?[Data Log: March 14, 2026]
[Coordinates: SSS+ Cafe - Earth]
?The Price of a Bitter Coffee
?The traditional cafe, tucked away in a narrow, derelict alleyway of 2026, exhaled an air of weary decay. Zang, a 52-year-old man with a face etched by the deep scars of time, sat as motionless as a statue. Before him sat a cup of black coffee, bitter and dark, emitting its final wisps of warmth.
?The scene beyond the glass window was utterly farcical. The young cafe owner—the very man who had just brewed that coffee—was being pinned by two middle-aged officers, Cage and "Baldy" Jack. They were dragging him toward a patrol car, its red and blue lights flashing frantically. The charge? "Insanity"—a convenient label for anyone daring to scream amidst this facade of stability.
?As his head was shoved into the car, the young man strained his neck, howling at the old soldier:
"Old man! Don’t forget to scan the QR code on the counter to pay for that coffee! Don’t you dare stiff me!"
?Zang’s lips curled into a mirthless smirk. The siren wailed as the car sped away, leaving the empty cafe to its silence. He calmly drew his phone, aiming the camera at the grease-stained QR code on the wooden counter. A dry beep echoed. In a world where humans treated one another like trash, paying for a cup of coffee felt like the last act of decency he could offer.
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?AI 996.0 and the Internal Rot
?On a television mounted in the corner, a glitched advertisement flickered incessantly. The announcer’s voice was distorted, a low, mechanical drone: "AI Latest Version 996.0... optimizing... efficiency..."
?Zang found it laughable. Society was obsessed with "996"—the symbol of bone-deep exploitation where people worked from 9 AM to 9 PM, six days a week, to serve digital delusions. Yet, ironically, the "smarter" things became, the more sluggish the world grew. The network lagged, work stagnated, and the crowds outside were becoming dense and irritable, frustrated by the endless stream of buggy updates.
?He closed the yellowed pages of his book on the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." The symbols of Pestilence, Famine, Lust, and Death no longer felt like ink on paper; they were manifesting in the very way this society was rotting from within.
?Mindless Bullets and the Justice of Mud
?Zang’s mind drifted back to when he was only 12 or 14. An illiterate farm boy thrown into the cogs of the battlefield, forced to carry a rifle and shoot people he didn’t even know. There, life was as cheap as a stray bullet. Men married and had children early, not out of love, but out of fear that death would knock before they could leave a drop of blood behind.
?The war had stolen more than just his youth. The chemical weapons and radiation—humanity’s so-called "technological peak"—had claimed the lives of his son and daughter-in-law, leaving behind only a newborn granddaughter.
?Zang had never trusted those "higher-ups" in suits or decorated generals. His father had once warned him: "Soldiers come from the people; if they do not protect the people, we have no need to protect them." It was that belief that led the young soldier years ago to look the other way, allowing a rioting mob to tear apart a vile commander who had abused women and children under the guise of "military discipline."
?The Curse of the Future
?Zang had taught himself to read and climbed the ranks of the military, but right on the doorstep of being promoted to General, he walked away. He threw it all away to retire.
?He was waiting.
?Not far away, on a military transport moving sluggishly through the chaotic crowds, Zin—his granddaughter, now 18 and a full-fledged soldier—was heading toward this very cafe. He wanted to protect the only family he had left before the world finally collapsed under its own weight.
?Thirty minutes ago, Officer Hana and her partners, Cage and Jack, had responded to a call about a disturbance right in front of this cafe...
Author's Note:
?"Thank you all for reading my story in your spare time. I’m currently re-learning Blender in a low-poly vector cartoon style to ensure a consistent look for the illustrations. It might not be perfect yet, as it’s been 10 years since I last used the software. I’m also using dummy models and action figures to help me visualize and draw more dynamic action scenes. I hope you enjoy this journey with me!"
