“Optimization complete. See you at the next intersection.”
Elias dug deeper. The gibberish wasn't junk—it was a cypher. As he decrypted the first block, a chill settled in his chest. It wasn't a command; it was a timestamp and a set of GPS coordinates. 11:42 PM. 5th and Main. He looked at his clock. 11:38 PM.
The screen flickered, casting a sickly green glow over Elias’s cramped apartment. He wasn't supposed to be here—not in this corner of the dark web, and certainly not inside the source code of the city’s newest automated traffic system. But Elias was a "bug hunter," and he had just found a glitch that looked more like a ghost.