241: The Price of Truth

Chen Wang pulled his hand out of the recess, his fingers tingling. He looked at his palm; there were no wounds, but it felt as if electric current was running beneath his skin.

Star Pupil was still sitting on the ground, with Su Ling half-crouched, supporting her. The mechanical parrot lay to the side, its wing jammed.

"Let me up," Star Pupil said.

Su Ling didn't move. "Your mind was chaotic just now."

"I know who I am." Her voice wasn't loud, but it was steady. "The images from just now... they weren't my memories, but it wanted me to believe they were real."

Lin Wei's voice came through the communicator: "Something happened on the vehicle; you need to come back quickly."

Chen Wang looked up at the ceiling of the hall. The imperial military crest was still glowing, getting brighter and brighter, spreading out like a web.

"Let's get back to the vehicle first," he said.

The three returned to the wuling type 100. As soon as the cabin door closed, an alarm sounded. Lin Wei stood before the main control console, her fingers swiping across the screen. A holographic projection appeared, showing the log records from the bottom layer of the Stasis Zone.

"The black tide is not a natural phenomenon," she said. "It's nanobots, designated N-7, controlled by the 'genesis engine.' They activate periodically to absorb life energy to maintain the system's operation."

Su Wan adjusted data in front of the medical pod screen: "I compared the DNA sample from when Star Pupil first joined. The match rate is 99.8%. She is a clone, from the Stasis Zone B-7 Ω project."

The cabin went silent all of a sudden.

Star Pupil leaned back in her seat, her breathing becoming heavy. "So... I'm not a real person?"

"You are." Su Wan turned to look at her. "Genes can be copied, but your emotions, your choices, your reaction to the Wuling Frequency—these are not things a program can write."

Amy Chen tapped the financial terminal, and a string of decoded information popped up on the screen: "The wuling emblem is the master key to the kindling system; all vehicles meeting the criteria have been marked as tracking signals. We were locked onto a long time ago."

Chen Wang looked down at the emblem pendant on his chest. The metal was a bit hot.

"Who gave you this thing?" Lin Wei asked.

"It wasn't given to me." Chen Wang unbuttoned two buttons, revealing a tattoo on his chest—a glowing blue wuling emblem. "It grew out."

The blue light spread along the lines, flickering in sync with the kindling interface in front of the driver's seat. The system popped up a prompt: [Ultimate protocol unlock conditions met. Initiate?]

"Wait." Amy Chen suddenly raised her hand. "The fleet is moving."

Six cracks opened in the dome of the hall, and six imperial warships slowly rose, their cannons beginning to charge. The radar showed that the Shield had expanded, covering the entire entrance area.

"They are trying to lock onto the kindling system." Lin Wei operated quickly. "If we don't sever the connection, the system will be hacked."

"Use the original voice input," Chen Wang said.

The vehicle AI sounded: "Host's strong will to survive detected... Binding successful."

The moment the voice sounded, Star Pupil's body shuddered. Her brainwaves went from chaotic to steady.

"It's real." She opened her eyes. "This voice... it's the one from when I first heard the vehicle name respond."

"Not just you." Chen Wang looked at her. "Everyone who has successfully bound has heard this sentence. It's not a recording; it's a form of authentication."

Amy Chen plugged the financial terminal into the terminal. "I'll interfere with the main brain's recognition logic." She started an energy trading simulation, flooding the channel with massive amounts of fake data. "I can only hold it for three minutes."

"That's enough." Su Ling picked up the electromagnetic jammer, and Lin Wei turned on the Shield generator, covering the entire cabin with a shielding field.

"Father's broadcast," Chen Wang said in a low voice.

The vehicle system switched audio. An old recording played: "Xiao Wang, remember to eat after fixing the car, don't stay up late."

Star Pupil closed her eyes, her shoulders relaxing. She said softly: "I am not a backup... I am new."

Lin Wei stared at the analyzer: "I've captured the movement patterns of the nanobots. They are commanded by the 'genesis engine,' but there is a 0.3-second delay in every signal synchronization. If we seize this gap to attack, it's possible to break the Shield."

"How do we hit it?" Su Wan asked.

"Use the wuling emblem." Chen Wang looked at the tattoo on his chest. "It is the key, and it is also the weapon interface."

"You're going to risk your life to try it?" Lin Wei frowned.

"It's not that I want to use it." Chen Wang stood up. "It's that the vehicle name chose me."

He walked toward the driver's seat and pressed his fingers against the tattoo. The blue light surged, flowing along his arm throughout his body. The kindling interface automatically popped up the ultimate protocol operation bar.

[Warning: Overload startup will lead to vital sign failure.]

[Confirm execution?]

He clicked confirm.

The energy core popped out of the storage tank and flew toward the tattoo interface. The metal embedded into his skin; there was no blood, only light flowing. The wuling type 100's modules expanded, tracks deformed, armor flipped, and weapons unlocked one by one.

The wuling emblem pendant floated up, turning into a light sword in mid-air, stopping in front of the vehicle's hood.

"Chen Wang!" Su Ling rushed forward. "You can't carry this alone!"

"I don't intend to do it alone." He looked back at everyone. "We've all made it this far; now it's our turn to strike."

The light sword slowly lifted, pointing toward the flagship's command cabin.

"Lin Wei, find the weak point."

"The third armor seam on the port side, the energy fluctuation is abnormal."

"Su Ling, prepare to finish it off."

"Ready at any time."

"Amy, continue to interfere with the main brain."

"Trading flood restarted."

"Su Wan, keep an eye on Star Pupil's condition."

"She is holding on."

"Star Pupil." He looked at her one last time. "If I fall, you take over for me."

She nodded: "I know the frequency."

The light sword suddenly accelerated, slicing through the air. Chen Wang controlled the wuling type 100 to push forward with full power; the vehicle lifted half a foot off the ground, using the recoil to thrust the light sword toward the flagship.

The warship's Shield flickered.

It didn't penetrate completely.

But that momentary delay was seized.

The light sword cut into the metal layer, tearing open a gap. The outer wall of the command cabin ruptured, revealing a scene inside—a man sitting in the main seat, wearing a pocket watch, the hands were spinning backward.

His face looked very much like Chen Wang's.

The pocket watch's second hand jumped backward, and space began to distort. Cracks appeared on the floor of the silver hall, and the geometric patterns disintegrated. The entire Stasis Zone began to vibrate.

"Time is chaotic!" Lin Wei shouted. "He's restarting the local timeline!"

"Then let him see," Chen Wang gritted his teeth. "People are not programs."

The light sword swung again, slashing toward the pocket watch chain.

The commander raised his hand to block, his glove tearing, revealing the numbered tattoo on his arm: N-7-α.

At the same moment, the tattoo on Chen Wang's chest split open, and blood flowed down his skin.

But he didn't let go.

The cannons of the wuling type 100 all aimed at the gap, finishing their charge.

"Everyone, leave the driving area," he said.

No one moved.

"I said, leave!"

Su Ling pulled Star Pupil back, Lin Wei turned off the main power, and Su Wan took Amy Chen into the medical pod compartment. The explosion buffer layer closed automatically.

Chen Wang remained alone in the driver's seat.

He pressed the final button.

All weapons fired simultaneously.

The beam penetrated the gap, striking directly at the core of the command cabin. The temporal distortion intensified, and space cracked like glass. The commander's body began to blur, the pocket watch dropped, hitting the console.

A "ding" sound.

The sound echoed throughout the entire Stasis Zone.

Chen Wang leaned back in his seat, his breathing weak. The light of the tattoo dimmed, and the energy core retracted into the storage tank. The light sword disappeared, and the wuling emblem fell back into his hand.

Outside, the warship lost power and slowly descended. The Shield was gone, but the other five warships still maintained formation, their cannons recharging.

"They won't stop." Lin Wei walked out, her fingers sliding across the data pad. "This was just the first wave."

Su Wan came over to check Chen Wang's injury: "Too much blood loss, need to treat it immediately."

"Wait." He raised his hand to stop her. "Confirm one thing first."

He looked at Star Pupil: "Do you still remember when the vehicle name first responded to you?"

She nodded: "I remember."

"That's enough." He gasped for air. "They can copy genes, they can forge memories, they can create another me... but they cannot create everything we have experienced together."

Amy Chen stood at the vehicle entrance, looking at the wreckage outside: "The next wave of attacks will come within seven minutes."

"How much ammunition is left?"

"The electromagnetic cannon has 41% left, and the antimatter cannon needs twelve minutes to charge."

"What about the Shield?"

"It can block two direct hits."

Chen Wang closed his eyes, then opened them again: "Cut off all unnecessary systems, focus the energy on weapons and life support."

"You want to fight it out?"

"Not fight it out." He looked at the main control screen. "Wait for them to make a mistake."

Lin Wei suddenly looked up: "The nanobots are changing! Their movement doesn't look like they are executing orders, it looks more like they are fleeing."

"Fleeing?" Su Ling walked to the window. "What are they afraid of?"

Deep in the hall, the undamaged patterns rearranged themselves. A new light screen appeared, showing the underground structure of the Stasis Zone. A deep area was activating, flashing red.

"Something down there has woken up," Amy Chen said.

Chen Wang slowly stood up, holding onto the edge of the seat. His steps were unsteady as he walked toward the main control console.

He placed his hand on the kindling interface.

System prompt: [Carrier vital signs below safety threshold. Continue authorization?]

He clicked yes.

The holographic map expanded, adding a new path, with the destination being an unnamed room, codenamed "Origin."

"This is the real control console," he said.

Su Ling picked up her gun: "Then you have to walk in there alive."

Lin Wei removed the panel: "I'll rewire the circuits, prioritizing mobility."

Su Wan opened the medicine cabinet: "Injecting a stimulant, it will last at most forty minutes."

Amy Chen stood by his side: "The chance of surviving this path is less than 15%."

Chen Wang looked at the red dot on the map and said softly: "But we have never chosen the safe path."

He pressed the start button.

The wuling type 100 let out a low roar, its tracks turning, crushing through the ice shards as it drove toward the depths of the hall.