Common Sense Hijack System-Chapter 152: Attack

A sudden sound shattered the eerie silence of the apartment complex.

Footsteps.

A lot of them.

Karl and Curtis both turned toward the hallway, their instincts sharpening. The rhythmic shuffle of feet echoed through the building, steady, deliberate, and unnatural.

"You hear that?" Curtis muttered.

Karl gave him a sharp nod. "Lobby. Let’s move."

They slipped out of Curtis’s unit, moving swiftly but cautiously through the dimly lit hallway. The stairwell leading down was silent, but as they neared the ground floor, the sounds grew clearer—more defined.

When they reached the final step, Karl felt something off in the air.

The lobby was filled with people.

Survivors from the apartment complex. The same faces Karl had seen day after day, the same people who had fought to survive in this crumbling world.

But now?

They weren’t acting like themselves.

They were walking—slowly, methodically—toward the center of the lobby, forming silent, rigid rows. Their eyes were empty.

Completely void of emotion.

Karl’s breath caught in his throat. "What the hell—"

Curtis grabbed his arm. "Look at their faces."

Karl did.

Blank. Passive.

Like they were asleep with their eyes open.

Or worse—

Like they weren’t in control of themselves anymore.

Karl’s fists clenched. "This is her," he muttered. "This is Julia."

Curtis swallowed hard. "Shit, man..." His voice was quiet but urgent. "What do we do?"

Karl’s mind raced.

Julia wasn’t just influencing individuals anymore.

She had them all.

Karl exchanged a brief look with Curtis. They didn’t need to say anything. The answer was clear—if Julia was controlling everyone, they had to play along.

He exhaled and let his body relax, his expression turning empty. Curtis hesitated for half a second before mimicking him. Together, they stepped forward, blending into the eerie procession of blank-faced survivors.

The group stood in rigid silence, forming orderly rows in the center of the lobby. The air felt thick—charged with something unseen but felt. Karl had experienced this sensation before. The unnatural weight pressing down on his thoughts, the subtle pull toward something else.

Then, Julia appeared.

She walked in from the far side of the lobby, moving with slow, deliberate steps. She wore the same clean, composed expression she always did, but now...

Now it looked wrong.

Her usually warm eyes were cold. Detached. Like the Julia they knew had been hollowed out and replaced by something else.

She stopped in front of the assembled crowd and swept her gaze across them. Karl kept his breathing steady as her eyes passed over him.

Then she spoke.

"We are survivors."

Her voice was soft, almost soothing. But beneath the surface, there was something off—a weight to her words that Karl couldn’t ignore. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"We have endured. We have fought against the sickness, against the hunger, against the failures of the old world."

Her lips curled into something like a smile.

"And we have thrived because we are not like them. The weak. The selfish. The ones who hide behind false morality while taking everything from us.*"

Karl’s fingers twitched. His system was silent, but he knew it was watching. Calculating.

Julia’s voice lowered. "We have taken back what was stolen. We have reclaimed what was denied. The food, the weapons, the shelter." She took a slow step forward. "And when they fought back..."

Her smile widened.

"We took their flesh, too."

Karl’s breath caught in his throat.

He wasn’t sure if he had misheard her.

But no.

Julia stood there, serene, speaking to them like a teacher guiding students.

"Meat is meat," she continued softly. "Their selfishness fed our hunger. Their greed kept our fire burning. Their deaths sustained our lives."

Karl’s heartbeat pounded in his ears. His mind screamed against the words she was saying, but his face remained blank.

Curtis, standing beside him, was stock still. Karl could feel the tension in his posture, the barely restrained urge to react.

"And now..." Julia continued, her eyes gleaming with something Karl couldn’t define. "Now, we are ready to move forward. To take what remains. To erase the old world and build anew."

Her gaze swept over them, almost searching.

Karl fought to keep his thoughts in check.

Everything—everything—he thought he knew about reality was starting to crack.

This wasn’t just about control.

This wasn’t just an awakening.

Julia...

Julia had turned these people into something else.

The moment Julia finished speaking, a ripple of energy seemed to pass through the crowd. A tense, unnatural silence followed—until it shattered.

A piercing scream tore through the lobby.

Then another.

And another.

Suddenly, the entire apartment complex exploded into chaos.

People who had been standing motionless, blank-faced, suddenly erupted with raw aggression. They ran—not randomly, not aimlessly—but with purpose.

Through the lobby.

Out the front doors.

Into the city.

Karl and Curtis forced themselves to move with them, blending in, following the frenzied rush without hesitation. They couldn’t risk breaking character—not yet.

As they emerged onto the snow-covered street, Karl’s breath hitched.

The apartment complex wasn’t alone in this.

Across the city, other buildings were stirring with movement. More groups spilling out, converging on the roads like a living tide. And in their eyes—

Something was wrong.

Their movements were sharp. Unnatural. Every single one of them was awake in a way that was beyond human.

They were all Awakened.

Karl’s mind reeled. How?! Awakening was supposed to be rare. Unpredictable. A roll of the dice.

And yet...

Here they were.

A horde of people, all suddenly empowered—and all under Julia’s influence.

As they sprinted into the city, Karl risked a glance back at the apartment complex—just in time to see the doors busted down.

The building was being looted.

Not just by outsiders—by their own people.

Windows shattered. Doors were kicked in. People swarmed through every floor, grabbing supplies, flipping furniture, taking everything.

And then the screams started.

Karl and Curtis ducked into an alleyway, shoving their backs against a locked service door as the chaos spread.

Inside, the apartment was turning into a bloodbath. Survivors who hadn’t been part of Julia’s awakening—those who had resisted, who had hidden—were found. Dragged from their rooms. Torn apart.

Karl’s stomach twisted.

"This isn’t just looting," Curtis whispered, his voice tight. "This is a goddamn culling."

Karl gritted his teeth, forcing his breath to stay steady. "We need to lay low," he muttered. "We can’t fight this."

"Not yet," Curtis corrected, his jaw clenched. "But we will."

They had barely escaped with their lives.

And now, as the city burned and the streets filled with something far worse than chaos...

Karl realized one thing.

Julia hadn’t just awakened.

She had started a war.

Karl and Curtis crouched low in the alleyway, the chilling sounds of looting, screaming, and destruction filling the streets around them. The air was thick with the scent of burning debris and something far worse—blood.

Curtis wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his breathing uneven. "This is insane," he muttered. "We have to get out of here."

Karl’s jaw tightened. "No."

Curtis shot him a look. "Dude, are you serious? This whole city’s turning into a madhouse. We should be running as far away from this as possible."

Karl exhaled sharply. "And then what? Hide in some random ruin while this spreads?" His eyes flicked toward the direction of the apartment. "No. We go back."

Curtis hesitated, glancing toward the burning skyline. It was clear neither of them wanted to be part of whatever nightmare Julia had unleashed. But going back meant walking straight into the lion’s den.

"Fuck," Curtis muttered. "Fine. But the second this goes sideways, we bolt."

Karl gave a firm nod. "Agreed."

They moved carefully, weaving through back alleys, avoiding the larger mobs rampaging through the streets. Most of the awakened were too focused on whatever mission Julia had burned into their minds—looting, purging, hunting.

And soon enough, the apartment complex was in sight.

It looked almost the same—intact, undisturbed—except for the eerie silence. The looting had been focused elsewhere. The building itself stood as if untouched.

Karl and Curtis exchanged a glance. That’s not right.

As they crept closer, something made Karl’s stomach twist.

A figure stood in the middle of the lobby.

Waiting.

Karl felt a chill creep down his spine.

Julia.

She stood alone, her hands clasped in front of her, her expression calm. Too calm. Her pristine clothing was untouched by the chaos outside. It was as if the destruction, the violence—it didn’t touch her.

Her eyes flicked up, locking onto Karl and Curtis before they could take another step.

And she smiled.

"Welcome back," she said softly, her voice carrying across the empty space. "I knew you’d return."

Karl’s breath caught.

She knew.

She had been waiting for them.

Curtis stiffened beside him. "Shit..." he whispered under his breath.

Karl felt his fingers twitch.

This was bad.

And they had nowhere to run.