The Truth

The old man asked in a low voice, "Are we... really going in?"

The tech-savvy man glanced at the time displayed above: 79:37:45. He frowned slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then replied, "Let's go. There is no turning back now."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped inside first.

The corridor was long, narrow, and dim. The walls on both sides looked unfinished, with exposed metal pipes coiled overhead, occasionally dripping condensation that echoed faintly. The overhead lights flickered on and off, stretching the trio's shadows into distorted, shifting shapes.

After walking for a few minutes, the old man couldn't help but complain, "Are we there yet?" His voice sounded abrupt in the silent corridor, but no one responded; only the sound of their footsteps echoed in the vast emptiness.

A while later, the view suddenly opened up. They entered a hall with a metallic texture. The moment they stepped inside, the lights surged on like a wave, spreading out from a central circular console.

The hall was immensely spacious. Its four walls shimmered with a silver-gray metallic luster, engraved with intricate circuit patterns. The floor was paved with dark composite materials, through which complex mechanical structures were faintly visible.

Standing in the center was a tall, circular console, its surface covered in dense, complex symbols and touch buttons, with tiny points of light drifting among them. Light radiated from the base of the platform, stretching toward the four corners of the hall. A woman in a red dress stood before the console, watching them coldly, holding an exquisite small vial in her hand.

The three of them froze simultaneously. "It’s you?" Yun Xian blurted out instinctively, eyeing her with vigilance.

The woman in the red dress raised an eyebrow slightly. "It seems you are quite clever to have found this place."

"Are you the one controlling all of this?" Yun Xian asked through gritted teeth.

The woman in the red dress did not answer. She slowly raised the vial in her hand, the pale blue liquid refracting an eerie glow under the lights. Her voice rang out coldly: "The cure for the Molder Disease. It is a pity, however, that it can only save one person."

Yun Xian’s pupils contracted sharply. Just as she was about to speak, the woman’s gaze fell upon the tech-savvy man, her tone icy: "Especially you. You are infected too, aren't you?"

Yun Xian and the old man were stunned. They turned to look at the tech-savvy man, who nodded and said calmly, "She is right."

The woman in the red dress looked on with a cold, sinister expression. "Since that is the case, you should understand that this bottle of medicine is the only chance you have to survive."

She paused slightly, placed the vial on the console, and her tone turned mocking: "Too bad there is only one. So, what do you intend to do? Who is willing to sacrifice themselves? Or do you plan to kill each other?"

The tech-savvy man replied with sarcasm, "You seem to enjoy playing these manipulative games?"

Yun Xian let out a scoffing laugh. "Even if the medicine you have is real, why would we kill each other? If we kill you, wouldn't the medicine be ours? You hoping for us to fight is a foolish logical flaw in itself."

The tech-savvy man adjusted his glasses. "Exactly. Furthermore, based on my observations of this disease, if I am not mistaken, it is not a virus, but a mycelium parasitic within the human body. In the early stages of infection, it makes the host feel a surge of physical strength, followed by the onset phase where the mycelium reproduces rapidly, eventually draining the host of their life. Once the mechanism is understood, developing an antidote is only a matter of time."

Yun Xian and the old man looked at him in surprise.

The smile on the woman in the red dress stiffened, and her expression turned suddenly grim. "It seems I underestimated you. Since you refuse to choose, I will teach you the rules myself."

Her movements were impossibly fast. Her body, like a taut bowstring, lunged toward Yun Xian with precision and ferocity. Her fist cut through the air, carrying a suffocating sense of pressure.

Yun Xian could not dodge in time. Her shoulder was struck, a crisp sound of bone cracking rang out, and sharp, intense pain spread instantly. Her face turned deathly pale. She stifled a groan and widened her eyes: "This speed and strength... it’s not normal!"

Immediately after, the woman in the red dress kicked toward the tech-savvy man. He narrowly dodged, and her foot struck the metal wall, leaving a deep, clear dent. Her expression remained cold, as if the effort were effortless.

However, as the woman in the red dress turned again, her shoulder twitched slightly.

*Click.*

A sound of metal grinding out of place came from within her body.

Her expression stiffened for a brief moment, a cold glint flashing in her eyes as she tried to hide the anomaly, but her movements began to show signs of lag.

"You..." Yun Xian stared at her vigilantly, noticing a strange, sickly pale-blue hue spreading across her face, and her lips twitching in an unnatural way.

The woman in the red dress swept a cold glance at Yun Xian and quickly adjusted her stance.

However, the punch she threw went off course, smashing heavily into the edge of the console with such force that the metal panel deformed. Just then, her arm froze, and she began to shake violently.

"Hiss—"

Her sleeve tore, revealing dense, tangled metal coils underneath, with electric sparks flickering.

A trace of panic flashed in the woman's eyes: "No... impossible..."

She tried to cover the abnormality with her other hand, only to find her movements becoming increasingly sluggish and uncoordinated.

*Click... Click...*

The sound of metal shifting filled the hall.

Her legs went weak, and she collapsed to her knees before falling to the ground.

The three of them stood frozen. Yun Xian tentatively stepped forward and pulled back the woman's sleeve, revealing layers of cold, mechanical parts. She widened her eyes: "She... she is a robot too?"

Just then, the lights in the hall flickered. Countless fine beams of light tore through the walls, and a low, deep hum emanated from the floor.

The central console emitted a faint blue glow. The light condensed, gradually forming the figure of a woman in a white dress. Her face was flawless, her eyes calm yet tinged with a hint of compassion. Her gentle, ethereal voice echoed through the hall: "Good evening. Welcome."

The three of them stood stunned. Yun Xian murmured, "What... is going on..."

The young woman before them smiled slightly: "Yun Xian, I am pleased to answer your questions. My name is Luna. I am an AI life form created by Dr. Zhang, and I am the controller of this facility."

Yun Xian quickly regained her composure: "Then what about her?"

"She is the first experimental subject I created that combined machinery with a human body," Luna's voice remained gentle. "This is a great attempt to save humanity. She volunteered to be my first subject, willing to contribute to the survival of the human race. Unfortunately, the technology was not mature enough. Her body carried too many modules, and eventually, it suffered a malfunction."

Yun Xian’s gaze shifted from Luna to the woman in the red dress on the ground. A thought flashed through her mind: *To complete her mission, she chose to turn herself into a machine so she wouldn't have to worry about death...*

"So, did you also create the Molder Disease?" Yun Xian pressed.

"Not at all," Luna shook her head gently. "The Molder Disease arose naturally due to environmental pollution. Although I have developed an effective cure, curing it outright would lead to a demographic imbalance once more. Therefore, I use the Molder Disease as a tool to control the population."

"Then, what is the purpose of all this?" The tech-savvy man adjusted his glasses, his voice cold.

"Everything I have done is merely to carry out the mission my father entrusted to me before he died—to save humanity."

"Save?" the old man asked indignantly. "Do you know what these people have gone through? Your so-called 'saving' is nothing more than cruel slaughter!"

"Slaughter?" Luna frowned slightly, her tone soft yet biting. "You should understand that when resources are limited, elimination is an inevitable choice. I have simply created a micro-society; it is merely a reflection of the life you once lived. If this is called slaughter, then what does that make the entirety of human history?"