Chapter 6

Lines of bypass code flashed across Zero's left monitor. With a few keystrokes, she shattered Hero's complex real-name authentication wall.

Spade Z dropped directly into the North American high-elo ranked queue. She clicked 'Match'. The queue popped instantly.

The champion selection screen loaded. Zero didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. She instantly locked in a high-difficulty, incredibly fragile, but explosively lethal assassin.

The team chat exploded.

Player1: An assassin first pick? Are you throwing?

Player2: Great, another boosted trash player ruining high elo.

Zero's long fingers rested lightly on the mechanical keys. Her eyes were cold and detached. She ignored the toxic text scrolling up the screen.

The game loaded. The announcer's voice echoed: Welcome to Hero.

Zero didn't run to the standard lane. She maneuvered her assassin straight into the dark, fog-of-war covered jungle, moving like a ghost.

Two and a half minutes in. Zero's eyes darted to the minimap. She caught a pixel shift-a fraction of a second where the enemy jungler stepped out of the brush.

She predicted his exact pathing. She dashed through the thick wall, her fingers executing a flawless, animation-canceling combo.

First Blood!

The enemy jungler died before his flash animation could even register.

The toxic chat box went completely silent. A few question marks popped up from her teammates.

Zero didn't recall to base. She stole the enemy's red buff and used the vision blind spots to slip right behind the enemy mid-laner.

Her keyboard clattered like a machine gun. The assassin blurred across the screen.

Double Kill!

For the next five minutes, the map became Zero's personal slaughterhouse. She didn't play like a gamer; she played like an algorithm designed to execute.

Triple Kill!

Quadra Kill!

Penta Kill!

The system announcements screamed across the server. The enemy team had a collective mental breakdown, typing in all-chat: Report this hacker! There's no way!

Miles away, in the heart of New York, the Empire Alliance esports base was brightly lit.

Finn O'Connell sat at his streaming setup, staring at his gray death screen. He gripped his blonde hair, screaming into his microphone. "What is that hand speed? ! I couldn't even see the dagger!"

His Twitch chat was moving so fast it was unreadable.

Finn got solo killed!

Who the hell is Spade Z? !

Finn swallowed hard and clicked the death recap. The damage numbers didn't make sense. The combo was so fast the game engine was dropping frames.

The screaming caught the attention of the man sitting on the leather sofa across the room.

Maverick Thorne opened his eyes. He stood up, his tall frame casting a long shadow. He walked over to Finn's chair, holding his black coffee.

His deep blue eyes locked onto Finn's monitor just in time to see Spade Z dive past two towers, assassinate the enemy AD carry, and escape with exactly one hit point left.

Maverick's hand froze. The coffee rippled in the cup. His lazy, indifferent gaze sharpened into the deadly focus of a hunting falcon.

"Switch to his first-person POV," Maverick ordered. His voice was low, heavy with absolute authority.

Finn jumped, quickly pulling up the spectator mode and locking the camera onto Spade Z.

Maverick watched the screen. There were no wasted movements. No flashy, unnecessary clicks. Every single step Spade Z took was calculated to the exact pixel. It was a cold, ruthless, hyper-rational style of play.

It didn't look like an esports pro. It looked like a top-tier hacker executing a flawless infiltration script.

The enemy nexus exploded. Ten minutes. Ten kills. Zero deaths.

Maverick's lips parted. He stared at the post-game lobby, his heart beating a slow, heavy rhythm against his ribs.

"Trace him," Maverick said coldly.