Pei Ran initially thought that the green light would disappear with Shige Ye's death, but to her surprise, it continued to follow her secretly.
A delightful accident.
Pei Ran extended her hand, quickly grabbed it, as though catching a firefly, and instantly trapped it in her palm.
She carefully opened her fingers just a little, and saw that the green light was like a droplet of water, seeping into her palm and disappearing without a trace.
Pei Ran could clearly feel it entering her body.
W asked, "Where did it go? Into your body?"
Pei Ran answered, "Yeah."
Inside her body, the green light from "Green Light No. 1," which could write, had been lying dormant, but upon sensing an intruder, it suddenly woke up.
It swiftly swam toward the invading "Green Light No. 2," circling around it like a hungry wolf spotting a fresh and tasty rabbit.
The "rabbit" was terrified as soon as it entered, shrinking in place, weak, helpless, pitiful.
Pei Ran felt that she could intervene, but she chose not to, merely observing the situation unfold.
The "hungry wolf" circled around, seeming to evaluate, and surprisingly didn't bite—perhaps the rabbit was too difficult to chew, so it temporarily gave up on devouring it.
Green Light No. 1 discarded the rabbit and went back to sleep, clearly dissatisfied.
Pei Ran felt the green light inside her body but didn't stop walking, continuing toward her chosen vintage car.
The sound of footsteps came from the stairs—someone was coming downstairs, and not just one person, but three. The man with the exaggerated mechanical eagle claws, along with two of his lackeys.
The three of them reached the first floor and nearly kicked the scorpion-man lying at the bottom of the stairs. They were startled, still not quite recovered, when they saw Pei Ran in the yard—one hand holding a metal ball, the other holding fried chicken.
All three of them froze for a moment.
The girl they had seen just a moment ago had been weak, practically unable to stand without support. How did she suddenly seem completely back to normal?
They had been around Shige Ye long enough to understand his terrifying abilities. They all had a deep respect for him.
Shige Ye's identity, though noble and mysterious, had once made others feel a little superior when they saw the frail, wheelchair-bound young master. But now, no one dared to have such thoughts.
Anyone who fell into Shige Ye's hands was at his mercy. He could play with them as he pleased, kill them if he wanted, and no one could resist.
He was like a god, and once he set his sights on someone, he never missed.
Yet, this girl before them was still happily running around. She was the one chosen by Shige Ye himself, and they couldn't let her slip away.
None of them carried guns. The eagle-claw man froze for a moment and was the first to charge at Pei Ran.
His eagle claw made a clicking noise, with sharp, inch-long talons extending as he lunged for Pei Ran's arm.
W asked, "Shall I do it?"
Pei Ran replied, "I'll do it."
The night was long, and the dream was endless. She needed to act swiftly.
Pei Ran handed the fried chicken to her left hand, freeing her right hand. Faster than the eagle-claw man, she grabbed his mechanical arm before it touched her.
Metal clashed with metal.
Pei Ran yanked with all her strength.
The modified mechanical arm couldn't withstand the force and was torn right off his shoulder, blood spurting out from the severed stump.
Despite the excruciating pain, he gritted his teeth and refrained from screaming, clutching his shoulder and falling to the ground.
Pei Ran moved swiftly and ruthlessly, leaving the two lackeys stunned.
They had seen plenty of fights and killings, but never this kind of gruesome dismemberment in a single second. They stepped back in fear, too afraid to stop her.
Pei Ran didn't have time to deal with them. The shock value of her action was more than enough.
She achieved her objective and paid no attention to the remaining two, casually tossing aside the severed arm.
The silver eagle claw rolled on the dusty yard ground, coming to a stop. Pei Ran was already inside her chosen red Waleret Xtreme, sliding into the driver's seat.
Just as W had said, the car's battery was fully charged, and the key was still in the ignition.
Pei Ran tossed her backpack into the back seat, placed the fried chicken and metal ball on the passenger seat, and turned the key to start the car.
It seemed someone had used a handband to call for help. The footsteps from the second floor grew chaotic, and everyone emerged from their rooms.
There was no time to waste.
Pei Ran slammed on the accelerator, charging straight for the courtyard gate.
The gate, made of simple container materials, was knocked down with a loud crash when the car collided with it. Pei Ran swiftly steered the car, spun it around, and raced out like an arrow.
In the rearview mirror, she could see someone shooting at her, while another car was also revving up to chase.
Pei Ran pressed the gas pedal to the floor. The Waleret Xtreme, true to its name, was agile and lightning-fast, weaving through the slums, zipping like a streak of wind.
Pei Ran had spent the entire morning driving a small forklift at a snail's pace, but now she had a real car, one that could go full throttle.
The speed was exhilarating, and the adrenaline rushed through her veins, leaving her feeling energized.
W, sitting in the passenger seat, held off for a while before finally saying, "Pei Ran, do you mind if I go over some traffic rules…"
Pei Ran glanced at the car chasing her, drifted around a corner, and swung the back of the car violently to the side, changing lanes.
W's words were cut off mid-sentence as he and the fried chicken were suddenly thrown underneath the passenger seat.
Pei Ran made a sharp turn, then asked, "What's wrong? Am I driving badly?"
In the underground world, there were no hovercars. All vehicles, like her vintage car, ran on wheels, and due to resource shortages, most of the available cars were a patchwork of various parts, modified in every conceivable way.
Before crossing over, Pei Ran's main way of making a living had been scavenging for supplies in the wastelands, collecting materials needed by the bunkers. Each time, she would receive a broken-down, modified truck, and race across the wasteland and abandoned cities, flooring the accelerator to her heart's content. That was her favorite way to relieve the tension in the bunker.
W extended a folding arm from beneath the seat, first retrieving the precious fried chicken and placing it back on the seat, then grabbed the back of the chair and painstakingly hauled himself back into his seat.
He still wasn't entirely at ease, so he buckled himself and the fried chicken up in the seatbelt.
"No, you drive great," W said, "but according to Federal traffic laws, even with antique cars on the ground, it's customary to drive on the right side of the road…"
Pei Ran, who had been driving the forklift at ten kilometers per hour all morning, was now going all-out, weaving recklessly through the streets with no thought for lanes.
She gave another sharp turn, replying, "But there's no one here, the whole road's mine. Why should I drive on the right side?"
W: "Fair enough."
The innocent Federal citizens were running for their lives, so the traffic rules didn't really matter.
2,300 kilometers away, underground.
Heijing Base.
Twenty-five hours into the Silence.
The lights in the Federal Center Tower burned through the night. Everyone was busy with their own responsibilities, and fewer people remained on the top floor in the command center.
Song Wan was still seated, eyes fixed on the central virtual display.
She asked, "Agent W, has the energy intrusion from the fifth planetary rift intensified?"
W's voice came through immediately. "I've been monitoring it closely. Nothing yet. But based on the data collected from the ships that approached the rift earlier, I recommend we prepare for a potential surge in energy levels and an escalation of the Silence. We also need to be ready to issue further warnings to the surviving civilian population outside."
He paused, then added, "Hopefully the approval process will be quicker this time."
Song Wan nodded silently.
Outside the shielding layer, people had just barely survived another harrowing day. They had no idea that far worse was still to come.
Someone approached, bent down slightly, and spoke in a low voice to Song Wan. "General, your rest quarters are ready."
As one of the first senior Federal officers to arrive at Heijing Base, Song Wan hadn't slept all night.
In truth, there was no real need for her to remain here. Agent W was handling every operation in the base.
From large-scale military deployments and rescue operations, to personnel coordination, to the distribution of every meal, pill, and bottle of water—he had it all under control.
Efficient. Precise. Flawless.
Yet humanity hadn't granted full authority to Agent W. Every significant decision still required prior approval from Heijing's temporary decision-making committee.
Song Wan understood all too well how pointless these approvals were. Instead of helping, they only slowed W down.
The situation outside was constantly shifting in unpredictable directions. Every second mattered. A few minutes spent on procedure could mean thousands dead beyond the shield.
But the Federation was a complex structure—power had to be balanced. No single human could be allowed absolute authority. And by the same logic, no AI, no matter how objective, impartial, and nearly error-free, could be given total control either.
Things seemed relatively stable for now. Song Wan stood up, intending to grab some rest.
She took a few steps toward the exit, then stopped and tilted her head slightly, puzzled.
"Jose, you haven't slept yet?"
In a corner of the hall, two makeshift tables were pushed together to form a temporary workstation. Several virtual monitors arched around a young man with tousled brown curls.
Jose's collar was askew, his hair wild enough to impress a nesting dove, and he looked like he'd been up all night. He yawned as he stared at the screen, eyelids barely open.
Hearing Song Wan's voice, he looked up and smiled. "Sis."
"Still awake," he said, leaning back in his chair. "It's nothing. Back when I was a kid, I could play video games for days without sleeping. Monitoring servers is easy compared to that. Just a little boring, is all." He yawned again.
Song Wan didn't push the matter and nodded.
Her voice softened. "I know the pressure you're under. People are watching our every move. Agent W cannot fail. But you need rest too. This crisis won't end in a day or two. You need to be ready for the long haul."
Jose gave her a thumbs-up in response.
After she left, W's voice came through Jose's earpiece, cool and precise: "Get some sleep. I'll wake you if anything happens."
Jose raised an eyebrow. "Don't listen to my cousin. You've just arrived at Heijing. What if something goes wrong in this new environment? I'll feel better staying here."
On the curved virtual display in front of him, data streams constantly shifted and updated.
In one corner of the screen, a different image was displayed: a virtual room.
Inside the room, a soft yellow lamp glowed over a large glass tank. Inside the tank, a golden python swam in slow, graceful coils.
Beside the tank stood a man.
He wore a cozy beige sweater, slightly hunched as he offered a frozen mouse to the snake. His eyes were cool and analytical—not the gaze of a pet owner, but that of a creator observing his own invention.
Anyone looking at him would immediately know: this man, no matter how lifelike—down to every eyelash and pore—wasn't real.
No real human could look like that. He was too perfect, too flawless.
This was W's avatar.
Behind Jose, someone was asking W about the progress in locating several key Federal military experts. W replied methodically, his calm voice echoing through the command center.
At the same time, the digital version of W stood in his virtual room, feeding his digital pet, and chatting casually with Jose.
Multitasking like this was nothing to an AI like him.
Jose stared at the screen in thought.
W had designed this virtual room himself. The avatar too. Even the gender was his own choice.
Jose had once asked him, "Why'd you pick a male form? Do you see yourself as male?"
W's answer had been simple: "Do I need to remind you? I'm not human. I have no gender identity. Male or female means nothing to me. I simply made a random selection."
When W's avatar was completed, Jose had been intensely jealous.
"Did you copy the male lead from some dating sim?" he'd asked.
"No," W replied. "If I'm going to do something, I'll do it right. I compiled a massive dataset of handsome real men and popular male characters from anime and games. I removed exaggerated traits and adjusted the proportions to resemble real humans. This was the result. Pretty good, right?"
Jose had to admit—it was good. Too good. Infuriatingly good.
The virtual pet, too, was W's own creation.
The tank's contents rotated regularly. Currently, it held a python.
The golden snake, thicker than a human arm, glided lazily through the water. It suddenly darted forward and swallowed the pink mouse whole.
Jose frowned at the screen. "Why are your pets always so weird? Ants, snails, snakes… What's next?"
"I'm planning to keep cockroaches," W replied without pause.
"Humans have only just moved into Heijing. There aren't many cockroaches here yet. But they'll come—cockroaches always do. Once I've collected enough data on their activity patterns, I'll create a virtual tank of them for this room."
He gestured toward a corner of the space.
Jose visibly shivered.
"Thank god you're only allowed to raise things inside the screen. Cockroaches? Seriously?"
"Cockroaches are an extraordinary species," W said. "They've existed for over 300 million years. They can survive a month without food, hold their breath for over forty minutes, and live for a week without a head. They adapt to almost any environment. Their resilience is unmatched. Even with no hope, they struggle to survive."
W lifted his flawless eyes toward the screen—almost like he was truly looking at Jose.
He added, quietly:
"Just like you humans."
Jose: "…"