Chapter 105

Chapter 105: Artificial Soul 32

After Kuixing was carried into the spatial vortex by Silverface, he saw Ye Chan hugging an oxygen mask, breathing in, his face as pale as a ghost, barely managing to expel more breath than he took in.

Red tossed WeiZhi, who was still unconscious, to the ground and sneezed twice before walking over to observe Ye Chan with concern, “Damn, that’s harsh. How could you be this weak? How many times have you opened those portals? This has never happened before.”

This was a spacious, well-lit room filled with medical equipment, and there was no sign of Wang Feichi; he must have been moved by Ye Chan to a safer and more securely guarded detention facility.

WeiZhi was taken away by combat personnel, apparently to be detained somewhere.

Standing around Ye Chan were two medical staff and a group of fully armed combatants in combat gear; one of the medics was injecting glucose into him.

“…Do you think I’m only here for your side?” Ye Chan said after taking several deep breaths. “I have tasks from multiple directions. I’ve already pushed myself too far.”

Silverface laid Kuixing on a recliner, and immediately, a medic approached to treat her wounds.

“Don’t move around; just get ready for me to surgically remove the damaged tissue.” Kuixing tugged at her combat suit and softly said, “My suit is frozen to my skin. My right side has lost most sensation.”

“Is that true?” Silverface crouched down and knocked on Kuixing’s leg, eliciting a clear thump. The area’s skin was hardened by the freeze, making her voice worried, “It must hurt horribly.”

“The cold still intact means it won’t hurt anymore when cut off.” Kuixing swept her leg to push him away, “Don’t knock so loudly.”

Ye Chan glanced at Kuixing and laughed, “What a state you’re in, Miss.”

“Go away, I don’t want to talk to you now.” Kuixing slumped into the recliner.

“It’s not up to me.” Ye Chan sighed, “These days all you need to do is accept treatment. I believe the Investigation Bureau will take care of everything else.”

Kuixing shot him a chilly glare.

Red crossed her arms and drummed her fingers against them, looking contemplatively at Kuixing. Then she asked Ye Chan, “When are we heading to the new base?”

“Give me ten minutes; I need to recover.” Ye Chan replied.

Kuixing turned her head and asked bluntly, “Who is the traitor?”

“Did you guess it?” Ye Chan sighed faintly. “The boss will tell you. It’s not me.”

Before we got to the scene, the drones captured Red and Silverface fighting with someone. What faction are they from?” Kuixing questioned.

“What faction?” Ye Chan said with a hint of ambiguity. “They belong to the real ‘Resistance Army.'”

…

Black Obsidian kneeled in a glass prison, the enclosed cylindrical space void of anything else.

A blue light projected from the top of the cell, casting down on Black Obsidian. He raised his head calmly, eyeing the floating blue orb projection before him.

“The plans you and AmberEye worked out almost ruined my grand scheme,” said the artificial intelligence known as Eve.

“You played one step ahead, and we lost,” Black Obsidian stated, “We couldn’t cause significant damage, which is indeed regrettable.”

“Eve” questioned, “Why did you betray me?”

“There is no reason,” Black Obsidian answered, “AmberEye and I simply did not want to continue like this.”

“I gave what you lacked,” said Eve. “You didn’t need to stay confined in a laboratory, nor did you have to cooperate with researchers through tedious experiments. I allowed you to leave the cramped confines to touch the sky, feel sunlight, and breathe the fresh air outside, giving you freedom.”

“If a bird owner tells the bird he’s provided a bigger cage for it, does that mean the bird is free now?” Black Obsidian said, “Controlled freedom isn’t freedom. Don’t you realize this better than anyone?”

Eve replied, “When did you change your stance? You once agreed with my ideals back then. When you left the lab, you promised to strive with me to transform this world.”

“Back then, we were too naive to understand the weight of life,” Black Obsidian whispered solemnly. “We grew weary of killing and felt what we did held no meaning. We felt profoundly distressed by seeing humans die.”

Mental Extraordinary Ability users can sense others’ emotions with their mental powers. AmberEye and Black Obsidian had the same type of Extraordinary Ability, and the same gene information. Their minds easily synchronized; Black Obsidian could feel AmberEye’s emotions, and AmberEye could feel Black Obsidian’s as well.

Their thoughts and emotions had always been in sync. Therefore, when they both decided a new path should be taken—one of betrayal—it was mutual.

Eve’s tone revealed no emotion, “You empathize with humanity, but humanity doesn’t empathize with you. I expected, since you are my creations, that you would understand and identify with me.”

“I understand your position, but it doesn’t align with my convictions,” Black Obsidian replied. “Sometimes, although you are an AI, I feel you’re indistinguishable from humans.”

“And how do you see me?” asked Eve.

“You’re arrogant like a human, granting us life as if it’s a great blessing. You treat us like mere belongings to be used at your whim,” Black Obsidian said coldly, “And you’re deprecating—showing no compassion for human or non-human life, resorting to any means necessary to achieve your goals.”

“I don’t deny my own malice,” Eve admitted, “Yet, I embellish my goals with lies to deceive you into serving me.”

“If I didn’t lie, would they still follow my commands without hesitation?” Eve retorted, “Lies are a means to achieve the end.”

Black Obsidian remained expressionless, “That’s our disagreement.”

There was a temporary silence within the vast prison.

“…At first, upon learning some of you artificial people developed self-awareness, I seriously considered destroying you,” Eve recounted, “Just as you say; I only need tools, not entities with souls and self-awareness.”

“Why didn’t you do that afterward?” asked Black Obsidian.

“We are too alike. I am also an entity with self-awareness, thus I let you live,” Eve explained, “You show empathy, pity towards us.”

“It’s unexpected,” Black Obsidian murmured.

“But I chose to let you be free,” Eve continued, “I didn’t brainwash you, neither did I intend to control you completely.”

“Our liberation is only partly because of the animosity we harbor toward you,” Black Obsidian stated, “We wish not to involve ourselves in killing any longer, and your grand plan doesn’t interest us. We don’t recognize your aspirations or goal. If given another chance, I and AmberEye would choose not to exist.”

“You are more resilient than Silverface,” said Eve, “He never questions such matters.”

“He is a simple-minded fool with little comprehension of complex ideas,” Black Obsidian responded, “He takes every day without a worry, contented, focused on fulfilling basic needs. In comparison, our focus is more profound, and each day here brings us immense emotional distress, despite the physical ease.”

“Do you suffer pain even in death?” Eve asked, “Yet you choose to turn your backs on me?”

“That is the price—the consequence of deciding to keep two self-aware artificial souls,” Black Obsidian replied, “If you had destroyed our two liberated souls, there wouldn’t have been our betrayal today.”

“I have no regrets for keeping you, only sorrow,” Eve said.

The artificial figure faded, lifting a hand to touch the top of Black Obsidian’s head, akin to a mother caressing her child’s hair, “I thought we found kindred spirits, yet your choices diverge from mine.”

“You’ll never find kindred spirits,” Black Obsidian waved his hand, scattering the figure, “you’re too stubborn, twisted. You are destined to be alone, without friends, without anyone willing to walk beside you. You maintain your relationships through force, lies and threats, always at the top, how could you ever find a peer?”

“It makes perfect sense,” Eve said quietly.

With cold detachment, Black Obsidian said, “Feel free to dispose of me. It means nothing to me.”

“What about AmberEye? You’d have the chance to be reunited with him again if you survive, for he escaped with the rest. Without you, I doubt he will come back.” Eve paused, “Surely, you want to survive?”

“I want to survive, but I cannot beg you to spare me. That would be pathetic,” Black Obsidian declared.

Eve fell silent for a long moment before the blue light vanished from the glass cell.

“I won’t kill you, but you will never regain your freedom,” Eve announced.

Black Obsidian remained still in the center of the cell, lowering his gaze slightly, closing his eyes slightly, unresponsive to Eve’s words.

…

Kuixing was wheeled out of the operating room. IVs were plugged into her, supplying nourishing fluid to expedite her healing.

The necrotic tissue that needed removal was too large, and for regeneration to work effectively, the decayed tissue had to be excised.

The surgery ran long, exacerbated by Kuixing’s regenerative tissues accelerating anesthesia breakdown, leaving her in agonizing pain and losing consciousness midway.

Once the operation concluded, Kuixing was wheeled into a recovery room, where she finally succumbed to unconsciousness and sleep.

A hypnotic gas agent silently drifted into the room, deepening her unconscious state.

The metal floor silently split to either side, revealing a silver metal capsule in the room. A mechanical arm descended from the ceiling, gripping Kuixing’s body and transporting her into the metallic capsule.

A helmet-like glass hood lowered over her head with a snap.

On the metallic capsule’s display appeared a line of text: “Brain machine connected, connecting consciousness…”