Chapter 119

October 24, 2026, Tong Yang entered the territory of the androids on behalf of the Maynard family.

The androids, who had achieved consciousness, had established an independent space outside Gate Twelve of the slums, using a glass dome to enclose the entire area near Gate Eleven.

The glass dome operated on a program related to magnetic field energy. No external force could destroy it; it could only be deactivated by an internal command. Humans from the First World could only enter the Gate Eleven area in limited numbers.

"Every android on this roster once belonged to the Maynard family."

Tong Yang took the roster from Ye Tianlin's hand—over ten androids were listed. "I understand."

"Take care."

"Mm."

Tong Yang turned and left, joining Wen Qin and others waiting outside the dome.

Besides Wen Qin, representing the Armand family, there were some trainees who had been eliminated in the sixth round of selections. They represented their respective families, totaling no more than fifteen people.

"Let's go."

"Mm."

Wen Qin placed a chip in her hand into a groove on the glass dome. As if sensing it, the patterns on the dome lit up with a white light, opening a door just wide enough for one person to pass through.

"What is this?" Tong Yang asked.

Wen Qin said, "A chip from a first-generation android."

Tong Yang nodded. It seemed her guess was correct. The reason for the androids' consciousness awakening was likely due to Yang Miao's existence.

Before coming here, she had reminded Yang Miao more than once not to reveal her identity or abilities in front of anyone. She usually listened to Tong Yang, so there shouldn't be any problems.

"There are many slum dwellers living in Zone Eleven. Try not to expose your identities."

"Understood!"

Led by Wen Qin, they filed through the door in the glass dome and entered Zone Eleven.

As they belonged to different families and had different target androids to eliminate, they split up to act alone after entering the zone.

Zone Eleven wasn't much different from other areas of the slums, except the streets were somewhat cleaner, without the usual litter everywhere. It resembled a somewhat backward ordinary town.

Tong Yang walked alone on a quiet path, the hood of her sweatshirt up. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and glanced at the status bar—no signal inside the glass dome.

According to Ye Tianlin, Xu Junyue and the others had already infiltrated the area to prepare for the plan, but they hadn't been able to make contact due to the lack of satellite signals in the slums.

Tong Yang's purpose in entering here was to make contact with Xu Junyue's group and secretly assist them in building rapport with the conscious androids.

However, Zone Eleven was vast, and Tong Yang had no idea when she might find them.

The glass dome loomed overhead, and as dusk fell, the surroundings grew dim.

Light footsteps crunched softly on the sandy ground.

The wind blew past old houses, causing hinges to sway with eerie creaks. The area was too quiet, devoid of any sounds of living people moving about.

The oversized hood obscured Tong Yang's face. A gentle evening breeze blew, and she suddenly halted, turning her head to look at the buildings lining the street.

"Creak—"

A half-open door, pushed by the wind, emitted a chilling sound.

Without a moment's hesitation, Tong Yang spun around and sprinted towards the door. She vaulted up the wall, crashed through a swaying window, drew the blade hidden at her waist, and upon landing, swiftly grabbed a masked figure by the window, pinning them to the floor.

"Whoosh—"

A sound came from behind. Tong Yang nimbly rolled on the ground, dodging a chair flying from nearby. With a loud thud, the chair hit the wall and shattered.

Tong Yang moved like a leopard, too fast for the eye to follow, pouncing on another person. She wrapped her legs around their neck and slammed them heavily onto the ground.

"You're asking for it!"

A figure lunged at Tong Yang from a side room. Unable to dodge in time, Tong Yang was slammed into the wall. She hammered the hilt of her knife against the person's shoulder blade, and the arm restraining her instantly went limp.

Tong Yang flipped the person over and pressed them down, swiftly snatching the mask from their face in a flash.

"Damn..."

"You really went all out!" Xu Junyue raised her heterochromatic eyes, her tone accusatory. "We were just messing with you, and you come at us for real?"

Tong Yang silently pressed her head against the floor before letting go and standing up. "If I'd been any rougher, you'd be meeting your mom down below."

"You're a real beast."

Chu Shiyu from World A took off her mask, grumbling.

The person by the window also removed their mask, revealing a dust-streaked face. "How did you know it was us?"

This person was He Jingjing.

Tong Yang said, "I didn't know at first. I knew as soon as she showed up."

Xu Junyue got up from the floor, pointing at herself. "Me? Why?"

Tong Yang glanced at her fluorescent green hair, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Guess."

"How am I supposed to guess?"

He Jingjing, however, understood. "Not many people dye their hair such a conspicuous color besides you."

Xu Junyue grabbed a strand of her hair and held it before her eyes, muttering, "Really? I was thinking of dyeing it even darker."

"Are special forces allowed to dye their hair?"

Xu Junyue said, "I'm not a real special forces operative. Like Tang Shuyan, I'm auxiliary personnel, just training with them for a while."

Tong Yang's gaze swept over the three of them. "How did you know I was here?"

He Jingjing explained, "Anyone entering the glass dome is detected immediately."

Xu Junyue stepped forward and hooked her arm around Tong Yang's. "It's been almost a year since we last met. Your skills have gotten even better. I thought I could overpower you."

During the earlier scuffle, like Tong Yang, Xu Junyue hadn't used her full strength.

Even so, being able to take down all three of them in the blink of an eye showed Tong Yang's formidable ability.

Tong Yang said, "I passed the 'Forerunner' selection."

Chu Shiyu from World A exclaimed in surprise, "What? Which round? Don't tell me you got eliminated in the third round like me?"

Xu Junyue shot her a look. "Don't compare our boss to you. It must have been after the third round, maybe even the sixth, becoming a training soldier."

Tong Yang said, "Do you know what 'passed' means?"

Chu Shiyu from World A: "?"

Xu Junyue was stunned. "Boss, you don't mean..."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The 'Forerunner' selection is so difficult, there's no way you could have passed!"

"Believe what you want." Tong Yang couldn't be bothered to explain.

Xu Junyue said discontentedly, "What do you mean by that? Why couldn't our boss do it? Weren't you just taken down before you even realized what was happening?"

"That was a momentary lapse!"

"Shameless. You just couldn't beat the boss. You can't even beat me."

As usual, Xu Junyue and Chu Shiyu from World A couldn't go three sentences without arguing.

Tong Yang asked, "Can the androids completely control access in and out of the glass dome?"

He Jingjing answered, "Pretty much."

"What's the situation like here?" Tong Yang asked.

"It's truly bizarre! Those bionics are almost identical to humans, impossible to tell who's human and who's bionic," Xu Junyue exclaimed.

He Jingjing said, "The bionics are very wary, but they get along with Xu Junyue, so our relationship with them is relatively harmonious."

Tong Yang nodded and said, "The reason I and the others entered this place is to eliminate bionics whose consciousness has awakened."

"I know them well! Which one do you want to eliminate? I'll show you the way," Xu Junyue said enthusiastically.

Chu Shiyu from World A curled her lip, "Don't you usually call them brothers and hang out with them?"

Xu Junyue pouted, "Brotherhood is one thing, stance is another. I still know right from wrong on major issues."

Even though Xu Junyue's thought process isn't quite like a normal person's, she's probably the most ideologically sound one among them.

Tong Yang said, "That's just the goal of the others."

"What do you mean? What about you then?"

"Ye Tianlin said that bionics with awakened consciousness could become our allies."

He Jingjing said gravely, "We need to win over the bionics living here?"

"Mhm." Tong Yang thought for a moment, then asked, "Before entering here, didn't Wu Pingxue tell you what you should do?"

He Jingjing nodded, "Dr. Wu did tell us."

"Dr. Wu would of course tell us," said Chu Shiyu from World A.

Xu Junyue said, "He told us to find a person."

"Who?"

"Don't know."

Tong Yang frowned, "Don't know?"

He Jingjing explained, "Dr. Wu told us to look for a little girl around ten years old, living in the slums, probably connected to the bionics. Finding her would be enough."

Tong Yang fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Anything else? Why find her?"

"The specific reason isn't clear. He gave us some information about the girl. We've been searching the slums these past days, but because of the bombings, most residents have gone into the underground shelters. Trying to find the girl under these circumstances is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

The little girl they were looking for was probably the child born to a first-generation bionic and a human—namely, Yang Miao, whom Tong Yang had taken into the affluent district.

Since Yang Miao had already left the slums, the three of them naturally couldn't find her.

The reason Wu Pingxue wanted them to find Yang Miao wasn't hard to guess. As the child of a first-generation bionic, Yang Miao had inherited some ability to control bionics. Using her, they could manipulate bionics with awakened consciousness for the use of the real world.

He Jingjing continued, "We couldn't find the little girl. There's no signal in the slums to contact the outside world either, so we guessed it might be related to the bionics. We stayed inside the dome, trying to find a way to get close to them."

Tong Yang fell into thought. She didn't know exactly what Wu Pingxue wanted with Yang Miao, but it definitely wasn't on a whim. Yang Miao's existence seemed to be of great use to the real world.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Tong Yang's serious expression, the three asked in confusion.

Tong Yang pressed her lips together and said, "I know where the little girl Wu Pingxue told you to find is."

"Wha... what?"

"Really? How do you know?"

Tong Yang said, "After entering the First World, I ran into her by chance."

"Where is she?"

Tong Yang didn't answer directly, saying instead, "I need to know what Wu Pingxue wants to do after finding her."

Yang Miao was so obedient to her that she could reveal her identity to her without any defenses. If Tong Yang asked her to do something, she would do it without complaint. Using her to control bionics with awakened consciousness wouldn't be difficult. The hard part was that Yang Miao's body might not be able to withstand the strain. She would need to ask Wu Pingxue to explain why.

"Right now?"

"No." Tong Yang shook her head.

With no signal in the slums, they could only leave this place and then find a way to contact Wu Pingxue.

"So what do you plan to do?"

Tong Yang said, "Watch and wait."

He Jingjing pondered, "Since the people who entered here with you aim to eliminate the bionics, we just need to find a way to stop them, right?"

Tong Yang nodded, "That's what I intend to do."

It was uncertain if Yang Miao could help them successfully control the awakened bionics. Before that, they naturally needed to find a way to win over these bionics.

"Stepping in at the critical moment leaves a deeper impression," Tong Yang said.

"If necessary, they can all be eliminated." Here, Tong Yang paused, "You must be especially careful of a woman named Wen Qin. She's very formidable."

Chu Shiyu from World A and Xu Junyue spoke in unison, "How formidable?"

Tong Yang said, "She's someone who passed the 'Forerunner' selection with me."

"I'd actually like to meet her," Xu Junyue said.

Chu Shiyu from World A shook her head frantically, "I don't want to at all!"

Tong Yang thought for a moment, then asked, "Besides you three, who else is involved in this?"

Xu Junyue said, "Chu Shiyu and CEO Ye, and that guy surnamed Tang."

"Where are they?" Tong Yang asked.

"They're in the parallel world carrying out another mission. Oh, right, Yan Qing (Parallel World) and Liang Xi from the parallel world went with them."

Tong Yang looked slightly taken aback, "Them? Aren't they worried they'll find a way to escape once back in the parallel world?"

Chu Shiyu from World A said smugly, "They're both under Dr. Wu's command now, obeying his every word. They would never betray him."

Tong Yang raised an eyebrow. Could it be that Wu Pingxue's words that day really fooled them?

It wasn't impossible. After all, they were just two students inexperienced in the ways of the world.

However, what exactly were they planning to do that they would risk involving Yan Qing (Parallel World) and Liang Xi?

"Tong Yang, you..." He Jingjing looked at her, biting her lip, hesitant to speak.

Tong Yang understood her unspoken words and lowered her gaze, saying, "I haven't found any trace of He Jingjing(Sister)."

He Jingjing's eyes fell dejectedly, "I understand. Thank you."

In the following days, Tong Yang stayed in Zone Eleven and met with several bionics who had once belonged to the Menard family.

Unexpectedly, they didn't show hostility towards her because of her appearance. Things progressed more smoothly than Tong Yang had imagined.

Apart from Wen Qin, the other training soldiers involved in the operation weren't too difficult to handle. Xu Junyue's training hadn't been for nothing after all. With the help of the bionics, they could hold their own against them.

As for Wen Qin, after entering Zone Eleven, she hadn't taken any action for the time being. Tong Yang didn't know which bionics she needed to eliminate, nor was she clear about her whereabouts. Fortunately, several days passed, and Zone Eleven remained calm.

After staying for a while, Tong Yang left Zone Eleven and headed for the location where Mi Qi and Bai Sining were.

With no satellite signal in the slums, electronic devices couldn't be used to monitor their movements. After warning the three to be careful of Wen Qin, Tong Yang left the glass dome with the help of the bionics.

Mi Qi and Bai Sining's base was underground. During this time, they had been expanding the underground shelters in Tong Yang's name. The Joint Government had subsequently gone to negotiate with them multiple times, even offering them the chance to enter the civilian district, but all attempts ended in failure.

Moreover, they were stockpiling gunpowder, preparing for a possible war in the near future.

Tong Yang didn't gain much information from them. After telling Mi Qi what she knew, she returned to Area Eleven.

Wen Qin never showed up, not until the day they were supposed to gather and leave Area Eleven.

After bidding farewell to Xu Junyue and the other two, Tong Yang arrived at the rendezvous point early.

The trainees' operation had been thwarted by Xu Junyue and his group, resulting in many deaths. The survivors hid in various places, waiting for the designated time to leave.

After Tong Yang arrived at the location, the surviving trainees trickled in.

Finally, Wen Qin arrived late, acting as if nothing was wrong.

The chip to exit the glass dome was in her hand.

"It seems everyone had similar experiences," Wen Qin said.

"Those who haven't arrived yet probably won't be coming back," Tong Yang stated.

Wen Qin looked at the sorry state of several trainees and sighed, "I didn't expect Area Eleven to house such formidable androids."

She spoke as if she had experienced it firsthand, when in fact, she hadn't appeared at all for nearly two weeks.

"Let's go."

They left the glass dome, found their pre-parked aircraft, and returned empty-handed.

On the way back, Tong Yang and Wen Qin shared an aircraft.

"Where have you been these days?" Tong Yang asked.

Wen Qin countered instead of answering, "And where have you been these days?"

Tong Yang pressed her lips together. "Your real purpose for going to Area Eleven wasn't to destroy the androids, was it?"

"Was your real purpose for going to Area Eleven to destroy the androids?"

Tong Yang narrowed her eyes and fell silent.

Both she and Wen Qin had come here with their own hidden agendas.

After a long silence, Wen Qin spoke up first. "Even though you didn't show yourself, I know it was you who directed those people to sabotage our operation from behind the scenes."

Wen Qin knew her true identity, which didn't surprise Tong Yang.

"You're helping the Armande family look for someone," Tong Yang said abruptly.

Wen Qin stiffened, turning her head to look at Tong Yang, her gaze turning dangerous. "What did you say?"

Her hands paused on the controls, causing the aircraft to jolt.

Tong Yang said, "You must have known the reason for the android consciousness awakening long ago."

Even someone like Tong Yang, who only had a superficial understanding of magnetic field energy and the energy terminal, could guess the reason for the android awakening, let alone Wen Qin and Armande.

The lines of Wen Qin's profile tightened, her voice turning icy. "Who told you?"

Tong Yang chuckled. "Wasn't it you?"

"Me?" Wen Qin found it absurd. "That day, I only exchanged a few words with you."

"That was enough," Tong Yang said.

Wen Qin gritted her teeth and glared at her. "Are you a monster? How could you guess that?"

"It wasn't difficult," Tong Yang replied, looking at her. "So, the child born between a first-generation android and a human didn't die. She's in Area Eleven?"

Tong Yang didn't want to draw suspicion to Yang Miao, so she deliberately guided Wen Qin's attention to Area Eleven.

Wen Qin said, "How should I know? In any case, the android consciousness awakening is due to some influence. Being able to break free from the energy terminal's control must be related to the first-generation androids."

"The complete destruction of all first-generation androids is beyond doubt. The only possibility is that child is still alive. Since the awakened androids are gathering in Area Eleven, that child is most likely here too."

Tong Yang asked, "So? Any leads?"

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to."

"What about you? Is your purpose the same as mine?"

"Not the same. But now it is."

Wen Qin: "..."

"The United Government should know about this. Why aren't they taking action?"

"As long as they continue developing magnetic field energy, they can prevent consciousness awakening. So, their action is to develop magnetic field energy."

Similar to the situation in the parallel world, once magnetic field energy is developed to a certain level, they can issue commands to everyone on the planet. By then, how could a child with only half-human bloodline pose a threat to them?

"If the United Government has decided to develop magnetic field energy, why are you looking for her?"

"And you? Why are you looking for her?"

Tong Yang said, "She wasn't the purpose of my coming here, so finding her isn't an absolute necessity. But since she's so useful, having her under control wouldn't be a bad thing. It's just too hard to find her if she's only in Area Eleven or the slums."

"So I chose to ask directly."

Perhaps because Tong Yang was being very forthright, Wen Qin stated her own purpose for this trip.

"Developing magnetic field energy is a lengthy process. Currently, the affluent districts harbor many families from the First World. The two worlds are now at a tense standoff. If a direct conflict breaks out, the United Government will inevitably collapse. At that time, whoever holds the control over the androids will control the situation."

"You're telling me this so directly. Aren't you worried I'll interfere?"

Wen Qin said, "Why would I? Our goals don't conflict. We can even cooperate temporarily. Didn't you make a deal with The Slayer? Finding that child benefits us both, which is why my brother didn't expose you."

"Cooperate..." Tong Yang narrowed her eyes. The internal structure of the First World's affluent districts was truly complex, but for Tong Yang, this counted as a good thing.

Tong Yang smiled. "You make a good point. Perhaps we can cooperate temporarily."

"Mhm. If you or your companions discover anything, you can tell me."

Tong Yang said, "I'm only speculating that the child is alive."

"To be honest, we're also speculating, but there's about an eighty percent chance she's alive."

The plan for two "Forerunners" and several trainees to enter Area Eleven to destroy the awakened androids ended in miserable failure, shocking the entire affluent district.

Especially the United Government, which gathered everyone involved in the incident at the base.

They interrogated the trainees separately and reached the same conclusion: the androids in Area Eleven were becoming increasingly powerful.

The trainees didn't know the true identities of Xu Junyue and his group, and coupled with their frequent association with androids, they arrived at this conclusion.

Tong Yang and Wen Qin also underwent interrogation. Their interrogators were Armande and Ye Huai from the First World respectively. Everyone understood the situation, so it was just a formality.

Afterwards, the two left the United Government.

Upon returning to her residence, Tong Yang immediately contacted Wu Pingxue to ask him about matters related to Yang Miao.

After listening to her account, Wu Pingxue countered with a question instead of answering: "Do you have a lead on that child's whereabouts?"

Tong Yang didn't deny it. "If you plan to use her to control all androids, I'm afraid it won't go so smoothly."

Wu Pingxue understood. "So you really have found her."

Tong Yang said, "What exactly do you want to do? Just tell me directly."

This old fox was hiding who knew how many things.

Wu Pingxue said, "Hand her over to Xue Wei."

Tong Yang cursed under her breath. "I knew he was your man."

Wu Pingxue chuckled. "I heard you two got along quite well."

Tong Yang said coldly, "I need a reasonable explanation."

Wu Pingxue fell silent for a moment before saying, "Tong Yang, if you've already found her, it means your luck is good."

"What she can control isn't limited to just androids."