TIC Chapter 24

 Chapter 24: The Fall or the Light

The dual-system operation was already placing him under immense pressure, while his very thoughts were being constantly disrupted. He thought at lightning speed; whenever the adversary damaged a section, he would swiftly reconstruct and repair it. As the rate of destruction accelerated, Xiao Yan was forced to think even faster, mobilizing the terminal's full computational power to ceaselessly devise strategies for maintaining the integrity of his cognitive processes.

This was a high-stakes game of wits; he had to anticipate—one step ahead of his opponent—which specific modules the adversary intended to attack, thereby fortifying his defenses in advance.

System Alert: Eleven minutes remaining until arrival at the base.

It was a mere minute—yet it felt as long as a century.

Just then, a grave female voice issued from the system.

"This is Research Base No. 2. Aircraft pilot, please state your ID number."

"Xiao Yan... ID 1665... Undergoing intrusion by an 'Inhibitor'... Dual-system overload..."

Inside the control room at Base No. 2, the communications officer swiftly connected the call to the commanding officer—Colonel Shen Bing.

"Colonel, this is the Line 1 Communications Officer. Reporting an emergency situation!"

"Go ahead," the man's cold, deep voice responded.

"Aircraft K388—en route to our base from Base No. 14—is showing a single-pilot status. The pilot currently at the controls is neither Captain Jon nor Captain Deng Ying, as listed in the transfer manifest."

"Who is the pilot?"

"Xiao Yan, a cadet from the Central Academy of Sciences. ID 1665."

"Is he listed on the passenger manifest?"

"Yes."

"Have they encountered an 'Inhibitor'?"

"Yes. Xiao Yan is currently operating the dual-engine system single-handedly. Should we grant clearance for entry into the base? And if so, shall we provide technical support?"

"If a mere cadet is capable of operating a dual-engine system—and doing so while simultaneously fending off the pressure of an Inhibitor—then tell me: who else here possesses the capability to offer *him* any technical support? Run a diagnostic on his brain-terminal interface to measure his processing speed."

Three seconds later, the communications officer’s voice—tinged with hesitation—rang out: "Reporting, Colonel... It is... three hundred million megabits per second..."

For the first time, a ripple of astonishment disturbed the otherwise placid depths of Colonel Shen Bing's eyes.

"Connect me to Xiao Yan."

At that very moment, Xiao Yan was clenching his teeth in sheer determination. The Inhibitor's cognitive speed and the sheer breadth of its knowledge base far exceeded his wildest expectations; his mental fortress was crumbling—layer by layer. “Hello, Xiao Yan. I am Colonel Shen Bing, Commander of Base No. 2.”

“...Colonel... I’m barely holding on... Please, you must...”

“I am sorry, but I cannot provide you with any technical support at this moment.”

Shen Bing’s tone was utterly calm, as if the immense pressure Xiao Yan was currently enduring were no more strenuous than lifting a teacup.

“Colonel! Are you joking?! There are two captains here suffering from mental collapse, along with twelve cadets! We...”

Xiao Yan’s emotions flared, and the *Blocker* seized the instant of his emotional fluctuation to launch a sudden, violent intrusion into his subconscious. Xiao Yan barely managed to withstand the assault; he had come within a hair’s breadth of meeting the same fate as his two predecessors!

The “technical support” referred to here involved a third party intervening via the terminal—remotely taking over system controls from Xiao Yan to assist him in purging the intrusion.

“Calm yourself, Xiao Yan. The moment we provide you with any technical support, it will be detected by the *Blocker* that has infiltrated your mind. You simply need to hold out until you reach the base; at that point, we will sever the terminal link. A residual fragment of the adversary’s neural data will remain imprinted within your mind. This will serve as an invaluable resource for our intelligence on the ‘Surge’ organization.”

“And if... I fail?”

“You crash.”

“So, simply because we are cadets, our lives hold absolutely no value to you—is that it?!” Xiao Yan demanded through clenched teeth.

The word “crash”—to think the man could utter it so nonchalantly! If Xiao Yan ever got the chance to meet this damned colonel face-to-face, he would punch him right in the face and smash it to a pulp!

“I cannot speak for the others, but judging by the processing speed of your brain and your terminal interface, *you* are a highly valuable resource to us.”

A resource? He was a living, breathing human being!

Although Xiao Yan was not yet a commissioned officer, he had long since anticipated the hypocrisy and ruthlessness inherent in the military establishment. It was precisely because of these characteristics that Xiao Yan had never bothered striving—as his fellow cadets did—to pass the Class-A evaluations and gain entry into the military’s inner circle. In his eyes, that world was nothing more than a quagmire; having to deal with such hypocrites on a daily basis would be the death of him! “Listen—although all forms of thought manifest physically through the terminal, the specific nature of that manifestation depends entirely on your individual way of thinking.”

“No shit!”

All of this stuff is written right there in the textbooks!

“The form your thoughts take determines exactly how the Blocker will attempt to destroy you.”

Shen Bing’s connection cut out.

Xiao Yan felt an overwhelming urge to cough up blood. *That* was the “hint” the guy had given him?!

He was going to die! He was going to be killed by that damn Colonel! That cold-blooded lunatic!

This ceaseless cycle of deconstruction followed immediately by reconstruction left Xiao Yan utterly exhausted.

He decided to simply let go of everything; his entire mental framework collapsed abruptly, and a specific image rose to the surface of his mind—the forest he had once gazed down upon from high in the sky.

A boundless expanse of green, whispering softly in the wind.

Every neural pathway began to take root and sprout. The Blocker, in response, unleashed a raging inferno along the trunks that were rapidly growing and stretching toward the heavens. Yet, in an instant, the flames were consumed—only to be ultimately drowned beneath the vast, surging waters of an entire ocean.

Xiao Yan dismantled every piece of information, scattering it across the farthest corners of his mind. He memorized their constituent elements in his own unique way, ready to retrieve them at any moment—to reassemble and transmit them from the deepest depths of the ocean floor.

Within moments, the waters fell into chaos; the information, now thoroughly disturbed, was scattered in disarray.

Xiao Yan was forced to chase after the specific data he needed across this vast ocean, riding the waves as he went. The Blocker followed close behind him—a constant, looming threat where danger lurked in every single second.

By now, Shen Bing had left his office and arrived at the Command Center. Arms crossed, he stared intently at the aircraft that was rapidly closing in on the base.

“Open the base hangar doors.”

“Yes, sir.”

The communications officer pressed the button, watching with growing anxiety as the aircraft’s altitude continued to drop. Sure enough, by the time it reached a distance of fifty meters from the base, the craft had already dipped below the level of the hangar doors.

“Colonel?” The officer turned back to him; there was still a chance to provide technical assistance and save their lives—if they acted now.

“Wait a little longer,” Shen Bing said, narrowing his eyes.

Forty meters...

Thirty meters...

“Colonel!” The officer turned back again. She, too, was a soldier; the people out there, struggling desperately for survival, were her comrades-in-arms. The corners of Shen Bing’s lips curled upward slowly.

The liaison officer turned to look at the holographic display screen, watching as the aircraft ascended at a nearly vertical angle; less than five meters from the hatch, it leveled out before crashing violently inside.

"Cut all data transmissions. Initiate wireless signal jamming."

Shen Bing issued the order.

"Yes, sir!"

As darkness descended, every cadet inside the cabin squeezed their eyes shut, bracing themselves for the end of the world.

The transition—from that vertical ascent to the jarring impact—seemed to happen in the blink of an eye.

"Why is it dark... Did we crash?"

"...What on earth is going on?"

"Where exactly are we?"

Lily shoved hard at her safety restraints, but they didn't budge—a clear sign that the aircraft had suffered a complete power failure.

"Xiao Yan—Xiao Yan, are you there? —Xiao Yan!"

Lily began shouting at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly, the lights overhead flickered on. Everyone instinctively squeezed their eyes shut again; as their vision adjusted to the glare, they heard the sound of the hatch opening.

Several officers stood rigidly just outside the hatchway. Leading the group was a man in his late twenties—sharp, jet-black hair and a gaze so cold it instantly sent a jolt of anxiety through the hearts of the cadets, who had just survived a brush with death.

"I am Colonel Shen Bing, Commander of Base No. 2."

Shen Bing executed a military salute so flawless it could have served as a textbook example. Before the cadets could fully recover their wits, Shen Bing gave a slight tilt of his chin; two officers—identified as Majors by the insignia on their shoulder boards—stepped forward, opened the cockpit hatch, and initiated a system link.

Lily watched with crystal clarity: Xiao Yan was still sitting in his seat, head bowed, the neural link device still attached to his head. It was painfully obvious that the connection the two officers were establishing was not with the aircraft's onboard terminal, but directly with Xiao Yan’s brain.

"What are you doing?! What’s wrong with Xiao Yan?"

Lily lunged forward, but she was immediately intercepted by the other officers accompanying the commander.

Shen Bing turned his gaze toward Lily and let out a disdainful snort. "Welcome to Base No. 2. You’ve all had a grueling journey. We have a sumptuous dinner prepared for you tonight; I trust you cadets will enjoy it thoroughly."

Lily and the rest of the cadets were forcibly ushered out of the cabin. She tried to protest further, but she was physically blocked by the officers surrounding her. “That’s Shen Bing! We must obey his orders!”

Shen Bing was an elite military researcher dispatched from Xial. Having spent nearly six years conducting external investigations, he had transmitted back numerous invaluable research reports; the military command was already considering promoting him to the rank of Major General. Compared to such a towering figure, these cadets were utterly insignificant—even if Shen Bing were to toss them out of the base to be devoured by zombies, no one would bat an eye.

Captain Jon and Captain Deng Ying were carried out.

Shen Bing’s adjutant approached his side and whispered, “Colonel, we require someone with experience dealing with ‘Blockers’ to help them regain their normal cognitive functions.”

Shen Bing let out a soft sigh.

“Are you asking me to step in personally?”

The adjutant hesitated for a moment, but ultimately nodded.

“I will not enter anyone’s mind ever again. The human subconscious is a terrifying place.”

Shen Bing leaned one hand against the hatchway, fixing his gaze on Xiao Yan’s profile.

“How did the data extraction go?”

“Every trace and piece of information left behind in his brain by the ‘Blocker’ has been successfully extracted.”

“And what about him? When will he wake up?”

“...His brain suffered from information overload, and he subsequently endured...”

“The cause is already clear; what I want is the result.” Shen Bing cut him off impatiently.

“...He has entered a state of conscious self-preservation. Unless someone enters his mind to tell him that he is safe, he will not wake up.”

Shen Bing chuckled. “So, after all that, the guy has essentially trapped himself?”

“...Yes.”

“What a rookie.”

“Colonel... at the very least, Xiao Yan secured some invaluable data for us. Perhaps you...” The adjutant ventured another suggestion, but the moment his eyes met Shen Bing’s expression, the rest of his words caught in his throat.

“I said I will not enter anyone’s mind again. If it comes down to it, just let him lie there. Once we have the opportunity to send him back to Xial, there will be plenty of people there capable of waking him up!”

With that, Shen Bing turned and walked away in evident impatience.