200: I, a D-class monitor, had a messy day.

My fingertips scrolled continuously across the keyboard, swiping away one short video after another.

I, the most low-level, inconspicuous cog in the Research Institute for Space Stability—a D-class monitor—was diligently carrying out my sacred daily task of slacking off.

A half-smoked cigarette dangled from my lips, the taste of nicotine spreading across my tongue, mingling with the unchanging, low hum of electronic components and the smell of ozone in the monitoring room.

Outside the window, the steel jungle of Modu steamed in the afternoon sun, like a giant, weary furnace.

Stable, dull, day after day, my job was to watch those curves representing space stability, like docile sheep, dozing motionlessly within the green grid of the safe zone.

“Tsk, this girl can really move…”

After a moment of critical assessment, I casually added her to my favorites.

Just as I was about to scroll down for the next video, to continue reviewing my unread “memorials”...

Buzz—

An extremely short, sharp, piercing buzz, like a steel needle puncturing an eardrum, erupted without warning from the central console in front of me, which had been as still as stagnant water for years!

I jolted, nearly swallowing the half-smoked cigarette in my mouth.

The massive, curved monitoring screen that dominated most of my vision was, without warning, instantly engulfed in a blinding, crimson red!

It wasn't the red of a flashing alarm light, nor the red of erratically jumping data.

It was the entire field of vision, all screens, every single pixel, transforming in the same millisecond into a scorching, viscous, blood-red hue, as dazzling as fresh blood.

The red was so pure, so overbearing, it instantly illuminated the entire dim monitoring room like a hellish blood pool.

At this moment, it was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over my head, all the way down to my ankles.

All the blood in my body solidified and froze in 0.1 seconds.

Above Modu!

In the center of that suffocating, blood-red ocean covering the entire screen, a line of cold, massive white characters, as if chiseled with an ice pick, stabbed into my retina with absolute malice:

【SECTOR: Modu Core Zone】

【Space Stability Index: 0.00%】

【Structural Integrity: Collapse Imminent】

【WARNING: Irreversible Space Tear in Progress】

“0.00%... Collapse Imminent... Tear in Progress…”

I subconsciously mumbled the words aloud.

But the next moment, I was startled by my own voice.

In extreme fear, my throat was dry and trembling, sounding like rusty tin.

Modu... this mega-city where tens of millions of people live... its space... was becoming like fragile glass, about to shatter?!

An illusion! It must be an illusion!

It must be a side effect of blowing my nose too frequently last night!

Harboring a fantasy I didn’t even believe myself, I stretched out my trembling hands and began to furiously type on the keyboard, initiating a system self-check.

Perhaps this broken machine hadn't been restarted in too long and was malfunctioning.

Even though I had been slacking off for ages, I hadn't forgotten these basic operations.

Soon, the system began to display the self-check countdown.

As the ten-second countdown ended, the screen briefly went dark, then re-lit.

It was still that boundless, all-consuming blood-red... and that line of white death numbers, coldly flickering, like the silent mockery of a demon.

“No... impossible...”

The fabric of my uniform on my back was instantly soaked with cold sweat, then quickly turned clammy and icy under the high-powered air conditioning.

Fear, like countless icy vines, spread from the depths of my heart, tightly constricting my heart and throat.

Long periods of ease had long since stripped me of the composure I had when I first started this job years ago.

At this moment, I was like an ant on a hot pan, frantically scurrying around before the crisis truly hit.

“What do I do, what do I do!”

“Right, rep... report to my superior! Yes! Yes, yes!”

I abruptly grabbed the dusty phone and forcefully pressed the crimson highest-priority emergency communication button.

“Beep beep beep.”

After three busy tones, the call was answered.

Through the receiver, I clearly heard hurried footsteps on the other end.

Without time to think, I anxiously and hastily shouted:

“Emergency report! Emergency report! D-Zone... D-Zone Monitor Station Seven! Modu... Modu Core Zone airspace! Space Stability Index at zero! Structure... is collapsing! Repeat! Space Stability Index at zero! Structure collapsing!”

My voice echoed in the monitoring room.

After a brief, suffocating silence, a similarly distorted shout, belonging to my immediate superior, exploded.

“D7! Are you seeing things?! Is the equipment faulty?! Recheck immediately! Repeat! Recheck immediately!”

Listening to my supervisor's seemingly fierce but actually panicky shout, I gave a bitter smile in my heart.

“System restarted twice! Visual confirmation correct! Data flow... data flow shows ‘space tear’ characteristics! Supervisor! It’s real!!”

The supervisor's voice clearly became alarmed.

“Hold steady! I’m reporting this immediately! Stand by! ”

The communication was abruptly cut off.

Time seemed to freeze, every second stretched out to an agonizing degree.

I stared intently at the ominous blood-red on the screen, my heart filled with dread.

Modu, such a prosperous metropolis, why had it become unsafe?

I couldn't understand, truly couldn't understand.

A few minutes later, the phone rang shrilly again.

I lunged for it, snatching it up.

Before I could speak, my supervisor's voice preempted me.

“D7, I’m transferring a call from the Research Institute to you now.”

Before I could react, there was a “beep” from the receiver, followed by the emotionless voice of a young man.

“D7, report the monitoring data for ten minutes ago, five minutes ago, three minutes ago, and now, respectively.”

I paused, not speaking for a moment.

The other end of the line also remained silent.

It took me a second to react, and I quickly shouted:

“Yes!”

Then, holding the receiver in one hand, I rapidly operated the main console with the other, quickly retrieving the corresponding data and reporting it one by one.

At the same time, during the report, I unexpectedly found my emotions rapidly stabilizing.

A few minutes later, the voice on the other end became muffled; clearly, the person was issuing orders to someone else.

To hear what they were saying, I pressed the receiver tightly against my ear.

Finally, I heard it.

“Highest authority confirmed! Activate ‘City Wall’ Class-A Crisis Protocol! Repeat! Activate ‘City Wall’! All departments enter wartime status! Immediately!”

Before I could react, the call was disconnected.

At that moment, I clearly knew my role was over; they no longer needed me.

Just as I was tremblingly pulling out a cigarette, preparing to light it...

Suddenly, the monitoring radar emitted another piercing shriek.

“Again?!”

I jumped, quickly looking over.

I found that the crimson on the screen had vanished, and that unchanging curve representing space stability had once again docilely settled back into the green grid of the safe zone.

At this moment, cold sweat poured down me.

“Was it... really a malfunction? Did I... did I make... a false alarm?”

I couldn't describe my feelings at that moment, only that I frantically rushed to the central console to perform a system self-check.

As the command was entered, the system again began its self-check countdown.

【Ten, nine, eight... one.】

The ten-second countdown ended, the screen briefly went dark, then re-lit.

It was still that docile, lazy green curve... the verdant light shone on my face.

I suddenly lost all strength, steadying myself by leaning on the chair.

At this moment, I seemed to see my own miserable future: being criticized, then fired.

With a bitter heart, I dialed the phone again.

“Su... Supervisor, I think I... made a false alarm...”

I don't know if I even managed to say the rest of it.

In any case, my supervisor's voice had never been so loud.

After a severe dressing-down, my supervisor fiercely told me to wait.

A few minutes later, the phone rang again.

With a feeling like I wanted to jump off a building, I answered the phone; it was still the young man's emotionless voice.

“D7, report the current monitoring data.”

Hearing this, I paused, then pursed my lips.

Is it necessary? It's clearly a system malfunction and a false alarm... That's what I thought, but I still quickly retrieved the data and reported it to him.

The other party was clearly listening attentively, not interrupting at all.

After a while, he spoke.

“D7, according to instructions from the Research Institute, you are required to continue monitoring and report any anomalies promptly.”

I thought I had misheard and almost instinctively blurted out “Huh?”

Fortunately, I was feeling a bit jumpy now and didn't actually make a fool of myself, only quickly responding.

“Understood!”

After hanging up, I sat back in my chair, looking at the quietly resting curve, feeling a bit dazed.

Made a false alarm, and nothing happened?

Heh~

That’s great~

I looked out at the steel jungle outside the window again, and suddenly it didn't seem so dull and annoying anymore.