The tunnel was silent.
Too silent.
Piter stopped walking.
Last time, this maintenance line didn't exist.
Which meant—
Text appeared.
Not the usual white.
Black.
[Hidden Scenario Discovered.][Scenario Name: Stray Variable]Clear Condition: Survive Observation]
Piter's smile vanished.
So they escalated early this time.
The air grew heavy.
Something was watching him. Not from one direction.
From everywhere.
The walls pulsed faintly, like veins under skin.
Piter lowered his breathing.
"Observation Scenarios don't have time limits," he whispered. "They end when you break."
His Interface flickered.
A new line appeared.
[Status Effect Applied: Narrative Pressure]
Piter's head throbbed.
Memories tried to blur. Emotions dulled.
This was how the System corrected anomalies.
He clenched his teeth.
"Not this time."
Slowly, deliberately, he sat down on the cold tracks.
If the System wanted to watch—
He would give it something interesting.