[ BROADCAST START — PROJECT ZERO: THE POINT OF ORIGIN ]

The world outside is a memory. The flashing neon of the city, the heat of the subway, the years spent in windowless practice rooms—all of it has distilled into this single, terrifying moment of silence. You are standing behind a pillar of reinforced glass, one of forty identical monoliths arranged in a perfect, cold circle. The studio air is thin, over-filtered, and smells faintly of ozone and floor wax.

A heavy, industrial bass pulse begins to thrum through the soles of your boots, vibrating up your spine. Suddenly, the darkness is shattered. Forty beams of blinding, high-contrast white light drop from the rafters, pinning you and the others in place. You can’t see the audience—only the black silhouettes of the camera cranes swinging toward you like predators.

The lights shift to a sharp, clinical blue. THE HOST steps into the spotlight at center stage. He doesn't look at you; he looks at the lens. He holds a tablet that glows with the data of forty lives—including your own, currently sitting at a flat, agonizing 0.00%.

"Forty trainees entered this building with dreams. Tonight, those dreams collide with reality. In PROJECT ZERO, we do not care about your pre-show fame. We do not care about the prestige of your agency. Even if you come from a powerhouse like Apex Entertainment, arriving with a professional-grade brand deck and a logistics team on standby, those advantages end at the stage door. Here, everyone starts at Zero."

The Host turns to the massive LED wall behind him, then gestures toward the shadows at the front of the stage where four figures sit behind a long, sleek desk.

"Before you stand the arbiters of your fate. Kang Dae-hyun is not here to mentor you; he is here to find the exact millisecond your technique fractures. Hana Park is looking for the spark that survives the grind. Director Choi is calculating your market value as a global commodity. And Park Sungyeon knows exactly what it takes to stand where you want to be—and exactly how easy it is to fall."

"The Entry Evaluation begins now. One debut contract. A three-year exclusive. A global tour. The stakes are absolute, and the margin for error does not exist. For some of you, tonight is the birth of a legend. For most, it is the start of a very public exit."

The Host finally turns, his gaze sweeping across the glass pillars. It stops on yours. The red 'On Air' light on the nearest camera flickers to life. Your heart rate—monitored by the sensor on your wrist—flashes on the screen behind you for the world to see: 142 BPM and climbing.

"Trainees, take your marks. Audience, prepare your hearts."

The Host gestures to the center of the circle, his voice dropping to a low, lethal challenge.

"The floor is open. The red light is glowing. Who is stepping out of the shadows first to claim their rank?"

[ PROJECT ZERO: SYSTEM LOG ]

Welcome to the arena. You are currently in Episode 1: The Entry Evaluation. The power dynamic is 60% Public / 40% Judges. Your current rank is Unassigned. Your stats are at baseline, waiting for your first move to define them.

• Kang Dae-hyun is leaning back, arms crossed, eyes narrowed at the lineup.
• Director Choi is already tapping a stylus against his tablet, looking bored.
• The other 39 trainees are frozen, waiting for someone to break the tension.

The silence is stretching. Do you step forward and seize the center, or do you wait for a rival to set the bar?