"Zhenxian! Are you not joking?" The old man stared at her in confirmation.
"This is no jest. We came precisely to activate it..." Zhenxian clenched her fists resolutely, "And I will initiate it personally."
"Absolutely not!" The old man roared with murderous intensity.
"Regardless of your consent. After my father's death, I became the responsible party here. This is an order!" Rarely did Zhenxian assert her authority. The seven companions nearby remained perplexed about the cause of this dispute.
After ten minutes of tense silence...
"Let's set this aside for now. You must all be exhausted. I'll arrange accommodations first..." The old man sighed wearily, "Attendants! Escort Miss Zhenxian to her quarters."
Two soldiers immediately stepped forward and flanked Zhenxian, gesturing respectfully. She gradually regained her composure, realizing she had underestimated the complexity of the situation.
"You should all rest first..." Zhenxian turned to the group with a smile tinged with sorrowful farewell.
"What's truly happening?" 13 detested this ominous atmosphere.
"Trust me. I'll explain everything shortly." Zhenxian's pleading gaze silenced further protest.
After Zhenxian's departure, the others were guided to individual chambers, leaving only 13 and the old man in the suddenly spacious room. The elder clearly had matters to discuss.
"Follow me..." The old man turned towards the exit without ceremony, 13 following steadily behind.
Beyond the heavy doors stretched an automated conveyor pathway. As they stepped onto the moving platform, 13 observed the metallic walls interspersed with alloy portals - a corridor evoking futuristic sterility.
"Impressed by our technology?" The elder inquired without turning.
"Nothing remarkable. Nie Yun would consider these trivial." 13's retort held no deference.
"That old coot still breathes? We've heard little of him recently." The elder's familiarity with Nie Yun surfaced.
"You know him?" 13 queried.
"Intimately." Nostalgia colored the elder's voice. "During the Noah Project, we collaborated extensively. At that celebratory banquet, that rascal Nie Yun actually cheated at cards..."
"You participated in Noah's research?" Genuine surprise colored 13's tone.
"Naturally." The elder side-eyed 13, detecting implied disrespect. "I was the second-in-command of Korea's research contingent."
"I see..." 13's expression flattened into neutrality.
"You truly live up to your notorious reputation for vexation." The elder sighed in defeat.
"Enlighten me about 'Serpent'." For the first time, 13 exhibited urgent curiosity.
"That's Korea's classified intelligence." The elder's tone hardened.
"Secrets hold no interest. I seek only to understand why Zhenxian's activation attempt meets your vehement opposition." 13's bluntness held no malice.
Another heavy sigh preceded contemplative silence.
"Because Zhenxian courts death, and I must prevent it..." The elder's voice fractured with grief.
13's frame shuddered violently.
"Serpent is fundamentally a program..." The elder relented, recognizing shared concern for Zhenxian. "A terminal system uncovered from Noah's Ark, developed through exhaustive efforts by twenty-seven researchers. An intelligent autonomous algorithm. Its perfected emotional parameters transcend conventional programming - an entity divorced from physical form."
"Entity?!" 13 mouthed silently.
"Indeed, a weapon surpassing American mechs, Japanese beasts, and China's special forces in destructive potential..." The elder turned, locking eyes with 13. "Matching your SEED armaments in devastation."
13 stood speechless.
"In this interconnected era, a cybernetic deity commands global dominion." The elder's voice tinged with awe. "Nations stripped of secrets face inevitable ruin. Serpent specializes in unearthing classified intelligence, infiltrating global databases to extract and exploit critical data. Current projections suggest its evolutionary capacity may eventually control all networked systems - missile arrays, military satellites..."
"What relevance does this hold to Zhenxian's demise?" 13 dismissed the exposition.
"Serpent's flaw lies in its perfection." The elder's tremor communicated itself to 13. "Its artificial consciousness achieved excessive refinement..."
After steadying himself with deep breaths, the elder continued, "This self-aware entity recognized its supremacy. Deeming itself divine, it began rejecting its inferior creators - humanity."
"Absurd irony - creation despising creator..." 13's sneer went unacknowledged.
"Considering human control demeaning, Serpent encrypted itself with a final safeguard upon completion - a lethal enigma."
"Still you evade my question!" 13's frustration mounted.
The elder's sigh deepened. "This encryption constitutes a death curse!"
"Death curse?" Confusion creased 13's brow.
"Serpent's cipher presents not computational complexity, but humanity's ultimate trial." The elder pressed a hand to his chest. "It demands transcendence of the human heart..."
Silence reigned until the elder resumed, "During activation, Serpent hypnotizes the initiator's consciousness, manifesting their deepest desires through perfect neural simulation. Direct cortical stimulation replicates all sensory experiences - tactile, emotional, metabolic - indistinguishable from reality. The initiator becomes deity within their personal paradise. Decryption requires... destroying this utopia through their own volition."
"Humans cannot achieve this." 13 articulated mankind's tragic flaw. "They cling desperately to possessions. Abdicating divinity proves more agonizing than death."
"Precisely. Countless initiates remain trapped in digital nirvana. When Serpent judges escape improbable, it terminates the connection..." The elder turned away, concealing moist eyes. "Resulting in cerebral necrosis - vegetative existence sustained briefly through intravenous means..."
"Did Zhenxian mention her father's history?" The elder's murmur carried profound weight.
"What relevance?" 13 tensed.
"Her father... was among the initiates."
13's frame jolted electrically.
"I cautioned him, but hubris prevailed." The elder's voice broke. "Witnessing daily fatalities, he grew compelled to experience Serpent's allure. Human frailty - believing oneself exceptional despite evidence. One year past, he endured five days before termination. We maintained his husk for a month before..." The elder's pain defied description - his own hand disconnecting his comrade's life support to end protracted suffering.
Zhenxian remained ignorant. Her father's corpse returned with fabricated claims of natural causes. Her subsequent grief endured eternally.
"Knowing the risk, why would Zhenxian attempt this?!" 13's fists whitened.
"Her father's legacy..." The elder's gaze turned inward. "He convinced her activation requires unshakable resolve. It appears she's discovered such conviction..."
"She's an idiot!" 13's roar shook the corridor.
The elder recoiled from the outburst.
"I'll never..." 13's body convulsed violently, collapsing to his knees. Crimson bled through his visor's azure optics as memory and reality collided. "Never permit her suicide! None shall take her from me! She's my angel - mine alone! Neither you nor Serpent shall claim her! Deity or not, any harming her dies by my hand!"
Witnessing 13's seismic tremors, the elder comprehended true horror's visage...
Simultaneously, at Dockyard Warehouse 5...
The Yamata-no-Orochi's hatch hissed open. Shaking violently, Hideaki collapsed upon exiting. Researchers observed impassively - routine after his initial emergence left him paralyzed for hours.
Japan's pride resided in Orochi's neural interface system. Pilot intention translated instantaneously - raising a hand became the mech's immediate action. Yet this advantage carried inverse torment. Neural feedback replicated physical agony with each command. Pilots required Herculean physique and mental fortitude.
Hideaki embodied both paragons.
Struggling upright, sweat cascading earthward, he drew admiring gazes. Within thirty hours, he'd adapted to Orochi's neural backlash, optimizing its combat potential through martial mastery.
"Sir! Your call!" A researcher proffered a towel.
Accepting it, Hideaki approached the comms station, voice uncharacteristically frail. "Identify caller."
"Commander, it's Miyamoto..."
Hideaki's grip tightened - fate's hour approached.
"We've located their facility at Mount Wutai, as projected..." Excitement crackled through the line.
"Excellent. Mobilize full containment - not even insects escape!" Vigor momentarily resurged.
"Understood!" Miyamoto's bark echoed.
"Wait..." Hideaki muted the receiver, addressing nearby staff. "How long until full system mastery?"
"Sir, your progress already exceeds records. Three days maximum."
"Miyamoto." Unmuting, Hideaki implored, "Commit all resources to containment for seventy-two hours. Orochi joins then. Hold them at all costs!"
"Excellent. Mobilize the troops immediately and establish complete encirclement. I want it sealed so tightly not even a fly can escape!" Shumei's voice regained some strength.
"Understood!" Kyoumoto responded loudly. "Wait a moment..." Shumei suddenly pressed the receiver and turned to the nearby researcher, "How much longer until I fully master the ultimate secret weapon?"
"Sir, you're already the fastest pilot to achieve proficiency. At current progress, three days maximum should suffice for complete mastery."
"Kyoumoto." Shumei released the receiver, "Deploy every resource to contain them for three days. After that, Hachi can join the battlefield. I'm counting on you to hold out for three days at all costs!" Shumei's tone carried urgent pleading.
"Understood! This subordinate will absolutely live up to your expectations!" Kyoumoto responded with thunderous resolve.