In a simple care ward, 13 slept peacefully in bed. The instruments beside him beeped rhythmically, like his heartbeat. It seemed unguarded, but 13's hands and feet were cuffed to the bed frame.
A girl stood beside him, watching 13 sleep like an infant. Her eyes were somewhat moist. She raised her hand, a single finger gently touching 13's shoulder exposed outside the sheet. No reaction. The girl's heart relaxed slightly. Her grip on the knife in her other hand tightened.
Angel's hand trembled; she could no longer deceive herself. Facing this man, her heart felt only a desperate longing to rely on him. This man's face always seemed to carry a smile, becoming more familiar the closer she looked. She truly wished he could wake up, truly wished he could stroke her head and say, "The child has grown up!" No! That wasn't it, the hope in her heart wasn't like that. The true hope was just to be able to lean in his embrace, where she could surely escape her fate, escape anyone's control, escape everything she didn't want to face.
The knife still wavered, and Angel's heart still struggled. Although she knew his subsequent fate would be more painful than a quiet death now, asking her to "mercifully" kill the man she had come to like was truly difficult...
"Kill him..." The ward, originally holding only two people, now had another person at the doorway. Angel whirled around. Bao Bao stood there, tears falling continuously onto the floor.
"This is best for him..." Bao Bao slowly walked to the bedside. "No pain, no feeling, just die peacefully like this... Brother always seemed to hope he could die this way..." Her voice choked with sobs.
The knife in Angel's hand fell to the floor along with her tears. "I know, I know he wants to die, but I can't do it," she said painfully. "Why does it have to be this way? Why must he die? Can't we control our own destinies? Why must the world be at war? Why must it always involve us? Is there really a God in the world? If so? Why doesn't He come to save us?"
Angel's voice choked, this time, from a wound in her heart.
"We are all a group of pitiful people..." Bao Bao gently caressed 13's face. "These things cannot be changed. The only small resistance is to let 13 die peacefully like this."
"No!" Angel wiped away her tears and said firmly. "He won't die! He will create a miracle! I believe even if he duels with Jingling, he will win!"
Bao Bao turned to look at Angel, her eyes filled with sorrow. "It's impossible... Jingling's operating system has been replaced, now even Bao Bao can't control it. Actually, Jingling has never operated at full capacity. And the ion cannon on you is even more terrifying on Jingling... Do you know why you need to rest for 30 minutes after firing before firing again? It's not a technical issue. It's because of the human factor..."
Angel's heart leaped wildly.
Bao Bao continued to explain: "The real projectile of the ion cannon is trace ions in the air. When these ions accumulate to a certain equivalent, they can produce an 'engulfing' effect similar to antimatter! Decomposing all matter around them. Currently, besides Titan metal which can withstand a small amount of ion cannon fire for a short time, no substance can avoid decomposition. When the mech absorbs surrounding ions to generate the ion cannon, the person inside the mech is also affected. Before 30 seconds, some ions in the body will detach, causing exhaustion. If it stays on the hands for more than 30 seconds, one's own body will start to decompose. After the ion cannon is fired, the Titan metal only needs 3 seconds to recover to firing state, but the human body needs 30 minutes to recover..."
"You mean..." Angel understood.
"Jingling is an unmanned mech, there's no personnel recovery issue. It only needs 3 seconds to fire the ion cannon again, and the amount of ions it can absorb is incomparable to a human-piloted mech. So even if 13 is powerful, in a fixed location, he cannot escape a large-scale ion cannon attack..." Bao Bao's tears never stopped.
"Bao Bao is absolutely right..." Anne walked into the ward, her face slightly flushed; it seemed she drank a bit too much at the reception earlier. She came here without even changing out of her evening gown.
Angel and Bao Bao's hearts trembled...
"His fate is death..." Anne also walked to the other side of the bed. "When he wakes up, it will be the day he dies. I will arrange a grand fighting stage, the whole world will watch. Everyone will see China's supposedly invincible single soldier, who injured two mechs, slowly killed by Jingling."
Anne absentmindedly caressed 13's body. "First, break his arms, then break his legs, pull out the bones of his limbs one by one. Then, he will be the target that shows the world what absolute power is. The whole world will be shocked by America's power... No, no!" Anne shook her head. "Fear! They will fear antagonizing America, they will submit at America's feet, just like the submission to the strong in primitive societies."
"Forced submission? What kind of submission is that? An emperor who cannot make people follow willingly will only face constant riots and uprisings in the end," Angel said calmly. She knew today's outcome would be tragic, so she might as well speak her mind. Angel, having let go of everything, had nothing left to care about.
"It doesn't matter." Anne, surprisingly, wasn't angered by Angel's defiance. Instead, she looked up at Angel and said, "As long as America stands at the top, these are just minor technical problems. Just kill those who resist. The Earth's population is already too large anyway, killing some disobedient waste is a form of environmental protection... Don't you think? Hehe..." Anne laughed.
That laughter echoed in the ward, yet it seemed the whole world could hear it, hear America's true voice...
"None of this has anything to do with me..." Angel picked up the knife from the floor. "I grew up in the slums, remember?"
Anne took a step back from the bed. "I remember. You were locked up in the police station for killing seven beggars. I brought you out."
"Do you remember you took me away because of one answer I gave?" Angel lifted her head.
There was nothing left worth protecting...
Angel, having lost her pendant...
Had nothing left to protect...
During a day's mission, Angel met 13.
In a park, Angel met 13 again.
In a room, 13 "embraced" Angel. Although Angel didn't say it, her heart beat fast.
On a rooftop, Angel resolved to kill 13, but when 13 was rescued, her heart rejoiced.
Now, this is a ward. Angel is here, 13 is here too. Angel wants to rescue 13!
"My question was 'Do you believe in God?'" Anne said calmly.
"My answer was 'There is no God in the world. Only oneself can save oneself.'" Angel held the knife reversed in front of her.
Anne moved two steps to her left. "Are you betraying me for this kind of man?" Angel moved to her right, the bed no longer obstructing the space between them.
"Not just for him, but for myself too..." Angel started moving, her speed fast, each step surprisingly steady, as unshakeable as her resolve.
She reached Anne, stopped abruptly, and stabbed towards the heart. The move was simple, but its strength lay in speed, difficult to block.
Anne, seemingly delicate and frail, lightly tapped the ground and leaped backward, dodging before the knife could reach her.
The distance was widening. Angel started again in pursuit. Anne landed, tapped the ground lightly again, and jumped back. Each time the knife neared, the distance was pulled apart again. But the room was limited. After just three steps, Anne's back was against the wall. Seeing this, Angel put even more force into her hand. Anne, facing imminent death, showed no fear, but smiled faintly. The knife stopped in mid-air!
"Humanity's flaw is overestimating oneself..." Anne sighed, looking at the knife before her.
Jingling materialized, its large black hand gripping Angel's blade tightly.
Bao Bao, who hadn't spoken, saw the all-too-familiar mech, her feelings incredibly complex. It was no longer the Jingling that listened only to her...
The mech suddenly exerted force, throwing both the knife and the person against the opposite wall. Angel spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed towards the ground. Before hitting the floor, she was caught by the neck by Jingling and pinned against the wall, both feet off the ground. The intense impact combined with suffocation made Angel's senses blur.
"No, Jingling! Sister is a good person, don't treat her like this..." Bao Bao slumped to the ground, tears streaming endlessly.
Anne slowly approached Angel. "It's useless. Jingling's command system has been completely replaced. Choosing a little brat like you for operation was my failure. I didn't expect you to fall for the enemy. You disappoint me greatly..."
She whispered to Jingling: "Don't kill her too quickly..." Jingling lessened its grip. Angel's feet touched the ground. Her breathing eased somewhat, but she was still pinned against the wall.
"Kill me..." she said with difficulty.
"I will, but wait a moment." Anne picked up Angel's fallen knife, playing with it in her hand.
"Lift her hand..."
Jingling obediently complied.
"I taught you," Anne looked at Angel's slightly open right palm against the wall. "Disobedient pawns must be discarded!"
The knife pierced through the palm, nailing it to the wall. Gritting her teeth, Angel didn't cry out. Blood flowed down the white wall. Bao Bao, watching the tormented Angel blankly, screamed, "Admit your mistake! Mom will really kill you! If you admit your mistake, Mom won't kill you."
Angel trembled, her lips bloodless, saying with difficulty: "She is not my mother... My mother is already dead..."
"The other one." Anne drew the combat knife from the mech's back.
The mech released the hand that had been gripping Angel's throat. Without support, Angel slid to the ground. If not for her right hand holding her body, she would be lying on the floor now.
Jingling grabbed Angel's other limp arm from the ground and raised it above her head. Anne didn't hesitate, another stab nailed the palm to the wall.
Bao Bao screamed hysterically...
"Death isn't frightening." Anne crouched in front of Angel, lifting her chin with one hand, looking at the face pale from blood loss. "What's frightening is having even death controlled by others."
Angel curved her lips into a weak smile. "Heh... Heh... You, who controls others' deaths, are you truly happy? Actually, not happy at all. What if the country becomes strong? What if you stand at the pinnacle? Unable to do what you like, unable to be with the person you like. How boring the world is..."
"Break her limbs..." Anne said calmly, but extreme anger raged within her. This was the first time, the first time she couldn't make someone submit.
Jingling crouched beside Angel, placed its arm on her right leg, and squeezed hard. A "crack" sound was heard, the leg bone broke. It then placed its hand on the other leg.
The heart-piercing pain only made Angel frown slightly, continuing her final words, "It doesn't matter anymore, dying doesn't matter anymore... To die beside the person I like most, God has already been very merciful to me. Mom was right, God exists in the world. He let me meet someone I like so much in my short life. He has a smile like my father's, a heart that never yields... Although he was also lost, also thought of ending everything with death. But on the rooftop, when he blocked my knife, he had already learned to resist."
Her voice grew weaker. "I really like this person, every move, every word is imprinted in my mind. The night I was held in his arms was my happiest day. Even if he didn't know..."
She took a breath, smiled, "This is enough..."
"Bullshit!" Anne roared. "Kill her!"
Jingling let out a low whine, "Wuu..."
"No!" Bao Bao also cried out.
Jingling's hand stopped. Its eyes glanced at the crying child. In its memory, this child's face seemed to only possess the expression called smiling. Although it now only accepted Anne's commands, the AI intelligence still paused at the little girl's words. The computer analyzed rapidly.
"Mission directive - kill the person in front. Issuer Anne, confirmed.
Mission effect - person in front dies. Mission ends. Bao Bao cries.
AI hidden highest directive - Under no circumstances allow Bao Bao to be harmed.
Current mission cannot cause physical harm to Bao Bao, does not conflict with the highest directive, execute current directive!"
Angel closed her eyes, smiling as the mech's five fingers formed a hand-knife and slit open her chest.
Jingling's movement was fluid. The swinging arm flicked a few drops of blood onto 13's face.
But the sleeping 13 didn't know that at this moment, a girl had already lost her life for him.
He was dreaming, dreaming of a rain of blood...
And seeing the mech pause just now, Anne sighed inwardly, "Finally completed the key..."