Chapter Text
This should have been a beautiful morning. Everything was peaceful at the Pizza Place as customers trickled in one by one. Elliot was humming a tune at the register, wiping down the counter with a rag, ready to greet the first batch of customers for the day.
Suddenly, the sky turned blood red. Gravity reversed. Tables and chairs flew up to the ceiling. Customers cried out in shock. Before Elliot could even process what was happening, the kitchen had already exploded. The smell of smoke wafted from behind him as raging flames began to consume the back.
He knew who it was—007n7 and Noli, again.
---
007n7 had started as just a young guy who hadn't even finished college. But now, he had become one of the most infamous hackers, a name that struck fear into countless Robloxians.
At first, it was just him and his roommate, Noli, pulling pranks on the school. But gradually, it evolved into a career—an illegal one.
They became partners in crime.
Maybe they truly had a talent for it. Even the greatest admins couldn't touch them; all they could do was watch helplessly as the duo slipped through their fingers.
Their hacking program, the c00lgui, was too powerful—so powerful that the admins couldn't trace them in time. Every time they arrived at the scene, the hackers were already gone.
For some reason, the admins' cracking speed couldn't keep up with the c00lgui's update rate.
007n7 and Noli lived to wreak havoc on games, especially "Work at a Pizza Place" and "Natural Disaster Survival."
The employees at the Pizza Place were constantly frustrated—especially a certain yellow-haired man named Elliot, the owner's son. Every time they caused chaos, the duo took particular delight in riling up that pizza guy.
Whenever Elliot spotted their silhouettes in the parking lot, he would unconsciously grip the edge of the counter until his knuckles went white—he wanted nothing more than to rip the register off its mount and smash it into their smug, grinning faces.
One, because they hurt the pizzeria's business. Two, because every time they left, they left behind a massive mess—screen after screen of red error bugs that were as hard to clean as dried paint.
Unfortunately for Elliot, he didn't have the power to fight back. All he could do was watch them mock him and then vanish into thin air.
The pained, helpless expression on his face? That was the greatest reward for the hacker duo.
---
Another "off-duty" day. 007n7 and Noli teleported into the middle of a forest using the c00lgui, their arms slung over each other's shoulders, cackling with glee as they replayed the chaos they'd just caused.
"Dude! Did you see his face? I'm dying!" Noli, wearing a black-purple hoodie and a half-face comedy mask, wiped tears from his exposed cheek with his sleeve, his shoulders bouncing with laughter.
"I know, right? What was that guy's name again? Ah, right—Elliot! His face was redder than the tomato sauce on their pizzas, I swear!"
007n7 pushed up his pink glasses, which had been knocked crooked during the commotion, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. He wore his signature hamburger hat, a black jacket over a black T-shirt his cousin had given him.
"Man, I could watch that guy's reaction for the rest of my life and never get tired of it!"
Their laughter echoed through the forest, startling even the birds. They walked and talked, savoring the thrill of the destruction they'd left behind.
Suddenly, a loud crash broke through their merriment in the distance.
Both of them went on high alert. After all, they were wanted fugitives. "Shh, hide." 007n7 quickly activated the c00lgui's stealth function. He and Noli turned transparent and ducked into the nearby bushes.
"What the ####?" Noli whispered.
007n7 gave a sharp "Shh!"—clearly, he had no idea what was happening either.
Several figures flew over their heads. It was then that they realized the commotion had been caused by the admins.
"Is that Builderman? What's he doing here? Noli, what did you do this time?" 007n7's voice was low, but his tone dripped with irritation.
"Not me, bro! I didn't do anything!" Noli quickly defended himself. "All we did today was mess with the pizza place a little. Why'd they send so many admins? Even the CEO showed up?"
"How should I know? Idiot."
"Hey? You little—"
Before Noli could finish, 007n7 clamped a hand over his mouth again. Then he pointed ahead—the admins had landed directly in front of them.
Builderman slammed his hammer onto the ground, glanced around, then turned to the other admins who had landed behind him. "Dusekkar, take your team and search the eastern sector. Telamon and I will take the west. Move quickly. We must find the child and contain it."
The others didn't waste words. They nodded and flew off toward the west, leaving Builderman and Telamon behind.
A child? 007n7 couldn't figure out why a child would alarm an entire squad of admins. But his question was soon answered.
"Relax, partner," Telamon said first, casually wiping his blade. A cynical smile hung on his face. "It's just a kid—a physical vessel. It can't run far." His curly locks fell over his eyes, casting shadows that hid his expression.
Hearing this, Builderman let out a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping. "It won't be that simple. Last week, we discovered an unknown virus at the edge of the server. We cleaned it up, but... I have a feeling it'll come back. And that child... might be the warning of the storm."
Telamon said nothing more, simply patting his partner on the shoulder before leading him away.
Only after confirming all the admins had left did 007n7 and Noli emerge from their hiding spot. Noli adjusted the right side of his mask and muttered, "Damn... What's the deal with that kid?"
007n7 didn't answer. He just stared in the direction the admins had gone. A lump formed in his throat. He couldn't put a name to the feeling—morbid curiosity? Sympathy for the child? Before the thought could linger for more than two seconds, his partner slapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
"Ah—ah!" 007n7 snapped out of it, scratching his head instinctively. His usual grin quickly returned to his face. "Whatever, the admins aren't after us anyway. Forget about them. Let's just head back!"
Before Noli could respond, 007n7 had already walked ahead. Seeing his partner getting further away, Noli quickly jogged to catch up. The two soon put the matter out of their minds.
---
Flames burned in her chest. Her strength was nearly gone, but she didn't dare stop running. She was running for her life.
Unfortunately, she was only a five-year-old child (that much she'd learned from a doctor). Just as she was about to fall, she crashed into a tree. Exhaustion flooded her entire body. With difficulty, she clutched the trunk beside her and pulled her small, frail frame back up. She gasped greedily for air.
Strangely enough, there wasn't a single bead of sweat on her body.
---
Her last memory was waking up in an alley, wearing tattered clothes, her hair matted like a homeless child. She tried asking strangers for help. Perhaps because she looked malnourished, they took her to the hospital for a check-up. There, she changed into clean hospital clothes, and a nurse helped smooth out her tangled hair.
When people asked about her family, she found she couldn't answer. She remembered nothing—not her name, not anything about herself. But her instincts told her she was in a body that wasn't hers, in a world that wasn't hers. The doctors and nurses clearly didn't believe her; they dismissed it as childish nonsense.
But everything started going wrong the moment the doctor placed a stethoscope on her chest. The young female doctor had been chatting cheerfully, trying to soothe her nerves. But as she listened, her smile faded—replaced first by confusion, then fear. Before the child could ask what was wrong, the doctor had already run out, leaving her behind, bewildered.
A few minutes later, the doctor returned with more people. The friendliness was gone from their faces; everyone looked grim and tense. They took her to a special room. In the center was a chair for her, covered in all sorts of strange devices. After attaching wires to her arms, face, and back, they moved across the hallway to another room. The two rooms were separated by a soundproof glass window.
She sat obediently in the chair, swinging her legs out of boredom while watching the people in the opposite room. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could tell it wasn't good.
Something was wrong with her.
After all the procedures were done, she was returned to the room where she'd first woken up. They told her not to wander off, then said something about "admins"—but she was too tired to remember clearly. After the nurse left, she collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
That night, she didn't dream at all.
The next morning, she woke to the sound of commotion. Through the window on her hospital room door, she saw a group of people who looked completely out of place in the hospital.
A shorter man entered first, wearing a hard hat. He introduced himself as Builderman. From what she gathered, he seemed to be some kind of big boss. Builderman asked her several questions—how she got here, where her parents were, whether she remembered who she was. She answered truthfully: she didn't know.
Finally, Builderman told her to sit up straight on the bed and "not move."
Then he stood before her and opened a white holographic interface. As he typed, the furrow between his brows deepened. At last, he stared at a blank screen, closed his device, and walked out of the room without a word.
At first, the child worried she had done something wrong. Then she noticed he hadn't locked the door. She quietly slipped out and followed him. She trailed him to another room and eavesdropped by the door. Though she couldn't hear clearly, she caught a few key words.
"Blank. She's as blank as a sheet of paper..." That was Builderman's voice.
"That defies all logic. Are you certain?"
"Yes, I'm certain." A sigh followed. "But what does it mean?"
"Could it be related to the glitch?"
"I don't think it's safe to keep 'it' here."
"What should we do with her?"
"Delete it, then."
At those words, the room fell instantly silent.
What? Delete? Her heart sank. What did "delete" mean—death? What had she done wrong? Why did they want to "delete" her?
She couldn't hear clearly after that, but she caught sounds of agreement from the others.
They want to kill you.
A voice whispered in her ear.
Run.
---
Her memories after that grew blurry. All she remembered was causing a huge ruckus in the hospital—knocking over a nurse's cart, people shouting, glass shattering.
She didn't know how she escaped the hospital and made it to the streets. It was more open there, so she ducked into crowded areas, but she couldn't shake the admins.
She bumped into many people along the way, but she had no choice. She just kept apologizing and running.
The admins were still behind her. Several times, they nearly caught her. Hope grew dim.
Desperate, she accidentally ran straight into the middle of a crossroads. Before she could react, a large truck came barreling toward her.
The blare of its horn pierced her ears. She thought she was about to die. Then everything went black.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself on the sidewalk. Gritting through the pain, she pushed herself up and looked back... a terrible accident had occurred on the road behind her.
The admins stood at the other end, watching in shock. Some had already rushed forward to help the injured civilians.
She knew she had caused trouble—very serious trouble. Because she heard the sound of a blade being drawn.
Pushing down her guilt and fear, she forced herself to keep running. Until she collapsed beneath this very tree.
---
She cherished this hard-earned moment to catch her breath. Her trembling hand instinctively pressed against her chest—but there was no pounding heartbeat.
That was when she noticed the tiny wounds scattered across her fair skin, scratches from the bushes she'd pushed through during her escape. Yet not a single drop of blood seeped from them.
What was she?
"There she is!"
The admins had found her. Round two had begun.
With no other choice, she could only keep running blindly.
But this time, they quickly cornered her.
A cliff behind her. Two admins before her. Builderman gripped his hammer tightly, his expression severe, exuding the oppressive aura of someone in power. Beside him stood another admin, one with wings and a demeanor that seemed almost divine, casually flicking his sword with a faint, contemptuous smirk.
Her body tensed. Her mind still screamed at her to run—but there was nowhere left to go.
"Child," Builderman's cold voice made her flinch, "we don't want to hurt you. Please cooperate and come back with us."
Liar.
She tried to step back instinctively, but her foot met empty air. She nearly fell. Her body shook with pure terror. Her eyes stayed wide, locked onto the admins, terrified they might strike if she so much as blinked.
"No—I heard everything! I don't want to DIE yet!" Her voice cracked, wet with tears.
"Don't make this more complicated than it needs to be, alright?" Builderman slowly put away his weapon, raising his empty hands to show he meant no harm. "How about this? I promise I won't touch you. Just cooperate with our investigation. Okay?" His voice had softened considerably, almost enough to make the child believe him.
Those soothing words meant nothing to her. But did she really have any other choice? Either jump off the cliff, or charge forward and be brutally killed. She looked at Builderman's outstretched hand. Her resolve wavered.
She took one step forward.
Suddenly—she didn't even see him move—the winged admin was right beside her. With one clean slash of his sword, he cut off her right arm.
She lost her balance in sheer panic and began to fall backward.
The world seemed to slow to a crawl.
No blood gushed from the wound—but the pain was still there.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but before she lost consciousness, she thought she saw something on the admin's face.
A hunter's smile.
A smile that terrified her to her very core.
---
The walk home always felt long, but for some reason, 007n7 felt it dragging on more than usual today.
"So what do you think, man? Maybe next time we should go big. Like, The Void Star?" Noli chattered on about future plans and ambitions. As time passed, his enthusiasm for hacking only grew.
"Pfft—The Void Star? Get real, Noli. We've been looking for that thing for almost a year. Not a single lead." 007n7, as usual, poured cold water on Noli's ideas—though they were only joking around.
"Shh—" Noli nudged 007n7 with his shoulder. "Don't be such a downer, bro. Ever since we dropped out, we've got nothing but time! We'll find it someday. And when we do, the whole world will bow at our feet—we'll be unstoppable!"
"Yeah right, you're so full of—"
A shrill, agonized scream cut him off. Both of them turned instinctively toward the sound. It came from the foot of the mountain beside them.
"You hear that?" Noli stopped walking, tilting his head to listen.
"Yeah..." 007n7 frowned. That scream sounded too raw, too anguished to be a player's laughter in a game. It was real. Genuine agony.
"Sounds like it's coming from the foot of the mountain," Noli said, already starting to walk in that direction. "Come on, let's check it out."
"Hey—" 007n7 tried to stop him, but Noli had already darted ahead. He muttered "idiot" under his breath, but reluctantly followed.
They knew the area like the back of their hand. This forest was actually a glitch they'd created themselves, a labyrinth meant to confuse the admins. Which was exactly why their hideout was in the middle of nowhere.
After all, who in a big city would choose to live in a mosquito-infested forest if they had a choice?
"Damn, these bushes are getting taller by the day. We should just burn this whole place down one of these days," Noli grumbled, pushing aside the undergrowth.
"Stop rambling and focus," 007n7 said impatiently. He instinctively opened his c00lgui. The portable interface popped up, displaying environmental data. When his eyes landed on the "Entity Count in Area" column, his hand froze.
【Number of Players: 3】
【1】 ID: 007n7 — Status: Healthy
【2】 ID: Noli — Status: Healthy
【3】 ID: ??? — Status: Dying???
"Crap," he muttered.
"What?" Noli leaned over to look.
Before 007n7 could answer, a weak rustling came from the bushes up ahead. The sound of something struggling to move. Or gasping for air.
They exchanged a glance. Silently, they slowed their steps, creeping closer without alerting the creature.
When they pushed aside the last layer of bushes, they saw it.
A child.
She lay on her side in the damp soil, curled in on herself, her body covered in small cuts. Her right arm—from the shoulder down—was gone. Not the kind of amputation where you still see flesh and blood. It had simply vanished, the wound unnaturally clean, as smooth as a block of tofu.
But what made their skin crawl was this: not a single drop of blood.
Not from the missing arm. Not from the scratches on her body. Nothing.
Noli sucked in a breath and instinctively stepped back half a pace. "Dude... what the #### is this? Is she dead?"
007n7 didn't answer, because he didn't know either. He crouched down to examine the girl. There was no rise and fall of her chest.
"This... this is the kid the admins were talking about? Where's her blood?" Noli's voice trembled slightly. The "person" before them really didn't look like a person at all. "This isn't right, Seven. This is seriously messed up. We should just leave the body and let the admins deal with it."
"Shut up, Noli, I know—"
Before he could finish, a rustle caught his attention.
The child moved. She coughed a few times, struggling to open her eyes, but failed. Then she went still again. But this time, her chest began to rise and fall slowly. She was breathing. As if telling the world she still wanted to live. Tears, born of pain, trickled down her face, following the tracks of old ones that hadn't yet dried.
The two hackers watched in silence.
Finally, 007n7 stood up.
"Seven," Noli called out to his partner.
007n7 didn't respond.
The sun had already set. A cool breeze blew through the forest. But without hesitation, he took off his black jacket and gently laid it over the small, broken body.
"Seven, what the #### are you doing?" Noli sensed something was wrong.
"I'm taking her with me," 007n7 said softly, lifting the girl into his arms.
"Are you out of your #### mind? Bro, not to state the obvious, but this kid isn't normal. And in case you forgot, the admins are still looking for her!" Noli's words came out in a fierce, almost gnashing whisper. "This has nothing to do with us!"
007n7 fell silent.
Noli was right. This had nothing to do with him. He didn't need to get involved. A girl who didn't bleed, sometimes didn't breathe, yet was still alive—even the dumbest person would know something was wrong. And as a wanted fugitive, taking her in could make life even harder. The admins' pursuit might become even more relentless.
Maybe he should let her go.
But when his gaze fell upon the child in his arms, a strange feeling stirred inside him. Something he couldn't name. Something he'd never felt before.
"Enough talk. You coming or not?" 007n7 straightened up, holding the child, and met Noli's eyes. Beneath his pink glasses, his gaze was unnervingly calm.
Noli opened his mouth, ready to argue, but when he saw that expression, he swallowed his words. He had known 007n7 for years. He knew what that look meant. That unwavering, decisive look—he had only seen it once before, the day 007n7 asked him to become a hacker.
"...Damn it," was all Noli finally said. He quickly stepped forward to help steady the girl's body. "You owe me for this, Seven. You'd better remember that."
007n7 just nodded.
Together, they carried the one-armed girl deeper into the forest, until the trees swallowed them whole.