Having just taken a step, 13 vanished once more from the screen, accompanied only by three thunderous reports: "Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"What an oblivious fellow! Does he not perceive the impossibility of surpassing the limit?" Anni discerned that 13 intended to employ the same tactic as before. The mech positioned its sword horizontally across its chest, disengaged the anti-gravity device, and applied maximum pressure downward onto the ground, bracing to repel the formidable assault that had previously sent her flying ten meters.
"Clang!" 13's side kick impacted the broad sword face, producing a resonance akin to a great bell, leaving behind a bloodstained imprint of his right shoe. Despite being poised, Jingling involuntarily lifted off the ground, propelled backward. This time, it would halt after merely a few meters; the mech was already contemplating its subsequent counter-attack.
13's supporting left leg lost its strength, causing him to collapse toward the ground. Maintaining the side-kick posture, 13 vanished again. Three familiar, deafening cracks emanated, and a wave of trepidation surged within Anni's heart.
Her vision began to grow vertiginous; the initially clear image of 13 became indistinct. A velocity capable of blurring even Jingling's high-speed cameras was absolutely daunting!
"Is this the limit?" 13 interrogated himself. "If I fall, the resistance concludes. He can still move; it's not over! Body, reanimate! I must convey to Zhang Jie, inform her I can still resist!"
"Right now, maintain the side-kick posture before the camera and eliminate him!" the recognized voice issued from Anni's earpiece. Unease gnawed at Anni.
Jingling, too, grew perplexed. The previously sharp image of 13 on the screen turned nebulous. A speed that could blur Jingling's high-speed cameras was undeniably formidable!
"Clang!" 13's left fist assailed the blood imprint on the giant sword's surface like a cannonball. Observing the scene unfold, diverse contemplations surfaced in the minds of everyone within the conference room.
"Ah!" 13 bellowed, his fist forcefully sundering the giant sword, which measured a full centimeter in thickness. The momentum undiminished, his fist lunged towards the mech's chest. Still airborne, the mech accelerated backward, tumbling across the ground, demolishing several concrete floor slabs before halting.
Nie Yun, tears streaming, marveled: "He broke through! He surpassed the body's limits!"
"Eliminate him! Eliminate him!" Anni dashed towards the screen, quivering as she raised the earpiece from her collar and clamored, "Employ any method necessary, just eliminate him! Even the ion cannon is permissible!"
Witnessing the unfolding events, varied perspectives filled the minds in the conference room. Chen Bian pondered the future implications of 13 achieving three victories; Baobao, Guo Gege, and Jingling were apprehensive; Liu Tao considered 13's victory inevitable; Sadan and Gezi merely reiterated, "So strong"; Liu Tao and Long Shibing felt pride in being Chinese, yet a sliver of apprehension lingered; Sadan and Gezi just kept marveling, "So strong." The situation was gradually slipping beyond her jurisdiction; it should have been ineffectual, yet that was no longer the case.
Heilong felt a degree of exhilaration; things were, after all, becoming increasingly intriguing. Jingling's internal systems shuddered under the intense collision, its chassis vibrating. Its display screen repeatedly reiterated the same phrase: "Baobao is watching! Jingling injured, no longer supreme…"
Anni, meanwhile, used loud cries to mask the fear in her heart. 13 could sense the surrounding ions undulating; they were converging towards Jingling's hands. If he counter-attacked now, Jingling would have no prospect of retaliation. However, his legs were already insensate; the left hand used in the recent assault had suffered four fractures; substantial exsanguination had led to bodily debilitation; the extreme exertion of his internal organs caused severe pulmonary trauma, each respiration accompanied by agony; the strain on his heart neared the point of collapse.
The envisioned scenario was not like this. While some resistance from the opponent was anticipated, it was all supposed to be fruitless. But that was no longer the reality; events were slowly exceeding the scope of her control.
Supporting himself with both hands, Jingling's internal systems reeled from the violent impact, its frame shuddering. On its display, the same sentence flashed relentlessly: "Baobao is watching! Jingling injured, no longer supreme…"
The surrounding ions oscillated; 13 perceived them coalescing towards Jingling's hands. An immediate counter-strike would leave Jingling defenseless. Yet, his legs were numb; his attacking left hand bones were shattered in four places; massive blood loss induced physical prostration; the extreme exertion had severely damaged his lungs, each breath an anguish; his heart's overload bordered on failure.
Ions throbbed in Jingling's hands, like a cluster of flames, or perhaps a snowball, growing ever larger. The concrete on the ground was dispersed in a circular pattern. Two white spheres, each fully 80 centimeters in diameter, materialized before the screen.
"It's concluded!" Seeing the ion cannon fully formed, Anni felt relieved. She gently gestured with her hands; the two spheres flew out, coalescing into one in mid-air, their power immensely amplified. A trench in the concrete propagated along their path.
Time seemed suspended. 13 could no longer clearly discern the approaching object's form, merely sensing a comforting warmth, like the radiant sun in that park. It now felt as though he could elevate his arm and contact the things he cherished. He truly wished he could escort Zhang Jie to see this. 13 smiled faintly and raised his relatively intact right hand, actually making contact. This spectacle, for everyone watching on television, could only be characterized as terrifying.
The colossal sphere of light flew swiftly towards the entranced 13. Just when all seemed finished, at the final moment, 13 smiled faintly and raised his arm to intercept. The sphere, like an egg colliding with stone, its shell ruptured; the turbulent energy, driven by momentum, surged outwards to the sides and behind 13. After a brief second, 13 remained standing there. Except for the ground beneath his feet, the rooftop had transformed. Both sides had vanished entirely, the incisions as smooth and unblemished as if cut by a knife.
The entire world was bewildered – by the mech's power, and by 13's ability to smile and thwart this annihilating force.
"How could this happen?" Anni sank limply onto the floor. "The ion cannon cannot be withstood. Research years ago corroborated that no cellular organism can endure direct exposure to ion fluctuations exceeding 30. Any plating less than 10mm thick Titan Metal would practically liquefy upon contact…"
"Jingling's ion cannon fluctuation reached 50!" Anni bellowed. "How could he possibly not die?" Flesh had repelled the ion cannon.
Anni's assessment was accurate. The armor on 13's palm was obliterated; he had endured the ion cannon with his flesh. "It finally succeeded after all, these years of painstaking endeavors…" Nie Yun sank back onto the sofa, tears flowing uncontrollably.
"He still confronted it directly, didn't he," Nie Yun slumped back onto the sofa. "It truly succeeded, all these years of dedication…" Tears streamed down, unrestrainable. Gazing at the smiling mech before it, Jingling experienced a peculiar program for the first time. Its AI's self-preservation system opted for withdrawal, striving to relinquish the mission. It was fearful.
13 sensed the mech's sentiment, still smiling. Ultimately, his resistance had intimidated the insurmountable opponent.
"I endeavored diligently, did you perceive it? And I achieved it," 13 articulated serenely within his heart. Zhang Jie stood poised before him; 13 beheld her. She was adorned in the white dress she wore in the park that day, observing him with a smile.
"Is it sufficient? Is this truly enough?" 13 queried. She nodded. "Then let us conclude everything now."
13's legs suddenly grew enfeebled, and he collapsed onto the ground, pressing his forehead against the surface, inserting his right hand into his mouth. A question echoed in everyone's mind: "What does he intend?"
"Retch!" 13 repeatedly stimulated his throat, promptly disgorging a pile of partially digested spaghetti. This very conduct by 13 profoundly nauseated the global audience. It was surmised that after today, no one would consume spaghetti again.
"Flesh can be used to withstand ion fluctuations, preventing engulfment by something akin to antimatter. Does this imply the ion cannon rejects body cells? Impossible! Ion fluctuations cannot possibly reject any substance. Titan Metal can endure ion fluctuations, but it too has a threshold." Anni abruptly rose from the floor. "It's not that the ion cannon was ineffectual; it's that the unique genetic makeup within his body can withstand ion fluctuations of a certain magnitude!"
"Retch!" 13 finally expelled the desired white object, the familiar SEED. Jingling's system deduced the conclusion— "Even if I can no longer safeguard Baobao, I must eliminate him!"
"Flesh can withstand ion pulses, avoid being consumed by anti-matter like substances, meaning the ion cannon repels body cells? Impossible! Ion pulses cannot repel any matter. Titan metal can resist ion pulses, but has limits." Anni shot up from the floor. "It's not that the ion cannon didn't work, it's that the special genetic composition in his body can resist ion pulses of a certain yield!"
"Whirr!" Jingling initiated, sprinting towards 13. Although this was its maximum velocity, the impact of 13's limit-transcending punch had taken effect; even augmented by the anti-gravity device, it could only attain the speed of an ordinary human.
Trembling, Jingling retrieved the COOL-FIRE from its back, laboriously retracting the bolt; the bullet inside ejected. His vision blurred almost to the point of being unable to see the barrel's location, he chambered the SEED relying purely on feel.
"Was the sole objective in engineering such a body merely to withstand ion fluctuations?" Recalling Nie Yun's past words, Anni finally comprehended. The world was no longer within her grasp; perhaps, arguably, it never had been. Nie Yun had stated that this world possessed its own trajectory, unfolding in a direction ordained by God; to alter it, one must oneself transform into a god.
"I forged Jingling; I presumed I had manifested a god," Anni shed tears. "But I was mistaken; a god is fundamentally beyond my capacity to create. In my rivalry with you, I have been bested again. Nie Yun, was what you engineered a god?"
"A point of closure is required," 13 gazed intently at the apex of the Taipei 101 Tower's highest antenna. "This vantage point will suffice."
He laboriously elevated his right hand; the grappling system, thankfully, remained intact. Filament-like cables, propelled by powerful injectors, ensnared the antenna's summit.
At this moment, Jingling surged before 13. A rudimentary side kick; given 13's current state, even a punch from an ordinary person could dispatch him. The mech's attack was lethal.
However, 13 evaded the assault. The grappling system forcibly hoisted 13's battered form from the ground, rapidly propelling him towards the summit.
Perched at this loftiest point in Taipei, everything in the vicinity appeared diminutive.
"Understandably, everyone favors standing at the highest point," 13 respired gently.
"Whirr!" Jingling gazed upward at 13. The sun behind him was too glaring; 13's form was veiled.
"Finally, I can realize my aspiration," 13 leapt lightly, aiming the muzzle towards the antenna's core, yet it felt tantamount to targeting the entirety of Taipei.
Involuntarily, everyone's heart throbbed fiercely.
"The seed is about to germinate," Nie Yun observed intently 13's every action.
His quivering left index finger depressed the trigger. The firing pin struck the SEED. The casing fragmented.
The SEED was, in fact, an inconceivably hyper-dense ion receptacle. In this moment, the world comprehended the significance of the new era. Posterity would designate this event as—the Individual Nuclear Weapon.