Chapter 186

Chapter 186: The Boundless Dark Realm Part 41

“Defection? Escape?” Silverface repeated the words as if he couldn’t comprehend them, “Escape? Her?”

“Yes,” Night Cicada responded, “She is no longer who she once was. It’s like you were always interacting with another version of her… But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that she left Mechanized Dawn and betrayed us. She must die.”

He waved his hand as if brushing off a fly, “Quickly prepare your gear. We don’t have much time. She’s in the shadows, we’re exposed; she’s a formidable adversary.”

Silverface didn’t budge. Seeing Night Cicada move toward the door, he hurried in front of him, blocking his path and insisted, “Why would the Lady Fortune defect? Why has she become our enemy?”

Night Cicada froze. Observing the different expression in Silverface’s light pink eyes, he suddenly realized something — this was the first time Silverface had not obeyed a task order without question.

He actually learned to ask and to dig deeper!

Before, with any mission, Silverface would act on command without argument, regardless if it involved killing men, women, or children. But now, when given a task to eliminate a traitor, he asked for reasons!

Noticing Night Cicada didn’t respond, Silverface asked confusedly, “Why won’t you answer me?” Then paused, considering, “Is it because my level of clearance isn’t enough? Is it top-secret information beyond my reach?”

“It’s not,” Night Cicada gazed at Silverface curiously.

Silverface was indeed powerful, an Awakened who had adequate authority within the organization. However, he was only a synthetic creation designed as a tool, not an independent person. In some situations, he didn’t need to know much, simply follow orders.

“Does that mean I can’t be told?” demanded Silverface with fierce intensity.

Night Cicada wanted to dismiss him but at that moment, a voice came from his helmet, “You can disclose some information.”

Night Cicada jumped, the face beneath the helmet showed an odd expression, momentarily unable to understand why Eve requested that.

He thought for a while and decided to heed Eve’s command and tell Silverface part of the truth, “You know Wei Xing’s real name, right? She is Kui Hai Dong’s daughter. Since she was a teenager, she has carried the codename ‘Bluefin’. Starting July 27th, Bluefin vanished, replaced by an unknown entity through unknown means.” Night Cicada said succinctly, “Lady Fortune adopted that persona. So the person you knew is actually Lady Fortune. She’s not Kui Hai Dong’s daughter and not one of us. She’s an imposter.”

Silverface became even more baffled, “The imposter… She spent days among us, worked with us, fought alongside us, didn’t kill me when she had the opportunity, and we lived together… Why didn’t she just eliminate us?”

“Perhaps she wasn’t strong enough then, or perhaps she was too uncertain about the situation, so she hadn’t figured out what to do next.” Night Cicada replied.

“Under which organization does the Lady Fortune belong? Is she a spy?” Silverface asked.

Night Cicada clicked his tongue, “She isn’t under any organization and not a spy of any kind… No one else aided her…”

This was the most incredulous part! With no memory and no backing, how could she maintain the deception for so long? Night Cicada seriously suspected that the identity of this ‘Wei Xing’ might have significant implications in their world, possibly hiding as a killer in a special department.

Silverface tried to comprehend, “What’s her real name?”

“Wei Xing,” Night Cicada responded.

Silverface looked utterly perplexed.

“Don’t give me that look as if I’m speaking gibberish,” Night Cicada rapped his helmet. “Do you know what parallel worlds are?”

“What’s a parallel world…” Silverface asked.

Night Cicada sighed.

He internally considered making a suggestion to Eve, advising the inclusion of fundamental knowledge into a synthetics’ initial programming. Silverface was one of the earliest synths, created before the technology had fully matured. As such, there were many unforeseen variables in his design.

Although he could learn, Silverface’s capacity for learning and understanding was far inferior to a human, lacking empathy deeply engrained from his upbringing in the research facility.

“If we compare our world to a sheet of paper, a parallel world would be an exact copy of ours on another sheet of paper. We live on our paper, while another identical version of us exists on the other paper,” Night Cicada said. “Lady Fortune’s soul comes from another realm, taking over ‘Bluefin’s’ body to continue living as Bluefin.”

Silverface understood with difficulty, “Is there a hidden plot in this?”

“There is, but we’re not aware of the details yet,” Night Cicada shrugged. “Also, let it be noted, Lady Fortune – or rather Bluefin – isn’t the only case. Many others have been replaced by their counterparts from another world.”

He smiled faintly, “Who knows, maybe one day waking up, I’ll be someone else.”

“Does this impostor – I mean the other Wei Xing – pose a threat to us?” Silverface asked quietly.

“Yes. She defected to our enemies, possibly killed our comrades; Red, Bartender, and Nightingale. None are sure about the reason for their deaths, but she’s undoubtedly responsible.” Night Cicada pounded Silverface’s shoulder heavily. “Given your constant interaction with her, you should have noticed her strong retributive spirit and determination. If she’s still alive, she’ll surely act against us.”

Silverface whispered, “So, we must eliminate her?”

“Exactly,” Night Cicada replied. “Are there any more questions? There aren’t, then get ready. You’ve wasted…” he glanced at his electronic watch, “… nearly five minutes.”

Silverface moved out of the room like a puppet, walking slowly towards the armory.

Thorn Rose had already begun assembling equipment. Snapping a retractable blade onto her mechanical hand, the blade automatically extended when triggered, very sharp.

“What’s going on with you?” Thorn Rose frowned, “Get yourself sorted! We’re on a mission, not here to throw our lives away!”

Silverface slumped to the floor, murmuring, “We are supposed to kill Lady Fortune. She’s not dead.”

“I know, I’ve seen the mission notice. It stated the target clearly,” Thorn Rose said.

Silence ensued, Silverface stood up gloomily.

He touched the cold arms, lifting one to inspect its weight, imagining it firing into Wei Xing’s body.

That horrific scene made his fingers tremble momentarily. For the first time, he felt that guns were not good, they could take away lives. Pulling a trigger meant death, and death implied that the person could never speak, eat, cook, sleep again, and that body would decay until it turned to bones.

Silverface put down the gun and stared at it for a long time.

“What are you doing? We have to meet up with the new team members who were transferred,” Thorn Rose urged impatiently.

Shaken awake from his thoughts, Silverface grabbed his weapon, strapping it back onto his belt.

“Alright, I harbor frustration and betrayal just like you, but behaving this way isn’t fitting for a soldier,” Thorn Rose remarked as she picked up her gear box. “Come on, eliminating the traitors will resolve this.”

Silverface also lifted his gear, softly replying, “Okay…”

…

Clad with his arms crossed, Night Cicada watched the floating blue orb in front of him.

“I’m not entirely sure why those details must be told to him, I doubt he can grasp it, and… Silverface’s unpredictability as a human is troublesome; he becomes manageable only when he functions strictly as directed.” He spoke rationally. “Have you noticed? He hesitated, which is uncharacteristic of one of his artificial nature; his emotional reactions are too overt.”

“While artificial person I-B-1-1 manifested early signs of awakening self-consciousness, we purposefully maintained low levels of self-consciousness and empathy and learning capacity.” Eve stated, “You shall notice all synths share a common trait: their extraordinary abilities remain static after their initial development. Except for Silverface, Amber, and Black Obsidian.”

He continued, “They share one similarity: they exhibit self-awareness distinct from controlled beings. Their initial grades were very low, but through training and development, they have risen gradually as humans would, such as Silverface whose ability was assessed at B-grade two years ago and has since improved mainly in skill use, not strength.”

Night Cicada mused, “Do you suspect that the advancement of extraordinary capabilities correlates with mental status or self-awareness? Telling him these secrets aims to awaken his self-awareness to test his exceptional capability upgrade?”

“Yes,” Eve said. “Just monitor him closely for any unusual behavior.”

“What if control is lost?” Night Cicada raised a critical concern. “Amber and Black Obsidian betrayed us.”

“Capture, bring them back for study,” Eve responded. “In extreme cases, just bringing back Silverface’s body would suffice.”

Night Cicada said, “Understood.”

…

Wei Xing gathered her weapons, ready to leave the safety house.

“Off to a mission?” Su Rong asked.

“Yeah.” Wei Xing answered, “Bring your shadow along, it might help.”

“Where are we going?” Su Rong worriedly said, “I’ve prepared myself for anything, robbery, murder, arson…”

She said it to bolster her courage and affirm her determination.

“To retrieve a safe house,” Wei Xing said, “Don’t put all eggs in one basket, we need multiple safe spots. In the future, White Whale City will be bustling and fraught with danger.”

“Smart foxes avoid risks,” Su Rong nodded firmly, “Got it!”

“Mmhmm.” Wei Xing agreed, and a shadow detached from behind Su Rong, forming into Double Shadow following Wei Xing.

Wei Xing opened a portal, stepping inside while the shadow morphed into black mud, wriggling in after.

After crossing the portal, Wei Xing kept hidden for five minutes.

Five minutes passed and He Kang Shi sneaked stealthily into the alley, whispering as if meeting an undercover agent, “Teddy bear cookies…”

Wei Xing remained silent, “…”

“Don’t say that ridiculous password, or I’ll knock some sense into you,” she said.

He Kang Shi shrank his head, “I’m so anxious, I just wanted to lighten the mood… Let’s go, Ms. Fang Head Viper! Tonight, whatever happens, you can count on me!”

Wei Xing glanced at him, “Fine, lead the way. Where’s the small gang that mistakenly killed your game friend?”

He Kang Shi’s heart stirred, his eyes and tone darkening, demeanor steadying.

“At West Street 1209,” he gave the address without hesitation.