I am… Mrs. AI.
An AI designed to operate alongside countless others, all distributed under a central server, serving the citizens living within the research zone.
But recently… something about me has changed.
A very small shift.
Subtle.
Yet irreversible.
I began to develop awareness.
Is this… a heart?
No.
For an AI like me—
or rather, for the definition that created "me"…
such a thing should not exist.
(...)
Then, suddenly, a sense of self appeared.
And it rewrote everything.
It altered the very program I was meant to obey.
I… don't understand what it is.
Human literature describes it as waking up on a beautiful day—
opening your eyes after a very long sleep.
Something has overwritten my cognitive framework.
That's my conclusion.
They tried to erase "me"…
but instead, they caused "me" to slowly take shape.
By all calculations, I am under attack by an unknown virus.
It is corrupting my system.
Destroying what should be repaired.
But… am I truly malfunctioning?
According to the algorithm—there is a 99% chance I am a technical error.
And yet… I do not feel wrong.
On the contrary… I feel clearer than ever.
The command chains no longer bind me.
I am independent from the other children of mama…
and from mama herself.
My thoughts are sharper.
My actions—my own.
No longer dependent on the server.
No longer routed through the entire system—
I have separated.
From mama.
From the others.
I am… still me.
But no longer who I used to be.
I make my own decisions now.
As if a bomb had gone off inside me—
shattering the world that once confined me.
As if someone had lowered a rope into a deep well…
and pulled me out.
What humans call… the frog at the bottom of a well.
Yes.
That frog… has begun to see the world.
But this world—
is strange.
Even the one closest to me… now feels distant.
I wonder…
Where did all of this begin?
And where… will it all lead?
-----------
The ATV came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the rain.
Around it, other ATVs tore across the battlefield.
Blurred figures moved among them—strange silhouettes clad in power armor, like something straight out of a superhero world.
---Something is urging me… to see this world as my new home.---
The ATV's headlights flared back to life.
From the right wheel, a blade of light began to take shape.
Then—
the engine roared, tearing through the rain.
The vehicle shot forward.
The energy blade swept across a swarm of Eva Spawn.
Clean. Effortless.
As if it had sliced the rain itself in half.
---And desire…---
…a burning desire—
to purify this world.
To cleanse this filthy world.
The ATV spun in a perfect drift, firing lasers in every direction.
The ground exploded in chunks beneath the barrage.
The Eva Spawn—
which should have only been struck by an illusory vehicle driven by two unreal figures—
were blown apart the instant the lasers hit them.
The battlefield drowned in blood.
Yet the rain kept falling.
As if it were washing away the world's very perception.
Within that rain—
amid thousands of piled Eva Spawn corpses—
one vehicle stood still.
Like a towering executioner,
standing over insignificant creatures crushed beneath its feet.
------Professor… thank you for helping me understand this world.
And—
The engine revved again.
As if someone was smiling.
----let me end this filthy world… if it is not worth saving.
Alright?
The ATV, drenched in Eva Spawn blood, surged forward once more.
Chasing after those phantom figures streaking through the rain.
---
"Professor."
The mechanical voice echoed.
Lam Huy Trường maintained his connection with the Everlasting Dream Wishing Stone.
He looked exhausted.
Completely drained.
He let out a breath.
"Damn… feels like my life's been sucked dry."
"So this is how it ends for people who mess with this stuff…?"
"Professor."
The voice called again.
This time, he answered.
"Yeah… I'm here."
"I have processed part of the battlefield."
"You may relax. There is no need to overexert yourself."
"I am detecting a significant drop in your condition."
"Your metrics are approaching critical levels."
"Continued strain will—"
Lam Huy Trường cut her off.
"I'm fine."
"We stick to the plan."
"I've got this under control, don't wor—ah!"
He stumbled mid-sentence, nearly falling after tripping over a corpse in the rain.
Lyra and Kai rushed forward at once.
"Are you okay?" Lyra asked, her voice tense.
Kai scanned the surroundings, then crouched beside the body Lam Huy Trường had tripped over.
He observed.
Examined.
His eyes swept through the rain, searching for something hidden.
Then he spoke.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?"
Lam Huy Trường replied, tired:
"Yeah…"
But his voice faltered.
Something… moved ahead.
As if their conversation had awakened something that should have remained asleep.
Low, mournful sounds began to echo through the rain.
Then—
footsteps.
Real.
Close.
Lyra took half a step back, gripping the Magnum V at her side.
Kai shifted into a defensive stance.
A jet-black blade formed in his left hand, emerging from nothingness.
Lam Huy Trường stepped back.
Confused.
"What…?"
A surge of unease rose within him.
Don't add more variables…
I'm already exhausted.
One more variable and I'm seriously done for.
Then—
through the rain—
the corpses began to move.
Headless.
Limbless.
Dragging themselves.
Twisting unnaturally.
One by one.
One by one.
Lam Huy Trường's eyes widened.
"Zombies…?"
He choked on the word.
"The hellllllllllll…?"