After the Black Tide covers the earth, cities rely on the Gray Tower Protocol to maintain power and order. The Protocol divides disasters into instances and enrolls survivors in a player registry. Level determines rations, equipment determines lifespan, and death leaves behind collectible profession fragments.
Zhou Heng, a debt-bound player at the bottom of society, obtains incomplete verification authority during a cold-storage mission. He can spot errors in skills, equipment, and monster structures, then correct them by investing samples and black cores. Each correction raises his corruption, and a wrong choice can transform his body into a monster.
The story revolves around survival, struggles for authority, and the truth behind the Gray Tower. Zhou Heng believes only in gains that can be verified. He can cooperate and trade, but he'll also eliminate his companions before the cost gets out of control. Every level-up opens up more room to survive, while making the Gray Tower lock onto him sooner.
