Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 110 The Main Brain
The crows cawed in the darkness, but there was no sound and no echo.

His consciousness was imprisoned in a void, and he couldn't even feel the passage of time.

A bone-chilling cold was spreading; this was the sensation of being forced into hibernation by the life-sustaining gel. The crow felt its mind being frozen little by little.

He struggled desperately, trying to grab onto something, but all he managed to grasp was panic.

Scenes of past glories flashed through the crow's mind.

He once led his team through a horde of zombies seven times, managing to rescue an important member of the Xu family.
He also infiltrated the heart of Yuanchuan Energy to steal confidential documents and barely escaped from enemy pursuit;

He also personally snapped the neck of a high-ranking officer armed with a heavy hammer by his own hands beside the furnace in the steel city.

Each time, he risked his life at the gambling table, winning back chips for the Nuclear Group.

Over the past twenty years, Raven has climbed from a low-level field agent to a combat commander, at the cost of bloodstains on his hands and indelible scars on his body.

At the awarding ceremony, Secretary Edward personally pinned the "Nuclear Star" medal, symbolizing the highest honor, on him and solemnly said:

"Crow, you are the group's sharpest weapon."

Twenty years of meritorious service were worthless, ultimately earning him only a label of "highly suspected".

Why won't you believe me? Why...?

This confusion was quickly replaced by anger.

He hates!

I hate Edward's perpetually calm face, and I hate even more his scrutinizing and suspicious eyes!
And that Zhang Dafan!
He also hated this bastard, this vermin who crawled out seven hundred years ago, who used a clumsy self-inflicted injury trick to make him look foolish and bring him to this state.

Betrayal, deception, humiliation...

All the emotions simmered in his mind, coalescing into a pure desire for destruction.

Why am I the only one who has fallen to this state?

Why are those high and mighty guys still safe and sound?
If I'm having a hard time, then nobody should have one!
He wants revenge, destruction, and everything to be ruined!
Just then, an aged voice rang out in his mind without warning.

"Hamilton, I've finally found you."

The voice carried a hint of relief, "You've worked hard these past few days, your mission is complete."

The crow's consciousness suddenly froze.

Who is Hamilton?
He was unfamiliar with the name, but he was certain that the other person was referring to him.

When did I become known by this name? I was called, wait... what was my name again?

"Who...are you?" he tried to ask.

"Hamilton, that's your name. We just unlocked your memory."

"what?"

Before the crow could react, a torrent of memories that didn't belong to him rushed into his mind.

Unfamiliar streets, unfamiliar faces, an unfamiliar childhood.

Dream City, Mori-Ban Network, Special Agent Training, Undercover Infiltration Plan...

“Young man, remember this: from today onward, you have no name, no past. Your only identity is the sharpest dagger of the Mori-Ban Network.”

“You have performed exceptionally well over the past few years. Now your mission is to infiltrate the nuclear group, become one of them, and then wait to be awakened.”

A ghost called "Hamilton" is trying to take over everything he has.

Do not!
this is not me!

The crow's consciousness let out a silent roar, convinced that these false memories were an enemy's conspiracy!
He frantically searched through this memory, trying to find evidence to refute it and to find some flaws.

No matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find a single flaw. All his past experiences and all his proud achievements were reinterpreted by the ghost of "Hamilton".

The crow realized that all the key details of its life had been altered, and a chill ran down its spine.

He could not find any evidence to refute it.

"That's how your life has been for the first half of the year."

The aged voice rang out again, carrying an unquestionable calm, delivering its final verdict.

"This is you, Hamilton."

The crow's resolve began to waver.

Was his early life really like that?
"Yes, this is you, Hamilton."

"I……"

“Hamilton, Edward has already discovered your spy identity, which is why he doesn’t believe anything you say, and he won’t pay any attention to your nonsense about ‘being framed by high-ranking officials’.”

These words pierced through all the fog surrounding the crow.

It turned out to be the case.

No wonder the minister was always wary of him; no matter how much he showed loyalty, he could not gain his complete trust.

It wasn't suspicion, nor was it factional infighting; he had already been exposed.

He misunderstood Edward.

So it turns out... I really was a spy.

A marionette, a comical clown who doesn't even know for whom he dances.

Just as he was feeling utterly hopeless, the old voice carried a hint of apology.

"Hamilton, our men did everything they could to rescue you, but the enemy was too numerous—Corbin, Night Owl, Viper… We lost countless men and paid a heavy price, but in the end we still couldn’t get close to the medical unit where you were."

Corbin, Night Owl, Viper... these names, which he knew intimately during special training, are now on the list of the dead.

In the crow's mind, the overwhelming ferocity gradually dissipated, replaced by a strange sense of belonging.

He was neither alone nor abandoned.

Unbeknownst to him, in the shadows, there was always a group of comrades fighting for him, even sacrificing themselves for him.

"I'm sorry, our people have done their best."

The aged voice carried a heavy tone and a hint of anger: "According to our intelligence, the people of Nuclear are going to take your brain and modify it into a 'wet component'."

"It's alright."

The crow felt a sense of resignation.

“I’ve lost my body and become this dazed state. It’s fine to be made into a ‘wet part’. Throw me into those glass tanks and make me part of the main brain. I don’t care anymore.”

At least, it was a relatively decent end.

Hamilton.

An aged voice suddenly rang out, carrying an indescribable strangeness.

"Do you think that being made into a 'wet part' means being put into a vat and soaked, becoming one of those 600,000 heads?"

The crow paused for a moment: "Isn't that so?"

"of course not!"

The voice suddenly rose in pitch, filled with anger.

"We've just cracked an encrypted document from the Nuclear Corporation! A final disposition plan specifically targeting you, personally proposed by Adam Lewis!"

Adam Lewis?

The crow's consciousness was jolted.

This is a competitor who opposes him at every turn within the group and sees him as a thorn in his side!
“In the eyes of the nuclear group, you are a ‘high-value’ spy. In order to have a deterrent effect, they will not let you die easily, nor will they let you become part of the mastermind, so as to prevent you from stealing more secrets.”

"They will implant your brain into a local public restroom in the administrative district, inside a state-of-the-art smart toilet sensor!"

"..."

The crow's mind went blank for a moment.

“Every day, your brain gets the most thorough ‘watering’ to detect the various chemical components of excrement in real time, and then automatically generates a health report for each member who uses the toilet.”

"The document also emphasizes that you will become the most efficient, cheapest, and most humble biosensor in the history of the Nuclear Group!"

boom--!
Stunned, bewildered, the crow was utterly enraged.

He was certainly aware of this extremely humiliating tactic, but he never imagined that one day it would be used on himself.

Only a psychologically twisted bastard like Adam Lewis could come up with such a vicious scheme!
"Minister Edward, it has been approved."

Every word in the aged voice sounded like a final verdict.

“Ahhhhh——!”

If the crow still had a body, its entire face would have turned purplish-red.

He seemed to have gone mad, growling in a low voice, "This is... the ultimate insult to my character!"

The aged voice rang out again, making the fire burn even brighter.

"This toilet stall will be labeled with a special title, such as 'The Crow Drinks Water' or 'The Crow Satisfies Its Craving'."

"Based on the number of voters, they prefer the latter because 'satisfying cravings' has a wider range of applicability."

The crow was so angry that it couldn't speak.

"Hamilton, an agent of our Mori-Ban Networks, can be killed, can die gloriously in a mission, but can never be insulted like this!"
"You are the pride of our Dream City! You are our great hero! If our great hero's final fate is to become a sensor in the enemy's toilet, that would be too insulting, too much!"

"I, Hamilton, will never accept this!"

The crows howled in the void:

"I want revenge! I want to destroy this place! Destroy everything nuclear! I will not let these bastards succeed!"

"Yes, you are right."

Only then did Crow realize that Morisaka Networks was his only hope.

With a hint of urgency and pleading, he asked, "Can't you people of Morisaka stop all of this from happening?"

"It's hard."

The aged voice carried a hint of solemnity.

"The headquarters of the Nuclear Corporation is one of the most fortified fortresses in the wasteland. Our people... cannot get in."

Despair seized the crow.

"but……"

The aged voice changed the subject, "We've come up with a plan that might severely damage the nuclear mainframe, or even paralyze the nuclear headquarters. That way, our people will have a chance to rescue you."

"Tell me what you need me to do!"

"It's like this..."

The crow held its breath, imprinting every detail of the plan into its mind. Every step was risky, yet it was nothing short of insane.

But that's exactly what he wanted.

"I can do it."

He felt a surge of vengeful pleasure. "Please let me try!"

"Hamilton, we believe you can do it."

The aged voice carried a hint of relief, "Don't worry, I will guide you the whole way so you won't lose your way."

The operation was about to begin. The crow's mind couldn't calm down; it remained in a strange state of excitement.

But he didn't realize it.

Out of a secret agent's instinct, he asked one last question.

"How should I address you during the operation?"

There was silence on the other side.

The aged voice paused for a long time, as if deep in thought, before slowly speaking:
"I can't give you my real name, I can only tell you a code name..."

"Bald Qiang".

The crow silently memorized the instructions and began its formal operation.

He first felt a strange consciousness surge into his brain, and his head gradually became hot.

"Don't worry, your brain is overclocking."

A magical scene happened.

The crow's senses gradually penetrated the life-sustaining gel, pierced the metal shell of the brain capsule, and continued to spread outwards, eventually completely covering the entire medical room.

He "saw" the surveillance camera in the corner, the complex pipes on the ceiling, and the two armored soldiers outside the door.

"The one on the left outside the infiltration door."

Bald Qiang's voice rang in his mind, steady and clear, "It must be on the left, because the one on the right is about to change shifts, don't touch it."

"receive."

Without hesitation, the crow focused all its newly acquired, immense perception on the armored soldier on the left.

After his consciousness switched, he felt the weight of steel.

He was no longer a brain trapped in a container, but a killing machine.

The power core hummed behind him, and subtle vibrations came from the hydraulic joints. The machine gun in his hand was solid and heavy.

His metal finger tightened on the trigger; with just a thought, the muzzle flash could destroy everything in its path.

"Hamilton, stay calm."

"understand……"

The crow suppressed his murderous urge; he had a more important mission.

“Very good, Hamilton.”

Bald Qiang's voice carried a hint of approval, "Now, get close to the cleaner in the far corridor, control him, and move him forward little by little."

The cleaner is not a person; its true form is an automated cleaning vehicle with a built-in human brain.

The crow immediately did as instructed.

He detached himself from the armored soldier's body and stepped onto the sanitation worker thirty meters away.

After subduing the cleaner, he turned around and saw that the armored soldier was still standing in the same spot, motionless.

"Don't worry, we have him under control. You can go forward, but don't go too fast."

"it is good."

The crow guided the cleaner, slowly driving forward.

The new perspective is somewhat low, and the view is overlaid with cleaning routes and stain analysis data.

"Stop, we can't go any further."

Bald Qiang's voice rang out again, with a hint of warning, "Your brainwave hotspot is weakening, the signal is about to be cut off. You need to continue infecting the people in front of you. Yes, that's the office clerk in the white shirt."

The crow's gaze was fixed on a clerk at the end of the corridor who was pouring coffee.

He recognized this kind of person: dressed in a respectable uniform, sitting in a comfortable office, always looking down on them, these blood-stained tools, with a superior gaze.

A bunch of useless bums who can only talk the talk.

A hint of contempt flashed through the crow's mind, silently invading the clerk's brain.

The other person's body trembled slightly before returning to normal, and their eyes regained their sparkle.

Then, the crow pushed open the door and left, arriving at a heavily guarded checkpoint.

This was the only passage to Sector B, and two guards wearing exoskeletons stopped him.

"Authentication".

The crow raised its wrist and attached the employee's chip to the scanner.

[Position: Archives Administrator, Area C]

[Permissions: Level 3]

[Status: Passage Allowed]

He passed through the gate and entered area B.

The light here is brighter, the air is fresher, and senior staff in various uniforms are hurrying around.

Following Bald Qiang's instructions, his next target was an inspector who was on patrol.

The badge on the other person's chest indicated his level four access privileges.

The crow approached silently, then its consciousness converged, and it possessed the body once again.

He straightened his collar and strode toward the core area.

"Turn left and enter elevator number three. There is an important person inside who can control it."

Bald Qiang's voice rang out at just the right moment.

After hearing this, Crow stepped into the elevator, where a well-dressed company executive was indeed standing, looking down at his wrist panel.

After the elevator doors closed, consciousness shifted, and the crow jumped onto the executive.

Meanwhile, the inspectors were also remotely controlled by "Bald Qiang" and continued to send brainwaves outwards.

"Hamilton, you need to hurry. The more people who get infected, the harder it will be for us to control, and it will be easy for people to spot us."

"okay, I get it."

The crow controlled the executive's body and stepped out of the elevator.

He could sense that the body was well-maintained, its gait was powerful, and it exuded the scent of expensive cologne.

In this way, the crow infected more than a dozen nuclear members of different backgrounds, who were no more than fifty meters apart.

He walked through the corridor and came to a circular gate, the final checkpoint leading to the main brain area.

The crow saw a maintenance worker walking out of the side door, and without the slightest hesitation, its consciousness jumped again.

Finally, he manipulated the maintenance specialist's body and walked into the control room.

The maintenance supervisor was an eighty-year-old middle-aged man, slightly overweight, with thinning hair, who was giving instructions in front of the light screen with his back to him.

"Replace the nutrient solution in the B-37 array, increase the flow rate by 5%, and inject 20% oxygen."

The maintenance supervisor had barely finished speaking when his body stiffened abruptly, and his eyes became vacant.

After a while, the maintenance supervisor came out of the monitoring room.

He passed rows of armored soldiers and machine gun towers and came to a round alloy door that was two meters thick.

He placed his calloused palm on the scanner, and then the retinal and voiceprint verifications were completed one by one.

"Identity confirmed, Level 5 access granted."

"Welcome, Manager Hall."

With a mechanical clicking sound and a slight hydraulic release, the heavy alloy door slowly opened inward.

Behind the door was a blue energy barrier, emitting a soft "humming" sound.

The crow finally saw the true face of the nuclear mainframe and was shocked by the scene before it.

It was a massive underground cavity that defied description, with a dome so high that its top was invisible, yet countless fiber optic cables and nutrient pipes hung down from it.

Tens of thousands of enormous glass water tanks are neatly arranged under the lights.

Each tank contains hundreds or thousands of human brains, connected by electrodes and cables, forming the main brain matrix of the nuclear group.

Huge, biomimetic octopuses silently dart through the narrow passageway.

They wave their robotic arms, checking the activity of each brain, changing the cloudy nutrient solution, or cleaning out the brain tissue that has completely died.

The entire space was so quiet that only the gurgling sound of the circulating liquid and the slight noise of the robotic arm operating could be heard.

The scene was magnificent and spectacular, yet it also had a chillingly eerie feel to it.

The crow once thought that its final destiny would be to become one of these six hundred thousand, to become an insignificant drop of water in this ocean of consciousness.

But his true destiny is to become a filthy ocean in a latrine, with large amounts of water droplets poured over his head.

Great difference.

In that instant, an overwhelming sense of humiliation welled up inside me.

"Bald Qiang, can you grant me one request?"

"You said."

The raven's voice was as cold as iron, "If one day, you Morisaka people capture Edward, Adam Lewis, and that bastard named Zhang Dafan..."

He paused for a moment, his voice filled with resentment.

"We must shove their heads into the latrine too, so they can truly experience the humiliation of being worse than dead!"

Bald Qiang wore an undisguised smile.

"I promise you."

Having received the promise, the crow no longer hesitated.

He controlled the maintenance supervisor's body and led him to the last barrier in the core area of ​​the main brain.

It was an invisible gate made of high-intensity electromagnetic fields; any unauthorized living organism that approached it would be broken down into molecules.

The crow input the final instructions provided by Bald Qiang.

"Om-"

The barrier emitted a buzzing sound, then rippled through the air and vanished silently.

Almost simultaneously, the highest level of intrusion alarm sounded throughout the underground cavern!

A burst of red light flashed, and a piercing buzzing sound tore everything apart!
Before the crow could even react, a massive tsunami swept in from all directions.

It was a pure spiritual storm.

Faced with such immense power, the crow's individual consciousness is as insignificant as a speck of dust.

He felt no pain before being shattered and obliterated by the wave, leaving not a trace.

The maintenance supervisor's body trembled violently, he froze on the spot, and his eyes became empty.

　From now on, updates will be changed to 12 noon every day.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)