The liquid nitrogen hissed as white vapor bled away.
Lupus-0 stepped barefoot from the cryo-chamber, his clawed feet scraping the metal floor. Blue monitor light glinted off his lupine bone armor, displaying the day's *
*[07:00 Execute Crocodile Orphnoch (Subject β-4)]*
*[13:30 Recover Spider Orphnoch Remains (Target Ashed)]*
*[19:45 Eliminate γ-7 & Associated Contaminant]*
The final entry bore a crimson note:
*
He passed a corridor of specimen tanks. Orphnoch heads floated in formaldehyde—a horse's eyes pierced by tubes, a flower Orphnoch's pistil wired to electrodes. The blast door opened, releasing screams from Sector 7.
γ-7 crouched in the ruins of her cultivation pod, cracked bone wings shielding a girl in a white dress. Security teams threw electric nets over them, smoke rising from smoldering armor.
"Mommy…" The girl trembled, holding up a crayon drawing. "I drew the garden from my dream…"
Three stick figures stood under a crooked rainbow, signed: *Xiao Man*.
"γ-7!" The captain's amplified voice boomed. "Give us the child, and Smart Brain grants you mercy!"
γ-7's bone tail whipped the air, smashing three guard bots against the wall.
A ventilation grate exploded overhead.
Lupus-0 dropped like a shadow, the crocodile spine-blade in his hand aimed at γ-7's heart—a trophy from β-4's execution. The tip pierced her fractured wing—
"Rainbows for Mommy!" Xiao Man thrust the drawing upward.
Waxen colors flooded his vision. Memories fractured by the neural synchronizer surged: A white hospital room. Mechanical arms driving needles into his spine. Neon lights spelling "Smart Brain Enriches Humanity" outside…
*His claws froze for one-tenth of a second.*
γ-7's tail cracked against his skull. As bone splintered, the captain fired a rocket launcher.
The blast hurled Lupus-0 through the wall. Through fractured vision, he saw γ-7 rip open a vent shaft, shoving Xiao Man inside: "To Passage B-12!" Rebar impaled her shoulder, black blood spraying the crayon rainbow.
*
His collar blazed blue. Electricity seared through neural ports. He felt his throat bones shatter in a silent roar.
Darkness swallowed him. From the vent depths came a sound like claws scraping metal—
Skreee… click-click…
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