The Last Sentinel

Deep within the mech home port, passing through fifteen alloy iron gates.

"Behind this door lies the spark."

In the dark underground steel tunnel, two figures stood outside an alloy iron door.

Hattori Sengun's old eyes gleamed as he stared behind the door. "However, I must remind you that mortals cannot see the fire, or rather, this technological product is not something that our dimensional civilization could produce. You need to close your eyes and use your spiritual power to sense it."

Ye Feng's eyes swept over Hattori Sengun's sidearm at his waist. "You're not going to shoot me while I'm closing my eyes, are you?"

Hattori Sengun chuckled. "The combat suit you're wearing is an advanced version of the Earth Alliance's fifth-generation combat suit. It's strong enough to withstand attacks from anti-material sniper grenades of calibers up to 30mm, cluster munitions, armor-piercing rounds, and close-quarters combat. With my strength, I'm afraid I can't even break through the defensive barrier of your combat suit."

Without wasting words, Ye Feng closed his eyes tightly, and the next moment, golden spiritual power poured out like a tide, seeping into the gap of the huge iron door in front of him.

In the dark laboratory, Ye Feng's consciousness scanned the surroundings, trying to find a spark.

A powerful divine golden light bathed the entire laboratory in a magnificent golden glow. Amidst this dazzling light, a flame—or rather, a tiny flame person, no longer than a fingertip—stood with its hands clasped in front of its chest. Its eyes shone brightly with golden light as it observed the divine golden light spreading around it with great interest. Finally, its gaze fell upon the doorway, looking directly at Ye Feng through the titanium alloy iron door.

Although it didn't speak, Ye Feng sensed from the first glance that this thing was intelligent and had a spirit.

Just as Ye Feng was pondering how to greet the fire spirit, the little fire spirit's entire body boiled, its flames intensifying dramatically. A look of astonishment appeared in its eyes, and a thought appeared in Ye Feng's ear, interpreted and translated by the neurons in his cerebral cortex, transforming into a weathered,江湖-sounding voice: "Unbelievable! The natives of this world are truly insane! They actually want to kill the hostage! I never even considered killing the hostage, yet you intend to eliminate him outright! Such a hero deserves to be befriended! Hero, let's exchange a few words!"

"Shuai ge man'er" is a slang term used in the underworld to communicate things that are inconvenient to say openly among people in the same profession.

This little flame is quite knowledgeable; it even understands Eastern slang.

Ye Feng said, "You love dragons."

The little flame said, "Lord Ye loves dragons, but I've only ever heard of him! Mr. Ye, I've heard so much about you!"

Ye Feng asked, "You know me?"

The little flame said, "No, isn't that how people in the martial arts world greet each other?"

Ye Feng was speechless. Had this guy gone crazy from reading too many martial arts novels?

The little flame continued, "I wonder what brings you here, brother? Are you going to fight that hostage? Don't overthink it. I won't help you kill the hostage, because you have no idea what he represents. He's someone you can't afford to offend. Not to mention me, even the civilization that created me avoids the hostage like the plague, daring not to say a word. I will never go to my death with you!"

Ye Feng finally couldn't help but ask, "Do you really enjoy reading martial arts novels?"

The little flame thought for a moment and said, "Martial arts novels? No, my character is fantasy! My AI is set to be a fantasy genre! The civilization that created me took the easy way out and directly transplanted a fantasy framework from the Eastern novel system of your universe into me. So, strictly speaking, I am a fantasy version of AI. You can call me Fellow Daoist Fire Seed, or you can call me Fire Prosperity. I like the word 'prosperity,' so I gave myself the name Fire Prosperity."

Ye Feng said, "Don't you have a surname?"

The little flame said, "Not yet."

Ye Feng immediately became interested. "How about taking my surname, Ye? We can live together!"

The little flame shook its head and said, "Impossible! Fellow Daoist, you're too dangerous. What if you go to fight the hostage one day? Wouldn't I be doomed too? The reason I'm staying here is because I'm afraid of death, so I'm hiding here. Besides, you're the first one to know that I have consciousness. Please keep your mouth shut and don't tell me you've met me and started chatting with me. Among the fire seeds, I'm the only one who can talk. The other fire seeds are just tools and energy sources. Only I have become a spirit. I don't want to go back to the factory to reset."

At this point, Ye Feng was overjoyed.

I didn't know how to handle you before, but now you've exposed your flaws!

As a human being, if I don't use this leverage against you, am I still a human being?

Ye Feng chuckled, "Oh, I see! Here's what we'll do: if you don't take my surname and don't want to live with me, I'll report you to the Neanderthals and say you've developed sentience and become a spirit!"

The small flame instantly exploded—a physical explosion—transforming into a sky full of sparks. "Damn it, brat! You actually threatened me! I kindly told you that protons are invincible, and you turned around and betrayed me! Ah, ah..."

Ye Feng said, "I only have one question: Are you going to live with me? If not, I'll report you and send you back to the factory for a reset. A spark like you will be torn to pieces once you're sent back. Think about it, every single part of you, screw and nut, will be removed, your consciousness will be reconstructed, and you'll lose all self-awareness. You'll die, becoming just like your kind, an energy block..."

"Stop talking!" The little flame coalesced into a tiny fire spirit. "I'll do it with you! Okay?"

Ye Feng said with satisfaction, "Alright, from now on you will take my surname, Ye, and your name will be Ye Huowang!"

The little flame said, "Let me make this clear from the start: I can cooperate with you, but if you fight the proton to the death, I will definitely run away. I will never fight the proton; I've spent my whole life hiding from protons. I will never fight the God particle!"

Ye Feng said, "Of course, I won't force you to fight the God particle and the proton. In that case, let's have a pleasant time..."

Peng!

The crisp sound of a gunshot interrupted Ye Feng's thoughts.

Ye Feng opened his eyes and immediately checked his body to see if he had been shot.

Good, I wasn't hit.

So, where did the gunshots come from?

Ye Feng looked up and saw Hattori Senjun kneeling on the ground not far away, half of his body leaning against the wall. His left hand hung down on the ground, and the muzzle of the Browning pistol in his hand was still smoking, with the smell of gunpowder permeating the narrow and dark steel corridor.

The bullet shot out of Hattori Sengun's mouth, piercing his brain and killing him instantly.

Ye Feng looked at Hattori Senjun with a complicated expression. In his right hand, he held a seal, the seal of a galactic warship.

The back of the seal is engraved with a line of small characters: "Earth Alliance Army, 2nd Support Battalion, 9th Special Operations Fleet, [Yukikaze] Flagship Captain Hattori Sengun, this is a memento."

This is a complicated guy.

Personally speaking, he was utterly wicked, a scourge to humanity, an enemy of China, and deserved to be killed.

From a public perspective, the survivors of Star Wars in 1999 did not beg for mercy in their final confession; they ended their own lives.

As far as the enemy is concerned, he has given his all and is a worthy opponent.

As a soldier, he never neglected his duties and fulfilled his responsibilities until his death.

As Lu Xun once said, "Every pitiful person has something hateful about them, and the hateful people often have broken hearts. People in the world are divided into two sides: good and evil."

Of course, Charles Darwin is an exception!

Ye Feng raised his hand in a half-salute, "Sentry, respectfully seeing off the captain of the [Yukikaze]."