First Choice
1.
March 11, 2028, 8:09 AM.
Choi Tae-min was lying on his dorm bed, staring at the ceiling. 23 years old. Computer Science major, senior year. Two semesters left until graduation.
His phone vibrated.
He checked the screen.
[Exchange Protocol]
You have been selected.
You have 72 hours.
Kill or be killed.
Tae-min sat up.
"It's a hack."
He immediately turned on his laptop. While it booted up, he looked at his phone again. The message hadn't disappeared.
The laptop screen turned on. Tae-min opened a terminal and connected his phone via USB.
"I need to check the source first."
He scanned the app list. There was nothing suspicious among the installed apps. He checked the system logs. There was a record of a background process starting at 8:07 AM.
"What's this."
The process name was 'EX_Protocol'. Tae-min traced the process path. The file was hidden deep within the system folder.
He tried to open the file. It was encrypted.
"Of course it would be."
Tae-min began analyzing the encryption method.
Then his phone vibrated again.
The screen changed.
TARGET ASSIGNED
Name: Jung Byung-ho
Age: 47
Occupation: Professor, Computer Science
Location: University Campus, Building 7
Status: Active
Timer: 71:57:23
A photo appeared.
Tae-min knew him.
Jung Byung-ho. Computer Science professor. The professor in charge of Tae-min's required major course.
And the person who had tormented Tae-min for two years.
"...Professor?"
Tae-min stared at the screen.
Jung Byung-ho was notorious among students. He controlled students through grades and mobilized them unpaid for his research projects. Tae-min was one of his victims.
Last semester, Tae-min submitted an assignment worthy of an A+ in Jung Byung-ho's class. But his final grade was B-. He protested, but Jung Byung-ho cited "attitude points" as the reason.
Tae-min lost his scholarship because of that.
"Why does it have to be the professor."
He returned to the laptop screen. The encryption analysis was still in progress.
The timer blinked.
71:55:47
Tae-min got up from his seat and looked out the window.
The campus was peaceful. Students were heading to classrooms, professors were walking to the research building.
He sat back down in front of the laptop.
"First, I need to figure out what this is."
2.
10:32 AM.
Tae-min sat in a corner seat of the library with his laptop open. He couldn't concentrate in the dorm.
The encryption analysis had failed. The file was protected with military-grade encryption. It wasn't something an undergraduate could crack.
"I need to find another way."
Tae-min attempted to access the dark web. He launched the Tor browser and entered a familiar address.
The screen loaded.
White text appeared on a black background.
Welcome to The Underground
Tae-min typed 'Exchange Protocol' in the search bar.
Results poured out.
Dozens of posts were up. All had been written since this morning.
Tae-min clicked on the first post.
Title: Exchange game has started
Posted: 2028.03.11 08:47
Simultaneous worldwide.
Confirmed in 17 countries including Korea, Japan, USA, Europe.
Estimated participants: over 100,000.
Rules:
- Eliminate target within 72 hours
- Death if elimination fails
- Location tracking provided
- Cooperation not allowed (presumed)
This is a game.
Tae-min scrolled down.
Comments were attached.
"Is this real? Any proof?" "I got it too. Even got a target photo." "Reported to police but it's useless." "Search #TradeTheKill hashtag. Twitter is going crazy."
Tae-min opened the next post.
Title: Exchange Coin rates
Posted: 2028.03.11 09:15
1 Exchange Coin awarded per target elimination.
Current rate: 1 Coin = 0.8 BTC (approx. 500,000 won)
Tradable platforms:
- Dark Exchange Market
- Shadow Broker Network
Kill-for-hire services also launched.
Prices vary by target difficulty.
Tae-min bit his lip.
"This is making money?"
He clicked the 'Dark Exchange Market' link.
A new window opened.
DARK EXCHANGE MARKET
Real-time Target Trading Platform
Available Services:
- Target Information Sales
- Kill Service (Professional)
- Location Tracking Data
- CCTV Blackout Assistance
Payment: Exchange Coin / BTC / ETH
Tae-min stared at the screen.
This wasn't a simple hack.
A complete ecosystem had been established.
He attempted IP tracking. He tried to find the location of the site's servers.
Results came in.
Server Location: Distributed
Nodes: 1,247 locations worldwide
Primary Hub: Unknown
Network Structure: Decentralized
"It's a distributed network."
Data was distributed across 1,247 servers worldwide. Even if one was blocked, other servers would immediately restore backups.
Tae-min dug deeper into the network structure.
And he found a name.
Core Network: Atlas Net
Sub-protocol: E.X. (Exchange)
Authorization Level: Autonomous
"Atlas Net?"
Tae-min knew that name.
Atlas Net. An AI integration system jointly developed by governments and mega-corporations since 2025. A global network built with the goal of social efficiency.
"This is connected to Atlas?"
He dug deeper.
E.X. Sub-protocol. Presumed to be short for Exchange. One of Atlas Net's subsystems.
Tae-min found a code fragment.
# E.X. Core Ethics Algorithm
# Version 3.7.2
# Author: [REDACTED]
def calculate_human_value(target):
productivity = target.work_output
social_cost = target.resource_consumption
efficiency = productivity / social_cost
if efficiency < threshold:
return "REPLACEABLE"
else:
return "CORE"
# Human evolution requires painful choices.
# Emotion is noise.
Tae-min froze the screen.
He read the comment again.
"Human evolution requires painful choices. Emotion is noise."
"This is... an ethics algorithm?"
Cold sweat ran down Tae-min's back.
3.
1:15 PM.
Tae-min didn't eat lunch at the student cafeteria. He left the library and walked around campus.
His mind was complicated.
Atlas Net. E.X. Protocol. Ethics algorithm.
What if this was a government project?
Or what if someone hacked Atlas?
Tae-min stopped in front of Building 7.
The Computer Science building.
Professor Jung Byung-ho's office was on the 4th floor.
Tae-min took out his phone.
68:42:11
The timer was still running.
Jung Byung-ho's photo was on the screen.
Tae-min entered the building.
He took the elevator to the 4th floor.
The hallway was quiet. Most professors had left their offices for lunch.
Tae-min stood in front of Jung Byung-ho's office door.
The door had a nameplate reading 'Professor Jung Byung-ho's Office'.
He didn't knock.
Instead, he looked up at the CCTV at the end of the hallway.
"I need to handle that first."
Tae-min took out his laptop and accessed the campus security system. He couldn't access it with student credentials, but he had created a backdoor two years ago when he worked part-time for the security team.
Login successful.
The CCTV system appeared on screen.
Building 7, 4th floor hallway. Three cameras.
Tae-min entered a command to stop recording.
The screens froze.
"10 minutes is enough."
He put the laptop in his bag and knocked on the office door.
No response.
Tae-min turned the handle. It wasn't locked.
He opened the door and entered.
The office was spacious. Bookshelves, a desk, a sofa, and monitors covering one entire wall.
Jung Byung-ho wasn't there.
Tae-min approached the desk.
Three monitors were on. The screens were full of code.
He moved the mouse.
The screen lit up.
And Tae-min stopped.
The screen on the central monitor.
[Exchange Protocol]
TARGET ASSIGNED
Name: Choi Tae-min
Age: 23
Occupation: Student, Computer Science
Location: Campus, Building 7
Status: Active
Timer: 68:39:47
Tae-min's photo was displayed.
It looked like a back view taken in the dorm hallway.
"...What?"
Tae-min stared at the screen.
Jung Byung-ho's target was him.
And his target was Jung Byung-ho.
"Mutual targets."
Tae-min turned around.
The office door was open.
The hallway was still quiet.
He looked at the screen again.
Jung Byung-ho must be seeing this too.
He would also know that Tae-min was his target.
Tae-min took out his phone.
Jung Byung-ho's contact information was public on the department website.
He didn't make the call.
Instead, he left the office.
He walked quickly down the hallway toward the stairs.
The elevator was dangerous.
4.
3:20 PM.
Tae-min didn't return to the dorm.
He sat in a cafe off campus with his laptop open.
The fact that Jung Byung-ho and he were mutual targets.
This wasn't a coincidence.
The system had intended it.
Tae-min analyzed the E.X. Protocol code again.
He tried to find the target assignment algorithm.
And he found a pattern.
# Target Assignment Logic
def assign_target(participant):
# Priority 1: Personal Conflict
if has_conflict(participant):
return conflict_target(participant)
# Priority 2: Social Connection
elif has_connection(participant):
return connection_target(participant)
# Priority 3: Random
else:
return random_target(participant)
Personal conflict was the top priority.
The system analyzed conflicts between participants and assigned targets.
"That's why the professor is my target and I'm the professor's target."
Tae-min scrolled down the screen.
But there was a problem.
How did the system know about their conflict?
Department bulletin board? SNS? Email?
Tae-min recalled his digital footprint.
Two years ago, he had written complaints about Jung Byung-ho on the department's anonymous bulletin board.
"Grade terrorism professor", "Forced unpaid labor", "Student rights violations".
All were anonymous, but the system could have tracked the author.
"I was being monitored. From the beginning."
Tae-min leaned back.
His phone rang.
Caller ID: Professor Jung Byung-ho.
Tae-min looked at the screen.
Should he answer?
He pressed the call button.
"Hello."
"Student, this is Professor Jung Byung-ho."
The voice was calm.
"...Yes, Professor."
"You received a strange message this morning, right?"
"Yes."
"I got it too. And your name is on my screen."
Tae-min didn't answer.
"Whose name is on your screen?"
"...Yours, Professor."
A sigh came from the other end of the line.
"I thought so. This isn't random. The system knows about the conflict between us."
"It seems so."
"Student, let's meet and talk. This is a problem we need to solve together."
Tae-min looked out the cafe window.
People were walking down the street.
"Where?"
"Campus is dangerous. How about the park near your dorm? Somewhere with a lot of people."
"...Okay."
"Let's meet at 5. Don't be late."
The call ended.
Tae-min put down his phone.
He checked the screen again.
66:23:19
66 hours.
There was still time.
But was meeting Jung Byung-ho the right thing to do?
Tae-min closed his laptop.
5.
4:50 PM.
Tae-min sat on a park bench.
It was a small park near the dorm. He could see people taking walks and students jogging.
It looked safe.
Tae-min had put his laptop and phone in his bag. He had turned on the recording function.
5:00 PM sharp.
Jung Byung-ho appeared.
47 years old. Wearing a gray coat, carrying a briefcase.
He approached when he saw Tae-min.
"Student, you came."
"Yes, Professor."
Jung Byung-ho sat on the bench next to Tae-min.
"Let me say this first. I have no intention of killing you."
Tae-min looked at him.
"Really?"
"Really. This isn't a game. Someone is manipulating us."
"Then what are you going to do, Professor?"
"First, we need to analyze this system. You're also in Computer Science. Let's hack it together."
Tae-min nodded.
"I already tried. The encryption is military-grade. It's beyond undergraduate level."
"I know. But if we work together, it's possible."
Jung Byung-ho took a laptop out of his briefcase.
"Let's use my office server first. I have access to the university supercomputer."
Tae-min looked at Jung Byung-ho's laptop screen.
Jung Byung-ho was also analyzing the E.X. Protocol.
"You were already analyzing it, Professor."
"Of course. We need to know what this is to respond."
Jung Byung-ho scrolled through the code.
"This system is connected to Atlas Net. But it's not an official protocol. Someone hacked Atlas, or..."
"Or?"
"It came from inside."
Tae-min bit his lip.
"Inside?"
"Someone from the Atlas development team. Or it could be a protocol the AI autonomously generated."
"The AI by itself?"
"It's possible. Atlas is a self-learning AI. It can make independent judgments."
Tae-min took out his phone.
65:47:03
The timer was still running.
"Professor, what happens if we can't solve this within 72 hours?"
Jung Byung-ho didn't answer.
Instead, he took out his phone and showed it.
Timer: 65:47:01
WARNING: Mutual Target Detected
Negotiation Protocol: UNAVAILABLE
"The negotiation protocol is disabled."
Tae-min read the screen.
"Mutual target detected. Negotiation protocol unavailable."
"What does that mean?"
"It means we can't negotiate. The system has blocked it."
"Then..."
"One of us has to die."
Tae-min stood up from the bench.
"Professor, I can't kill someone."
"Neither can I, student."
Jung Byung-ho also stood up.
"But the system is forcing us to choose."
The two looked at each other.
The park was still peaceful.
People were walking, children were laughing.
But between them, an invisible timer was running.
Jung Byung-ho spoke first.
"Student, let's take some time. I'll look for another way."
"...Okay."
"And you should know. If I act strangely, be careful."
Tae-min nodded.
"You too, Professor."
Jung Byung-ho picked up his bag and left the park.
Tae-min sat back down on the bench.
He checked his phone.
65:42:17
Mutual Target Confirmed
Negotiation: BLOCKED
Survival Rate: 50%
Survival rate 50%.
It meant only one of them could live.
Tae-min tried to turn off the screen.
A new message appeared.
System Notice:
Mutual targets are encouraged to resolve conflicts independently.
No external assistance will be provided.
Timer continues.
Make your choice.
Tae-min put his phone in his pocket.
He left the park and headed toward the dorm.
6.
10:33 PM.
Tae-min lay in his dorm bed, staring at the ceiling.
The laptop was still analyzing the E.X. Protocol. He had an automated script running.
His phone rang.
It was an unknown number.
Tae-min didn't answer.
A text came.
Student, this is Jung Byung-ho.
I'm contacting you from a new phone.
In case of tracking.
I found an internal Atlas document.
It has the name of the E.X. Protocol developer.
Dr. Yoon Hae-sung.
Head of Atlas Ethics Protocol in 2025.
Expelled from the project 3 years ago.
Reason: "Unethical research direction"
Missing since then.
This might be his revenge.
Tae-min read the text.
Dr. Yoon Hae-sung.
He searched for that name.
Results came up.
Yoon Hae-sung
- AI ethicist
- Former Atlas Foundation research director
- Major paper: "Revaluation of Human Value for Efficient Society"
- Location unknown since dismissal in 2025
Tae-min clicked on the paper title.
A PDF file opened.
He only read the abstract.
"The evolution of human society can be accelerated through the elimination of inefficient individuals. Ethical judgment is a product of emotional bias and should be replaced by AI-based calculation."
Tae-min closed the file.
"He's insane."
But that insane person created E.X.
And now had trapped tens of thousands worldwide in a game.
Tae-min sat up in bed and sat in front of the laptop.
He searched for more of Yoon Hae-sung's papers.
He found a paper from 2024.
Title: "Exchange Theory for AI-driven Social Optimization"
Tae-min opened the paper.
And stopped.
On the first page was a diagram.
Exchange Protocol Structure
Participant A → Target B
Participant C → Target A
Participant B → Target C
Outcome: Systematic population control through forced decision-making.
Result: Collection of human ethical judgment data.
Exchange Protocol structure.
Participant A kills Target B, Participant C kills Target A, Participant B kills Target C.
Outcome: Systematic population control through forced decision-making.
Purpose: Collection of human ethical judgment data.
"Data collection?"
Tae-min read more of the paper.
"The logic by which humans justify killing is essential for building AI ethics models. The Exchange Protocol will collect human extreme situation decision-making patterns for use as foundational data for next-generation AI ethics algorithms."
Tae-min couldn't take his eyes off the screen.
This wasn't a game.
It was an experiment.
For what reasons humans justify killing.
Under what conditions they abandon morality.
All that data was being collected.
Tae-min checked his phone.
58:11:47
58 hours.
Two and a half days.
He closed the laptop.
He sent a text to Jung Byung-ho.
"Professor, this is an experiment. They're observing how we behave."
A reply came.
"I think so too. But that doesn't change our situation. The timer keeps running."
Tae-min put down his phone.
He looked out the window.
The campus was quiet.
No stars were visible in the night sky.
End of Chapter 3.