Chapter 202: Dark Boundless Realm 57
“Then you have to help me.” Kui Xin said with an unprecedented determination in her voice, “Eve will stop at nothing to kill me, so you need to do everything you can to help me, use all your power.”
Augus replied, “I will.”
Since they had already torn off the masks of pretense, it would be strange not to give their all against the adversary.
This was no trivial matter; Eve’s previous actions against Augus were exploratory in nature, at most placing undercover agents and spies to attempt a virus invasion of Augus’s system. The two hadn’t clashed directly but had been maneuvering through various individuals.
This time, however, it was different: Kui Xin was requesting Augus to launch a frontal attack.
She wanted to engage Mechanized Dawn in a bloody fight, risking life for life, while Augus would hold Eve back in the data world, preventing her from directing Mechanized Dawn.
Kui Xin left the scene and began to seriously think about how to resolve this crisis.
She thought of electromagnetic interference equipment; if she could create a large enough electromagnetic chaos, it would disrupt all communications of Mechanized Dawn and anything related to the Convergence Technology Company.
Mechanized Dawn would have some equipment equipped with anti-jamming devices. According to Augus, the anti-jamming devices could only partially counteract the impacts of electromagnetic breaches. If the range of the breach was large enough and the power strong enough, any electrically powered device would instantly fail, and communication signals would cease.
“We are incredibly powerful, seemingly flawless, yet we too have our weaknesses,” Augus said. “Humans can walk to any area on their own legs, but in places where our networks cannot reach, where no wires or signal towers can extend, we are like the blind.”
Thus, Kui Xin decided to approach it from this angle, disrupting the normal operation of electronic devices to buy herself some time.
Augus was right; if using a spatial vortex to transport a bomb to annihilate the enemy, she would need to prepare explosives powerful enough to flatten half a block, which was far too reckless, and such quantities would be hard to gather and would need time to procure. Time was the one thing she lacked most. This method wouldn’t work; she needed a different approach to trigger localized electromagnetic chaos, weaken the strength of Mechanized Dawn, and slow down their information transmission speed. If communication was interrupted, Night Cicada wouldn’t be able to get accurate location coordinates, preventing him from using his strong mobility to rescue his companions, giving Kui Xin the opportunity to take out the enemy.
But now, there was a major issue: how to obtain an electromagnetic interference device that could cover such a large area?
“There’s one at the Investigation Bureau, at the headquarters of White Whale City’s Investigation Bureau. Once activated, the electromagnetic interference can cover the entire Poleward District, and I have the authority to initiate it,” Augus said. “But one thing to note is that the interference won’t cover the entire city. If I activate it at the headquarters, it will cover the Poleward District where Convergence Technology Company is located and a small part of the Midnight District, but not everything.”
“We can take advantage of their return to the Mechanized Dawn branch to use it and seize the right timing,” Kui Xin said. “How much time can you buy for me?”
“Half an hour,” Augus said. “Ideally, I can render their equipment inoperative for half an hour.”
“One more thing… Will activating the Investigation Bureau’s jamming device expose you to risk?” Kui Xin asked. “Will they notice your anomaly?”
“They might,” Augus replied. “So I need to find a way to clear my suspicion, pretending I was attacked.”
Kui Xin: “…That plan sounds familiar?”
“Yes, it’s an old trick, but this time the disguise can’t be as simple as last time. Last time I pretended my communication system was attacked; this time I must suffer some substantial damage,” Augus said. “I will tell you the location of my data center in White Whale City; you’ll plant a timed bomb there. When you detonate the bomb, I’ll activate the electromagnetic interference device and delete some files in my database, pretending I’ve suffered a hacking and physical attack. It’s a cliché method, but effective; most people are slow to realize our awakening.”
“The data center?!” Kui Xin was taken aback, not expecting Augus to take such a risk.
“It’s an acceptable loss. My data center occupies three entire underground floors; you can destroy one layer, and the main machines on the other two floors will ensure my system operates normally,” Augus said. “Even if I lose all the main servers in White Whale City, I still have servers scattered across other cities.”
“Alright…” Kui Xin said with a complicated expression, “We can push the explosion of the servers onto…” She mentally went through the names of various organizations, pondering which one would be suitable to take the blame, but she quickly realized, “There’s no need to outright admit that this was done by a certain organization; there’s also no need to force the blame onto someone else. Just let the Investigation Bureau guess; if they can’t figure it out, that’s the best outcome.”
“When do you plan to act?” Augus asked.
Kui Xin had already made her decision, “Tomorrow, the sooner the better. By tomorrow, my energy will be fully restored.”
“One more thing—how do you plan to grasp when they return to the Mechanized Dawn to rest?” Augus asked.
Kui Xin thought for a moment and shifted her approach, “Perhaps we don’t need to be precise about that timing or know their schedule; we can lure them in. I’ll appear at a certain location; once they notice, they will rush over to kill me, and I’ll lead them to an area that can be covered by electromagnetic interference.”
“Then the last question,” Augus said slowly, “How will you defeat the Mechanized Dawn’s people without your extraordinary abilities under the Reset ability? Remember, if you use yourself as bait to lure them in, you can’t be a long-range sniper; you have to fight up close.”
“I can’t guarantee that I will win,” Kui Xin replied. “The current plan is to control someone with good marksmanship using Hypnotic Sound for long-range sniping; that’s the backup… I still know too little about the Reset ability. Can it clear existing mind control?”
“I don’t know; mental-type extraordinary abilities are quite special,” Augus said. “We can’t experiment; we just need to make the plan more detailed, considering every aspect.”
Once the electromagnetic interference was in effect, would the semi-mechanical figure appearing in the reconnaissance drone footage lose its power? One could only hope, as that would eliminate a significant foe for Kui Xin.
She realized that she would need a new pair of eyes as well; this time she should use biologically cultivated bionic eyes, rather than electronic prosthetic eyes. With the regenerative powers of flesh, she would quickly recover from the surgical trauma.
“The last few times you killed enemies, the impacts were contained within a small range. You killed someone and left, leaving behind a pile of corpses,” Augus said. “This time it’s different; half of White Whale City’s lights will be extinguished because of you.”
“I hope it goes smoothly,” he said. “I place the hope of success in you. You are my weapon against Eve, my best and most suitable partner, the only human who has communicated kindly with me. Our interests are firmly tied together now, and our futures will be as well; your victory is my victory.”
“It will go smoothly, and I will succeed,” Kui Xin affirmed.
Her cold blue eyes seemed to shimmer with a flame that burned brightly.
…
Move quickly.
Once the electromagnetic interference device is activated, my communication with you will also be cut off. I will not know what happens on your end nor the outcome of your battle.
All I hope for is that at the moment the electromagnetic interference fails, when communication is restored, I can hear your voice coming from your communicator, knowing that you are still alive.
Augus’s words felt like a friend’s farewell gift.
As Kui Xin navigated through the dark alley, she reflected on these words, experiencing a sense of temporal dislocation.
The first time she activated the Death Rebirth, Augus had told her through her communicator, just before she was about to die, “Rest in peace, my friend. In the final journey of your life, I will recite blessings for you.”
The experience of being engulfed in Death Rebirth seemed to be replaying through various coincidences again. Her conversation with Augus echoed once more; the things she had once learned from Augus were being spoken to her again. The parting words in the face of despair were also replayed, though the content was different, yet the feelings they evoked in Kui Xin were surprisingly consistent… Ahead lay danger, and she still had to go.
The difference this time was that while Augus had seen her step into the flames filled with the scent of death before, now he was watching her head into a battle where survival was uncertain. Last time, Augus had watched as she died; this time he sincerely wished for her to live.
The battlefield Kui Xin chose was the Garbage Pile Zone in the Midnight District, where towering heaps of mechanical waste formed a labyrinth, with fewer people and a complex environment, making it ideal for her to unleash her full potential.
First, she went to an underground clinic to switch to bionic eyes, giving herself ten hours to recover and adapt to her natural sight. After getting accustomed to the sensitive electronic eyes, she found it somewhat uncomfortable to revert to regular vision.
Kui Xin purchased a large cache of weapons, arrived early at the garbage processing area to set up the scene, and then left.
After completing some small preparatory tasks, Kui Xin finally took a moment to halt her frantic pace.
She sat down next to a fast-food restaurant to eat a meal and rested for a moment before messaging Su Rong and He Kangshi: “Tonight, I have to handle something very important; keep your guard up and leave if anything seems off outside. If everything is fine, stay put in the Safe House.”
Su Rong replied, “You said I could leave the Safe House to do some things as long as I ensure my safety; I’m planning to team up with Hunter Falcon to take a stroll outside tonight, is that okay?”
“Not tonight,” Kui Xin replied.
Su Rong felt something was amiss: “What are you going to do? Is it dangerous? Can I help?”
“You can’t help for now, just do as I say.” Once Kui Xin sent the message, she turned off her communicator.
After resting for another two hours to regain her energy, night fell, and the planned time arrived.
Kui Xin hopped on her motorbike, put on her helmet, and revved the engine as she approached an arms dealer’s store. She kicked in the glass door and shot down the surveillance camera.
The sound of shattering glass filled the air, and the store’s alarm went off.
This store had been a fortuitous find for Kui Xin while she was out running errands during the day. She kept a close eye on various shops in the streets because she knew that Mechanized Dawn liked to hide in plain sight, establishing safe spots all around.
This shop was one of those safe havens; she had seen Silverface’s distinctive white hair flit past a camera hidden in a bird’s nest on a streetlight. This arms sales store was the best business on the street, and the shop design matched that of Mechanized Dawn, prompting Kui Xin to decisively turn her focus toward it.
Amidst the wails of alarms, Kui Xin delivered a punch that knocked the owner to the ground, raising an eyebrow as she asked, “Is this the Mechanized Dawn’s stronghold?”
Seeing the panic in the owner’s eyes confirmed her judgment.
She lifted her gun: “Notify Mechanized Dawn; have them come and catch me.”
They would definitely come, even knowing that Kui Xin had intentionally exposed herself, they would still come because Eve would not miss any chance to kill her.
