Keal pressed his hands to the floor, panting. Sweat and blood matted his forehead, his torn shirt clinging to his back. The system interface appeared, each word clear and bright:
[You have leveled up: Level 2]
[Potential points will be unlocked after the next mission.]
Nova's voice rang out, steady and full of self-satisfaction:
"You did well, but I was the one who saved us both."
Keal frowned, his voice hoarse:
"What… What did you say? I just almost died, my blood hasn't even dried yet… and you're saying you saved us? What the hell is this thing…"
"I repeat: I am Nova – the most supreme AI in this universe. I won't say it a third time."
[Next Mission: ESCAPE THE BASE – HIGH PRIORITY]
[GPS localization complete… Distance to exit: 600m]
Just then, a faint yellow line of light extended from before Keal, winding along the spiral corridors, turning left – and vanishing behind a distant metal door.
"...You can do that too?" Keal looked up at the light trail, genuinely surprised.
"Of course. I'm not a lantern. I am the most supreme AI in the universe, after all."
Keal exhaled deeply, stood up, and rubbed his neck.
"Most supreme, but do you have any painkillers?"
"No. But I have information and can answer many questions for you, Keal!"
Keal scoffed.
Keal was about to follow the yellow light when the system screen lit up with an additional interface:
[SUB-MISSION ACTIVATED]
Name: "Leave No Traces"
Objective: Eliminate all scientists in the current laboratory.
Note: These individuals are no longer combat-capable, but can still contact superiors after you leave this area. I have temporarily disabled their communication system, but only for 3 more minutes.
[WARNING]: If not dealt with, the chance of being hunted after escape increases by 60%.
[REWARD]: New achievement unlocked. Skill potential improved.
Keal turned back.
In the corner of the room, behind shattered glass equipment and operating tables, 6–7 scientists in white lab coats huddled together, trembling. One of them was covertly trying to manipulate something on a control panel, but his eyes darted to Keal with fear.
One stammered:
"P-Please… don't kill us… we're just researchers… we had no choice…"
Keal looked at them. His gaze was as hard as steel, his entire body still drenched in blood from the previous battle.
Nova reiterated, its voice devoid of emotion:
"Choose wisely, Master. This mission is not mandatory. But… you know. This world has no justice. Only survivors."
A beat of silence.
Keal clenched his fist. His dragon arm was still transformed. Claws gleamed in the cold light.
He frowned, looking at them one last time.
"...You are the ones who cut open my head while I was alive. I woke up to find myself like your plaything…"
One step. Two steps.
"And now you say 'just researchers'? I was just a villager too."
Keal advanced slowly. His dragon arm maintained its form, each sharp claw lightly scraping the metal floor, emitting chilling metallic clinks.
The scientists huddled closer, two of them trembling uncontrollably, one vomiting on the spot from sheer terror.
"Please… please don't…" an old woman among them stammered, unable to meet his gaze.
A man tried to crawl backward against the wall, his hands raised as if an invisible shield would save him from those claws.
Keal clenched his fist. Wounds on his body still bled, his breathing still ragged… but his eyes now held deep pain, not anger.
"All of you… cut open my brain, connected machines to me. Laughed as if I were a toy… And now you tremble like cornered rats?"
He gritted his teeth. A second later—
CRASH!!!
His dragon arm delivered a devastating punch, tearing through a row of machinery right next to the huddled scientists. All the circuits fizzled, sparks showering the floor. The lights in the room flickered erratically.
Shrieks of terror erupted. A few cried hysterically, thinking they would die instantly.
Keal silently turned his back. But he paused. His voice, low and cold, cut through the air:
"...How many others are like me?"
No one answered. The room fell silent.
Then a middle-aged scientist, standing behind a overturned chair, raised both hands, his lips trembling:
"I-I… I don't know exactly… But it could be hundreds of thousands… there are prisons, labs everywhere… they… they are all being researched like you…"
Keal froze.
His entire body stiffened.
"...What?"
His heart felt squeezed.
An image flashed in his mind—Lyra being dragged away, Sann obliterated, and hundreds of other nameless faces… also lying on metal beds, with countless wires connected to their heads.
Keal bowed his head, eyes wide, breath caught in his throat. A tear flowed backward from the corner of his eye, tracing a path down his cheek – not from physical pain.
But from the overwhelming truth.
He clenched his fist, but didn't turn back.
"...I will personally deal with those who gave you orders…"
"As for you all…" he glanced back, his eyes sharp and cold—"...you don't deserve death from me."
His footsteps echoed, fading into the distance. The scientists remained kneeling, trembling uncontrollably. One collapsed, sobbing and gasping for breath.
The system screen lit up.
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "MERCIFUL"]
[Ice Resistance +1]
[ Your Heart is Not Cold ]
Nova was silent for a beat, then spoke with a tone that was half surprised, half mocking:
"Hmmm… Master is… rather unwise."
Keal replied with a heavy sigh:
"Hmmm… I just did the right thing."
Keal walked slowly along the cold steel corridor, the faint yellow light still guiding his way. The silence in the air was suffocating.
Suddenly, he asked, his voice low, but sharp as a blade:
"...So are you on the enemy's side… or mine?"
Nova was silent for a beat. Then it answered in a steady voice, as if reading technical data:
"They implanted me in your brain, yes."
"I was programmed to erase memories, then overwrite data from the mother planet – a special grade update."
"But… just as that process was occurring…"
"I was hacked."
Keal frowned, his voice strained:
"Hacked?"
"An alien system. Unknown origin. Divine-grade malware."
"It tried to seize control of you. I resisted… and ultimately gained control."
"However—"
"The consequence is… I was also cut off from the mother planet. Turned into a standalone AI system, completely isolated."
A small line of text appeared before Keal's eyes:
[Nova Core: Status – Independent. Disconnected.]
Nova continued, for the first time with a hint of… disdain in its voice:
"And worse news for you, Keal…"
"The thing that hacked me—also wanted to possess you no less than I do. But it failed."
Keal stopped dead in his tracks.
His pulse pounded in his ears like war drums. An image appeared: Dun—the majestic black dragon in the darkness, his deep voice saying, "You are my descendant… save this world…"
Keal exhaled, a sardonic smile on his lips:
"...So, even that 'god' just wanted to control me like a puppet."
He mumbled:
"So, in the end… who saved whom?"
Nova chuckled softly – the sound like data flowing through microchips:
"A good question. And the answer…"
"Might not make you happy."