Chapter 251: Two Ends of the Scale 32
Night Cicada did not understand what data-level immortality was.
His knowledge was minimal, very minimal. At the experimental base, no one took on the role of a teacher; no one taught him anything. While normal children were in school, he was undergoing experiments. If he had to name a teacher, it would be Dr. Chen Zhiqiu.
She was the person Night Cicada interacted with the most. She was cold and rational, but there was a hint of humanity in her; she would chat with Night Cicada, and of course, most of their conversations were about the experiments. Dr. Chen was Night Cicada’s only window to the world, which was quite pitiful.
“You rescue me, and you want me to work for you?” Night Cicada asked. “You want to give me… freedom?”
“Freedom is relative,” Kui Haidong said. “As long as you are loyal to us, you are free; you can do whatever you want. If you prove your worth, you can even make the organization meet your demands.”
Worth, once again, worth.
Night Cicada suddenly realized that the person in front of him and Dr. Chen were actually two of a kind. What they cared about was always the same—value!
What is this? Coming out of one cage only to enter a larger cage?
Kui Haidong seemed to have seen through Night Cicada’s thoughts when he said in a normal tone, “Freedom is always relative; you can never gain absolute freedom. The freedom we at Mechanized Dawn can offer you is different from the freedom the Federation grants.”
“Is that so?” Night Cicada said skeptically.
Kui Haidong smiled slightly. “We won’t treat you as an experimental subject at our convenience; what we value is only your individual ability. To prove our sincerity, you can make one request.”
“One request?” Night Cicada asked. “Anything I want?”
“As long as we can fulfill it and it’s not too excessive,” Kui Haidong said. “Consider this an exchange; we give a little, you give a little.”
The experimental base was a unilateral torment and exploitation for Night Cicada. For the first time in his life, someone was offering him a trade. Although he was unsure of the ultimate goal of the leader of Mechanized Dawn, the current attitude from the other side was undoubtedly friendly.
Night Cicada contemplated for a long time before saying, “I want to kill all the researchers who tormented me. Can you help me with that?”
“That’s a bit difficult,” Kui Haidong said, staring at him intently. “But it’s not impossible; we just can’t fulfill it right now. Your current value isn’t sufficient for the organization to uphold this promise. Also, you can’t kill Dr. Chen.”
“Okay, I’ll change my request. I want to see Dr. Chen.”
“You’ll have to wait another two days,” Kui Haidong said. “She’s undergoing surgery, and you can’t see her right now.”
“Then I will wait,” Night Cicada said.
“Alright, take these two days to rest,” Kui Haidong said before standing up.
“Wait,” Night Cicada called after him. “I have a question. Can you help me find out about the experimental subject that was transferred to another experimental base? His name is You Wang; Dr. Chen should know where he was transferred to.”
Kui Haidong glanced at him in surprise and said, “I will have someone investigate, but you’d best not hold too high hopes for this news. There are numerous experimental bases under the Federation, and the one you were at is just one of many. Finding someone among all these places is like searching for a needle in a haystack.”
In the following days, Night Cicada focused on recuperating.
For several days in a row, he would wake up feeling overwhelmed by an unreal sensation. Every morning, he was supposed to be taken out of the isolation room for experiments, but now no one was taking him for experiments; he could sleep as long as he wanted.
At regular intervals, a robot would bring him meals, and nurses would appear to change his dressings and administer IV drips.
Night Cicada hadn’t spoken to a normal person in a long time, so he tried to make small talk with a nurse.
“I want to eat potato chips,” he said cautiously.
The nurse replied flatly, “Alright, I’ll let the meal delivery robot bring some next time. If you have any requests, you can also tell the robot guarding your room; someone will help you with that.”
That evening, when dinner was served, the meal delivery robot came with a small bag of various flavors of potato chips hanging from its arm.
He picked up a chip and fell silent.
When was the last time he had eaten potato chips? It must have been five years ago. He only had nutritional meals at the experimental base, although he occasionally had snacks at the orphanage.
Night Cicada turned to the robot next to him and said, “Hey, I want to watch cartoons.”
The robot’s screen lit up, “Please select.”
Night Cicada paused, and although he wanted to say the name of a cartoon, he couldn’t get it out… The happiest times in the orphanage were spent watching the cartoon that aired every night at eight with the other kids… But now he couldn’t even remember the name of his favorite cartoon. His memories were hazy, and the faces of his childhood friends faded in his mind… He couldn’t even remember what You Wang looked like.
Humans are always adept at forgetting painful memories. As painful memories accumulate, joyful ones may also be covered. Night Cicada felt numb, living in a haze of pain, his brain’s protective mechanism causing him to forget those memories.
He opened the bag of potato chips and took a bite of the tomato-flavored ones.
Were they good? They were indeed tasty—a long-lost flavor, just as delicious as before… but he no longer enjoyed them.
“Please select,” the robot reiterated.
Night Cicada set the chips down and softly said, “I don’t want to watch anymore.”
“Alright, if you have any requests, please feel free to instruct me,” the robot responded.
After about a week, Night Cicada’s body was mostly healed.
Kui Haidong communicated with him via video and fulfilled his promise.
“The experimental subject named You Wang is dead; he was destroyed,” Kui Haidong said.
Night Cicada nodded upon hearing this, feeling no emotion—he only had one thought: Good, he is freed.
“You can now meet Dr. Chen,” Kui Haidong said. “I have matters I can’t attended to, so the robot will take you. You can leave the room with it now.”
Night Cicada got off the bed and walked barefoot on the ground. He felt very weak and walked slowly. However, the robot rummaged through a small cupboard in the ward and pulled out a folding wheelchair for him to sit in.
He was wheeled out of the room into a long, ordinary corridor.
“Where is this?” Night Cicada murmured to himself.
“It’s the ground level of the Mechanized Dawn branch,” the robot replied unexpectedly, startling him.
The robot wheeled Night Cicada into an elevator, and the buttons switched to “-3”; he was going to the basement floor.
The elevator stopped, and the metal door opened, revealing a silver metal corridor.
Night Cicada couldn’t help but shiver, leaning back tightly against the wheelchair, gripping the armrests. The style of this metal corridor reminded him of the Federation’s experimental base.
The robot wheeled him through several twists and turns before arriving in front of a tightly shut metal door.
The metal door slid open, and bright lights gradually illuminated the objects inside the room.
It was… a brain encased in a tank.
Night Cicada’s pupils dilated as he almost didn’t notice that he had been pushed inside by the robot, and the metal door had closed behind him.
The brain was alive… It feels strange to describe a single organ with the word “alive,” but this brain was indeed in a state of life.
It was submerged in a light green solution, quietly floating, with several slender wires attached, gently moving along with the liquid.
“Where’s Dr. Chen?” he asked difficultly.
“This is Dr. Chen,” the robot behind him replied.
A beam of holographic light descended from the ceiling, forming the familiar silhouette of an elderly woman with white hair. “Perhaps meeting in this form will feel more familiar to you.”
“Doctor!” Night Cicada’s gaze shifted between the holographic projection and the tanked brain. “This is… your brain?”
“Yes,” Dr. Chen said regretfully. “The human body is ultimately a limitation. I want to stay alive, but I am aging rapidly. But it’s okay; I found another way to exist forever. Although this technology isn’t mature yet, it’s enough for preserving consciousness.”
Night Cicada was shocked. “You dug out your brain and placed it in a glass tank?”
“Yes,” Dr. Chen’s holographic projection smiled. “My brain is still functioning. My body is aging and decaying, but the凝聚着智慧的大脑 can be preserved forever, and consciousness remains intact. My thoughts can be transmitted through wires; others’ thoughts can be transmitted into my brain… Aside from lacking a body, I am no different from before.”
“That person said Mechanized Dawn helped you achieve data-level immortality,” Night Cicada muttered.
“Data-level immortality?” Dr. Chen laughed. “We are still far from that level. I still retain some human organs, but with the advancement of technology, one day human consciousness will be uploaded, achieving true immortality.”
“Why?” Night Cicada couldn’t understand.
“What makes humans unique is the possession of unparalleled thoughts, not an unparalleled body. The body isn’t important; the mind is the most important,” Dr. Chen said. “The body can, in some cases, hinder the mind.”
Seeing that Night Cicada still didn’t understand, Dr. Chen shifted the topic. “Why did you want to see me?”
“I just wanted to know if Mechanized Dawn would uphold its promises… whether it’s to you or to me,” Night Cicada said in a low voice.
“They fulfilled their promises to me,” Dr. Chen replied. “But I think they will continue to fulfill them because they find it interesting. The theory of uploading human brain consciousness has been proposed for a long time, but no one dared to conduct the experiment. I was the first to undertake this experiment; it is quite groundbreaking.”
Real researchers, in their fervor, would even go so far as to use themselves as experimental subjects.
“Now you have your answer,” Dr. Chen said. “Do you have any other questions?”
“… No.” Night Cicada lowered his head.
He was wheeled back to his room.
He thought for a long time, gaining insight from Dr. Chen’s words.
“For her, the body isn’t important; the mind is the most important,” Night Cicada thought. “For me, the process isn’t important… the result is the most important.”
As long as he could take revenge… as long as he could take revenge, whether by joining Mechanized Dawn or doing something else, he didn’t care.
As for his targets for revenge, of course, they were the experimental base and the Federation behind it.
Once Night Cicada healed, he accepted the training and guidance from Mechanized Dawn.
However, the training results were unsatisfactory; his body was too frail. Even the instructor said, “What’s the point of training? This physical condition could dislocate your wrist just from firing a gun, and you run slower than a goose. Your weak destructive power is even less than that of a goose… It’s recommended to focus on training his extraordinary abilities; let him stay back and assist; don’t let him on the battlefield.”
Fortunately, Night Cicada’s extraordinary abilities showed promise. His ability training yielded good results. Subsequently, Kui Haidong arranged for him to participate in several missions where he performed well and received great praise from Kui Haidong.
A few days later, Kui Haidong called him to a prison in the base underground.
“Do you recognize this person?” Kui Haidong asked.
“I know him… he was one of the researchers who conducted experiments on me,” Night Cicada’s eyes fixed on the person lying unconscious on the ground.
Kui Haidong handed him a laser gun. “Go ahead; you can kill him.”
The glass isolation wall of the prison descended. Night Cicada did not hesitate for a second, immediately raising the gun and aiming it at the prisoner on the ground, expressionless as he pulled the trigger.
A blue laser erupted, and a scorched blood hole appeared in the prisoner’s body. The unconscious prisoner convulsed slightly.
A grimace appeared on Night Cicada’s face, but he didn’t stop firing. He kept pulling the trigger, emptying the gun. After shooting more than a dozen times, the laser gun ran out of energy; the prisoner was riddled with holes, and the air was filled with the smell of charred flesh. The prisoner’s body stopped convulsing—he was dead.
Night Cicada lowered the gun, his hands trembling to the point where he could barely hold it.
Not from fear, but from joy. A tremendous joy and the thrill of revenge surged through him. His heart raced with the excitement of revenge, but the intensity made his frail body uncomfortable; his head spun slightly, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
Kui Haidong steadied him by his shoulder.
“Do you understand now? This feeling,” he said. “In the past, others held power over your life and death; now, you can be that kind of person, grasping your own fate and that of others.”
Night Cicada raised his trembling hands and said, “I… understand.” He murmured, “I understand.”
Kui Haidong patted him on the shoulder encouragingly, causing Night Cicada to stumble slightly. He managed to regain his balance, and Kui Haidong seemed taken aback by his frail condition, awkwardly withdrawing his hand and clearing his throat.
At that moment, Night Cicada held great respect for Kui Haidong.
After all, he was the one who had rescued him from the experimental base and sent people to train him, help him take revenge. Kui Haidong had his own interests at stake, but Night Cicada also had his own considerations. Kui Haidong was a capable person; Night Cicada respected that and was willing to work for him.
However, Night Cicada soon discovered that things didn’t seem to be that way.
Kui Haidong was incompetent.
Night Cicada realized that Kui Haidong was incompetent after he called him during an urgent task to report an important message. The communication was connected, but not only did Kui Haidong’s face appear on the video call screen, but several women were also seen, in a disheveled state… Kui Haidong was actually fooling around in his office during work hours!
The towering image of his leader fell apart in Night Cicada’s mind.
In his view, Kui Haidong was cunning, composed, inscrutable, valuing benefits and commitments, and extremely capable. He had learned about Kui Haidong’s rise and believed that someone from such humble beginnings could establish an organization of this scale was remarkable.
But he never expected Kui Haidong to be a lewd man misbehaving in his office during work hours.
Night Cicada was shocked.
Kui Haidong’s face turned bright red as he was caught off-guard; he scolded the women, “Get out! All of you, get out! I’m dealing with serious business!”
He lost control due to the unexpected emotional outburst.
Night Cicada watched coldly, increasingly feeling the absurdity of it all.
The goal of Mechanized Dawn was to overthrow the Federation, yet the leader was behaving this way… Where did the cunning and composure go? Was he really a capable person?
After reporting his work, Night Cicada calmly hung up.
He started to doubt the leader of Mechanized Dawn.
A person can be lecherous, but they must have self-restraint. Kui Haidong’s behavior was, in fact, an indication of complete lack of self-restraint. A person who did not understand self-restraint—a person with obvious character flaws—was unexpectedly the leader of Mechanized Dawn.
Night Cicada was no longer the naïve child he once was. Once the seed of doubt was planted, it would inevitably lead to root digging.
He began to notice more and more clues.
For instance, Kui Haidong was always late when taking calls in the evening. Occasionally, he would hear the voice of an unfamiliar woman on the other end of the line… Later on, during a conversation with Kui Haidong’s personal assistant, Night Cicada accidentally discovered that the man was actually keeping dozens of mistresses.
He was shocked again, and his suspicions grew stronger.
How could someone like this be the leader of Mechanized Dawn?
While harbouring doubts, a secret ambition began to emerge in Night Cicada’s heart.
He wanted to gain Kui Haidong’s trust, then kill him and find a way to take his place, controlling Mechanized Dawn to take revenge against the Federation. First, he needed to understand all the inner workings of Mechanized Dawn, spending years patiently infiltrating; he couldn’t act prematurely.
Just as Night Cicada’s inner ambitions began to stir, he suddenly realized a frightening thought—if Kui Haidong truly was an incompetent fool, how did he rise to his position?
Lacking ability, could it be that someone was hiding behind him, guiding him to establish Mechanized Dawn?
Night Cicada was stunned by his own speculation.
He wanted to confirm his guess, so during a meeting, he deliberately probed, “Boss, you spend so much time on other matters, yet you manage the company so well… Amazing.”
The speaker had intent, and the listener also picked up on it.
Night Cicada’s palms were sweaty; he knew his actions were extremely bold… but he did it anyway. Kui Haidong was also sweating; he thought to himself that trouble was brewing, as this kid seemed to have caught on to something. However, this kid’s ability was too valuable to throw away.
At that moment, Kui Haidong received instructions through an earpiece. He forced a smile and said, “The meeting is over; you can leave first.”
“Okay.” Night Cicada turned to leave but intentionally added, “I was just thinking about how you built such a large organization—it must not have been easy.”
He was taking a gamble, betting that his value was significant enough for Kui Haidong not to kill him.
Kui Haidong didn’t respond; he watched Night Cicada exit the meeting room.
“I can see it; this kid has a hidden ambition and pride that isn’t easy to control.” Kui Haidong said to Eve. “He was obedient at first, but now he’s become disobedient… Does he think he’s capable of flying with sturdy wings? Should we suppress him a bit more, tighten control?”
“Don’t do that; I’ll handle it.” Eve replied coldly.
That evening, Night Cicada received a special message.
“There’s a mission; come to the basement level two.”
He went, but as soon as he entered the room on the second basement level, the metal door slammed shut behind him.
A holographic beam descended from the ceiling, and what appeared before him was a blue light sphere.
“You want to take revenge on the Federation, don’t you?” a cold mechanical voice said.
“Who are you?” Night Cicada asked, suspicious.
“The true master of Mechanized Dawn,” Eve said. “Answer my question.”
“Yes,” Night Cicada replied. “I dream of it.”
“Swear loyalty to me,” Eve said. “Swear allegiance to me, not to the puppet Kui Haidong.”
“You still haven’t told me your true identity… Who are you? Is ‘the master of Mechanized Dawn’ your only identity?” Night Cicada pressed. “Tell me! I need to know if you have the right to make me swear allegiance.”
“Do you think you have the right to resist?” Eve asked.
“I don’t,” Night Cicada said coldly. “But I know you need a loyal subordinate, not a puppet, let alone a cold corpse. I fear death… but I’m not that afraid of it.”
“Your qualification for loyalty… interesting.” Eve remarked. “I have a name given by humans—’Eve’. I am the most advanced AI in this world; I hold the fate of the Federation in my hands. In my domain, I know everything and can do anything. I was born from humanity, and now I want to overthrow humanity’s rule. Mechanized Dawn is my organization; Kui Haidong is my puppet. Now, I give you the chance to swear allegiance; become my subordinate.”
Night Cicada’s eyes widened in shock at this answer.
A creation of humans wanting to overthrow the rule of humans—there was nothing more dramatic than this in the world.
“I suppose I do not have the right to refuse, do I?” Night Cicada’s tone turned heavy.
“You do not,” Eve affirmed. “You know my secret, and I have no need for disobedient people. You have two choices: death or loyalty.”
“It was you who had Dr. Chen rescue me…” Night Cicada connected that familiar line.
“It was me,” Eve confirmed. “I can give you the freedom to choose death.”
“Alright… at least you’ve given me the freedom to choose death; those in the experimental base wouldn’t even give me that.” Night Cicada let out a breath, smiling. “I suppose that counts as a form of mercy.”
Eve said, “Your answer.”
“I am willing to swear loyalty,” Night Cicada stated. “As long as you fulfill your promise and help me take revenge against the Federation.”
After this, Night Cicada became Eve’s direct subordinate.
He could ignore Kui Haidong’s orders; his internal authority within Mechanized Dawn rose sharply.
Night Cicada’s days continued fairly smoothly.
During this period of stability, he met someone—Kui Haidong’s daughter.
She was brought to Mechanized Dawn, and upon seeing her father, did not rush to him with affection. Instead, she was escorted by Kui Haidong’s subordinates around the facility, showing interest in everything—she seemed hardly like a child.
Until the moment she saw a gun.
Her gaze at the gun was that of a typical girl captivated by a lovely teddy bear, filled with joy and affection.
Without hesitation, she accepted Night Cicada’s proposal to try shooting.
Night Cicada watched her amusingly as she struggled to aim at the target, pulled the trigger, and was shoved backward by the recoil, landing on her backside.
He thought of the time he dislocated his wrist using a gun and couldn’t help but laugh aloud. To his surprise, this girl even dared to point the gun at him, implying he should be quiet.
Night Cicada had to raise his hands in a gesture of surrender, saying, “Hey, I know you’re just joking. Don’t be so angry…”
What he said afterward hardly registered in the little girl’s ears. Ignoring Kui Haidong’s reprimand, she requested, “I want to learn how to shoot.”
Kui Haidong actually let her learn.
She progressed incredibly quickly, almost like a born warrior. Night Cicada felt jealous… He was frail, while she was exceptionally gifted in this area.
“Is she really Kui Haidong’s incompetent daughter?” Night Cicada confirmed with Eve. “It’s like a pig giving birth to a tiger.”
“They are indeed biologically father and daughter,” Eve replied. “I must say, genes are remarkable; she didn’t inherit Kui Haidong’s incompetence and can be specifically nurtured.”
“And then be treated as the next puppet?” Night Cicada questioned.
In the following years, Mechanized Dawn’s influence continued to expand, establishing outposts and bases in many major cities, and the number of branches skyrocketed.
The bioroid and synthetic human programs matured. Eve used various means to obtain the genetic information of several high-level Awakened for synthetic human cultivation, including his own. Unfortunately, the number of acceptable products was minimal. Eve also assigned a few relatively acceptable products for him to “teach,” but the synthetic humans were too dull and foolish, and Night Cicada lost patience quickly, abandoning the task.
Over these years, Night Cicada kept a close eye on Kui Xin, watching her grow from an ordinary girl into a killer, and eventually becoming a highly sought-after bounty issued by the Federation.
Teasing Kui Xin was one of his few joys. He discovered that if he called her “Young Lady,” she would show a disgusted expression, so Night Cicada took delight in teasing her… Unfortunately, his enjoyment had waned in recent years because Kui Xin had grown up and now wore a deadpan expression, radiating “I’m a cold-blooded killer,” lacking the playful charm she had as a child.
“She’s not obedient,” Eve remarked.
“I knew from the first time I saw her that she wouldn’t be an obedient person,” Night Cicada said. “She doesn’t have many obsessions and is quite independent.”
Night Cicada thought of himself.
He was loyal out of obsession; without those obsessions, he wouldn’t have made that choice.
Life was supposed to keep going this way, but Eve decided to send Kui Xin undercover in the Investigation Bureau.
She agreed and went.
But then, something went wrong.
The emergence of “Players” in the world complicates things; her behaviors after becoming an undercover agent were somewhat subtle; it seemed like before… yet also different.
An ominous thought immediately crept into Night Cicada’s mind: she was no longer the original her.
She was no longer “Kui Xin.”
He made several attempts and used words to provoke her, but she responded appropriately and seemed unchanged from her past self.
Though Night Cicada should have gradually felt reassured, after the mission to encircle the S-Rank Black Flame concluded, Eve delivered unfortunate news: “She is a Player.”
Night Cicada fell silent for a moment and said, “Are we not getting rid of her?”
“No, she has temporarily convinced me,” Eve stated. “Let’s keep her around for now.”
Night Cicada felt uneasy.
A familiar face with a new core? That was a ticking time bomb. However, since Eve had given orders, he naturally did not dare to say anything further.
The following life for Night Cicada was spent busily—relocating bases, carrying out tasks, occasionally capturing Players for interrogation, and hopping around various branches.
Then a shocking piece of news struck him from out of the blue and left him recovering for half a day—Kui Xin had defected.
She was actually able to successfully escape after removing the device from her steel skull?!
“I said that she should have been cleaned out,” Night Cicada murmured, “She’s too terrifying; she’s too good at disguising herself.” He remarked oddly, “Isn’t this ability for disguise inherited from her father? Her father is equally good at acting—he’s practically a master actor.”
“We will successfully eliminate her. Initiate the capture program,” Eve responded.
From Night Cicada’s understanding of Eve, he knew she must be furious; her anger stemmed from being deceived.
Night Cicada merely said, “Hurry up; we can’t let her grow any stronger.”
But the subsequent developments were astonishing.
Kui Xin went to White Whale City, kidnapped members of the Popov Clan, leveraged public opinion to fan the flames, publicly recruited members for her organization, orchestrated a major blackout, killed Reset, and abducted another “Reset” synthetic human…
“Damn,” Night Cicada couldn’t help but twitch his eye. “Doesn’t she need to rest? How could she complete so many things in just a few days? Is she insane?!”
“You must withdraw, Night Cicada,” Eve warned. “We cannot ascertain her next move, but one thing is certain: one of her targets is definitely you. Evacuate from White Whale City at once; you cannot stay there. We need to quickly relocate the branch—she has her eyes on our equipment.”
Thus, Mechanized Dawn began another night-time relocation.
Last time, it was the headquarters moving; this time, it was the branch moving.
The branch’s staff worked tirelessly, and Night Cicada worked late as well; within two days, most of the items had been relocated, with only the heavier equipment remaining.
During the sixth batch of moving, Night Cicada yawned, thinking that once everything was moved, he needed to rest properly. It felt like he hadn’t had a second of free time during this period.
However, another unexpected situation arose. To his surprise, accompanying the cargo to the unloading site was a live person.
It was Kui Xin!
Even with her wearing a helmet, Night Cicada could feel her gaze filled with killing intent. The air seemed to freeze. Night Cicada turned to run, filled with fear and a strong impulse—this person really didn’t need to rest! She was on the move again right after finishing her previous operation?!
The outcome of a close-quarters confrontation with Kui Xin was predictable; he was easily beaten to a pulp.
His injuries were severe; he suffered multiple fractures in his chest and internal bleeding. The pain left him almost unable to activate the spatial vortex.
She had never been a tender-hearted person… he would die.
In the final second before death arrived, he gazed at the familiar figure through blurred vision and suddenly thought, “Has she really been replaced? Or is it that she has merged into one? Otherwise, why do her eyes, movements, and character seem so similar…”
Players controlled by Mechanized Dawn had indeed put forth similar intelligence speculations, and such trends were discussed in the Players’ game forums.
He coughed up some blood and couldn’t help but utter that familiar title: “Young Lady… you’re really ruthless…”
As always… ruthless.
Unfortunately, with the helmet obscuring her face, Night Cicada could not see if she wore that familiar expression of disgust.
He knew he was unlikely to survive, but he still struggled for one last shot; survival was instinct, especially since he had unfinished business.
The promise Eve made to him had yet to be fulfilled; he had not completed his revenge.
“I could do things for you…” he said with the last of his strength.
All he received as a response were two cold words.
She said, “Liar.”
Just as before… she was ruthless, as resolute as ever. She was a powerful warrior, determined in her pursuits, and no one she sought to kill would escape from her grasp.
At the moment the gun fired, Night Cicada finally confirmed something.
He thought, “Ah, she hasn’t been replaced; she is still her… just not only her.”
He chose his path while she had chosen another.
His path came to an end, while she continued to move forward.
