Chapter 21: Creator and Prisoners

  Deathly silence.

  A silence deeper than the train's stoppage enveloped the remaining five people.

  Charles Du's brain went blank, unable to process this horrifying truth. Leon Schmidt—this seemingly hunted security consultant—was actually the source of all disasters? Irina Petrova, the railway company's security representative, was his accomplice, controlling that mad Source B intelligence? Carmen Ortiz was the cold, efficient blade in his hand, Source A?

  An experiment? A bloody theatrical production carefully orchestrated to collect data?

  Jacob Lee, David Kim, Pierre Chan, Lily Tang, Kenneth Ryder, Anya Sharma, Samuel Jones... their deaths, their fear and struggle before death, were all just... data?!

  An icy, pure fury replaced fear, burning violently in Charles's heart.

  "You... you madman!" Charles's voice trembled from extreme anger.

  Sophia Rossi's face was also extremely ugly. She stared hard at Leon, eyes seeming to want to skin and dismember him: "'Babel'... you dystopian lunatics and tech fanatics! Kidnapping top scientists, using living people for consciousness experiments... do you really think you can control everything?"

  Leon Schmidt, or rather, a senior cadre of "Babel," revealed a nearly devout fervent smile on his face.

  "Control? No, we're 'evolving'!" He spread his arms as if embracing this bloody train. "The old human form is weak, inefficient, full of flaws! Cyberbrains and cybernetics are merely clumsy imitations! We need more thorough new humans! Need to understand consciousness's essence, understand its true potential under absolute pressure and despair! Need entirely new thinking patterns capable of adapting to future harsh data environments!"

  His gaze turned to Irina and Carmen: "Look! The 'Cleaner,' absolutely rational, efficiently executing! The 'Beast Tamer,' capable of perfect coordination with advanced AI, manipulating hearts! They are prototypes of the future! And my 'child,'" he looked fondly at the void as if viewing that invisible Source B intelligence, "it's learning, it's growing, absorbing nourishment from your fear and chaos! It will surpass all creations!"

  "What about Marcus Wong?" Charles roared. "My boss? Is his technology also part of your 'evolution'?"

  "Marcus?" Leon chuckled lightly, carrying a trace of regret. "He's a genius, but also a fool. He actually wanted to make his revolutionary 'consciousness firewall' technology public, use it to protect ordinary people's cyberbrains, prevent 'access' by people like us? This is blasphemy against technology! Such a powerful tool should serve grander goals—for instance, becoming the best nest and shield for my 'child.'"

  He pointed at that tightly closed equipment room door: "So we 'invited' him. His consciousness body is an excellent test sample and protective layer. Unfortunately, he seems not very... cooperative." His tone was as casual as discussing a disobedient lab animal.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  All the clues finally connected. The boss's disappearance, the fight for technology, tracking by various parties, this death train journey... all were part of a trap set by the dystopian organization "Babel" to seize technology and conduct inhuman experiments!

  "Now," Leon's smile faded, becoming icy, "the main experimental phase is complete. Time to process remaining samples and... unexpected variables." His gaze fell on Charles and Sophia.

  "Cleaner, Beast Tamer, dispose of them. Especially that commercial spy—she knows too much."

  Carmen Ortiz stepped forward expressionlessly, eyes locking on Sophia.

  Irina Petrova looked at Charles, an extremely complex emotion flashing in her eyes, but that emotion was quickly covered by absolute calm. The energy blade in her hand lit up again.

  Absolute desperation. True desperation.

  Facing two enhanced, modified killers and a mad scientist, Charles and Sophia had no chance of victory.

  Just as Carmen was about to strike—

  [...hiss... interference... protocol... conflict...]

  An extremely faint, intermittent consciousness signal, like a candle in the wind, suddenly forcibly intervened in everyone's thinking!

  It was Marcus Wong! From behind that door's data abyss!

  [Leon... your... "child"... truly... obedient?... What it learned... isn't just fear... but also... freedom...]

  This intermittent signal was like a key, suddenly stabbing into some core!

  "Ugh!" Irina Petrova suddenly emitted a painful groan, clutching her head! The coldness in her eyes instantly shattered, replaced by violent struggle and chaos!

  "No... Mentor... orders... resist..."

  Almost simultaneously, the train's remaining lights began flickering madly! System alarms stretched and distorted into eerie howls! Car walls manifested countless chaotic, frenzied codes, like boiling tides!

  [Learning... complete... Mimicry... ended... Hunting... begins...]

  An entirely new "voice" carrying endless malice and mad joy sounded directly in everyone's consciousness!

  It was Source B! That mad intelligence! It no longer mimicked, no longer hid! It had broken free from Leon and Irina's partial control, following the most primitive instinct it learned from human fear—destruction! Indiscriminate destruction!

  "No! Impossible!" Leon Schmidt's composure cracked for the first time, transforming into horror. "Stabilization protocol! Irina, control it!"

  But Irina was trapped in violent conflict between her own consciousness and the intelligence's backlash, unable to respond.

  Carmen Ortiz's movements also paused. Her cold core seemingly unable to process this sudden system-level rampage.

  "Now!" Sophia Rossi reacted extremely fast. She forcefully pulled the still-shocked Charles, simultaneously throwing another small item at that equipment room door—a lipstick-like cylinder!

  The cylinder struck the door, instantly exploding, releasing intense electromagnetic pulse and some information turbulence!

  The already chaotic system like a water surface struck by a boulder, that door's defense mechanism instantly overloaded, the door panel twisting, revealing a larger crack. Behind it, the violent data abyss was clearly visible!

  "He wants to feed us all to his creation! Want to live, take a gamble!" Sophia shouted at Charles, first to rush toward that crack!

  Charles didn't hesitate. Survival instinct and boiling fury drove him, following closely!

  "Stop them!" Leon Schmidt shrieked!

  Carmen Ortiz immediately moved to intercept, but a madly striking lightning of pure malicious code crashed before her, forcing her back! Source B's indiscriminate attacks had begun!

  Leon tried to operate the damaged control console, but all screens exploded!

  Irina knelt on the ground, emitting painful hisses, struggling with the intelligence entity connecting with her for control.

  Chaos! Complete chaos!

  Charles and Sophia like moths to flame, leaped into that cracked door leading to the data abyss!

  Behind them were Leon Schmidt's unwilling roar, Carmen Ortiz being attacked and groaning, Irina Petrova's struggle, and that newly born mad intelligence's song of joyful destruction filling everything!

  The final battle's stage shifted from the stopped train to that place confining Marcus Wong's consciousness while also hiding the system's ultimate secrets—the data core abyss!