Legend of the Last Cultivator

CHAPTER 3: The Mysterious Broker

The crimson eyes of the machine glowed like twin suns in the darkness.

Kai’s body froze, his heartbeat pounded so violently that it echoed inside his ears. The machine slowly raised its cannon. A cold mechanical voice filled the underground chamber.

“Target confirmed. Beginning extermination protocol.”

Kai instinctively took a step backward, his mind was blank. Fight? Run? How do you fight a machine the size of a truck?

His trembling fingers tightened around the ancient book, then his phone vibrated with a loud buzz.

Unknown Number: “Listen carefully. Panic will kill you faster than the machine.”

Kai swallowed hard, his eyes never left the enormous weapon pointed at him.

Kai: “Who are you?”

The reply appeared almost instantly.

Unknown Number: “Later. If you want answers, survive first.”

The machine fired beams at Kai.

BOOM!

A brilliant blue beam exploded from the cannon. Kai’s pupils shrank instantly and without thinking, he threw himself to the side. The beam slammed into the stone altar, the explosion shattered rocks across the chamber and dust filled the air.

Kai rolled behind a fallen pillar, coughing violently from the impact of the attack. “My ears…” he muttered as they rang painfully.

His breathing became uneven, that wasn’t warning fire, it was trying to erase me. Suddenly, there was another vibration from his phone.

Unknown Number: “Good. It needs three seconds to recharge after every high-powered shot.”

Kai blinked in surprise and confusion. She knows its weaknesses?

Unknown Number: “Don’t attack from the front. Its armor is strongest there.”

The machine began walking forward. Heavy footsteps shook the underground chamber.

Clang.

Clang.

Clang.

Kai forced himself to calm down and think of a way to overpower the attacking machines. Machines follow patterns, his master had always said, “Strength without observation is nothing but recklessness.”

Kai peeked around the pillar looking out for something. The machine slowly rotated its head, scanning every corner, its movement wasn’t random, it searched methodically, left, center, right, then repeated.

“It’s scanning in cycles,” Kai whispered to himself. Another message appeared instantly.

Unknown Number: “Exactly.”

Kai’s eyes widened again. Had she somehow guessed his thoughts?

Unknown Number: “When it looks left, move right. Never stay where it last saw you.”

Kai took a deep breath and took the first run. The machine turned left instantly, but he sprinted right. The machine immediately tried to correct itself, but it was too slow. Kai slid behind another pillar just before another energy blast struck the wall behind him.

Fragments of stone exploded into the air, his shoulder was scraped by flying debris. He wince, “That hurts…” he muttered through gritted teeth.

The machine advanced again. Its movements were powerful, but predictable this time, and Kai noticed something else, every time it fired… its glowing chest dimmed for recharge. Its power core briefly weakened for a moment.

Another message suddenly appeared on his phone.

Unknown Number: “Did you notice it?”

Kai nodded instinctively.

Unknown Number: “Good. You’re smarter than I expected.”

He almost smiled, almost. The machine suddenly charged again, instead of firing, it swung its enormous metal arm at Kai. Kai jumped backward with his reflex, the machine fist smashed through the pillar.

The ceiling trembled and dust rained down the chamber. Kai grabbed a broken chain hanging from above.

In that moment of distress, an idea suddenly formed. If brute force won’t work… then I’ll use the environment. The machine charged again. At the last second, Kai rolled beneath its arm.

He yanked the chain of the machine arm, the rusted support beam collapsed instantly. Several massive stones crashed onto the machine.

BOOM!

The chamber shook violently, smoke filled the air and Kai stared hopefully at the machine. Now is the chance to hit back.

CRACK.

A metal hand burst through the rubble, the machine slowly stood up, however, its armor was dented. One eye flickered in damages, but it was still operational.

Kai’s heart sank in frustration. “Seriously?” he muttered. Another message then appeared.

Unknown Number: “That bought you enough time.”

A map suddenly appeared on his phone, as a blinking blue route stretched across the city. At the bottom of the map was a single sentence from the unknown caller.

Unknown Number: “Escape through the eastern tunnel. I’ll guide you.”

Kai didn’t hesitate when he saw it, he just ran. The machine fired again repeatedly at him. The tunnel behind him exploded. Stone collapsed where he had stood only seconds earlier. His lungs burned out, his legs screamed, but he kept running without looking back.

Meanwhile…hundreds of kilometers away, inside the Human Defense Agency Headquarters… Director Evelyn Ashford stood before an enormous holographic display of the world.

Red dots blinked across the map, one pulsed brighter than the others, revealing the action in the abandoned district.

A young officer saluted beside her. “Director, Hunter Unit One has engaged the target,” he reported. Evelyn folded her arms, while rotating her chair, “Status?”

“The target escaped initial elimination,” the officer said. Silence instantly filled the room, several officers lowered their heads. Evelyn’s expression never changed.

“Interesting,” she finally said. “No ordinary person survives a Hunter Unit.” Another officer stepped forward. “Our satellites confirm repeated Qi emissions.”

Evelyn stared at the red signal. “So the legends were true,” she murmured. “The Last Cultivator really exists.” One scientist adjusted his glasses. “Should we deploy another unit, ma’am?”

Evelyn shook her head. “No.” Everyone looked confused. She calmly walked toward the screen and smiled, “I want him alive.” The room became silent instantly, “Alive?” the officer repeated.

“He is the key to opening the Civilization Rift,” Evelyn said coldly. “And without his Qi… Project God-Slayer can never be completed.”

She turned toward her subordinates. “Expand surveillance, increase satellite sensitivity, monitor every unexplained explosion, every missing camera feed, every unusual report.” Her voice grew colder. “I don’t care how long it takes, find the Last Cultivator.”

Elsewhere…

Inside a dim apartment lit dozens of computer monitors…A young woman sighed in relief. “He made it,” she whispered. Aria Vale leaned back in her chair, her messy black hair framed her tired face, coffee cups surrounded her desk, ancient books were stacked beside cutting-edge computer equipment.

On one monitor was Kai’s live location, on another were government satellite feeds, and on a third… She was actively deleting surveillance footage.

Her fingers danced across the keyboard. “Sorry,” she muttered. “You’ll have to keep chasing ghosts.” Every camera showing Kai suddenly glitched, every record disappeared, and every facial scan returned an error.

She smiled proudly. “They’ll never find you that easily.” Then she opened a secure chat, she hesitated for several seconds before typing.

Unknown Number: “You asked who I am.”

Kai’s phone vibrated as he emerged from the tunnel into the rainy streets. He immediately read the message.

Unknown Number: “Meet me tomorrow.”

His heartbeat quickened. He typed quickly.

Kai: “Where?”

A location pin appeared. It pointed to an old independent bookstore hidden in a quiet alley and beneath it was one final message.

Unknown Number: “Come alone.”

Kai stared at the screen. Questions raced through his mind. Who is she? Why is she helping me? Can I trust someone I’ve never met?

Far away, Aria looked at Kai’s blinking location on her monitor. She smiled faintly, though worry lingered in her eyes. “I hope you still come,” she whispered softly, neither of them noticed another pair of eyes watching.

Deep inside the Human Defense Agency’s intelligence division, billionaire Damien Sterling studied a corrupted security frame recovered from the abandoned district, most of the image was distorted, but one silhouette remained. He narrowed his eyes. “…Interesting.”

As Kai walked through the rain-soaked streets, his thoughts refused to settle. He glanced at the location Aria had sent, an old bookstore, tomorrow.

He tightened his grip on his phone. “Should I really trust someone I’ve never met?” he wondered. “She saved my life… but she could just as easily be leading me into another trap.”

His phone vibrated.

Unknown Number: “Don’t go straight home.”

Kai frowned confused by these words, and texted back.

Kai: “Why?”

The reply came almost instantly.

Unknown Number: “Because the Human Defense Agency has locked down a three-kilometer radius around the abandoned district.”

Kai stopped walking, his heart skipped a beat.

Across several intersections, he noticed black vehicles quietly parking along the streets. Men and women dressed in plain clothes stepped out, pretending to be ordinary civilians while discreetly placing strange metallic devices on rooftops and streetlights.

They weren’t looking for a face, they were building a trap.

Far away, inside the Human Defense Agency’s command center, dozens of satellite feeds covered an enormous screen.

A technician shook his head. “Director, every security camera inside the target zone has been corrupted. Someone deleted the footage before we could recover it.”

Another officer added, “Facial recognition returned zero results. The suspect left no usable image, no fingerprints, and no identifiable DNA.”

Director Evelyn Ashford remained expressionless. “So,” she said calmly, “our ghost has someone helping him.”

She looked at the blinking red dot showing the last recorded Qi surge. “We don’t need his face then, we only need him to use Qi again.”

She turned toward the operations team. “Spread false emergencies throughout the city, if he truly has a hero’s heart…he’ll reveal himself sooner or later.”

At that very moment, Kai’s phone buzzed again. A final message from Aria appeared.

Unknown Number: “Change your route.”

Another message notification followed that moment.

Unknown Number: “Someone else is following you.”

Kai slowly looked behind him, the street was empty, no footsteps, no vehicles, no people and then, from the reflection in a rain-covered shop window… He saw a shadow standing perfectly still on the rooftop across the street, watching him.