death of hope

Chapter 998 "Psionic Storm" (72) Compassion and Hatred

Drizzt's psychic abilities are exceptional, even among the Eldar, a race where many are psychic masters.

The commune's leadership relied heavily on his abilities and never doubted his judgment.
Since Drizzt spoke up and seemed quite frightened, there must be a reason.

“You heard what Old Cui said.”

Everyone drew their weapons;

"Try not to fire, as the space is confined and could cause friendly fire."

Paul noticed a long-handled octagonal hammer used for demolition hanging on the pegboard of the tool wall. He took it down, weighed it in his hand, and asked with some doubt:
"Strange, it should have been completely destroyed... My EMP grenade exploded right next to it."

No human-made technological creation—circuit boards and chips—could withstand such an impact. It would destroy not only cyborgs, but even unmanned armored vehicles.

“Don’t be nervous, Pavrusha,” Tonya seemed to remember something:
"I roughly... guess what happened, pretty much... but I need to confirm it..."

Be very careful,

"Um…"

·
Donya rummaged through her toolbox and pulled out a flathead screwdriver, carefully using the awl to peel back a piece of artificial skin.
The alloy skull below is severely damaged, likely from a previous battle, and according to human medical standards, it should be considered multiple skull fractures.

"Stay away, or you'll get sprayed."

As she spoke, Donya inserted the screwdriver tip into the crack and pried it open forcefully.
"Pfft" sound,
Under the influence of intracranial pressure, artificial blood mixed with biochemical solvents and cerebrospinal fluid were sprayed out together, and the pungent smell quickly spread throughout the basement.

"Ugh...how disgusting..."

Rimi Takiya pinched her nose and handed over a thick stack of absorbent medical gauze.

"Thank you~"

Donya took it and wiped it clean. Through the gap that had been pried open, she could see the brain tissue inside. It looked very fresh, with full and elastic blood vessels, and countless electrodes and chips embedded in the sulci and folds of the brain.

"Sure enough, I wasn't wrong. Its madness wasn't just a simple software glitch, but a mental disability caused by multiple factors."

"What do you mean?"

"This is a very special individual, completely different from the design concept of mass-produced cyborgs we've seen before."

It not only uses bioelectricity to transmit signals, but also preserves the entire brain, using chips to link neural synapses to intervene in and modify human thought and consciousness.

This system is too complex; software bugs, hardware malfunctions, and damage to the organism can all lead to mental disorder.
If I'm not mistaken, the spine and some internal organs were also preserved, within the protective shell nestled within the alloy ribs.

·
Sergei stroked his beard and thought for a moment; "So, this thing is closer to a cyborg than a robot?"

"Correct answer,
"Um, excuse me, do you... have an electroencephalogram (EEG) here?" Donya scratched her head. "Those things are usually only found in the neurosurgery departments of large hospitals. What a stupid question. Never mind."

"Hey, you know what, there might actually be one~" Takiya Rimi smiled:
"We have a 'garbage collector' in our branch; he picks up everything he can find!"

While they were talking, Ando Shuichi had already sneaked into the storeroom and rummaged through the things.

"The garbage mountains in the suburbs are a treasure trove. This was found by scavenging. It's not broken. I guess it was stolen from the hospital by a gang of thieves who threw it away because they couldn't sell it."

Donya blew the dirt off the machine, plugged it in, placed the electrode patches on the alloy skull, and two rows of green waveforms immediately appeared on the display screen, constantly refreshing and jumping.

"Active brainwave signals detected. Old Cui was right, this thing is still alive."

"Huh? Could it be... it's been listening to us the whole time?" "I don't know, you never know,"

·
"It's better that it didn't hear that,"

Paul raised his hammer, but Tonya stopped him:
There's no need to smash it.

"Ok?"

"Your electromagnetic pulse grenade has already disabled its reactor. Electron muscle beams are very energy-intensive; without electricity and energy, it can't even move its little finger and poses no threat to us."

Similarly, without electricity, the biochemical life support system cannot function, cannot circulate or metabolize, and brain death will occur shortly afterward.

"That's it,"

Paul put down the hammer and keenly noticed that Tonya's eyes were moist, and her pupils were full of sadness:
"You sympathize with it?"

Donya's thoughts were seen through, and her cheeks flushed slightly as she frankly replied:

"Sympathy...why not?"
I've seen documentaries about it. Noriko Nishikawa's targets were always gangsters and slave traders; cameras recorded everything.
She slaughtered all the villains, broke open the iron cage, released the trafficked children, and examined each one's face closely, as if searching for something.
Like a mother who has lost her child, she cries uncontrollably when she can't find it; TV hosts even call her "the crybaby."
Every time I watch that documentary, I shed a tear of sympathy for her. I think she wasn't a bad person at heart, but the company transformed her into this monster... making her so twisted and insane..."

·
"What do you think?" Nikolai frowned.

"I'm sorry, Miss Donya, I have no problem with you as a person, but I do have a problem with your opinion. Let's stick to the facts."
This Noriko Nishikawa, a half-human, half-machine monster, a cyber-psychopath, are you sure she only kills bad people?

Newsreels don't tell the whole story. Think about it, it was produced by our arch-rival, the Toyo Group, Sakura Corporation.

Its chairwoman, Yumi Matsushita, sees our organization as a thorn in her side and has repeatedly sent corporate warriors and cyborg troops to besiege and destroy several of our base planets.
No matter how much sympathy you have for this monster, it doesn't change the fact that it has most likely killed, and possibly more than one, our fellow Zh1…

Have you ever heard of the Battle of Havana? Do you know the number of casualties?

Too few survived; we didn't even have time to bury everyone before their bodies decomposed...

And you… you still pity… pity these despicable monsters… you think you're the Virgin Mary… damn it…

I don't care about its 'crying' past or how much it suffered in life. All I know is that modified humans are all bad!

·
The last few sentences were practically roared out by Nikolai, his emotions running high.
Because back then, his closest confidante, Zh1, and his fiancée, perished at the hands of a cyber ninja.
Seeing this, everyone came to persuade him, and Paul put his hand on his shoulder:
"Brother, calm down. Her sympathy for this monster stems from maternal instinct. Some things are beyond the empathy of us rough men..."

Nikolai did his utmost to maintain a tough-guy image and prevent the tears from welling up:

“I’ve been through it…you all know, my Olga…she was struck by a katana…”

From that moment on, I hated cyborgs to the core…” Nikolai, realizing his lapse in composure, bowed and apologized.

"I'm sorry, young lady, I was just saying that in anger, it wasn't directed at you."

“No, brother, you’re right,” Donya sniffed.
"This monster... may have been a pitiful person in his previous life, but that was a long, long ago story..."

Moreover, every second she lives is just adding to her suffering...

What we should do... is to let this soul find peace... and rest in peace...

With that, Donya gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, and gripped the screwdriver tightly.

It pierced through the crack in the alloy skull, aiming for the brain tissue...