Chapter 626 - 597 "Polar Storm" Twiki (Part 2)

Bang!

Twiki crashed through the iron door, collapsing onto the ground.

The method she used to escape was incredibly extreme, while it seemed she had pulled off an impossible feat, an injury of this level would normally have killed a person instantly, and she was barely clinging to life.

The extensive burns from the close-range explosion resulted in massive loss of fluids and electrolytes, and since the damaged areas reached the nerves, the pain alone was enough to cause immediate unconsciousness.

The hot gases and toxic fumes produced by the explosion would also enter through her respiratory tract, scorching her respiratory system...

Additionally, the shock wave from the explosion could cause direct damage to the internal organs.

All these injuries could trigger a chain reaction, leading to stress-induced organ dysfunction in areas that were not directly affected by the high temperatures and the shock wave.

But she was still able to move—

This was a safe house, equipped with a portable communication setup, weapons, and two vehicles ready for escape. Ironically, one of the cars was a Thunder Mclaren, the famous vehicle of those three individuals.

Drawing on every ounce of her energy, she activated the exoskeleton on her body to drag herself toward the communication console...

Her movements suddenly halted.

What else could she do?

Oddly, instead of connecting to her personal link to start up the equipment here, she sent a message to her adversary.

Click.

A soft sound came from behind, and a handgun was pressed against her head.

A black metallic arm held the gun, and a voice rich with texture spoke up, "Why stop now? I was thinking of letting you connect, and then I would give you a shot, leaving those hackers who were about to interfere grasping at nothing, their minds spinning."

The place had been hacked; Hansen’s people were waiting to capture her alive—that was the information Twiki had received.

Yet her gaze remained hollow, "Two mercenaries in their fifties still playing this game of mutual betrayal?"

"Look, I don’t have noble goals like you. I’m just a mercenary out to make money, and I want to be the best in my line, a benchmark. And I’ve achieved that—employers give orders, I carry out missions, then I take the money and enjoy myself."

"So that’s why you’re being crushed by military technology like a stray dog."

"Why don’t you mention the times I traveled the world followed by a bunch of untrustworthy employers?"

"I have nothing to say to someone like you, just do it..."

Bang!

The sound of a gunshot marked the end of the Polar Storm which had once terrorized Europeans, ending inexplicably in Dog Town, a place as worthless as its name.

The exoskeleton ceased operation, its mechanical parts forever fixed in a standing position, and Twiki’s body stood in the basement, her head drooping.

[Recipient: Burger King]

...

Lille chose to receive the email.

[I feel that if it weren’t for reality, we could have been good friends—we both caused a great deal of trouble for biotechnology.]

[I served six years in the Russian airborne forces when the people of the old Soviet Union rose up against Su Petrochemical during the Night of Fire, and my family was implicated, so I joined the airborne forces for revenge.]

[But years later, when the European Union and Su Federation started the "Green Man" project to carry out experiments on children still in their mothers’ wombs—and even forcibly conducted experiments on selected mothers based on the Genome Project data—I finally understood.]

[The Su Federation handed over the future to corporations, and biotechnology is the deadliest among them.]

[However, when I managed to persuade most of Europe to resist and ultimately failed, I realized that I actually hadn’t understood at all.]

"[I saw people slaughtering unarmed civilians just to be a better sycophant; I saw their children sold to biotechnology for the Green Person Project reserves; I saw...]

[I was hunted by a child who had lost his parents, and he was chasing down everyone on his list, those who had once been friends with his parents, and I had to kill him. In the end, I looked into his hateful eyes and had to kill him.]

[I saw in his eyes the same reflection of myself.]

[I see you as I once was before I failed.]

[Even though you killed all of us, and I really wish I could kill you too, I truly hope to see you win.]

[Don’t give up the fight, just like I did.]

Lille felt strangely uncomfortable after reading the message.

Although it seemed like it was well-intentioned, there was something ominous about it.

And Twiki’s experiences... he could somewhat understand how the other felt.

"Biotechnology is really forever a nasty piece of work," Lille suddenly remarked.

"Right," Phantom nodded vigorously, "I know you guys have a lot in common on this subject. Honestly, I think you could have been friends."

"Choosing this line of work... choosing friends can sometimes not be so simple, but for someone like him who’s lost all his friends, it may take quite a bit of courage to choose new ones."

"See!" Phantom looked as if vindicated, "I think you two really could have been very good friends!"

V scoffed at this, "The guy has run off, who knows what the situation will be if we meet again."

"There might... not be a next time."

Lille felt that Twiki’s mental state was very off.

On reflection, she had lived in a haze of failure for decades, going from a top terrorist who dominated Europe to an unmotivated mercenary taking only jobs related to biotechnology, from seeking trouble with order and purpose to her current state. It was indeed a significant fall from grace.

[Attachment transfer complete]

This email had a substantial attachment. Lille thought about it and decided to open it anyway.

[Attachment: Adrenaline Enhancer (Transformation Virus)]

[This is the result of biotechnological experiments from my service in the airborne troops, a virus that was supposed to kill me, but I survived the experiment to become one of the few survivors.]

[I don’t need Si Anweisitan, my reaction speed can keep up with those who use Si Anweisitan.]

"...It seems there really won’t be a next time," Lille sighed softly, "no wonder she looked like she wasn’t using any implants, yet could keep up with your reaction speed."

"What’s this?" V leaned in and asked.

"It’s a biological experimental technology. It appears to be a biological enhancer developed by Biotechnology for the Su Federation, mainly equipped for pilots, and also part of the Green Person Project experiments...

Very few people survived, she was one of them."

"What is the Green Person Project?" asked V.

Phantom immediately raised a hand to answer, "It was a genetic project initiated by the European Union and the Su Federation to accelerate space colonization, dating back decades. They collected genes, did modifications targeted at genes, and eventually found manipulating infants yielded better results.

So they turned their focus on fetuses, and even screened potential pregnant women to induce them into the project.

A lot of fetuses died, it caused an uproar, but ultimately there was a fetus that survived, and in the end... the technology must have been successfully applied, after all, we all know there are people on the Moon."

Lille just listened, while Munemasa shared his thoughts:

[Munemasa: You two are truly alike, you overdrawing your life with some kind of biological enhancer, and she turned a deadly virus into a survivor’s boon.]

[Munemasa: I think Phantom is right, in a different situation, you two might really have become friends.]