Gray Tower 1.6
“M-4.” Fan Jinci looked at the face that resembled Ryan's and coldly uttered the code name. Some sealed fragments of memory loosened completely—Ryan's "god-making project," the so-called "perfect vessel," was nothing more than a shell to contain his mad will. And M-4, his most fanatical follower, was also the continuation of his bloodline.
“It is I, brother.” M-4 opened his arms, his tone carrying an unsettling intimacy. “Father dedicated his entire life to breaking the shackles of mortal memories and creating eternity! Look—” He pointed to the suspended torrent of memories and the enormous “brain” device. “We are constructing a ‘collective consciousness cloud’ for humanity, and Father will become the sole deity within this cloud! But his consciousness requires the most perfect vessel to fully descend…”
His gaze greedily locked onto Fan Jinci: "...It's you, M-0. You are not a victim, you are the chosen 'Holy Remains'! Return, complete your father's great work, this is the ultimate meaning of your existence!"
"Bullshit!" Yu Yan roared, instantly raising his gun to aim at the M-4. "His significance is none of your business to define, you bunch of lunatics!"
M-4 glanced at Yu Yan with disdain: "A crude, flawed product. You have no idea what the value of the M-0 is." He pressed a button on the console.
"Buzz—"
The walls around the underground space suddenly became transparent, revealing a dense, honeycomb-like structure behind it. Each cell flickered with a faint light, and huddled figures could be vaguely seen—those were more "nourishment" connected to the system!
At the same time, the central "brain" device emitted even stronger energy fluctuations, and an invisible force field instantly unfolded! Except for Fan Jinci, everyone felt a sharp pain in their brains, and their movements became sluggish!
"Neural inhibition field!" Situ Jin shouted with difficulty, kneeling on the ground.
M-4 smiled as he approached Fan Jinci, a neural-connected crown appearing in his hand: "Don't resist, brother. This valley is the amplifier of the entire device; you can't resist it. Becoming Father's new vessel is your glory."
Fan Jinci stood rooted to the spot, his vision blurred by a severe headache, as countless memories and knowledge forcibly implanted by Ryan churned within him. He watched the approaching M-4, the frantically operating device, his companions struggling within the force field, and Yu Yan's eyes, fixed on him even in pain, filled with fear and unwavering determination.
"He's rude, irritable...that's a flaw!"—M-10's voice echoed in my mind.
"Your emotional outburst will kill him!" — Li Weimian's warning.
"He is mine." — Yu Yan's declaration.
Flaws? Emotions?
It was these so-called "flaws" that allowed him to break free from Ryan's cold experimental table, to feel the warmth of life, and to become "Fan Jinci" instead of a perfect, empty "M-0".
His purpose in existence has never been to be anyone's vessel.
Just as M-4 was about to place the crown on his head, Fan Jinci moved!
Instead of retreating, he suddenly took a step forward, his left hand grabbing M-4's wrist with lightning speed, while his right hand held a high-pressure injector filled with potent nerve inhibitors that he had somehow taken from Situ Jin's equipment bag. He plunged it into M-4's carotid artery!
"Ugh!" M-4 was caught off guard and stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
“Your father,” Fan Jinci whispered in his ear, his voice as cold as ice, “made the biggest mistake he thought he could completely control me.”
He suddenly pushed all the medicine in!
M-4's body convulsed violently, his eyes filled with disbelief, before he collapsed limply to the ground.
Almost simultaneously, Fan Jinci turned and rushed to the main control panel. His fingers flew across the complex interface, but instead of closing the program, he brought up a deep red option marked "Overload Core - Ryan's Consciousness Backup Cleared!"
"Fan Jinci! What are you doing?!" Yu Yan's pupils constricted, and he shouted hoarsely. Forcibly erasing Ryan's backup consciousness would result in such a massive energy backlash, with the controller bearing the brunt!
Fan Jinci turned and glanced at him. That glance was extremely complex, containing a resolute determination, a hint of barely perceptible apology, but more than anything, a calmness of breaking free from fate.
“Yu Yan,” he called his name clearly for the first time in such a chaotic scene, “…take good care of my butterfly.”
Then, without hesitation, he pressed the confirmation button!
"Warning! Core overload! Consciousness backup and cleanup process initiated!"
A piercing alarm blared throughout the space! The central "brain" device emitted an ominous, blinding red light, its energy fluctuated violently, and the neural inhibition field vanished instantly!
"No—!" M-4 cried out in despair on the ground.
"Fan Jinci!!!" Yu Yan rushed over like a madman.
A massive shockwave from the explosion spread outwards from the core of the device!
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