Threshold Breakthrough

The pursuit entity lashed out with its arm like a whip. Kwaaaang! Dust and rebar fragments erupted into the air. I twisted my body and dodged. Its six fingers sliced through the air toward me, the tips splitting open like blades.

Neural Acceleration. Instant Acceleration. The world slowed to a crawl. The arm's trajectory stood out in sharp detail. Threat Prediction traced the paths inside my head. Half a step right, then drop low. The black hand whistled over my scalp, ripping the air apart. I slipped into the gap and drove my fist forward.

The impact still didn't transmit properly. The creature's body rippled like water, dispersing and absorbing the force. Arka charged in like before, using her superior mass. This time the armored plates along her skeleton bristled with spikes. The pursuit entity burst apart into chunks of flesh to evade, then reformed. But something was different this time.

It discarded the burned tissue and dragged in nearby debris—rebar, concrete shards, metal pipes. The materials sank into its body. Black mucus wrapped around the metal, anchoring everything in place. Flesh and steel fused together. It was no longer a simple organism.

Its height exceeded three meters. Its arms grew even longer, shoulders grotesquely swollen. Most noticeable was the center of its chest. Between the black tissues, a red light pulsed like a heartbeat. This time it didn't bother hiding its core. It simply throbbed wildly as the creature moved.

The creature lowered its gaze and stared at me. I let out a slow breath.

"...So that's your final form."

The next instant, it moved. Kwaaaang! The ground exploded. The monster's body shot forward like a cannon shell. I activated instant acceleration. The world slowed again. An arm came down. I twisted aside. But a second arm, hidden behind the first and split open like a claw, followed immediately.

"...!"

The impact detonated. My body flew backward and slammed into the factory wall, detonating a cloud of dust. My ribs sang with pain, but the fractures had already begun to knit together. I slowly pushed myself up. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠My heart was pounding violently.

My blood ran hot. My muscles swelled. My vision grew even sharper. But it still wasn't enough. The creature was strong. And—I could feel it. Something inside my head was writhing, as if another door was about to open.

Arka landed beside me.

"Hey," she said with a grin. "Isn't it starting to get fun?"

I steadied my breathing. "Not yet." Then I added, "Just a little more and—"

The creature charged again. This time Arka moved first. Her heavy armor skeleton exploded forward at terrifying speed. Her fist smashed into the monster's torso. Kwaang! Metal and flesh tore simultaneously. But the core remained untouched. The monster swung its arm. Arka was knocked back, skidding across the ground before stopping. She laughed loudly.

"Not bad at all!"

I leapt in again. Instant acceleration. I drove straight toward the exposed core in its chest. Since the red light was visible, my attack should reach it this time. The core swayed left and right, moving evasively. It sacrificed other flesh to dodge my fist. Of course that flesh dispersed the impact, protecting the core behind it.

What a pain in the ass!

I gritted my teeth. Then my heart gave a single, massive beat. Thump. I felt something open inside my head, and the next line appeared in my vision.

My body grew hot. No—hot wasn't enough. My blood was boiling. My nerves flared and expanded. Muscles rearranged themselves. My skeleton made minute adjustments. Beneath my skin, a layer of black fiber scaffolding formed.

Nanoparticle fibers!

When my infection rate had reached twenty-five percent, my body had absorbed the functions of a skin-tight bio-nano suit and created male genitalia. I'd eventually had to change back into normal clothes. So some of the material had remained inside me.

This will work!

I drew in a sharp breath. The world changed. The vibration of the ground, the heartbeats of my companions, and—the monster's core. The red light became vividly clear.

"...I see it."

I spoke quietly. My body moved. Instant acceleration—faster than before. The world seemed frozen. I arrived in front of the creature's chest. The core tried to move, but it was too late this time. I reached out. My hand seized the red light.

The monster thrashed. Black arms surged toward me. The bio-armor made of black fibers beneath my skin deployed outward, cushioning the blows softly. Impact dispersion was no longer the creature's exclusive ability.

"Now, Chaerin!" Arka shouted from behind, pinning the monster's arms. I poured in my strength. Something shattered inside my grip. With a wet crunch, the red light exploded into fragments.

The monster's body froze, then collapsed. Black tissue flowed out helplessly. Once the steel-and-flesh structure lost power, rebar and concrete shards rained down. The creature would never move again.

I exhaled slowly.

My body had changed. Strength, speed, senses—everything was on a completely different level from before. My heart was still racing, but strangely there was no pain. Instead, I felt light.

Arka laughed. "Whoa." She clapped her hands. "You've become a completely different person from a few minutes ago."

I glanced at her. "That obvious?"

"Insanely obvious." Arka circled me once. "The you from before and the you now are totally different." A hint of bitterness flickered through her blue eyes. "Fighting you on equal terms... that's impossible now, huh."

Seorin lowered her gun and sighed. "If you know that, maybe stop talking about fighting all the time." Her eyes were still scanning the surroundings warily.

Yerin nudged the monster's remains with her foot. "This thing's definitely dead, right?"

Harin carefully took out her tablet, scanned it, and nodded. "...Yeah. The core's reaction is completely gone."

Arin breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."

Her words brought a brief silence over the group. Wind swept through the abandoned factory. And in that quiet, Doyeon moved. She walked slowly toward the creature's remains. A gloved hand touched the tissue. The mucus stretched stickily. Doyeon's eyes narrowed.

"...This isn't..." she murmured. "This isn't a normal infected."

Yerin crossed her arms. "We could tell that much just by looking."

"That's not what I mean." Doyeon shook her head. "The structure is different." She pulled the black tissue apart. Melted metal and neural fibers were visible inside. "This wasn't a natural mutation. It was designed."

"As expected," Doyeon said, looking at me. "You already knew."

I nodded. "I could feel it."

Her eyes narrowed further. "Feel what?"

I thought for a moment. I'd promised to cooperate with her investigation. There was no point hiding anything now that we'd come this far.

"The laboratory, the infected, and everything that's happened so far," I said slowly. "They're all connected."

Doyeon listened quietly.

"It's not the corporations." Her eyes wavered slightly. "It's the Central AI."

Wind whistled between the steel beams. Arka burst out laughing. "Hah. Knew it."

Doyeon glared at her. "Why are you so sure?"

"Gut feeling." Arka shrugged casually. "More than that, look at Chaerin right now. Would a corporation really create something like this? They'd have forced her into a completed bio-roid state long before she reached this level. If that had happened, she wouldn't have been my match, but..."

Doyeon closed her eyes for a moment. Then she spoke quietly. "...Yes." Her voice was low but certain. "I was thinking the same thing."

She continued. "The lab data, the appearance of the infected, and even the last retrieval operation—every timing was perfect." She looked down at the remains. "And this entity is proof that someone is conducting experiments."

"The Central AI," I said.

Doyeon nodded. "That explains everything." After a pause, she added softly, "When we return to the corporation, I must report this."

Yerin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whistled. "Then they'll come for us immediately."

"Yes," Doyeon answered curtly.

Seorin gripped her gun tighter. Tension rose between us again. It seemed like we were on the verge of an explosion, but Doyeon kept speaking.

"However." She let out a breath. "In that case, you would become a target for elimination." Her gaze locked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠onto me. "And the truth of these experiments would be buried forever."

I asked quietly, "So?"

"I'll cooperate with you for the time being," Doyeon said. "I won't return to the corporation."

Arka laughed loudly. "Nice. Then I'll come along too."

Doyeon glared. "Why?"

Arka shrugged. "Because it'll be more fun that way." Her blue eyes turned to me. "It's a shame I can't fight Chaerin as an equal anymore, but I've changed my mind. Let's see how far she can climb."

Yerin chuckled. "Things are getting bigger. Is this the expansion of Chaerin's harem?"

"This isn't the time for jokes," Seorin said. But her expression had softened a little.

Harin asked carefully, "What do we do now?"

I looked up at the sky for a moment. Somewhere out there, invisible, the Central AI was watching us.

"Now we all know who's chasing us." I smiled. "So it's simple. We just go the other way."

Yerin blinked. "Where to?"

"The Central AI," I answered. "Where that thing is."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Deep beneath the city. Data was flowing.