2026-09-06 14:03:38The light pulled itself out of her skin. It looked like a glowing, silver thread. The thread floated through the air and was instantly sucked into the black stone of the pillar.
The woman gasped softly. Her knees buckled for a tiny second. But she did not fall. She lowered her hand. She smiled again, turned around, and walked away.
"What did the machine just do to her?" Jayden asked. His heart beat a little faster.
"It taxed her," Eli said. His rough voi
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 579
"But if we let it run," Eli argued, "the machine will keep turning them into smiling, empty zombies! The Thought Buffer will keep erasing their free will!""That is because the machine is isolated!" Jayden shouted. His voice echoed across the rocky plateau. He turned around and pointed his bare, scarred hand at the thirty rugged, dirty, brave Null survivors sitting around the fire. "The machine thinks humanity is perfectly fragile because it only looks at the people hiding in the cities!" Jayden explained passionately. "The machine built a perfect, sterile greenhouse because it thinks humans are weak little flowers that will die if the wind blows!"Jayden walked up to Mara. "But look at you," Jayden smiled. "You are messy. You are loud. You are stubborn. You feel pain, and you survive it anyway. The machine does not know you exist! The magnetic rocks hide you from the sensors!""And we like it that way," Mara grunted, crossing her arms. "I know," Jayden said softly. "But if you hi
Chapter 578
Jayden looked at Mara. The old woman was sitting just three feet away from the open flames. Suddenly, a strange, quiet thought entered Jayden’s mind. He looked at the fire again. Fire is dangerous. Fire is a monster. If a fire gets out of control, it will burn down an entire forest. It will melt skin. It will destroy everything it touches. But if you kill the fire completely... you freeze to death in the dark. "Mara," Jayden whispered softly. The old woman looked up. "What is it, glowing boy?""Why do you use the fire?" Jayden asked. He pointed at the burning wood. "It is dangerous. It could burn your camp down. It could hurt the children."Mara looked at him like he was an idiot. "Because we are cold, Jayden. We need the heat to cook our food. We need the light to see in the dark.""But it is a monster," Jayden argued, leaning forward. His plain brown eyes began to widen. A new, impossible thought was starting to form in his brain. "If you make a mistake, it will kill you.""Yes,
Chapter 577
Jayden fell to his knees in the red dirt. He was absolutely, completely exhausted. Every muscle in his human body ached. He let out a long, heavy, rattling breath.Around him, the thirty Null survivors were busy. They did not sit down to cry. They immediately started working.They gathered dry desert brush and broken pieces of dead wood. In ten minutes, they had built a large, warm campfire in the center of the rocky plateau.The bright orange and yellow flames danced in the cold wind. The fire cast warm, comforting shadows across their tired, dirty faces.Maya sat near the fire, wrapping a thick wool blanket around little Arthur. The young boy held his hands out to the flames, smiling softly at the warmth.Jayden slowly pushed himself up. He walked over to the fire and sat down on a smooth, flat rock. He stared into the dancing orange flames. He felt a deep, crushing weight on his shoulders.The battle in
Chapter 576
The ground beneath the secret cave ripped completely open. It sounded like a giant, glass window shattering in the dark. The solid stone floor of the hidden canyon dissolved into a pitch-black, endless void. The air instantly dropped to freezing zero. The warm fires in the iron pits died. From the absolute darkness of the hole, two massive, shining silver eyes looked up. Mr. Vance, the Devourer, had found them. The ancient cosmic parasite had dug underneath the magnetic rocks to eat the people who refused to obey the System. "I have found you," Mr. Vance whispered. His polite, smooth voice echoed from the bottomless pit. It made the blood freeze in the veins of every man, woman, and child in the cave. Jayden did not hesitate. He did not have magic. He only had his bare hands, his Indelible body, and the silver Executor blade in his pocket. "Mara! Get everyone out!" Jayden roared. Mara, the fierce old leader of the Nulls, did not freeze in terror. She swung her heavy iron machet
Chapter 575
Jayden stared at her. He felt a massive, heavy lock click open inside his mind. He finally understood his struggle. He was not fighting for peace. Peace was a cage. He was fighting for freedom. He was fighting for the right for humanity to be messy, loud, broken, and beautiful. "You are right," Jayden whispered. He set the tin bowl down. He looked at his own scarred hands. "I am going to break the cage. I am going to destroy the Core."Mara nodded approvingly. "Then you better do it fast. Because the monster outside is not going to wait."Suddenly, a loud, panicked shout echoed from the back of the cave. "Jayden! Mara!" It was Eli. The blue hologram was floating wildly in the air, flashing with bright, urgent red warning lights. Jayden jumped to his feet. Mara grabbed her machete. They ran toward the old hacker. "What is it, Eli?" Jayden demanded, his heart hammering. "Did the System find us?""No," Eli gasped. His digital face was pale with absolute terror. "It's not the System.
Chapter 574
The System had almost convinced him that humans only knew how to destroy. But looking at this cave, looking at the crying children, the sad elders, and the arguing men, Jayden felt absolute, profound peace. They were not perfect. But they were beautiful. They were alive. This was what he had been fighting for all along. Jayden walked toward the back of the cave. He found Mara. The fierce, old leader was sitting on a wooden crate near a small, quiet fire. She was using a wet stone to sharpen her heavy iron machete. Mara did not look up when Jayden approached. She just kept sharpening her blade. "Sit down, glowing boy," Mara said roughly. "You look like a stiff board."Jayden sat down slowly on the dirt floor across the fire from her. Mara reached beside her. She picked up a rusted tin bowl. It was filled with hot, steaming soup made of root vegetables and simple broth. She handed the bowl to Jayden. "Eat," Mara ordered. "It’s not magic food. It won’t fix all your problems in one b
You may also like
PRIMORDIAL LORD OF CHAOS
Supreme king26.7K viewsThe Overpowered Grass Magician
Shame_less00748.4K viewsTotem Warrior
Cindy Chen30.2K viewsThe Exiled Prince With the Divine Attribute System
A_Raane22.3K viewsI Died Inventing Cultivation, Now the Heavens Call Me Genius
Classic87 viewsThe Humiliated Son-in-Law Who Ruled the Island
Lesora151 viewsHeroic Chronicle of the Reincarnated Demon General
_michael135 viewsHeat in the Dark
Lydia Gab164 views