Chapter 374: Chapter 261: Memories Like Smoke

[Rust Wall District, Hidden Residence]

Qi Ling stood by the window, her amber eyes reflecting this turbulent city.

Smoke rose between the skyscrapers, flames flickering and casting eerie light on the windows of the buildings.

The blaze caused by explosions continued to bloom erratically, blending with the city’s lights, turning the night sky red, as if the entire horizon was ablaze.

The drone swarm had completely occupied the airspace of the Inner City, arranged in neat matrices over the heads of the masses, their indicator lights flashing like countless burning eyes.

The streets were desolate, hardly anyone could be seen; people either hid at home or nestled in underground shelters, trembling before this catastrophe, waiting for an end that was nowhere in sight.

Qi Ling calmly observed it all, her face devoid of any expression, yet this very calmness brought about an extreme coldness.

The room behind her was piled with various electronic devices, wires crisscrossing messily, computer systems running rapidly, and a computer screen displayed a series of avatars.

Each avatar represented a target for assassination.

They were either investors from the Venus Eden Garden of yesteryear, researchers involved in the Brain Project, or employees or guards within the organizations.

Anyone remotely connected to Xiaoqi’s death was listed in the virus database’s assassination roster, regardless of their identity or status.

They would bleed to the last drop for their deeds.

Qi Ling walked to the wall, where photos of assassination targets were hanging, each time a target avatar on the computer screen turned red, the coldness on her face deepened.

She picked up a red marker and drew a cross on a photo.

In the Lakefront Business District, a business elite had their head blown off by mechanical soldiers who broke into their home.

She held a photo against scissors, and with a snap, cut it in half.

In the Northern Industrial Development Zone, a technical blue-collar worker was suddenly pulled into a winch by an activated piece of engineering machinery, their body crushed into two parts.

She took a photo and tore it into pieces, scattering them into the air.

In Anmi New District, a wealthy man was hit by a missile descending from the sky, body fragments bursting among flames, like a shocking blood blossom in bloom.

Qi Ling was like the most frenzied conductor on stage, dancing with the Death God, orchestrating a symphony of slaughter.

She occasionally revelled in the ecstasy unleashed from years of repressed silence, clutching at her restless chest, unable to suppress the manic laughter, each sound a retort to past humiliations.

Occasionally, she was torn apart by the painful memories of childhood, covering her face and kneeling powerlessly on the ground, a vast sense of oppression filling her heart, wanting to scream, but her throat felt blocked, unable to make a sound.

The memories of former days surged in like tides, her cries and laughter intertwining, morphing into chaotic noise in her mind, Xiaoqi’s smile overlapping with her deceased visage, seemingly tearing apart her consciousness.

She felt her body alternately cold and hot, the severe somatization of turmoil and anxiety, ants seemed to crawl over her skin.

She incessantly clawed at her face, oblivious as her nails pierced her flesh, numerous hideous bloody streaks flowing crisscross, from her forehead to her chin, tearing apart her beautiful face.

Yet she felt nothing.

The weakness of being human had been snatched away at birth; she was merely a monster that would never feel pain.

Ultimately, her hands fell powerlessly at her side, letting the profuse blood trickle down her face, staining the front of her clothes red.

Quietly, she began to hum the melody again unknowingly.

"The years pass quietly, the past is like smoke."

"Memories are ravaged, nothing can wear away."

"This is my promise to you."

"You have transformed into the ghost of time."

"I shall also become a ghost crossing time."

She sang over and over, the more she sang, the more her voice trembled, the blood on her face dripped down like raindrops, splattering tiny blood flowers on the floor.

"This is... my promise to you..."

She slowly gazed at the computer screen, her blurry sight only saw dense patches of red, like a sea of blood.

It was over.

This was her entire life.

Starting alone, ending alone.

No love, no companions, no one cared.

She could finally break free from this hellish world.

Qi Ling collapsed backward onto the floor, her amber eyes had lost focus, she lifelessly took out the pink-painted revolver from her bosom, loaded bullets, cocked the hammer, and then placed it against her temple.

However, just as she was about to pull the trigger, she caught sight of the computer screen from the corner of her eye.

She suddenly noticed in that red sea, there was a tiny spot of green.

It was so inconspicuous, like a tender leaf floating in a sea of blood, the sole smell of life enough to revolt.

Qi Ling put down the gun, walked to the computer screen, and silently gazed at the green dot.

All other targets were dead.

Whether contributing to the Brain Project as researchers, financial supporters, or even just providing a minuscule effort, they were all dead.

But there was still one person alive.

Venus Eden Garden’s Brain Project’s first experiment group leader, now a researcher at Edge Mercenary Corps, Luo Mingsheng.

Soon, the computer program automatically cleared those avatars that had turned red, enlarging Luo Mingsheng’s avatar.

[Tracking Failed] appeared above it.

Tracking failed?

The virus she developed would exploit any controllable electronic system to initiate a hunt for specified targets.

Tracking failure meant the target wasn’t identified by any electronic system, obviously, they’ve been deliberately hidden.

Qi Ling’s dazed eyes regained light, as if she had found a new direction for living.

However, the light was cold, the light of a hunter upon their prey.

Qi Ling sat at the computer, fingers rapidly striking the keyboard, the room filled with the low hum of the system accelerating.

Completing the final code, the virus operation model was further updated, and New Moon City manifested changes.

The drones ceased their airspace lockdown and collectively flew toward the Lakefront Business District.

Military robots stopped searching where they were and headed in the same direction.

The sky and the ground seemed engaged in a massive march.

These devices born for slaughter were heading toward the final target—the Edge Mansion.

Having done all this, Qi Ling was ready to tend to her facial wounds.

Due to excessive blood loss, her head was dizzy when she stood up, involuntarily staggering, instinctively reaching for the table.

This action knocked the phone from the table; it fell to the floor, the screen lit up upon impact.

Just as she was about to bend down to pick it up, her hand froze in mid-air.

Her amber eyes reflected the phone screen, the wallpaper was a photo of her and someone else.

That day the morning glow was bright, they were in a sunlit world.

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