The sun didn't rise gently that morning—it burned through the sky like a warning. A deep crimson bleeding across the horizon, as if the city itself had bled overnight.
Elias stood alone on the rooftop of Dorm A, the wind brushing through his hair. He hadn't slept. Couldn't. The sounds of Shania's final cry echoed in his skull like a haunted hymn. The truth was out—but that was just the start.
Because the truth doesn't set people free.
It destroys them first.
---
8:12 AM – Morning Campus Newsfeed
> "BREAKING: Professor Luwanda Suspended Pending Internal Investigation"
"Video Leaked Showing Possible Misconduct"
"University Under Fire for Censorship and Cover-Up"
Elias watched the chaos unfold through his cracked phone screen. Students flooded the comments. Half believed it was fake. The other half wanted heads to roll.
And in the center of it all… his name had been whispered.
"Did you hear Elias was behind it?"
"The poor kid with the weird watch?"
"He's crazy."
"He's a damn hero."
There were no safe places anymore.
---
10:34 AM – Janitor's Basement
He met the janitor again. The man, who now introduced himself as Mr. Blaine, lit a cigarette with fingers that shook too much for comfort.
"You opened a door, kid," he said, exhaling slowly. "One they've kept locked for decades."
"I don't care about their doors," Elias answered. "I care about what's behind them."
Blaine gave him a long stare. "You ever wonder why a university this rich has janitors living in storage closets and students dying of debt?"
He flicked a rusty key across the table.
"This opens the maintenance tunnel under Admin Hall. You're not the first to ask questions. But maybe you'll be the last to run from the answers."
---
12:03 PM – Underneath Administration Hall
The tunnel stank of mold, rust, and secrets.
Elias crouched low, crawling through narrow stone corridors that hadn't seen light in years. Water dripped. Rats scurried.
And then, he found it.
A room. Steel-plated. Monitors, old servers, and a giant screen on the wall. Everything untouched.
On the main monitor:
PROJECT: CAMPUS CORE
User: UNKNOWN
Status: OBSERVING
Underneath that: List of Tracked Students:
1. Ava Delacruz – Influencer Tier A
2. Troy Masika – Donor Privilege Class
3. Elias King – Watch Target Tier S
4. Mila Tone – Watch Target Tier B
5. Leah Moire – Redlisted
There were files. Thousands. Every student's private footage, livestreams, bathroom visits, text logs, therapy sessions.
The university wasn't a place of learning.
It was a surveillance farm.
And Elias had just found its heart.
---
2:45 PM – Cafeteria Chaos
Meanwhile, the cafeteria exploded with tension. Ava was crying in the middle of the room. Her secrets were spreading like wildfire. Her chat logs leaked.
> "I didn't even like him, I just wanted the sponsorship."
"If Luwanda's gone, who's going to keep me in the Top 15?"
Students whispered, laughed, judged. Someone threw mashed potatoes at her. Troy stood behind her, red-eyed and furious.
"I swear," Troy yelled, pointing at the cameras, "whoever's doing this is going to regret it. They think they're a hero—but they're just another virus."
He looked directly into a hidden cam, not knowing Elias was watching from beneath the building.
Elias smirked.
Another reward unlocked: "Echoed Stream" – Send any student's past to the top of trending for 10 minutes untraceably.
---
6:30 PM – Campus Gala Night Planning Resumes
Despite the disaster, the gala was still on. They couldn't cancel it. Too many stakeholders. Too much money. Too many eyes now.
Ava sat in silence. Mila refused to make eye contact. Troy was unusually quiet.
But the board members smiled. As if nothing had happened.
Elias stood at the back, now invited.
"Mr. King," the board chair said with a forced grin. "Quite the week you're having."
"I haven't started," Elias replied.
And he meant it.
Because now, he was playing their game—with his rules.
---
11:11 PM – Elias's Dorm, Alone
The watch blinked. A new task.
New Task: "Create a Scandal within 24 Hours – One that Shakes the Nation."
Optional Reward: "Reality Rewrite – 1 minute of altered public perception."
Consequence of Failure: Shattered Reputation + 2-Day System Lock."
The stakes were no longer personal.
The world was watching.
And Elias?
He was ready to set everything on fire.