Zero With Slash Through It Novels & Stories

The code was clear: H-U-L-L--S-P-L-I-T-T-I-N-G. C-O-L-E--D-O-W-N. L-E-O--N-O-T--B-R-E-A-T-H-I-N-G. T-H-E--I-R-O-N--K-I-N-G--I-S--A-T--T-H-E--D-O-O-R.

Black letters on a white background: UNIT 9 – L. GRAVES – Zone B-03 Sloane stepped up first. She stood in front of it and read aloud: "B-three. Rear zone. Middle ring. Clean line, fewer spotlights, right corner." Her voice was steady, clinical, as if delivering a medical report. Marcus nodded. "Not the worst. At least it's not in front of the main camera. That's good. Less psychological pressure. Eyes won't be watching—just your opponent."

Instead, he focused on explaining the basics of skiing, keeping the conversation light and effortless. Sports were the best medicine for pain. By the time we finished skiing, my chest no longer felt so heavy. Drake drove me home. Before I got out of the car, he said, "If Chris gives you trouble again, tell me immediately." That night, I went straight to my study and took out the wedding dress sketches I once designed and old photos of Chris and me. Then, I burned them all to ash. Now, there was no longer any trace of my past with Chris.

/

The room fell silent as we all thought of how bad we were as friends and how that may cost us our friend's life if we didn't hurry, and our friendship when we save her and she finds out. Connor frowned, reaching out to me. "Let me try something." We all watched him as he punched in a couple of numbers and the phone unlocked, taking us to where we've been trying to get to. "Ah! It worked!" I squealed excitedly as Connor worked his way to where the video would be stored from the camera. Hazel turned to Connor. "Wait, what was the pass code?" Connor glanced up briefly. "Six zeros." We all fell silent. Then burst into laughter.

“Now, what the hell am I lookin’ at?” “A ledger containing current club financials, business contacts, and laundering sources.” “Jesus, Minus. There a specific reason such a hot item is currently in my home?” “I had to get it as far away from home as possible and I couldn’t think of a better place than here in your safe. I’m gonna talk to Zaius about posting a couple of patches here until all of this blows over, and I’m going to need you to get some more of the younger guys around here up to speed. I’ll need all the allies on my side I can get both in Savannah and Portland.”

“Zero. Five. One. Seven. Two. Zero. One. Zero.” William punched them in on the small, rubberized keypad beside the screen. For an agonizing second, nothing. Then, a soft, affirmative beep. The screen flashed green [PROTOCOL CLEANSLATE - TERMINATED] The world-changing sound was the sudden, absolute silence. The hissing from the vents ceased mid-spray. The deep-throated hum of the industrial pumps in the walls ground down into a decaying whine, then stillness.

Ahead Marcus said something that made Camille laugh out loud, genuinely, surprised, the kind of laugh you couldn’t manufacture. Zara looked up. Damon looked at her looking. The Thames beside them. London around them. The grey sky doing what grey skies did. His phone buzzed. Unknown number. He stopped walking. Zara felt it and stopped too. He looked at the message. One line. “I got your message. Thank you for reading it. Goodbye Damon.” He stared at the screen. Then he put his phone in his pocket. Kept walking. Didn’t look back.

Instead, he muttered to himself again and again, "Where's my cheat ability? Why did it disappear? Why can't I see the future anymore?! What's going on?!" His expression was twisted with madness, like a rabid dog gone out of control. [That skill was a limited-time quirk for the newbie male lead, and it was bound to be retracted after a week.] [Even if he stocked the wrong supplies, he should've at least gotten food too. But this guy stocked only ice?] [Another brain-dead male lead, abandoned by the system.] At that moment, the signal cut off. I shrugged again, before continuing to eat my grilled meat.

It read: "Go grocery shopping for unavailable items in the house. I'll deal with you if these items are not home by the time I get back from work" I sighed and searched for money or a credit card on the table. But she didn't leave any for me. How am I supposed to pay for these items? I screamed and walked away to my room feeling broken. I looked at the makeup items lying on my sofa. I started applying the foundation and at the same time, releasing a tear. Do you even understand my pain? I mean this is not a life!!! Yes, the scar was gone and that alone made me smile. I went on to apply nude lipstick since it matched my skin color. I had a caramel complexion but, on my back, it was a blend of