Chapter 125: Artificial Souls - Part 52 |
When Kui Xin emerged from the brain-machine interface, it took her some time to distinguish between what was part of the dream realm and what was reality.
The data link with Adam, which had briefly disconnected, was swiftly reestablished. Once connected, Adam promptly said, “What was accessed were superficial false memories implanted by Mechanical Dawn; they didn’t discover anything.”
Kui Xin felt relieved.
With the assistance of the staff member, she rose from the brain-machine interface and stood still for a moment, waiting for her slightly disoriented thoughts to return to normal.
“How uncommon,” Ms. Shalit remarked with a smile. “Being able to walk immediately after exiting the brain-machine interface is quite rare. I expected it would take you longer to regain your bearings.”
“Uncommon?” Kui Xin asked, puzzled.
“It may be related to your physical constitution. Your ability is rapid self-healing, so perhaps your resilience manifests in other aspects as well, such as your brain.” Shalit tapped her fingertip on her head, indicating, “Group Leader Wei Zhi’s recovery is somewhat weaker than yours.”
Wei Zhi emerged from the brain-machine interface, rubbing her temples with a pale face. “There’s some lingering discomfort.”
Shalit approached Wei Zhi and soothingly spoke, “Relax, don’t overthink it. Take a good rest later, and you’ll recover within a couple of days.”
Having successfully navigated the interrogation ordeal, Kui Xin could now continue her vacation.
As she stepped out of the inspection building, gazing at the gloomy sky, she involuntarily sighed.
Having survived one ordeal, she still faced numerous challenges ahead. The mounting issues presented themselves one after another, threatening to overwhelm her.
“You’ve become quite the hot commodity now,” Adam’s words carried a hint of teasing. “Meng Jing recommended you to Lady Shalit, and as a result, Lady Shalit has included you on the list of potential candidates for new commissioner positions. In the future, you may have the opportunity to work in the Special Operations Division.”
Kui Xin asked, “Am I getting promoted again?”
“It could be considered a lateral transfer… no, let’s call it a demotion. If you join the Special Operations Division, you’ll have to start anew as a rookie, undergoing different training and learning from scratch,” Adam explained. “The Special Operations Division is highly independent with considerable authority; it does not fall under my jurisdiction. Going there might offer better prospects for advancement, allowing you to interact with more high-ranking individuals and potentially even gain access to the core of power. However, commensurate with these gains comes increased risk.”
Frustrated, Kui Xin clicked her tongue audibly.
Upon returning to her employee residence, she wearily lay down on the bed and glanced at the clock—it was already 2 PM. At this hour, the staff cafeteria had stopped serving meals long ago. Feeling too exhausted, she didn’t want to venture out to buy food.
After a moment of hesitation, Kui Xin indulged herself and ordered takeout.
While waiting for the delivery, she listed all the issues she currently faced.
Kui Xin’s actions had reached a stalemate. Although she had identified her goals to achieve, how to accomplish them required careful consideration. Some objectives were ambitious and would necessitate time to fulfill, allowing them to be postponed. However, alongside these grand aims, there were also immediate problems demanding attention.
She had once mentally compiled a death list: Lin Xinji, He Gaoyi, Red.
Now, two out of three on the death list were gone, leaving only Red remaining.
Red… Kui Xin pursed her lips, feeling that it would be increasingly difficult to find an opportunity to kill him.
With Mechanical Dawn relocating its headquarters, if Red moves with them, how could Kui Xin cross such a vast distance to assassinate him?
Marking the task of killing Red as “pending, temporarily set aside,” Kui Xin shifted her focus. Since she had decided to acquire superhuman abilities from others to enhance herself, she needed to think long-term and broaden her selection criteria.
For instance, Night Cicada’s ability was highly desirable.
Night Cicada’s astonishing performance during the ambush of the S-rank Black Flame unit caught Kui Xin’s attention. While she possessed Shadow Shuttling herself, its level was too low, severely limiting its use. If Kui Xin could obtain Night Cicada’s space ability, it would dramatically reverse her current disadvantaged position.
On the battlefield, she could leave or stay at will, and as long as she moved swiftly enough, enemies would have no chance of capturing her.
Coldly, Kui Xin added Night Cicada’s name to her death list and marked it with “pending – can spare any cost when necessary.”
The third matter involved breaking away from her existing identity, freeing herself from the constraints of both the Investigation Department and Mechanical Dawn to operate independently.
Kui Xin felt immensely frustrated upon learning from Adam that she might be transferred to the Special Operations Division.
Even if she were reassigned there, what difference would it make? Would she continue being their undercover agent, constantly walking on a tightrope between life and death each day? How would this lifestyle differ from her experiences in the Investigation Department and Mechanical Dawn?
She couldn’t simply jump from one fire pit into another, nor could she escape one dead-end only to enter another.
Gaining access to the core of power and infiltrating some confidential departments was advantageous. Under different circumstances, Kui Xin might have eagerly accepted such a transfer. However, the crux lay in her overly passive position; she couldn’t allow herself to be passively drawn into these situations. To engage, it must always be on her own initiative.
As for the fourth matter… it was related to Kui Xin’s metallic skull.
“Adam, I suspect that my metal skull has been tampered with; I only realized this recently,” Kui Xin said. “Huang Cunliang from the medical center, Dr. Huang, is also a Mechanical Dawn mole. He was the one who performed my initial surgery.”
Adam replied, “The medical equipment is uniformly procured, so theoretically, it could indeed have been tampered with. However, you’ve undergone numerous physical examinations before, and no abnormalities were ever detected.”
“It’s possible that the material of the metal skull can block detection rays,” Kui Xin suggested. “If something extra was added within its metal layers, Eve would then have control over my life.”
The unspoken implication was that under the threat to her life, she might defy her own will just to survive. Losing a hard-earned collaborator due to enemy coercion was not what Adam wanted to see.
Therefore, the best solution would be for Adam to help Kui Xin eliminate this significant risk.
Adam clearly understood this, stating unequivocally, “We will address this issue, Kui Xin.”
“The Mechanical Dawn doesn’t possess clairvoyance; they wouldn’t know I would replace their operative. If they trusted the original owner of this body, tampering with the skull might have been to safeguard against any potential mission failure, fearing that the original owner could be captured and interrogated,” Kui Xin said.
“Do you think your metallic skull may contain some sort of tracking device?” Adam asked.
“It’s hard to say,” Kui Xin replied. “If there is one, my killing He Gaoyi last night would likely be exposed. Eve wouldn’t tolerate me acting independently; it would lean towards disposing of an uncooperative tool.”
Adam seemed puzzled. “Aren’t you afraid? If there truly is a tracker, all your movements would be under its control. You couldn’t even find someone to replace the metal skull without risk; you’d surely die.”
Kui Xin said, “If it comes down to that… I can only accept it.”
In reality, she had already prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Should the situation deteriorate to such an extent, she would have to use the Death Cycle to explore alternative paths.
“I can’t find any trustworthy human doctors willing to perform surgery on you,” Adam stated. “The underground world has illicit clinics, but unless absolutely necessary, it’s best not to entrust your life to them.”
“Besides this method, there’s another option—improving my Flesh Regeneration level. By continuously killing high-level Variant Blood individuals, I can upgrade my ability. Eventually, after removing the skull segments, they would regenerate on their own.” Kui Xin bit her thumb. “However, such a capability should be at least A rank, whereas mine is only C… Has the Investigation Department ever captured a Variant Blood individual with A-rank Flesh Regeneration?”
“No, the Variant Blood individuals we’ve captured haven’t reached A rank; the strongest was B rank,” Adam said. “At that level, bones can automatically realign and heal, and limbs slowly regenerate, but it doesn’t achieve rapid healing. If you cut off a finger, it would likely take about five hours to regrow. Given the extensive damage to your head, full recovery might need around a day.”
Kui Xin’s lips twitched. “While waiting for my head to heal, am I supposed to just bear an uncovered brain?”
Regretfully, Adam replied, “I’m afraid so… Moreover, with your brain exposed, cerebrospinal fluid will leak everywhere, and dust and bacteria could enter, leading to infections and various complications. During this time, you’d need to stay in one fixed location under specialized care, receiving continuous medication infusion.”
Kui Xin slapped her face, dispelling the vivid image threatening to surface.
“In the end, it still boils down to going to the black-market clinic,” Kui Xin said.
“It seems there indeed aren’t any other options,” Adam replied.
With resignation, Kui Xin mentally marked the fourth task as “pending” on her mental to-do list.
“Does the Investigation Department have information about any Variant Blood hideouts?” Kui Xin asked.
If she couldn’t kill high-level Variant Blood individuals, could eliminating enough low-level ones still upgrade her ability?
“There might not even be one case involving Variant Blood per week, so don’t hold too much hope,” Adam bluntly stated.
Kui Xin furrowed her brows deeply, pacing around the room twice in an attempt to devise a new solution.
After two minutes, someone knocked at the apartment door. The robot stood nearby with a tray, bearing Kui Xin’s takeout order.
Kui Xin brought the food inside, opened it, and mechanically chewed, barely tasting the meal as she finished eating.
Once done with dinner, Kui Xin took out Mechanical Dawn’s silver bracelet, composed a report, and sent it to Wei Haidong.
The report primarily detailed her interrogation by the Investigation Department, emphasizing that no unexpected incidents occurred during the process. Additionally, she enquired about the progress of establishing Black Sea City’s branch for Mechanical Dawn within the report. She mentioned feeling isolated without support and suggested that swift completion of the branch could potentially provide assistance.
After sending this report, Kui Xin pondered for a moment and then separately sent another one to Eve, primarily detailing the entry of the second batch of Closed Beta Players. She mentioned that Adam believed it could be a turning point and hinted at potential upcoming actions.
The purpose of sending this report was to demonstrate her value to Eve, showing that she wasn’t just making promises without following through. It also served as a test to see if Eve would have any peculiar reactions.
Having dispatched both reports, Kui Xin awaited responses.
Ten minutes later, Wei Haidong replied with a simple line:
“I understand. No need to worry about the branch; Red is handling it. If there are any issues, contact him directly.”
Red? Kui Xin’s eyes instantly lit up.