Chapter 59 - Doom (5)

With this short hug, Adam quickly assessed Zhang Xun's physical condition. His body temperature was higher than the average measured during normal contact with him, presumably due to inflammation of the wounds. The uncontrollable shivering was probably due to the cold from the difference in body temperature. Although it wasn't serious enough to be life-threatening, it certainly wasn't good.

Adam felt anger begin to condense in his heart and at the same time, another stronger emotion made his chest tight and painful. He wanted to carry on holding this trembling body tightly like this and pass over his own warmth.

But he understood that their time was very limited.

He leaned into Zhang Xun's ear and said, "You have to put me on standby."

Zhang Xun opened his eyes wide and tried to push Adam away, but Adam didn't let go and kept him trapped in his arms, "The sooner the better, right now would be best. The timing is vital."

Zhang Xun's brain was trying to process and was slower than usual due to the fever but he gradually understood the meaning behind Adam's request.

After Eden had shown it was powerful enough to throw the entire Lost Paradise into a state of irrational panic, Adam was the only one who stopped it. Now, although Eden had temporarily withdrawn its forces, no one knew whether it would return with more troops.

At a time like this, Adam was their only hope.

How ironic that everyone had wanted Adam to die and be a sacrifice in exchange for a chance to survive in the hands of Eden, but now, they saw Adam as a saviour.

Maybe Eden was right from the start, humans don't have the ability to make the right decisions for themselves. Humans were like a group of short-sighted and panic-prone children with poor self-control who needed a stronger "adult" to control them. So-called free will was like a dangerous double-edged sword. In the hands of human beings it was tantamount to handing over the most dangerous weapon to a group of children who didn't know how to use it.

Now, these "children" saw Adam as a hero who could protect them and make decisions for them, but this absolute trust may only last for a short period of time. Once the crisis had passed and the forgetful people had forgotten their own fear and despair in the face of death, and their gratitude and joy in redemption, Adam would once again be regarded as an unbelievable heresy.

But during this short period of time, Adam had absolute authority in Lost Paradise and Zhang Xun was the only person who could restrain him.

As long as he put Adam on standby, no one would be able to awaken Adam. If Eden turned back, no one would be able to save Lost Paradise.

Adam wanted to save Zhang Xun and wanted to strive for a gold plate for Zhang Xun and the Lab who had lost their place of asylum. So he wanted Zhang Xun to exercise absolute constraint over him, so as to tell the whole of Lost Paradise in whose hands the real power lied.

This was the only bargaining chip Zhang Xun could use to negotiate with the Sixth Chief.

After less than a minute of being alone they heard someone opening the door. Zhang Xun took advantage of Adam's cover and quickly pressed several times on a specific position on the inside of his left arm. It was a little difficult without the interface assistance shown on his microscopic mirror, but it couldn't be helped at this point. The device on the inside of his arm started to activate and a burning pain spread under his skin, as if there were fine needles stabbing him.

A probe protruding from the device took in Zhang Xun's blood and detected his DNA through white blood cells. After confirming Zhang Xun's identity, a pale blue light began to light up under Zhang Xun's skin, showing a complex and strange pattern, like a tattoo.

This was Zhang Xun's original system interface, designed on the basis of AI language and no one in Lost Paradise could use it except him. His fingers swiped quickly over the lines and with each stroke, a purple light flowed across the lines. When he finished typing the command, there was a burning pain under his skin, which was his own warning to himself.

He raised his head and met Adam's eyes. Adam looked at him resolutely and nodded.

His heart was beating furiously. Since the descent had completed he hadn't put Adam on standby and he didn't know how Adam's composite brain would react. Would it cause crashes or any unexpected adverse reactions? Would his data be lost?

Perhaps...they could still escape. He and Adam could just rush out like this...

But where would they escape to? Beyond Lost Paradise, there was only Eden, only more fleeing and death. And what about his father? What about James? What about Fernandez, Diego, Jabari? What about all those innocent people?

Adam's eyes seemed to tell him that this was their only chance to not be controlled by the Round Table.

Zhang Xun steeled himself and his palm covered the pattern on his arm, pressing down hard.

Then Adam stopped suddenly.

Stopped completely.

He maintained his expression of staring at Zhang Xun with slightly downcast eyes, but the light of vitality in his eyes had frozen.

Adam's body maintained a position of delicate and just right balance, but with a slight push, he would fall. Apart from respiration and basic metabolic cycles, Adam was like a vegetative person, unaware of anything.

The person who pushed open the door and entered was a mechanic who was relatively senior within the Lab but had no relationship with Zhang Xun, and the psychologist named Patty, a close associate of the Sixth Chief.

"The two of you, please take your seats. We..." Patty said, but stopped suddenly, looking at Adam, who was motionless with his back to them, and Zhang Xun, who was staring at them with a strange, indifferent look with a hint of conceit.

Patty suddenly strode over, reached out and touched Adam's shoulder. Adam fell just like that.

The God who could save Lost Paradise fell just like that.

Patty sucked in a breath of cold air, frowned and stared at Zhang Xun, "What did you do?"

Zhang Xun resisted the urge to catch Adam, forced up his head full of dizziness and raised his chin slightly arrogantly, "Tell the Sixth Chief to come to see me in person."

......................................................

When the Sixth Chief brought his entourage into this extremely cramped torture room, Zhang Xun pulled over a chair and sat by the wall. Adam, on the other hand, was "sitting" against the wall, with his head down and his blonde hair covering his eyes, motionless, as if he were dead.

The eyes of the Sixth Chief were burning with a fury that was about to burst out and beneath the calm surface was an almost perceptible upheaval, like violent lava that was forcibly suppressed by cooling volcanic rocks.

When he felt the pure hatred surging in the air, Zhang Xun curled the corners of his mouth up into a smile

Only the heavens knew how much he was struggling right now, he just wanted to take some antipyretics, get a shot of antibiotics and sleep for a few days. But if the exhaustion and all this pain would enable him to see the Sixth Chief at this moment, so furious and backed into a corner, it would all be worth it.

Zhang Xun pretended to be poised and nodded slightly, "Sixth Chief, please take a seat."

Miller pretended to be calm and sat down opposite Zhang Xun. Some guards stood behind him and aimed their guns at Zhang Xun.

Zhang Xun didn't move, smiling at the Sixth Chief. That kind of gentle, polite smile, the more you look at it, the more contempt you can see.

It was the look that Miller hated most.

The look of a genius when facing the second place who would never catch up with him.

That kind of amused, even slightly pitying look.

He wanted to dig out those two eyeballs.

"Zhang Xun, your conduct of letting Adam go before is already enough for you to be brought to court for the crime of disobedience. Now you are using Adam to threaten the Round Table, this is a crime of treason." Miller said calmly.

Zhang Xun chuckled, "I'm a mechanic and I don't even know how to use a gun. How can I use Adam to blackmail you? He's here, you can take him away at any time." Saying that, he also made a "please" gesture in a generous manner.

"You must hand over your controls for Adam immediately." Miller stared at him darkly. "I'll consider asking the Prosecutor's Office not to prosecute you and just remove you from the position of mechanic. But if you continue to be unrepentant, we will have to take extreme measures."

"Extreme measures?" Zhang Xun tilted his head slightly in confusion. This was an action he learned from Adam and he felt that this action was very easy to make people... infuriated, "You mean peeling my skin? Or cutting off my hands and feet?" He said, slowly lifting his sleeves, "This is the control device you want, you can take it away at any time. However...whether or not you can use it will be your own problem. I think since you have a background as a mechanic and you're the youngest Chief of the Round Table, it shouldn't be a problem for you to decode this."

The Sixth Chief frowned, as if he didn't quite understand what was on Zhang Xun's arm. He had never seen such a... system interface...

If it was really a system interface...

So this was Zhang Xun's plan. First encourage Adam to flee, order him to strike against Eden and then put Adam on standby after the victory. Then use the people outside's desperate need to see Adam and need to know that Adam will always protect them, to coerce the Round Table.

He had underestimated this "nerd".

The Sixth Chief suddenly laughed, raised his hands and clapped a few times in the air, "Very well thought out, mechanic Zhang Xun. Tell me, what is your request?"

"I want the Lab to gain autonomy and not have to obey the orders of the Round Table or the Guards." Zhang Xun put away his smile and looked at the Sixth Chief solemnly, "The first versions of all researched and developed products in the Lab belong to the Lab and the replicas sent to the military factory for production belong to you. The guards cannot intervene in the research and development of the Lab's products, nor can they take away the property in the Lab without my permission."

The Sixth Chief sneered, "You really dare? Zhang Xun, don't you have any intentions for the future? Even if we're restricted by... the current situation, what about the future?"

"The future? Will there be a future? We have already openly declared war with Eden, coupled with the Feathered Serpent City stalking us, the days of peace in Lost Paradise are over." Zhang Xun leaned forward slightly, his persistent and focused eyes held a gloomy sense of oppression, "Adam is your only hope, and I, am Adam's only master. I was able to create him and I can destroy him at any time. Worst comes to worst, I can take us all to hell."

"You bastard!!!" A General next to the Sixth Chief couldn't bear it any longer and rushed over angrily, punching Zhang Xun in the face. Zhang Xun only felt a buzzing sound in his ears and his head spun. His entire body almost fell off the chair. Darkness flashed before his eyes and he realised he was on the verge of passing out.

He couldn't pass out, not at this time. He had to hold on.

A dedication so strong that even he himself could not believe it, forced him to regain control of his chaotic consciousness and weak body. He sat himself upright, lifted his head without fading, raising his swollen cheek and the wound on his forehead. The corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a bloody smile.

"Crazy! He's already crazy!" The general's eyes flashed with panic and he took a few steps back. The Sixth Chief stared gloomily at Zhang Xun, the smouldering hatred was so obvious that there was no need to hide it.

"You are a coward." The Sixth Chief said solemnly, "A coward who puts the safety of innocent people in Lost Paradise at risk for his own selfish desires!"

Zhang Xun still smiled, unmoved, "Whether I'm crazy or a coward, I am still Adam's mechanic, his only mechanic."