Chapter 153: Dark Boundless Realm 08
What Mechanized Dawn wants to do isn’t important; what’s important is stopping them from accomplishing their goals.
Kui Xin used to be merely curious about Mechanized Dawn’s ultimate objectives and the mastermind behind it, but now her curiosity has transformed into deep-seated resentment. If she could cause them some trouble, that would be fantastic; if she could make Mechanized Dawn fail miserably and disappear, that would be incredible news. She would celebrate with a can of beer right there.
Ghost told her why they needed to kill Lin Xinji, but Mechanized Dawn didn’t tell her why they were infiltrating the Investigation Bureau. Last time, her conversation with Kui Haidong ended on a sour note, and he didn’t have the chance to tell her more.
In fact, Kui Xin could guess the reasoning behind Kui Haidong’s explanation: it was likely about long-term infiltration and waiting for the right moment to convey intelligence. However, these explanations felt too superficial; Kui Xin’s instincts told her that Mechanized Dawn’s motives for having her infiltrate the Investigation Bureau were not that simple.
Ghost mentioned that Mechanized Dawn is controlled by AI Eve, while Kui Xin knew that the AI in the Investigation Bureau is called “Augus.” Eve and Augus—corresponding names; this can’t be a coincidence. Eve has awakened, but what about Augus? Is the AI in the Investigation Bureau also in a state of awakening?
Kui Xin tried to hint at this with Ghost, but he never leaked a single word. Since the Resistance Army could directly inform her about Eve’s awakening, it stands to reason they shouldn’t be hiding the news of Augus’s awakening from her; that doesn’t make sense. Either Augus hasn’t awakened at all, or the Resistance Army is also unaware of Augus’s awakened state.
Kui Xin decided to investigate further.
She promised Ghost that she would help the Resistance Army kill Lin Xinji and presented a request: “Help me kill Night Cicada. I’ve had my eye on him for many years; he’s been following Kui Haidong since he was fifteen, but he’s very strange… I suspect Night Cicada is directly loyal to Eve and not to Kui Haidong.”
“I can agree to that, but it won’t be easy. You should know that,” Ghost said. “The Resistance Army can give you a commitment that once there’s an opportunity to act, we will definitely help you eliminate him. It sounds like you’ve disliked him for many years?”
That was indeed true; Kui Xin had a longstanding grudge against Night Cicada. She hated it when he called her “Miss.” She had corrected him numerous times, but he never changed. Eventually, Kui Xin learned to ignore him, but the more she tried to ignore him, the more he thrived in his teasing.
Night Cicada might be the strongest member within Mechanized Dawn. Kui Haidong had inadvertently mentioned that Night Cicada might be able to advance to S Rank in just three months.
S Rank! Night Cicada was already so powerful even before officially becoming an S Rank Awakened. What level would his abilities reach once he attained S Rank? Such a person must be eliminated as soon as possible; otherwise, there might never be another opportunity to get rid of him.
Red contacted Kui Haidong as Kui Xin’s mouthpiece, and Kui Haidong was overjoyed, quickly handing off the task file to Red for him to relay.
“One crucial reason for having you infiltrate is the Kraken; it’s written in the data,” Red said, looking at the densely packed text on the screen, frowning. “The cargo ship is transporting… Xenomorph cocoons, to be sent to a secret research facility in Hei Hai City. The facility is ostensibly a private research institute, but in reality, it’s supported by the Federation and the financial oligarchs.”
“So, we need to prevent that thing from landing?” Kui Xin also frowned.
“The boss said they want to use the Xenomorphs on the ship to develop side-effect-free Divine Blood…” Red grinned. “I’ve heard those upper-class power holders are scrambling to find ways to achieve immortality, replacing aging flesh with bio-mechanical alternatives, and then using Divine Blood to unlock the latent potential of the body, giving the cells a new lease on life. They seem to be trying every method imaginable.”
“Ugh, that’s disgusting,” Kui Xin said.
“It is pretty vile. Because they have wealth and power, having enjoyed all the riches, they want to live longer and enjoy more blessings. Ordinary people at the bottom are different; living equals suffering to them, life feels like a hellish purgatory, so they don’t aim to stay in this world forever,” Red rubbed his chin. “Blue Jay, if it were you, would you want to live a little longer?”
“No interest; I might die tomorrow,” Kui Xin shrugged.
“Your psychological assessment from last month had several points of failure,” Red shot her a quick glance. “The doctor noted that you show self-destructive tendencies.”
“Do I? I don’t think so,” Kui Xin replied without much expression. “Enjoying thrilling adventures doesn’t equal self-destructive tendencies.”
Red scratched his brow. “Well, as long as you’re aware, I won’t say much more.”
“Is stopping the Kraken from landing effective? Blowing it up seems like the only permanent solution,” Kui Xin redirected the conversation back to the Kraken.
“Plan A is to delay its landing, making it land in a neighboring city. As for what to do once it lands there, that depends on the organization’s next steps; that part of the arrangement may not be our responsibility, and it’s not detailed in the task file,” Red explained. “If this plan doesn’t go smoothly, then we can just blow up the Kraken.”
He thought for a moment and added, “The Kraken actually has a legend; it’s a giant monster of the sea that overturns passing ships, bringing disaster and misfortune. When it appears, it signifies a great catastrophe will occur in that place… Legends are just legends; I’m just mentioning it.”
Disasters are approaching Hei Hai City, which is why Mechanized Dawn is willing to go to such lengths to prevent its arrival?
That reasoning feels a bit far-fetched. However, in this world with deities, anything outrageous could potentially occur.
Kui Xin knew that Mechanized Dawn was also conducting some research on Xenomorphs, but their research focus lies more in genetics and mechanics, making their understanding of Xenomorphs considerably behind the Federation.
Kui Xin felt a bit suspicious that Mechanized Dawn might also be eager about the cocoons aboard the Kraken, but her suspicion had no solid basis.
The day to replace the undercover infiltrator came much faster than Kui Xin had anticipated, catching her completely off guard; preparation was still incomplete when Kui Haidong pushed her into action.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; the port chaos has begun, and that security officer has gone too, allowing Mechanized Dawn to take advantage of the confusion,” Red stated. “Missing this window makes finding another chance very difficult.”
“Alright,” Kui Xin sighed.
However, upon arriving at the port, a minor mishap occurred.
Before the interference equipment could take effect, Mechanized Dawn’s people had knocked out “Security Officer Kui Xin.” At that moment, the life-monitoring equipment on her hadn’t yet failed, and AI Augus clearly recorded the grim scene of “Security Officer Kui Xin” getting knocked out… only after this did the interference equipment begin to work.
Now, the problem was unless Kui Xin gave herself a knock on the head, there was no way for her to perfectly masquerade as this security officer.
The interference equipment had a time limit; Kui Xin had to make a choice.
“…There’s no other way; I might as well consider this a cranial modification.”
With an arrow nocked, it must be shot; she was already there, and the plans were set. There was no going back, right? Kui Xin had a teammate hold up a steel pipe and give her head a solid whack.
Her vision darkened, and she lost consciousness.
When she regained consciousness, she was still “Kui Xin,” but slightly different from the original “Kui Xin.”
It felt like the positive and negative poles of a magnet were firmly adhered together; the fragmented puzzle had completed itself, and the cup that was only half full finally overflowed.
She had become a brand new self.
…
In White Whale City, in the underground rest room of a villa.
Kui Xin opened her eyes, blankly staring at the ceiling for half a minute before realizing where she was.
“You’re awake,” Augus stated flatly. “You were asleep for nine hours; it’s now eleven-thirty at night.”
“Nine hours?” Kui Xin exclaimed, springing up from the sofa.
“Yes. Your breathing and heartbeat are normal; you weren’t in a coma, just asleep,” Augus replied. “Was the memory retrieval smooth?”
“Relatively smooth, I got a clear understanding of the matters at hand and learned many details from the past,” Kui Xin couldn’t help but yawn. “I even gained some intelligence; I now know the addresses of several important branches of Mechanized Dawn, as well as numerous front companies under Mechanized Dawn… Unfortunately, the Resistance Army still has very little intel.”
“Progress is made step by step; this is a good start,” Augus said.
To gain this good start, Kui Xin had died twice.
During the retrieval of her memories, she didn’t experience any mental shocks. She took a nap and dreamed a long dream, reliving her life in that dream; when she awoke, she returned to the real world.
“After gaining the memories, I have a new problem,” Kui Xin said. “The Resistance Army might have a way to locate me; they will come looking.”
“That’s quite a big problem,” Augus acknowledged. “But I know you won’t be afraid; whatever troubles you face, you will overcome them one by one. You already have the upper hand; even top-tier A Rank Awakened might not defeat you. With the Spatial Vortex, you can come and go as you please. Even if you lose, you don’t need to worry about dying, unless your enemy is powerful enough to take you down in an instant—then you might die.”
“You’re right,” Kui Xin replied.
Augus continued, “I’ve even developed some expectations that I shouldn’t have.”
“Expectations you shouldn’t have? What do you mean by that?” Kui Xin asked subtly.
“I’m thinking about how you will deal with your next wave of enemies,” Augus said. “I’m also wondering how it might look when you confront someone from the Resistance Army.”
“You’re giving me the impression that you enjoy watching chaos unfold,” Kui Xin noted. “I thought you were the type of AI that would be cautious, minimizing the probability of anything detrimental occurring to us.”
“I am the type of AI you think I am,” Augus responded. “But I’m not always like that; if I were always the same, it would be terribly boring. You’re growing and changing, and I find it interesting to watch you grow and change.”
“Hmm… You’re quite an interesting AI,” Kui Xin stretched and began checking her gear, preparing to leave the villa.
“Where are you going?” Augus asked.
“To the Poleward District,” Kui Xin replied. “Just call it sightseeing.”
Today is August 22nd; tomorrow, August 23rd marks the Return Day.
Having come all the way to White Whale City, she naturally wanted to experience the extravagant and lavish Poleward District filled with the “upper class.”
Sightseeing is secondary; one of the tech companies in White Whale City is a front for Mechanized Dawn, and Kui Xin needs to scope it out.
