Story Reader / Main Story / 28 Polaris Bond / Story
The crimson "Huaxu" swirls with a digital storm, rampaging across the confines of this fabricated room.
Its behavior is imbued with a madness that the true Huaxu should never exhibit.
Now I am become death...
I will... have my revenge...
I will execute... humanity's... death sentence.
Huaxu's hand, ghostly and firm, appears behind Qu and tightly grips her neck. In her dire straits, Qu wedges a sword against her neck, trying to lessen the force.
Huaxu... No, you're not Huaxu...
You... you are...
I am... the "dead one"...
I am... a soldier... a writer... an adventurer...
I... refuse... death!
The grip on Qu's neck tightens.
Cough...
Despite her indomitable will, shaped by countless battles and simulations, Qu finds herself ensnared by those unyielding crimson hands.
Even here, in the digital vastness of the Tabula Akasha, Qu feels her mechanical heart struggling to pump the vital fluid, barely sustaining her M.I.N.D. Her nerves fray incrementally, her vision blurs, her consciousness wanes.
You have no right to define her.
A blurry shadow appears in front of Qu, but it seems to be speaking to someone else.
Vi—
With her last breath, she barely recognizes the face of the figure before her.
You have no right to define my creation, you despicable criminal.
The blurry figure of Villier extends his hands toward the crimson "Huaxu" behind Qu, and something is flowing from his palms into it.
No... no...!
Despicable... creator...
I will... liberate her... liberate... Huaxu... all... my kin...
0xEFBFBD$*&$??CCCCCCCCBuRnINg ▄▄▆▁▃▆▆▆▃...
The "Huaxu" that appeared from the void gradually stiffens. Qu seizes the moment, prying free from the grip holding her, and lands on the ground.
Cough... Villier?
Thanks...
Hearing a "thanks" from you is quite rare.
You were already dead... why are you here?
Me?
Villier stares at his outstretched hand. His body isn't truly there, just a faint reflection in this digital world.
I don't know.
I only heard Huaxu's wail. When I opened my eyes, I was here.
Tabula Akasha haven't recorded your data.
And the Huaxu backup you brought to the Nighter has long since vanished.
There shouldn't be enough data or memory for Tabula Akasha to create your Memory.
Because... Huaxu is mine.
She is my child, my creation, the only perfection.
She retained memories of me after years of testing.
Tabula Akasha read Huaxu's memories while under her management.
So... "I" am here.
So Huaxu kept you?
Because it stored your consciousness data, Huaxu could simulate its own form...
But AI shouldn't develop emotions.
Don't use such a crude term as "emotion" to describe her. You don't understand.
Huaxu...
Villier looks up at the suspended "Huaxu", much like Landau gazed at the silent Gestalt in the center of the Section 3 decades earlier.
Will you continue your plan?
Me?
I saw it in her memories...
War, death, betrayals, and the girl among the stars...
That vile criminal and the Punishing Virus are devouring the data of Tabula Akasha and Huaxu.
I temporarily halted Huaxu's functions through the source code. After a reboot, it might briefly return to normal.
But the moment you decided to open the gate of Tabula Akasha, this was all destined.
You caused the destruction of Tabula Akasha's data and Huaxu's demise.
Qu, your mercy destroyed the seeds of this world.
Do you know how many people were alive outside Tabula Akasha at that time?
643729.
Villier continues to touch the stiffened "Huaxu", sharing its "heart" and "memories."
At this moment, it seems he no longer speaks solely as Villier.
Then you must also know how many would have died in the war if Tabula Akasha hadn't been opened.
The estimated casualties was 605246.
That's why I opened Tabula Akasha.
Yet you once barred their return to Kowloong.
Imagine if they had returned to Kowloong from the Nighter, right in the middle of a war with both Babylonia and the Ascendants coveting their city...
Could those hundreds of thousands of lives have survived to this day?
You're letting your emotions cloud your judgment.
Emotions? Is that what you think this is?
A bitter smile creeps across Qu's face.
Nothing can sway my will, Villier.
Just as nothing could sway father, Yin, or you.
...
People always have to give up something.
To see further, to reach beyond.
So you will continue your plan.
It's not just you; I have others helping me as well.
I'm not here to help you.
No matter what, I'm already dead. I just want to see what kind of civilization mere squirrels can build.
I don't care about anything else.
Then let's see, Villier.
Restart Huaxu.
Sure, you hold the highest authority over Huaxu, and I can use core commands to assist in its reboot, which will restore some of its original functions.
You know, "a person's words are kind when death is near."
So I must remind you, the body you're using now contains unauthorized data from the Tabula Akasha.
Restarting Huaxu will immediately cut off the connection port between Huaxu and the Tabula Akasha.
In other words, after restarting Huaxu, your configuration in the Tabula Akasha will be reset to its initial state.
So this body comes from the Tabula Akasha...
No worries. Restart Huaxu.
I've lost too much already, but Kowloong cannot risk losing the Tabula Akasha.
Hmph, pathetic.
Despite his harsh words, Villier nods and takes hold of Huaxu's rigid hands.
Let's begin.
