103: Chapter 104 Eighty-five percent

The troops returned to the base on the evening of the third day.

Eight military trucks drove in a single file through the base's west gate. The Thunder Warriors in the back jumped down in silence, their power armor still stained with the dust and salt of Manila Fortress.

TW-188 was carried down. He lay on a temporary welded metal stretcher; the three bullet holes in his chest had received battlefield first aid, but his left knee joint was completely totaled, the entire left leg crooked from the knee down.

TW-201 was standing at the gate as he was carried through.

TW-201 and TW-188 were from the same batch. Forty-five days ago, they had woken up on the same production line and been assigned to the same squad. Three weeks ago, TW-201 had been wounded in the right shoulder by shrapnel during a patrol and stayed at the base to recover, so he hadn't gone to Manila Fortress.

He looked at TW-188 on the stretcher without speaking. TW-188 saw him too, baring a row of blood-stained teeth in a grin.

"Don't make that face," TW-188 said. "I'm not gonna die."

TW-201's lips twitched, but in the end, he just nodded and followed the stretcher toward the Medical Area.

C-19 was the last one to get off the truck.

His left arm was simply bandaged with a piece of cloth, and the left arm section of his power armor had been removed. It had been taken off back at Manila Fortress; the heat-deformed metal had jammed the joint, making it impossible to move without removing it. Now his left arm was only covered by the undersuit, the burned skin visible through holes in the lining—red, black, and blistered.

After getting off the truck, he didn't go to the Medical Area. He walked straight toward the Command Building in the center of the base.

Corvin was in the corridor of the Command Building.

He leaned against the wall, holding a cup of water in his hand.

C-19 paused when he saw him.

The last time they met, Corvin's hands had been shaking—a subtle, constant tremor that sent ripples across the surface of the water when he held a cup. His face had been ashen, his eyes sunken, and his lips cracked.

Now his hands weren't shaking. The fingers holding the water cup were steady, and the surface of the water inside was calm. His complexion had improved as well; it wasn't a healthy glow, but at least it was no longer that deathly gray.

"Stabilizers?" C-19 asked.

Corvin gave a small nod.

"How does it feel?"

Corvin thought about it.

"It's like a rope that was about to snap has been spliced back together," he said. "But that joint won't hold for long."

C-19 didn't respond.

Corvin took a sip of water and looked at C-19's left arm.

"I heard you dismantled a walking vehicle by yourself."

"I didn't dismantle it. I just gave it a single stab."

"Stabbing a four-meter-tall walking vehicle to death with one strike." Corvin's lips curled slightly. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"

"It has weaknesses. The hydraulic lines and the gaps in the heat sinks."

"So you just charged in."

"Yeah."

Corvin looked at him.

"There are two more."

C-19 remained silent.

"What do you plan to do?"

"Get stronger."

Corvin's hand holding the water cup paused.

Silence lasted for a few seconds.

Then Corvin finished the rest of the water in his cup in one gulp and placed the empty cup on the corridor's windowsill.

"My genes have been collapsing since the day I left the factory," he said. "Collapsing every single day. The Stabilizers are only slowing it down."

He looked at C-19.

"Do you know that feeling? You know you're breaking, but you don't know when you'll completely fall apart. It could be tomorrow, next month, or a year from now. You don't know. You only know that it's happening."

C-19 watched him.

"So if there was a chance," Corvin said, "even if it was risky, to stop yourself from breaking further, would you take it?"

"Yes," C-19 said.

Corvin nodded.

"Then go."

He pushed off the wall and walked toward the other end of the corridor. After a few steps, he stopped, without looking back.

"Don't die."

Then he left.

C-19 stood in the corridor and watched his back disappear around the corner.

Corvin's gait was a bit lighter than before, each step taken carefully. The Stabilizers had improved his condition, but he knew how fragile that improvement was.

C-19 turned and continued deeper into the Command Building.

Seven hundred kilometers away.

In the operator pod, Li Cang was waiting for the moment C-19 returned to the base and finished his recovery.

Now, the time had come.

He opened C-19's personal panel.

【C-1: 121 points】

【Base: T2】

【Collapse Level: 8%】

【Injuries: Second-degree burns on left arm, treated, does not affect upgrade】

【Status: Upgrade executable】

Then he opened the T3 Base Upgrade interface.

【T3 Base Upgrade】

【Target: C-19】

【Required Resources: GP 1500 + abyss alloy 200 units + High-Energy Battery 500 units】

【Current Resources: GP 2615 ✓ + abyss alloy 323 ✓ + High-Energy Battery 1230 ✓】

【Success Rate: 85%】

【Failure Consequence: Gene chain collapse, fatal】

【Upgrade Time: 6 hours】

【Post-Upgrade Collapse Level: Reset to 0%】

Li Cang stared at that 85% for a long time.

Eighty-five percent success, fifteen percent death. It was written in black and white on the panel. In previous decisions, the risks had been vague, only becoming apparent after the fact. This time, the risk was explicit.

He was gambling. Gambling with C-19's life.

He closed his eyes.

Kara Enzo.

Two secret factories.

Two walking vehicles.

The constantly expanding Sun Warriors.

Manila Fortress. Nine people dead.

TW-188 lying on a stretcher.

TW-078 standing in the ruins with two rounds left in his gun, never having fired a single shot from start to finish.

C-19. Charging a walking vehicle alone. Running a hundred meters in seven seconds. Driving a Chainsword into the heat sinks. Left arm burned by hydraulic oil.

What if they faced two walking vehicles next time?

A T2 C-19 wouldn't hold out.

He needed T3.

Li Cang opened his eyes.

He moved the cursor to the confirm button.

【Confirm execution of T3 Base Upgrade?】

【Target: C-19, SS-rank, 121 points】

【Consumption: GP 1500 + abyss alloy 200 + High-Energy Battery 500】

【Success Rate: 85%】

【This operation cannot be undone】

His finger hovered for three seconds.

Then he pressed it.

【Confirmed】

【Resources deducted】

【GP: 2615 → 1115】

【abyss alloy: 323 → 123】

【High-Energy Battery: 1230 → 730】

【T3 Base Upgrade program initiated】

【Estimated completion time: 6 hours】

Base Basement Level 3. Modification Room.

A ten-meter-square room with reinforced concrete walls and a floor covered in conductive alloy plates. In the center of the room was a Modification Pod—an oval container made of metal and glass, its interior filled with tubes and injection needles, connected to gene-editing equipment and a nutrient solution circulation system on the walls.

C-19 stood in front of the Modification Pod.

He had already taken off his power armor. Without it, C-19 was a size smaller than when armored, but still much larger than an ordinary person. Standing two meters thirty tall with broad shoulders, his muscle-clad torso was covered in old scars. His left arm was wrapped in medical bandages from elbow to wrist, with pale yellow interstitial fluid faintly seeping through.

He looked at the Modification Pod.

The lid was open. The nutrient solution was already half-filled, the pale green liquid glowing slightly under the lights. Injection needles were neatly arranged along the pod walls.

He had lain in something like this before. When he transformed from an ordinary human into a Thunder Warrior, he had spent seventy-two hours in the pod. When he came out, his height had gone from one meter eighty to two meters thirty, his weight had doubled, and his bone density had tripled.

He didn't know what the success rate had been that time. No one had told him.

He didn't know this time either.

But he knew there was a risk. He could feel it. His body was signaling a warning, his muscles tensing slightly, and the hair on the back of his neck standing up.

C-19 took a deep breath.

Then he stepped into the Modification Pod.

The nutrient solution covered his shins.

It was warm.

There was a faint chemical smell.

He lay down.

The nutrient solution washed over his chest, neck, and chin. Injection needles extended from the pod walls, piercing into his arms, thighs, and both sides of his spine.

It didn't hurt; the needles were very thin. But he could feel something being injected into his body through them—cold, spreading from the injection points along his blood vessels toward his limbs.

The lid began to close.

Through the narrowing gap, he saw the ceiling of the Modification Room. White lights. Gray concrete.

The lid sealed shut.

Click. The airtight latches locked into place.

The nutrient solution continued to rise until it covered his face. He closed his eyes.

The pale green liquid swayed gently around him. The injection needles continuously delivered the gene-editing vectors. Outside the Modification Pod, the equipment began to run, emitting a low hum.

Six hours.

Starting now.