Dec 2067, District 17, Neo-Chinatown Metropolis | "Heavy Downpour"
On rainy nights in Neo-Chinatown Metropolis, all sins could be washed into blur, while simultaneously providing the perfect background noise for certain dark transactions.
In an abandoned automated warehouse on the city's edge, only a lone lamp swayed overhead, casting pale and unstable circles of light. In the center of the light circle, two metal chairs held two bound men.
One was Richard Bryce, former VP of R&D at the Garden of Eden Group, an American whose hair was meticulously combed and who, even now, tried to maintain a certain dignity. The other was Liam Koch, once Charles Du's timid, shifty-eyed assistant researcher, a Canadian.
Before them, Sophia Rossi sat on a stack of cargo crates, methodically wiping a peculiarly shaped tool emitting a ghostly blue glow with a velvet cloth—it wasn't meant for killing, but could precisely interfere with cybernetic neural sensors to maximize pain while remaining non-lethal. Her red hair in the lamplight resembled a cluster of cold flames, her face wearing a smile both sweet and dangerous.
"Alright, gentlemen," her voice was exceptionally clear in the empty warehouse, carrying an operatic aria quality, "the rain's so loud, no matter how deeply we chat, no one will disturb us. Let's start from eighteen years ago, that unfortunate 'accident,' shall we? About that girl named Yolanda von Urd."
Richard tried to maintain toughness: "I don't know what you're talking about! This is kidnapping! Garden of Eden's legal department..."
Bang!
Sophia's tool had somehow transformed into a compact pulse pistol, an energy beam grazing Richard's ear and blasting sparks from a mechanical arm control box behind him. The smell of burnt material instantly filled the air.
"Shh—" Sophia placed a finger to her lips, smile unchanged. "Mr. Bryce, your company files, financial flows—including those lovely little accounts in the Cayman Islands, and even the 'overtime records' with your secretary—I know everything. Do you think I care about Garden of Eden's legal department right now?"
Her gaze shifted to Liam Koch, who was already scared nearly to the point of sliding off his chair. "And you, Mr. Koch. Seems you're quite enjoying your new position at Garden of Eden's Advanced Biointerface Laboratory? Taking over Mr. Du's project, even getting your name mixed into the Project Eve—truly... meteoric rise." Sophia's voice was sickeningly sweet, yet carried bone-chilling coldness. "Such a pity, an accidental laboratory leak, or a severe neural simulator overload explosion, could so easily destroy a 'genius' researcher's bright future, and of course... himself as well."
Mental oppression was far more effective than physical threats. Sophia knew this art well. She precisely shattered their seemingly solid psychological defenses.
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The following process became much "smoother." Under Sophia's alternating methods of gentle coaxing and cruel threatening, fragments of truth were pieced together bit by bit.
Richard Bryce, to advance the Project Eve (Personality-Fusion-type Enhanced Artificial Intelligence), needed a perfect human consciousness sample for fusion. Yolanda, "donated" by her family and utterly alone, became the ideal target. But Charles Du's protection and the steady technological progress became obstacles.
"We needed an 'accident'..." Richard's voice trembled. "An accident that would make Mr. Du leave, and put the cyberbrain in a takeover-ready state..."
So he found Liam Koch, who seemed humble but was actually full of resentment toward his situation and salary. He promised a large sum of money and a new opportunity for promotion and raise upon success.
"I... I just made some minor adjustments during a routine calibration..." Liam sobbed, not daring to lift his head. "Making the cyberbrain's certain feedback circuit... overload at specific frequencies... it would look like a severe rejection reaction outbreak... no one would suspect..."
Everything was clear. Not an accident at all, but a meticulously planned plunder targeting a helpless girl. For a cold, heartless project, they cruelly tore apart the only warmth between Yolanda and Charles, and pushed a beautiful consciousness into an abyss of endless suffering.
"Please..." Richard Bryce was covered in tears and snot, his expensive suit stained with filth. "We've said everything... everything... let us go... that girl... Yolanda... she was so kind... she would surely... surely forgive us..."
Liam Koch also grasped at this straw of salvation, nodding repeatedly: "Yes! Yes! She was like an angel! She would forgive..."
Sophia slowly stood from the cargo crate, step by step approaching the two men. The smile vanished from her face, replaced by an extreme, icy calm. The swaying lamplight cast shadows in her deep green eyes.
She bent down, her voice soft as a whisper, yet carrying the weight of a thousand pounds, crashing into the souls of both men:
"Yes, you're right."
"The goddess will of course forgive you."
Her gaze swept across their faces, where hope suddenly surged, and then that gaze became like absolute zero ice.
"But I will not."
The hope on both men's faces instantly froze, shattered, transforming into deeper terror.
"Precisely there exists in this world such a kind and merciful goddess as her, willing to bear all suffering..." Sophia's voice suddenly rose, carrying a proclamation-like cold decisiveness. "That's exactly why there must be evil people like me to execute 'divine punishment' upon scum like you!"
As her words fell, the pulse pistol in her hand rose again. This time, it wasn't a warning.
The next day, the electronic edition of Neo-Chinatown Chronicle simultaneously published two death case reports:
"Garden of Eden Group executive Richard Bryce unfortunately died accidentally in his private apartment yesterday. Preliminary investigation shows that Mr. Bryce, due to his personal special proclivities, used excessive amounts of M-type masochistic experience stimulators, causing his cyberbrain to suffer high-intensity stimulation in a short time and overload, ultimately resulting in complete destruction. When discovered, his cybernetic body displayed an unnatural posture twisted from extreme pain, yet his face showed a satisfied smile. Police have ruled out homicide."
"A serious accident occurred today at the Garden of Eden Group's affiliated Advanced Biointerface Laboratory. A senior researcher named Liam Koch, while operating a high-precision neural simulation array, allegedly due to equipment overload triggering energy feedback, had his cyberbrain core processor severely burned, dying on the spot. The cause of the accident is believed to be related to unauthorized operations, with specific details still under investigation."
The rain continued to fall, washing over everything in this city. No one knew that behind two perfect "accidents," a red-haired "evildoer" had executed the most silent, yet most thorough justice for her "goddess" trapped on the data altar.