Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

He stood frozen at the doorway.

The room was empty, the bedding was neatly folded, the French windows were open, and the curtains were being blown by the wind.

Fiona was still there in the room.

She ran away, just like she did back in the Loken Water Tank Laboratory.

But where will he go this time?

Wayne suddenly realized. Where else could Fiona have gone?

Loken Williams will be transported to Mansfield, the prison city, tonight. Before that, he will be under close military surveillance. After that, he will be imprisoned within Mansfield's sturdy high walls. No matter where he is, Fiona will not be able to achieve her goal—to drag Loken Williams down to hell.

She can only go to one place.

The only way from Silicon Valley to Mansfield, the prison city, is through the Great Wilderness!

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Are You Even Human?

Loken Water Tank Laboratory, Silicon Valley, Columbia.

Loken Williams will probably never forget this day. He sat blankly at his desk, watching wave after wave of people move through his "Keep Out" office, carrying away the valuable sculptures, exquisite ornaments, and priceless paintings one by one. Then they began to work together to lift away the sofas, chairs, coffee tables, and bookshelves.

Finally, they went to Loken Williams' desk and kindly reminded him:

“Mr. Williams, I’m sorry, could you please stand up for a moment? This table, and the chair you’re sitting on, will also be handed over to the federal court as collateral.”

The veins on Loken Williams's forehead bulged, his shoulders trembled almost uncontrollably, and his teeth clenched so hard they made a grinding sound.

His deep blue eyes were fixed on the man in black's ambiguous smile, as if he wanted to tear him apart and devour him alive.

But looks can't kill. Loken Williams was also powerless against the man in black before him, ostensibly a federal court clerk, but in reality a secret enforcer for the Columbia Monopoly Association. He could only grit his teeth and utter three words:

"why?"

"Why? I don't understand what you mean, Mr. Williams."

The man in black pulled a lighter and cigarettes from his pocket, offering one to Loken Williams, but Williams refused. He lit his own, took a deep drag, and replied with a smile:

“Mr. Williams, you’re one of us too. Let’s not beat around the bush, you must know the enormity of the mess you’ve made, right?”

The man in black started counting on his fingers, listing Loken Williams's crimes one by one:

"Because of you, the bigwigs of the Columbia Monopoly Association not only lost a lot of money in the emerging field of life sciences, but also lost their previously stable arms industry, basic medical industry, and daily necessities industry. Several large monopolies lost most of their domestic market and almost all of their overseas market because they were involved in your leak, and even went bankrupt due to huge losses. You have done a great job, Mr. Williams. No one in all of Columbia has ever driven several bigwigs to suicide by doing this."

"And that's not all. The government has collapsed now, and the Federal Parliament is an empty building. Look at me moving things here now. A few days ago, when the Federal Parliament was emptied by that mob, they weren't as civilized as we are. They wanted to burn the parliament down."

"The military has taken over. That Doug, the old men didn't seem to have this kind of ambition before, or maybe he's just a puppet pushed out by the military? Just like the relationship between a monopoly and the congressmen. But none of that matters anymore. The military has already marched into Washington, the thirty-day deadline has been issued, and now what awaits Colombia?"

The man in black grinned and uttered two words:

"civil war!"

Loken Williams' cheeks trembled; he knew the man in black was right. Every day, armed civilians clashed with the military sent to suppress them on the streets of Silicon Valley. The sound of bullets shattering glass echoed in almost every alleyway every night, and this was just the beginning; larger-scale armed conflict was yet to come.

But is it his fault?

He, Loken Williams, has worked diligently for the lords for so many years. Even if he hasn't made any great contributions, he has certainly put in a lot of hard work. The lords were able to escape Washington State and establish a provisional government in several cities in western Columbia. Wasn't it thanks to the war weapons provided by Loken Water Tank Laboratory that they were able to seize the airport and cover their retreat?

Loken Williams still doesn't know where he went wrong. He had taken all the precautions to the extreme. Even his respected teacher came to Loken's tank and didn't see a single trace of the crime. Where did that mysterious Joseph Pulitzer get so much detailed information to expose him?

Loken Williams frowned, and said unwillingly:

"No way! I've served the Congress, I've shed blood for the Union! You can't just send me to Mansfield Prison without any regard for my past! I'm going to the West to see the big shots!"

The man in black seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world and burst into laughter.

He pointed at Loken Williams' contorted face as if looking at a ridiculous clown, and said:

"We don't stand on sentimentality, how dare you spout such nonsense, Loken Williams!"

"Do you know how much damage you've caused the officials? You should have died long ago. The officials in the Federal Parliament have planned hundreds of ways for you to die. I should have been here to execute you and collect your body! But you didn't die. Do you know why? It's because the officials in the military-industrial complex risked their lives to protect you!"

Loken Williams retorted through gritted teeth:

"It's just because they can make money from a civil war. It's just because there's profit to be made!"

The man in black wiped away the tears of laughter, took a drag of his cigarette, and suddenly asked expressionlessly:

"Otherwise what? In Colombia, what do you talk about if not interests? Personal relationships?"

"After following men for so long, you didn't only realize today that only dogs that bite get to eat meat, did you? Men don't develop feelings for dogs just because they've raised them for over a decade."

“I’m not a dog, I’m a human!” Loken Williams growled.

"Oh?"

The man in black feigned exaggerated surprise, held out his hand, a cigarette butt hovering above Loken Williams' head, and asked:

"Is that so? Then let me ask you, Loken Williams, when you raised those prototypes who were sent to the Loken Tank Laboratory for over a decade until they reached the age to be experimented on, did you have any 'affection' for them?"

Loken Williams' expression froze for a moment.

The mask that had been firmly planted on his face for decades, the impeccable manners he had maintained, and the arrogance that came with his extensive knowledge—all seemed to be torn off in that instant by this soul-searching question.

Did he have any affection for those experimental subjects?

No, he only treated them as tools. He fed them only because they were not yet old enough to be used and then discarded. In the very beginning, he felt a deep sense of guilt looking at his own laughing self in the graduation photo on his desk. But later, he put the graduation photo in a drawer, then pressed it to the bottom of a cardboard box, and finally it slid onto the conveyor belt, fell into a garbage truck, and was thrown into the vast wilderness of this land.

After that, his conscience also returned to the wilderness, leaving only indifference.

Just a bunch of experimental subjects, what's there to cherish? Once one batch is worn out, another will come. War is raging everywhere on this land. Sargon's tribes and the Sami tundra are full of breeding machines willing to sell their excess "family burdens" for a bite to eat or a knife. He will never have trouble finding the next one, as long as he has money.

How similar they are, back then and now. With enough money, why would these men have trouble finding the next Loken Williams to work for them?

The man in black sneered, slammed his cigarette butt on the desk, and asked in return:

"Then I'll ask again."

"Loken Williams, are you even human?"

“........” Loken Williams fell silent.

The man in black shook his head, turned away with a bored expression, and gestured to his waiting subordinates to move the distraught Loken Williams aside, removing the desk and executive chair. Before leaving, he looked up, casually taking down the "No Trespassing" sign from the doorway and tucking it into his pocket. He then called out into the room, where only one item remained:

"At eight o'clock tonight, a car will come to pick you up and take you to Mansfield Prison to start your new life. At least you'll be alive because of all the experimental data you've provided us over the years."

The last "thing" in the room looked up at the empty company and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Yes, compared to those experimental subjects he personally sent to hell, he, as a tool, at least survived after losing his value.

Chapter Seventy Betraying Oneself

Colombia, wilderness.

As one of the least established countries on Earth, Colombia still has a large number of undeveloped areas within its territory. These areas are classified as frontier zones and are contracted out to various monopolistic giants who organize large-scale land reclamation efforts.

In the future, mobile cities may be built here, forming settlements, villages, and towns, but for now, the reclaimed area is no different from the wilderness, still a vast and desolate landscape.

Mansfield Prison does not belong to any national entity, but exists as a separate mobile city. Frankly, in modern society where the concept of the nation-state is deeply ingrained, mobile cities that exist independently of national entities and even maintain a high degree of neutrality are extremely rare.

They share a common characteristic: they pose no threat, yet possess a renowned reputation and value. This is akin to Siesta's world-famous Obsidian Festival concert, or Mansfield Correctional Facility's absolute neutrality in accepting detainees.

Logically speaking, once someone is imprisoned in Mansfield Prison, it's unlikely they'll ever make a comeback. But Fiona doesn't believe in logic, and neither do her brothers.

They've seen too many things that defy common sense. In common sense, would parents sell their children? In common sense, would humans treat their own kind as tools? In common sense, could several souls be crammed into the same body? In common sense, could Fiona have been born?

Their very existence defies common sense, so how can they be bound by it?

"Loken Williams."

Fiona clutched her adorable phone, encased in a pink cat-patterned case, her eyes darting back and forth across the long news articles about Loken Williams on the screen. The phone kept ringing; it was Hammer calling, but she didn't answer.

The brothers don't want to answer a call from a traitor.

Fiona didn't want to hang up on Ms. Hamer.

If she could, she would like to go back to Ms. Hammer's side. Ms. Hammer makes delicious sandwiches, tells her bedtime stories every night, and always has a glass of hot milk by her bedside in the morning to help her start the day.

But she couldn't go back. Even though her brothers hadn't told her, she knew she didn't have much time left to live.

Fiona was aware of her condition: excessive sleepiness, scattered mental energy, uncontrollable bursts of Originium Arts that would suddenly cease, and abrupt interruptions. The voices in her head became chaotic, and her usually caring brothers grew agitated, even manic.

These were scenes that Fiona had witnessed countless times during her time in the laboratory.

She had never forgotten those days. Although she was the experimental subject—001—she was never the first person to undergo the [Soul Link] surgery. Before her, countless partners had been taken out of the room, and after returning, they began to become listless until they finally passed away quietly in their sleep. Their condition was exactly the same as Fiona's now.

She originally thought she was successful, that she had the number 001, and that she wouldn't be like those friends whose names she didn't even know, whose eyes would suddenly lose focus while chatting with others, and then collapse to the ground like a lump of mud.

She hadn't thought she would end up like that...

Fiona closed her eyes, trying her best to hold back the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

She was scared.

She wasn't some wise old woman who had seen through life and death; she was just a child, and most of the soul within her was that of a child. Even emperors and generals fear death, let alone a child, a child who lives and breathes death every moment.

For her, death was truly like the howling cold wind in this wilderness, always by her side.

Don't cry, Fiona. At least we're here with you.

Only at times like these do the anxious thoughts of her brothers calm down and comfort the tearful Fiona.

But Fiona didn't need comfort. What she wanted was to live, no matter what she had to do, even if it meant crawling on the ground struggling to survive.

And this is something her brothers can never satisfy.

"Ding--"

The reclaimed area is littered with a large number of abandoned machines of unknown origin. These machines are old and dilapidated, and even appear to be weathering. It is hard to imagine how long the river of time would have eroded such a massive structure into its current form.

With a crisp sound, the tall, circular compass atop the building seemed to restart and began to spin. Neither the brothers nor Fiona were surprised; it was simply that Fiona's Originium Arts had once again gone out of control and activated on its own.

The voices of my brothers clamored in my mind once again, this time even more anxious than before.

We don't have much time left, we need to hurry!

Are you sure this is the right road? The wilderness is so vast, could we have gotten to the wrong place?

[Where's that bastard Loken Williams? I'm going to stab him with a steel rod!]

"Shut up!" Fiona shouted. "Stop talking. Let me have some peace and quiet."

The voices in my mind suddenly fell silent.