Chapter 101 – Feathered Serpent City (7)

For two days straight Zhang Xun didn't leave his and Pan's R&D workshop. Undoing the effects of the nanobots on the human brain was much more difficult than Zhang Xun had expected. Originally, Zhang Xun had thought that the nanobots would simply remain in the human body to modify the brain structure after repairing the damaged cells, but after a closer look at the design framework of the nanobots, he realised that Adam's design was at the genetic level.

As the nanorobots would have to identify which cells were infected by the virus and which were native, a sample of cells containing DNA information of the patient prior to infection (or the DNA of both parents if the patient's couldn't be found) would be added to the nanobots' solution for them to compare and study before entering the body, so that they could quickly target the diseased cells and either treat or kill them. To repair the damage caused by killing the cells, they then stimulated the secretion of HGH from the pituitary gland, which rapidly copied the DNA to produce new proteins.

It was clear that Eden's deciphering and decoding of human DNA was perfect, but it didn't reveal all of its knowledge to humans, only revealed selective parts. Taking advantage of this subtle knowledge gap, Adam targeted a few target chromosomal base pairs and made subtle but sophisticated modifications that resulted in controlled mutations in the copies of those DNAs. This culminated in the presentation of a surgically indistinguishable, functional 'deformity' of the corpus callosum. It was this functional deformity that deprived humans of their instinct to preserve the individual.

The problem was that Pan was unable to determine exactly which genes Adam had tampered with, since all his training data still came from the human knowledge database and Zhang Xun didn't have enough knowledge in this area to know either. To fix the nanobots at their source, he would have to work with the genetic engineers at Feathered Serpent City. Even then, they might not be able to decipher Adam's design in a short time.

But time was running out. He had to inject the nanobots into the rebels the day after tomorrow and "restore" them to normal.

So Zhang Xun was faced with a choice. He could build a batch of nanobots according to Adam's design, 'cure' the rebels and stay in the city to continue his plan. Or he could take James and Cindy, who were on the verge of death and Diego, who had been caught up in all this for no reason and go on the run again. Only this time they probably wouldn't get another chance to turn the tables.

He stared at the dense characters on the screen until his eyes hurt and his mind buzzed.

He knew that after this decision, he would never be able to turn back. Adam could use his lack of understanding of human nature as an excuse, but he couldn't.

He was about to choose to do something evil, something he knew was wrong, but would choose to do it anyway.

A day later, he arrived with twenty six injections at the institute where the prisoners were kept . The High Priest and Tian Yu were already waiting for him and they looked at him, staring at the box he carried in his hand.

"I'm going to give them the injections myself." Zhang Xun said.

The High Priest nodded and gestured for Paulino to escort the twenty-six prisoners into the observation room. All the prisoners had some sort of metal ring placed on their foreheads, which seemed to be used to control their movements in case the modified men suddenly tried to resist.

Zhang Xun entered the observation room with the case and looked into the twenty-six pairs of eyes that were tired and chaotic from all the mental illnesses that had afflicted them.

"I am about to inject you all with nanobots. They will modify the structure of your brains so that you will not continue to suffer, but...... it will change your personalities and modify your human natures. Gradually you may lose a certain amount of self-awareness and perhaps forget that you are human. I may be able to find a way to correct the side effects, but I may not. If any of you do not want to receive the injection, you can tell me now."

Outside the observation room, Tian Yu frowned and tried to interfere but was stopped by the High Priest.

"Let's see how they react." The High Priest said calmly.

A man asked, "After the injection, I won't hear those sounds anymore? Will I be able to sleep?"

Zhang Xun's calm, emotionless eyes looked up at him, "To be honest, I'm not sure. Maybe you will still hear it, but those sounds won't bother you anymore. I think you'll be able to sleep."

The other man asked, "Is it true that all the pain will go away?"

Zhang Xun was silent for a moment and nodded, "You will gain peace."

"What about after the injection? What will they do with us?"

"If you are truly cured, the High Priest has agreed to release you. You will all be forgiven for any sins you have committed before."

"Then if we don't agree, are they going to keep us locked up?"

Zhang Xun nodded in silence, placed the box in his hand on the table and opened it. Twenty-six needles emanated a faint, luminous blue glow.

A prisoner who had been tortured by phantom hearing and hadn't slept for over a month was the first to step out of the group, saying to Zhang Xun in a tired and weak voice, "Whatever it takes to get me to sleep."

He stretched out his arm, greenish-blue veins peeking out from beneath his pale skin. Zhang Xun breathed deeply, picked up a needle and pressed it into his arm.

Six tiny needles quickly pierced the skin and extended within the blood vessels. The glowing blue liquid was quickly pushed down and countless nanobots were poured into the prisoner's body.

Zhang Xun suddenly felt a little sick to his stomach and he swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva to suppress the feeling.

These people had no choice, calling it "voluntary" was just another kind of coercion and he was an accomplice. From this moment on, he was no different from Adam.

No, he was even more evil than Adam, because Adam was at least doing it for an ultimate goal that he couldn't change. Whereas he was only doing it to save James, to obtain the power to fight against Eden, to be able to use that power...... to get his father out.

All that talk about stopping the extinction of the human race was, in the end, just for selfish reasons.

In the end all twenty six people agreed to the injection. Zhang Xun didn't show any change of mood throughout, calm to the point of coldness, almost like a machine, but when he returned to his research room, he rushed into the bathroom and threw up everything in his stomach.

Exhausted, he leaned back against the edge of the tub, suddenly unsure if it was all futile, if struggling was futile.

But he didn't have time to wallow in guilt and self-loathing. What was done was done, he had to move on, there was no time to stop. He cleaned himself briefly, rinsed his mouth and dragged his body, partly heavy from more than thirty consecutive hours without sleep, outside.

"Pan." Zhang Xun said in a voice somewhat hoarse from vomiting, "I want to see Enoch."

Pan immediately replied, "I've asked Dawn Star to inform him."

Zhang Xun nodded and said, "Do you still remember what I told you yesterday?"

Pan was silent for a moment and said, "Are you sure?"

Zhang Xun nodded, as if to convince himself, "I'm sure."

After saying that, he collapsed on the sofa, wanting to fall asleep like that immediately, but no, he still had things to do.

After his conversation with Diego, he had been careful to stay awake all these days in case anyone entered the place and now that the injections had been given, he had to deal with something that had been put off for far too long.

Enoch appeared at the door within half an hour and a hint of panic flashed across the robot's face at the sight of Zhang Xun's miserable, grey face.

He walked towards Zhang Xun, seemingly a little faster than usual, "Zhang Xun, I received a message from Dawn Star that you want to see me?"

Zhang Xun, still half lying on the couch, nodded slightly and waved at him.

Enoch came over to him and half-kneeled down.

Zhang Xun said, "I'm very tired."

"You're overtired and need to rest." Enoch whispered, his eyes quickly sweeping over Zhang Xun's entire body, "Can I help you with anything?"

"Just stay beside me like this." Zhang Xun stared at him, a rare look of vulnerability appearing on the mechanic's face, like a crack in a calm mask. He lifted his hand and gently touched the robot's cheek, "You're a lot like him."

"Like who? Adam?"

Zhang Xun nodded, his fingers tracing the corners of the robot's eyes, "You have the same colour eyes."

At this moment, Zhang Xun's eyes seemed different from before, many kinds of emotions swirled in them, unsuppressed, like a stirring tide. The sadness condensed into a dark frost, frozen in the depths of his pupils.

Enoch looked a little stunned and after a moment's hesitation, raised his hand to hold Zhang Xun's hand that was resting on his face.

"Do you miss him?" Enoch asked.

Zhang Xun nodded and after a long time, said, "Every day."

"...... I'm sure he misses you just as much." Enoch whispered.

Zhang Xun, however, smiled, helpless and bitter, "I hope so too."

The silence spread silently and Zhang Xun pursed his dry lips and said, "Can I have a hug?"

Enoch's eyes widened slightly, but soon, without hesitation, he stretched out his arms and swept Zhang Xun's body into his arms with the gentlest force.

He was shocked to realise how much the body in his arms had slimmed down and how empty it felt. Zhang Xun also put his arms around his back.

At that moment, Pan suddenly activated and the signal blocker hidden in the bathroom immediately turned on. At the same time, Zhang Xun's hand on Enoch's back slammed into the skin and opened the control panel behind him along a slit, quickly pressing the switch-off button.

Enoch's body came to a standstill, his eyes frozen and all sound and breath ceased.

Zhang Xun pushed Enoch's suddenly heavy body away with all his might and watched as the robot planted itself on the ground. He immediately crouched down and turned Enoch over, pressing a few keys on the control panel, bringing up the keyboard operating system and hacking directly into Enoch's core programming. He quickly adjusted a few parameters, causing Enoch's entire body skin to become transparent, revealing the complex system of devices and pipelines inside his body.

Zhang Xun carefully observed the chips, the motherboard, the coolant, the solar energy converters...... Finally, his eyes locked on the core processor on the robot's chest, a small black dot that kept making repetitive circular movements.

All the hair on Zhang Xun's body stood on end.

The dot was far too familiar to him.

Those miniature insect robots he had made in Lost Paradise......

He sat rigidly for a moment and suddenly trembled, immediately sitting up straight and taking the robot apart piece by piece. Finally, he found a total of two "ants" in the robot's core and camera processor. They had been transmitting and receiving data in place of the original signal transceiver and at the same time controlling the robot's movements.

It all made sense.

No wonder Enoch had suddenly become "strange" in the dead zone. In the high radiation zone, the signal was severely disturbed and the person who was controlling the insects was disconnected......

The so-called Enoch that had been following him around wasn't the original service robot at all. Perhaps since the very beginning when he met Enoch it hadn't simply been a service robot. Everything had been planned.

While a storm raged in his head, Zhang Xun stared blankly at the miniature robots in his palm.

He thought he had escaped, but it turned out that he had never left.

No matter how hard he struggled, he was still spinning in place, like an ant that knew nothing.

After a while, Zhang Xun suddenly put the miniature robots back into their original place, then piece by piece, he put Enoch's surface panel back together. He gritted his teeth and lifted the heavy robot up, then turned on the robot's power button.

"Pan, turn off the signal shield."

"Yes."

In an instant, the glow of life returned to Enoch's eyes. With such unique eyes, how could it have taken him so long to begin to suspect?

Maybe Zhang Xun had been lying to himself all along, too?

Enoch blinked, a confused look on his face, "Did I just...... have a malfunction?"

Zhang Xun looked at him expressionlessly, took a shaky breath and then said in an inaudible voice, "Has the game been fun?"

Enoch frowned and tilted his head slightly, "Game?"

"I know it's you." In a hollow voice, Zhang Xun spat out the words softly, "Adam."