Chapter 6 I Dreamed
This is your life.
Your future.
"The first rule of cyborgs is to always be loyal to the Empire."
combustion.
Every step on the road ahead will burn your life. What is the purpose of coming here?
After all, why should we live?
Is it to wait for a certain moment to come, or to meet someone?
...
...
A07 held the boy who fainted in her arms in a daze, her blue pupils full of confusion, as if she was surprised that she was still alive.
The prototype is far more important than the cyborg, so when the degree of compatibility exceeds the upper limit, the cooler on the waist will start to automatically inject sedatives.
Even in an emergency battlefield.
Even if she would die because of it.
Recovering the prototype is the first goal, and as for the cyborgs, Grammer never lacks fuel.
She is a weapon created to deal with insect plagues. Weapons should not have thoughts, they only need to fulfill their duties.
Countless cyborgs died as a result, and more cyborgs filled the burning furnace.
The boy in her arms regained consciousness at some point, and A07 noticed it immediately. The boy was looking at her with clear eyes.
"You are injured. The nearest hospital is just around the block."
"..."
A07 remained silent because she didn't know how to answer. All she learned in the dream woven by the "Beehive" was fighting and killing, and there was no knowledge that was not related to fighting.
Weapons do not require useless knowledge, nor do they require so-called emotions.
"It was you who saved me. Oh, and... the swarm of insects," An Ming looked up and found that the overwhelming swarm of insects had disappeared long ago. The few that escaped were quickly dealt with by the silver-white figure that passed through the air.
A07 did not say much, she just put the boy back on the ground. All she needed to do was to wait there and wait for relevant personnel to collect him.
The Molten Knight Project is still in the development stage and is maintained to a certain degree of confidentiality from the public.
An Ming saw that A07's cheek was still covered with broken lines, which reminded him of broken insect wings, and he subconsciously reached out to touch it.
A07 almost instinctively drew the green sword at his waist. The moment he grasped the hilt of the sword, he groaned in pain and fell to his knees weakly on the ground.
The combat education she received in her dreams over the years told her that she should immediately eliminate all targets within her field of vision that might threaten the Iron Cavalry, but her own will believed that this was wrong.
He was just a boy, most likely the owner of the mysterious voice, and the one who saved her.
No, this is wrong!
A small hand gently stroked her cracked face. An Ming didn't know why his sister was in pain, but everything would be fine as long as he did this.
"do not die."
"Why...?"
Warm kindness is an emotion she has never felt before, whether here or in——
"We have arrived at the target location and started the recovery operation." As the sound of the airflow gradually weakened, soldiers in thick protective clothing fell from the airship and forcefully took A07 away.
They never even looked at An Ming, as if he were just a bug on the roadside.
A07 just stared at An Ming in a daze. The hatch fell, forcibly cutting off her sight.
"Stabilizer."
The man who looked like a doctor sitting on the chair ordered the soldier to take the syringe and inject it into A07's fair neck. The girl lost consciousness instantly.
In a trance, she seemed to hear someone talking.
"The emotional fluctuations exceed the threshold, and the segmented parts are too unstable. Even a cyborg cannot withstand this level of emotional implantation."
"The councillor just wants answers."
"...Just kill her, quick and easy, and there will be no more trouble!"
"The councillor will kill you first."
...
...
I dreamed of a scorched earth.
A new bud breaking through the soil.
I opened my eyes, but couldn't tell whether this was reality or a dream.
Reality is cold.
Dreams are cold.
But what exactly is that warmth in my heart?
The surrounding injection chambers slowly injected light green liquid, my consciousness gradually became blurred, and I knew that I was about to enter that endless dream again.
You will never see the "real" sun.
...
...
[When you were five years old, your father died and you received a large pension. You arranged for his funeral and buried him next to your mother.]
[The silver-white cavalry that appeared in the sky that day was also recognized by the parliament as the latest weapon to fight against the Zerg, and was called the 'Molten Knight'. You knew that the girl you met that day was the Molten Knight, but for some reason, you wanted to see her again.]
[You have been good at concentration since you were a child. Once you devote yourself to something, you will definitely get the answer you want. However, the information about Molten Knight is too scarce, so you can't sort out your thoughts for the time being.]
[You start collecting everything about Molten Knight, and practice the Imperial Swordsmanship taught by your father]
[At the age of six, the battle with the Zerg swarm resumed on the Grammer border, and the Silver-White Cavalry began to appear more frequently in the public eye. At the same time, the ruling parliament popularized relevant knowledge about the Silver-White Cavalry to the public - the Molten Knights, the sharpest blade of the Empire against the Zerg, they would tear apart the elytra of the stinging insects flying into the sky and bring victory to the Empire]
[At the age of seven, with the help of your father's identity as a royal knight, you were able to enter Grammer Royal Court Academy for further studies, and because of your excellent grades, you were admitted to the swordsmanship class as an exception.]
"Hey, you don't look nervous at all."
"Why are you nervous?"
An Ming answered calmly, ignoring the girl next to him who was wearing an elegant dress. Compared to the attire of most of the children present, he was only wearing the simplest standard school uniform.
The girl was slightly dazed as she looked at An Ming's handsome face, but for some reason she felt in her heart that the boy in front of her was difficult to get along with.
They are not from the same world.
The noisy opening ceremony fell silent for a brief moment. The reason was very simple: the untouchable figure on the podium slowly appeared.
——The Queen of Grammer, Titania.
Everyone present saluted, and for ordinary people this could even be considered an honor.
"My people, there is no need to bow your heads."
An Ming raised his head when he heard the Queen's voice. A subtle sense of strangeness that came from nowhere made him notice the man beside Titania who was blending into the shadow of the curtain.
He did not listen to the Queen's speech until the girl next to him touched his arm and he realized that the opening ceremony was over. Sweat had soaked his back without him noticing.
The man caught his sight. What a scary guy.
Until the queen on the high platform left, the man in the curtain also disappeared like a shadow, and the strange feeling that came from nowhere was lost.
...
...
A deep corridor.
The man stopped and leaned against the wall, watching Titania walk from the sun into the shadows. "Emotions can affect the 'swarm.'"
When he recalled that gaze, he knew that this level was still not enough.
Titania seemed to know her own ending. She smiled sadly but said nothing.
"A perfect 'Emperor' wouldn't show that kind of expression."
The brief firelight illuminated the man's blurry face, and soon he merged into the shadows again, with only burnt residue behind him.