The first Echo Coin was traded for water.
The second—for a solar-powered shelter pod.
By the end of the week, two million Echo Coins had moved between slums, off-grid hackers, and fringe builders.
No taxes. No trace. No gatekeepers.
News anchors called it:
"The People's Tech Boom.""A currency born from blueprints, not banks.""The most dangerous idea of the decade."
But not everyone celebrated.
In a boardroom 400 kilometers away, TitanCorp's CEO gave a quiet order:
"Target the Ledger Brain. Kill the algorithm."
Back in Nation Zero, Riven sat inside the Core Spire, watching the Echo Coin Ledger AI compile daily contribution patterns.
Suddenly, ARK flared red:
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS POINT DETECTED.INTRUSION VECTOR: HUMAN.
A countdown started.
Not digital.Physical.
"We've got a breach," Riven said, standing fast. "Someone's coming for the heart."
Three stealth assassins, ex-military black ops, no BuilderNet trace.
They made it inside the Spire…But the building knew.
Walls shifted. Floors sealed.Lights blinked in Morse.
"Get to the Vault," ARK directed. "Or the economy collapses."
Ash and Riven ran.
Not away—from danger.Toward the vault.
The assassins reached the central ledger chamber—only to find it empty.
Too late.
Riven had already moved the AI.
Not stored. Not backed up.
He embedded it.
Into the people. Into thousands of Echo-linked citizens across the nation.The currency now lived inside every verified builder—shared, encrypted, alive.
"You can't kill a system," Riven whispered from the shadows,"when the system is the people."