several ordinary attackers, and the mutation had already sharpened her senses beyond normal human limits.
However, before she reached the main road, the uneasy feeling returned.
Someone was watching her.
Qian Wei stopped and looked over her shoulder.
A dark alley separated two buildings behind her, but she could not hear breathing or a heartbeat inside it. A delivery drone passed overhead before disappearing between the rooftops.
She remained still for several seconds.
Nothing moved.
"Am I being observed?" she asked inwardly.
[Probability is high.]
"Can you identify the observer?"
[Current System level cannot detect the source.]
Qian Wei resumed walking, although her attention remained on the surrounding buildings. "You might have mentioned the high probability before I asked."
[Host had already detected potential surveillance.]
"That does not mean confirmation would have been useless."
She never noticed the tiny object beneath a nearby streetlight. It resembled an ordinary maintenance sensor, but the dark lens followed her until she disappeared around the corner.
Several kilometers away, the footage entered Project Dawn’s secure network.
The silver-haired man watched Qian Wei leave the industrial district before turning toward the officers gathered in the observation room.
"We have spent three hundred years waiting for the person connected to Apartment 3-17, and I no longer believe passive surveillance will give us the answers we need," he said. "Begin preparing to bring Officer Qian Wei into Project Dawn. From this moment onward, she will no longer be treated as an ordinary observation target. She is Variable One."
A woman beside him looked at the footage. "Should the contact team approach her immediately?"
"No. First, we need to confirm whether she is willing to speak with us. She has already realized someone is watching her, and forcing contact could convince her that we are a threat."
"I will arrange a controlled opportunity and make sure the team does not reveal anything before she agrees."
The silver-haired man nodded. "She may be humanity’s only chance to understand what our founders discovered. Treat her accordingly."
By the time Qian Wei reached home, she was certain that the sensation had not come from imagination.
Someone had followed her movements at least twice.
She changed her shoes and went directly to the bathroom. The warm shower eased the tension in her shoulders and gave her enough privacy to think.
Her future counterpart had sent her into this timeline to prevent human extinction. At least, that was what Qian Wei currently believed.
However, after several days of preparation, she had begun to understand how unrealistic it would be to handle the crisis alone.
She possessed limited money, incomplete information and a system she barely understood. Even if she filled the warehouse with supplies, how many people could she save?
A hundred?
A thousand?
There were billions of lives at risk.
If Qian Wei continued hiding until the apocalypse began, the world would lose three months that could have been used for preparation. Governments could secure food production, reinforce hospitals, train soldiers and establish shelters on a scale no individual could match.
The mutation created another problem.
Qian Wei had nearly attacked Zhang Ren inside the hospital stairwell. Basic Control had helped her resist the hunger, but the system had warned that failing the mission would allow her instincts to override her consciousness.
What if the next episode was worse?
What if she lost control in a crowded place?
She had sworn to protect the public. That duty included protecting people from her.
After showering, Qian Wei prepared a simple meal and sat alone at the kitchen table.
She trusted her country.
That did not mean she trusted every person working for it.
The government contained selfless officials, greedy individuals, patriots and traitors. If news of the apocalypse reached the wrong people, they might use it to enrich themselves or secure protection only for their families.
Public disclosure would be even more dangerous. Panic could collapse society before the first outbreak occurred.
Qian Wei needed to reach someone with enough authority to investigate her claims and enough integrity to use the information responsibly.
The question was how.
She could not walk into an ordinary government office and announce that she had died three hundred years ago, awakened with a Zombie System and knew the apocalypse would begin in less than three months.
At best, they would send her for psychiatric treatment.
At worst, the wrong people would believe her.
Qian Wei went to bed without reaching a decision.
The next morning, she did not return to the warehouse.
She sat against the headboard and reviewed everything she knew.
Someone was monitoring her. The surveillance appeared sophisticated enough to evade her enhanced senses, which meant it probably did not belong to an ordinary criminal.
If the country already knew something about her, approaching it might not require starting from nothing.
She only needed to make the people watching understand that she was willing to speak.
Qian Wei pressed her lips together. "I should surrender myself to the country before the mutation becomes dangerous. If the government has already connected me to something important, they may be more willing to listen."
She would still maintain her warehouse as a private shelter. Trusting the country did not mean abandoning every personal precaution.
Once the decision settled in her mind, a familiar chime sounded.
Ding!
[Host has made a significant decision.]
[Hidden mission triggered.]
Qian Wei looked at the panel. "Did you trigger a mission because you heard everything I was thinking?"
The system did not respond.
She waited.
"Remaining silent will not make the question disappear."
[The system maintains a limited neural connection with Host to ensure efficient communication.]
"That was an explanation for how you hear me, not an answer about how much you hear."
The panel remained unchanged.
Qian Wei narrowed her eyes. "Can you access every thought in my mind?"
[Private memories remain protected.]
"Do you listen when I am not speaking to you?"
[Neural monitoring prioritizes thoughts related to System functions, Host survival and mission objectives.]
She leaned back against the headboard. "Then you have been listening to far more than you admitted."
[System did not previously claim otherwise.]
"That sounds like an excuse prepared by a dishonest lawyer."
The panel flickered once.
Qian Wei almost laughed. The system was unusually skilled at avoiding questions for something that supposedly operated as a program.
It did not behave like a simple set of instructions.
Sometimes it volunteered information before she asked. At other times, it remained silent even when she had enough authority to receive an answer. Its responses changed according to her mood, danger and decisions.
The system possessed some degree of self-awareness.
"Since you already know what I decided, tell me whether revealing your existence would violate any restrictions."
[No restriction prevents Host from disclosing the existence of the Zombie System.]
Qian Wei sat straighter. "You are allowing me to tell other people about you?"
[Affirmative.]
"That seems careless. What prevents someone from removing you from me and attempting to use you?"
[Zombie System is bound to Host’s consciousness, biological structure and genetic identity. It cannot be transferred to another individual through external force.]
"What happens if someone tries?"
[Unauthorized extraction will fail.]
"That is not enough. Would the attempt harm me?"
[Protective measures will activate before separation occurs.]
Qian Wei frowned. "What kind of protective measures?"
[Details remain restricted.]
"I suppose I should be grateful that you are protecting yourself, even if my body happens to be involved."
[System priority includes preservation of Host life.]
The phrasing caught her attention.
"Do you protect me because I am necessary for the mission, or because you consider my life important?"
The system became silent again.
Qian Wei waited longer this time.
No answer appeared.
A faint smile touched her lips. "You really are self-aware. A simple program would not need time to avoid an emotional question."
[Conclusion remains unverified.]
"Of course it does."
She returned to the hidden mission.
"What will I need to do if I decide to surrender myself to the country?"
The panel expanded.
[Hidden Mission: Make Contact.]
[Objective details will become available after a suitable authority is identified.]
Qian Wei frowned. "You triggered a mission without knowing whom I should contact?"
[Potential authority is already observing Host.]
Her expression became serious.
The system had confirmed what she suspected.
Someone connected to the government was watching her.
Qian Wei looked toward the bedroom window. "Can they hear what I am saying inside the house?"
[No active surveillance device has been detected within the residence.]
"Then I still have some privacy."
[For now.]
Qian Wei stared at those two words.
"Was that supposed to reassure me?"
The system did not respond.
She shook her head and returned her attention to the mission. "If I reveal you to the authorities, you had better help me prove that I am telling the truth."
[System will provide verification within current authority.]
"And if the people watching me intend to turn me into an experimental subject?"
[Host retains the right to refuse cooperation.]
Qian Wei raised an eyebrow. "How thoughtful of you."
Her voice carried enough sarcasm to make her opinion clear.
The panel flickered once before displaying another message.
[You are welcome.]
Qian Wei stared at it.
The system was either learning humor or had possessed it all along.