The mech lowered its foot, looking straight at 13. A helicopter gunship flew overhead, dropping a special iron box. The box, 2.5 meters long and 0.8 meters wide, plunged into the ground beside the mech. Dropped from only about 20 meters, the box's weight could be inferred.
"What are you trying to do? Wasn't this supposed to be a one-on-one fight? What tricks are you playing now?" Liu Tao became agitated.
"Don't forget your current situation, Commander Liu!" Anne threatened bluntly. "Here, you're essentially a prisoner. Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
"If you dare, I won't fight back. Know that you'll be ending not just my life, but also the era of peaceful days for the United States!" Liu Tao remained defiant.
"Peaceful days are so boring!" Black Dragon, who hadn't spoken for a while, stretched, his neck sore from watching the screen.
"Don't you understand yet? Since the U.S. dared to drag your ace onto the world stage for a duel without your consent, what peace could they possibly expect? This duel isn't a contest; it's a staged performance. A performance means the beginning, the middle, the climax, and the ending are all predetermined. So, 13 will definitely be beaten to death by the mech in the end." Black Dragon analyzed calmly. "The goal is to show the world that America's military power is beyond comparison. It's like a new era military exercise. Your so-called special forces soldier is just a target in this show..."
"Black Dragon is right!" Anne interjected. "This is a military exercise intended as a show of force. Choosing 13 as the target is because of your arrogant nation claiming a single soldier could harm two mechs. This seriously damaged American dignity. Now, the world will know that even special forces soldiers are just biological organisms. You'll see that soon enough!"
Liu Tao's body trembled. So many secrets lay hidden behind everything...
"Woo..." The Elf opened the box. 13 remained vigilant.
The audience gasped...
A giant sword was gripped by the mech. The sword was 2.2 meters long and 0.5 meters wide. Its black blade matched the Elf.
"The Elf has no firearms, but in exchange, it possesses terrifying close-combat power. Now, 13, what will you do?" Anne muttered to herself, watching the disproportionately sized opponents face off on the screen.
The mech moved again! The Elf took a large step forward, executing a simple horizontal swing with its weapon. The speed didn't seem fast, but the giant sword, carrying wind pressure, swept towards 13's waist.
An extreme backward bend, the giant sword grazed past his chest armor.
Just as he straightened up, the Elf's sword didn't stop, rotating faster with a slightly altered angle.
Jumping straight up, performing a forward somersault, a 360-degree downward chop landed squarely on the mech's head. Using the momentum, he leaped backward, landing 2 meters away. This was the heaviest blow yet. The mech almost sat down on the ground.
"Giant weapons have immense attack power, but they're inconvenient for close combat, with limited variations. If you insist on holding it, I think I've already won..." 13 assumed a fighting stance.
The Elf steadied itself. Its vision flickered slightly. Something was emerging; the machine trembled faintly.
"The Elf is strange..." Baby, beside Anne, spoke with fearful eyes. "He's... angry..."
"Nie Yun... are you watching? My mech can now generate human emotions. This was the issue we argued about for a year. Now I've done it! I've achieved what you called impossible! If it were the past, would you still pat my head and praise me?" A tear, unnoticed, slid down Anne's face.
"Woo... Woo..." No longer a low growl, but a roar towards the sky. Within the massive computer, commands beyond the mission parameters appeared – Must kill him!
The command originated from a fuzzy memory fragment:
"Elf, you are the strongest... No one can possibly harm you. That's why Baby feels really safe by your side. Because here is the safest place, do you understand what I mean?"
"Woo..." The mech's roar didn't cease. 13 sensed something wrong. This feeling was familiar – hatred! Hatred for a person!
"Do you know why I primarily let you control the Elf?" Anne looked at Baby beside her. "Because of your innocence and childlike heart, we needed it to forge a key, a key to activate the Elf's 100% operation. Its computer houses the latest AI intelligence. While this provides higher combat reaction capabilities, the damned intelligence has a self-preservation program, limiting its performance to 85%, with the highest command only allowing up to 95%. 100% operation causes devastating damage to the machine. Although we wanted to tell it we could build more machines like it, it completely lacks a sense of sacrifice." Anne turned back, gazing affectionately at the Elf on the screen. "Emotion truly is the fundamental trigger for the power of all intelligent entities... Nie Yun, your theory was correct."
"What's wrong with it?" Liu Tao felt an inexplicable fear.
"Nothing... Just 'angry'," Anne replied with a smile.
"Mission Directive Analysis – Kill the person in front!
Mission Outcome – Person in front dies, mech will sustain partial counter-attack damage.
AI Hidden Supreme Directive – Under no circumstances allow Baby to be harmed.
Current Situation – Elf is sustaining damage...
Elf is no longer the strongest...
Baby will not feel safe staying beside the Elf...
Baby not beside the Elf will be subjected to various harms...
Baby is in danger...
Baby will die...
Analyze Solution – Kill the person in front! Use the most powerful force to kill the person in front. Let Baby know the Elf is the strongest! Beside the Elf is the safest!
Execute AI Hidden Supreme Directive!
100% System Operation, kill the person in front!"
The mech stopped roaring, looked at 13, and a fuzzy synthetic voice slowly said, "I... will... kill... you..."
The Elf's words reminded the fully focused 13 of his first fight with Angel. Back then, his own heart was filled with the same sentence...
The mech slowly approached 13, dragging the giant sword behind it. Sparks flew from the friction on the ground.
Unable to move. 13's feet couldn't step away, like prey stared down by a lion. Instinct told 13's body, move and you die!
America's goal was achieved. The audience in front of their TVs now deeply felt the mech's terror. Even the constantly cheering Chinese audience just watched silently.
Just over a meter away from 13, the mech's sword-wielding right hand vanished into thin air. Biting his lip, the brief pain snapped 13 back to reality.
"Clang!" A loud noise. The giant sword appeared above 13's head, caught mid-air by the sole of 13's raised right foot. A standard aerial split ended the Elf's beautiful attack.
But 13 didn't look relaxed. The giant sword had cut through the 2-centimeter thick Titan metal sole. Blood flowed down the armor onto the ground.
The Elf deftly retracted the sword. 13 hadn't yet lowered his foot. The Elf's sword hand vanished again.
This time a horizontal slash! Too fast to evade. Raising his left forearm armor to block was futile.
The blade's edge forced 13 off the ground, spinning him around and slamming him against the wall he had just crouched against. This time, he was completely "plastered" onto it.
"Boom!" The wall dented inward. 13 violently spat out a mouthful of blood, the front of his ZX7 combat suit turning red.
The 13 who was actively counter-attacking moments ago now had no ability to resist. Recalling the previous exchange felt like the mech was just playing with a child. Now, the mech had tired of the game, revealing its adult authority.
Nie Yun clenched his fists, silently watching 13's predicament. He still believed 13 wouldn't lose. Liu Tao was worried but also believed. All Chinese people knew this black monster was strong, yet they still hoped for 13.
Slowly sliding down the wall, back against it. He raised his uninjured right hand, pulled down his collar, and spat out the accumulated blood.
His vision blurred; the holographic helmet seemed damaged. But he could still see the box on the ground before him. Realizing he was about to hit the wall, 13 had quickly tossed it to the ground. Otherwise, Angel's memento would surely be destroyed.
Struggling, he reached his right arm towards the box, just wanting to pick up the memories left by someone else...
The Elf slowly approached, casually stepping over the tiny box. 13 didn't even have a chance to say "Don't."
Since the person is dead, what meaning do these things hold? 13 thought.
The mech raised the sword in its hand. A downward slash cut across 13's face. The helmet shattered into two pieces and fell.
For the first time, the world saw the pride of China who had once single-handedly injured two mechs.
Unexpectedly young in everyone's minds.
Blood flowed from his head; his pale face changed color.
But most shocking was that the blood mixed with tears. 13 was crying. Crying while looking at the deformed box on the ground. Tears flowed more than the blood from his head.
His face slowly contorted; his handsome features now looked exceptionally ugly. He was sobbing, like a child, like a woman, like a helpless warrior who had lost everything.
Unknown why, seeing 13's expression, Liu Tao cried, Baby cried too. The audience before their TVs were also crying.
The clamoring Americans began to reflect, "Are we right?"
The Elf's eyes flickered. The giant sword in its hand repeatedly struck 13's body, avoiding vital points. Each blow just cut open 13's body, letting blood flow out.
It could have ended the mission with one strike, but it didn't want to! It wanted Baby to see! To see how powerful it was. Any threat before it was destined only for torment, just like this person.
It was using its actions to say, "Look! How powerful I am. I am the strongest, no one can harm me, they are as insignificant as their bodies. So being with me is the safest."
"You deceived the Elf!" Baby understood its intended message, recalling the sentences Anne made her recite daily. It was all a setup to trick the Elf into using its full power.
"Yes, we deceived him! So what?" Anne smiled with interest. "Look at him now! Wielding a 1-ton Titan giant sword like a conductor's baton. That insurmountable power. Even the 13 who was constantly resisting just moments ago isn't he subdued at its feet? He is a god! A god of the battlefield! All enemies are insignificant in his eyes. After today, no one will dare oppose America. Because resistance will bring divine punishment upon them, he is the true God's Punishment!"
It didn't matter anymore... 13, already collapsed on the ground, struggled to breathe. The surroundings turned into a pool of blood. If not for pushing his limits, he would likely be unconscious by now.
13 thought, if only he were unconscious, at least Angel's memories wouldn't keep flashing in his mind. That girl was truly special. She made him try to resist fate. She let him know how good it felt to be alive. 24 loved 13; she taught 13 what liking someone meant. For her, it was mostly gratitude. For that girl, it should be the 'like' he didn't quite understand. What he missed most was her face, most profound were the tears at the corner of her eyes. What he liked most was the punch that woke him up. Liking someone is truly a happy thing. Just as Angel said, there is a God, and one should thank Him. He allowed him to meet someone he really liked in his short life...
She had said, I have already learned to resist. She liked his unyielding heart.
Ask his heart, "Can you still resist?"
A strong beat responded to 13.
The Elf walked up to the motionless 13 on the ground, raising the blood-stained giant sword. Its display showed the words 'Mission End'.
The hearts of the Chinese audience turned cold. Some emotionally fragile people cried out loud. They weren't crying for the nation's defeat, but simply for 13, this pitiful boy...
"Woo..." The mech roared and plunged the sword down. The concrete rooftop was pierced 20 centimeters deep. But it didn't go through 13's body.
13 vanished from the pool of blood.
The cameras frantically searched...
13 stood 40 meters behind the mech, wiping the blood from his mouth with one hand.
"Yes!" Liu Tao shouted.
"Yes!" Nie Yun jumped up from the sofa.
"Yes!" All Chinese viewers tossed their red flags into the air.
The Elf was enraged, pulling the sword from the ground and charging towards 13!
"I can still resist!" 13 took a deep breath, looked at the charging mech, and took a step forward...