307: Go straight to the core

After hearing the creation's bone-chilling analysis that completely negated the core value of his lifelong ideal, the Doctor seemed to have his entire Soul drained away.

He no longer struggled or roared; he just stared blankly with hollow eyes, his lips moving soundlessly a few times before finally falling into a deathly silence.

It wasn't just failure, but the complete collapse of his faith—the "Ultimate Harmony" he had pursued with everything he had, even at the cost of trampling on ethics, was, in the words of his most perfect "work," a meaningless waste of resources.

His whole body went limp, and if Lu Jianchuan hadn't been choking him, he would have almost collapsed into a pile of mush.

"Any meaning of life must perhaps have 'survival' as its most basic foundation."

the creation didn't seem to care about the Doctor's state, continuing to speak in that calm, childlike voice as if stating an objective theorem.

"Although I don't yet fully understand what meaning 'survival' itself has, following the instincts of this body and its conscious foundation shouldn't be wrong. As for meaning... that can be left for later consideration. Before that..."

Its eyes, which had regained clarity but held no warmth, turned toward Shen Mingyuan and Lu Jianchuan.

"...I'll just deal with you first."

Lu Jianchuan glanced at the Doctor in his hand, whose eyes were vacant and who had lost all will to resist or even the desire to live. Like discarding a piece of useless trash, he casually threw him into a relatively clean corner nearby.

The Doctor's body hit the rock with a muffled groan and curled up there, motionless.

"It seems it's completely meaningless now." Lu Jianchuan cracked his wrists and faced the creation again, his voice beneath the armor solemn. "So, according to what you said, your 'main body' is that big guy behind you? And this tube behind you is the connection?"

"Yes."

the creation admitted frankly, even turning slightly to make the pulsating fleshy tube more visible.

"This is my 'umbilical cord,' my 'root system,' and the physical carrier and energy source of my massive computing array. This body," it pointed to itself, "is just a 'terminal' for movement and interaction."

Shen Mingyuan's gaze never left that familiar yet incredibly strange young face. He took a deep breath and asked the question that had been lingering for a long time:

"Why... did you choose the form of this child? Or rather, why this... appearance?"

the creation was silent for a moment, as if truly searching and thinking. A few seconds later, it slowly spoke:

"Because... he left the deepest 'impression' on me. Also because he was the... first part that formed 'me'."

Its tone showed a rare, minute fluctuation, as if it were weighing its words.

"Of all the consciousnesses thrown in, he was the one who held out until the end... though, in the end, he didn't hold out completely. Before that moment of Chaos when I was born, the echoes of his consciousness were one of the last ripples to dissipate."

It raised its hand and gently pressed it against its chest.

"From the very beginning, his existence, the emotional and memory imprints he left behind, had the deepest impact on the foundation of my consciousness.

Subsequently, the consciousness fragments of others flooded in, collided, and shattered... but they all failed to shake the deep outline carved into my cognition by this 'original template'.

You can understand it as..." It searched for a metaphor humans could grasp, "...I used the 'mold' he left behind and poured in other fragmented Materials to form a new individual. His 'shape' determined my 'appearance'."

Shen Mingyuan listened, his lips tightening under his faceplate. Although he had a premonition, hearing it confirmed still made his heart sink slightly. He was silent for a moment, then whispered, "...I see. Even though I know those consciousnesses within you no longer exist, hearing you say this... it's still hard not to harbor a sliver of unrealistic hope."

"Hope?" the creation tilted its head, seemingly puzzled.

"Hope that the original owner of this body would 'come back to life'? Unfortunately, that's impossible.

Even without considering my birth, in terms of the struggle on the conscious level alone—the original owner of this body was just a child, while most of those introduced later were adults who had endured much pain and deep obsessions.

Their conscious strength and complexity far exceeded that of a child. If it weren't because this child was the 'First Cause' and had a decisive influence on the formation of my consciousness... perhaps even this appearance wouldn't remain."

It paused, its voice returning to that pure sense of narration:

"So, just treat my current appearance as... an objectively existing 'memorial' or 'tombstone' for that vanished child's consciousness. Nothing more."

"...Is that so?" Shen Mingyuan said in a low voice after listening, unsure whether it was a sigh or acceptance. Immediately, his eyes sharpened, and he barked, "What do we do?"

Lu Jianchuan's answer was crisp and decisive: "What else can we do? I'll tie down this 'terminal'. Dealing with this kind of thing by fighting this Clone outside is pointless; we have to strike directly at the heart and take out the main body behind it!"

"Got it." Shen Mingyuan immediately understood. "Go!"

The two moved almost simultaneously, their armor leaving afterimages as they charged toward the creation and the main body in the darkness behind it from the left and right!

Seeing this, a look of almost childlike grievance and urgency appeared on the creation's face, and its voice took on a pleading tone: "Wait! Please... give me a chance, okay? I just want to live! I was only born recently; by your human concept of lifespan, I'm still just a child! Can't you... let me go?"

Lu Jianchuan's forward momentum didn't slow. Hearing this, he snorted, his voice coming through the faceplate without the slightest hesitation: "A child? I've never seen a 'child' who could analyze the meaning of life so calmly, even coldly, and possess so many adult memories and experiences. Mentally, you've long ceased to be a child. Physically... you're not human at all. We have nothing to worry about."

The grievance on the creation's face vanished instantly, replaced by that hollow calm, and it even gave a soft sigh: "Fine. I just want to live... what's wrong with that?"

Shen Mingyuan had already swept past its flank. Hearing this, he turned his head and quickly replied: "Our positions are different; it has nothing to do with right or wrong."

Before he finished speaking, the attack arrived!

From the darkness behind the creation, two thick tentacles condensed from dark red flesh, their tips as sharp as spears, burst out from the rock wall above without warning. With a whistle that tore through the air, one pierced straight toward the top of Lu Jianchuan's head, while the other stabbed toward Shen Mingyuan's path!

Lu Jianchuan reacted extremely quickly, instantly changing his forward charge into a rapid roll to the side, narrowly avoiding the tentacle stabbing down at his head as gravel sprayed against his armor. He stood up smoothly, silvery-white electric light crackling on his right fist. Instead of retreating, he accelerated toward the creation's terminal body, shouting, "You need this terminal to observe the outside world and for precise control, don't you? Otherwise, why bother! I'll disable these 'eyes' of yours first!"

the creation's terminal's eyes flickered. It didn't meet the attack head-on but lightly tapped its feet. The thick fleshy tube behind it suddenly contracted and pulled, carrying it lightly backward. At the same time, with a thought, the tentacle that had missed twisted eerily in the air, turning back like a giant python to stab at Lu Jianchuan from the side again!

However, Lu Jianchuan's forward charge was a feint! Just as the tentacle was about to reach him, he slammed his foot into the ground and leaped high. Not only did he avoid the tentacle's second strike, but he also accurately stepped on the side of the tentacle that hadn't been retracted yet, using it as a springboard. He shot forward like an arrow from a bow, flying directly toward the depths of the darkness where the heartbeat came from—the direction of the main body!

"You fell for it!" Lu Jianchuan's voice echoed in the passage. "My target was always your main body!"

Almost at the same time as Lu Jianchuan's action, Shen Mingyuan, relying on the excellent stealth and agility of his shadow armor, had already bypassed the main battlefield silently, as if merging into the shadows during the gap in the tentacle attacks. He took a more hidden route from the other side, quickly sneaking toward the core area of the pulsating darkness in the depths of the cavern.

A two-pronged advance, straight for the core!