Chapter 18: Chapter 18: The Ghost Embers
The world had moved on.
But some ghosts don't fade.
They burn — quietly.
Waiting.
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### 03:00 — *Residual Signal Detected*
Kaito leaned over the main terminal, frowning.
> "There's a pattern echoing in the encrypted net."
> "Old Council tech. But fragmented."
Lucid scanned the data — eyes sharpening.
> "That's not a glitch."
> "That's a sleeper ignition."
Neo walked in silently.
> "The Ghost Program wasn't just soldiers."
> "It was seeds."
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### 09:00 — *Infected Minds*
Across allied academies, strange reports surfaced:
- Students reciting old Council codes
- Anonymous posts sowing fear
- Tactical sabotage mimicking past missions
It wasn't overt.
It was psychological.
**Memes. Phrases. Viral fragments.**
Like fire catching in dry grass.
Neo called an emergency strategy circle.
> "The emb