The screen was no longer golden!!!!
Now, a flood of crimson red overwhelmed his vision. A rapid, hysterical flashing took over, and on the periphery of his sight, the counters were jumping wildly: [WARNING: Critical Core Malfunction. Emotion Suppression Protocol Failing.] [Affection Index: 0.01... 0.05... 0.12... Continuing to rise!]
Jin spun around quickly, fleeing from those clear blue eyes and the strands of straight golden hair that had stripped him of his will. He leaped back into the driver's seat of the armored military vehicle and slammed the door shut.
"Jin? What is it? Why did you fall back like that?" Mika's sharp, skeptical voice came from the passenger seat beside him. She turned to him with scrutinizing eyes, catching a fleeting glimpse of a slight tremor in his left fingers—a completely illogical reaction for a machine. She slowly reached for the vehicle's sensor control panel, her other hand hovering near her weapon. "Have Inspector No. 1's shields been breached?"
Jin felt a cold drop of sweat—something he had never experienced before—slide down his olive skin. The red screen inside him was screaming, threatening to send a "Treason" report to Supreme Leader Zoro, and Mika was right beside him, on the verge of discovering the disaster. In a swift, violent motion, Jin smashed his hand against the main control board, shattering one of the auxiliary screens to trigger a sudden short circuit. He then grabbed his head, feigning pain, and pressed the "Emergency Reboot" button for his internal system, temporarily severing his connection to the network.
"A malfunction in my visual sensors!" Jin panted, trying desperately to make his voice sound mechanical and dry as he ran a hand through his gray hair. "Strong magnetic interference is penetrating my neural shields... The system is losing stability."
Mika stared at him for a second that felt like an eternity. Then, she moved her hand away from her weapon. "Tactical retreat. I will take the wheel."
Throughout the journey back, the atmosphere inside the armored vehicle was charged with tension as its tires screeched across the rough terrain of the Outcasts' land. Jin blinked several times, trying to control his breathing and ignore the lingering, irritating red flashes that fought to appear on the edges of his screen. Every time he closed his eyes, that face loomed before him. How could a mere glance cause such a fracture in a supposedly flawless system?
As soon as they passed through the capital's steel gates, Mika escorted him immediately to the high-security medical wing. There, the real nightmare began.
Jin lay on the cold steel examination bed. The system's wires and electrodes extended to attach to his temple and chest. A blue laser beam began to scan his body, and the voice of the medical AI echoed in the room: [Scanning... Unusual activity detected in the cardiac muscle. Adrenaline surge detected.]
Jin's sharp jaw clenched. He knew that any further spike in his heart rate would mean instant execution. He summoned all his grueling military training, forcing his mind to picture the capital's snow and recalling the images of black ash in the alleyway. He desperately tried to freeze Julia's image and her warmth in the deepest, darkest corner of his consciousness. He slowed his breathing until it nearly stopped, forcing his blood circulation to slow down. [Re-evaluating... Core stabilized. Affection Index: 0.00%. Status: Normal.]
Jin breathed a sigh of relief internally as his screen lit up in its usual golden color once more. He had survived, but he knew it was only a matter of time.
Before heading to the command room, Jin entered the decontamination chamber alone. He stood in front of the large mirror, cold water sliding down his sculpted face. He looked into his dark eyes in the reflection; they looked different. He placed a trembling hand on his bare chest, squeezing the muscle tightly. Thump... Thump... The heartbeat was still there—faint, but present, like a living disease spreading through his metallic body.
He zipped up his black leather jacket tightly, hiding behind the mask of Inspector No. 1, and walked briskly toward the main command hall.
The scene was imposing. The massive metal pillars reflected the cold neon lighting, and in the center of the hall stood someone Jin did not want to see at this particular moment. It was his bitter rival, Inspector Kyle.
Kyle had sharp features and an arrogant gaze, and his internal interface flashed a brilliant gold, completely free of any impurities. Kyle turned slowly when he heard Jin's heavy footsteps, a malicious smirk forming on his lips.
"The perfect machine... comes back limping from a mere reconnaissance mission?" Kyle said in a rough, provocative voice that echoed in the empty hall. "I heard your visual sensors malfunctioned, Jin. Is rust starting to invade your system?"
Jin's expression didn't change as he replied with icy coldness, "My system does not know rust. And my team doesn't need anyone to teach them tactics, especially not someone who was hiding outside the walls."
Kyle's smile widened. He approached with slow steps until he stood face to face with Jin, pointing a finger at the lightning bolt mark carved into his neck. "Outside the walls? You mean the Wastelands... I've spent the past months there, Jin. I wasn't hiding; I was implanting these," he pointed to his chip, "into the necks of thousands of savages who thought they were free. I made them bleed, scream, and then kneel to the System like obedient machines."
Kyle's eyes gleamed with sick, triumphant ecstasy as he continued, "My mission was 100% successful. Supreme Leader Zoro just promoted me. I am now the absolute commander of the entire outer sector. While you... you retreat from magnetic interference? Your spot at the top is no longer safe, Number 1."
Before Jin could respond to this provocation, a terrifying voice echoed through the hall, suddenly making the air feel heavy.
"The top only has room for those who do not make mistakes."
From amidst the dense shadows surrounding the spiked metal throne, Supreme Leader Zoro emerged. He wasn't walking; he glided like a phantom of pure terror. Zoro stood before Jin, glaring at him with a gaze that pierced through skulls, as if he could read the red flash Jin had fought so hard to hide.
"Jin," Zoro called to him in a low voice, a blend of grandeur and pure menace. "Your retreat today is unacceptable. But I have a mission that leaves no room for half-measures to make up for this failure. New coordinates in the Outcasts' land."
Zoro transferred an encrypted file to Jin's system, and his golden screen flashed with the new location data.
"There is an old target who has been hiding in the shadows for years. A rebel family refusing to comply with the Zero Rule," Zoro stepped closer until he was almost whispering in Jin's ear, his words dripping with venom. "I want them eliminated today. Do not let anything distract you this time. Return to me with ash, or do not return at all."
Kyle smirked mockingly as he watched Jin receive his orders.
Jin turned and left the hall, his steps seemingly as steady as solid rock. But deep down, he knew this mission was his only lifeline to prove his blind loyalty to the System before Zoro crushed him. Jin didn't know the identity of the victim, nor did he care. All that mattered was that he had to return with the rebel's ashes to scatter them at the feet of the Supreme Leader.
In the armory, Jin prepared himself with mechanical coldness. He strapped on his black steel tactical armor that hugged his chest and tightly fastened his long leather trench coat. He checked his chip and the lightning mark on his neck, ensuring his golden screen was stable at 0.00%. He wiped away any trace of hesitation from his programmed mind.
He climbed into the armored military vehicle. Mika sat beside him, her mechanical gray eyes fixed on the control panel. The vehicle shot forward, its engines roaring as it carved its way out of the capital's metallic walls, heading toward the Outcasts' land.
"Locate the target, Mika," Jin ordered in his deep, rough voice, his eyes staring coldly into the void ahead.
Mika quickly swiped her slender fingers across the transparent blue screen in front of them. "Tracking the encrypted coordinates provided by Supreme Leader Zoro... Location confirmed, sir. The target is in an area completely isolated from the other settlements. It's an old cabin situated right at the foothills of the Eastern Mountain."
"Excellent. Get ready; the purge will be swift."
The armored vehicle came to a screeching halt just meters away from the dilapidated wooden cabin. Jin stepped out with heavy strides, surrounded by the cold mountain air and the desolate silence of the place. He advanced toward the target: an elderly man standing near the cabin's entrance, whose face instantly contorted with shock and misery at the mere sight of the System's badge.
Jin didn't blink. The man's features didn't stir an ounce of pity within him. To Inspector No. 1, this man was nothing but filth, a piece of "scum" that needed to be purged from the records of their clean world.
Jin slowly raised his right hand, opening his glowing golden screen. He targeted the man with his finger, and a crimson execution order popped up on his interface. He took a shallow breath, ready to utter the words of annihilation.
"Execute proto—"
"Nooooooooo!"
A torn, feminine scream, filled with sheer terror and absolute despair, shattered the silence of the mountain from behind him.
"Please don't kill him! He's my father! Kill me instead!"
Jin's hand froze in mid-air. That voice... it was terrifyingly familiar. A voice that had pierced his neural shields and shaken his very core just a few hours ago.
Jin turned around agonizingly slowly, his golden screen still illuminating his suddenly pale face.
There, falling to her knees in the rough dirt, tears streaming from the clear blue eyes that had stolen his mind, was the exact same girl. She had returned. It was Julia!!!!