A disheveled Long Tian walked into the Lab.
Haider couldn’t help but arch his eyebrows in surprise. While Long Tian typically exuded the aura of a mad scientist, he never looked this mentally beat-up.
Haider had noticed the shift in demeanour since Long Tian got unconscious last time. Even though he was cryptic and weird before, he was never this sombre or silent.
“Prepare my germ cells.”
Haider clenched his jaw as the slightly broken voice reached his ears.
“Sir, this will be too dangerous. We do not know what reaction it will show to germ cells.”
“Do it!”
“We might not be able to contain it pr-”
A pair of red, swollen eyes glared at Haider, not allowing any sort of refusal. He had seen those eyes before. These are the eyes of someone who has been backed onto a wall. Nothing he said would change his mind.
Haider rubbed his bald head. At worst, he just had to reveal his identity. It hardly matters at this point. Wednesday had given him only one mission, to keep Long Tian safe.
This identity did not matter.
He quickly went to refrigerator no. 1 and retrieved a test tube with a white liquid. He stared at it with a bit of disgust before promptly bringing it to the large room in the middle.
“Riam Lin”
Riam Lin turned around with an exhausted expression, fixing her messy hair and glasses in a hurry. However, it only exacerbated her messy head.
“Go explore Naqueser for a while.”
Her distraught face lit up at his words, showing relief. Since she arrived in the lab, all she was told to do was sit and watch over the experiments.
Lab work for five days is painful, but just sitting and staring at the same process over and over is even more agonising.
Haider gazed at the relieved Riam, departing in jest, completely aware of how she felt. The only person who would be able to bear this sort of relentless lab work is the madman Long Tian.
He left the white test tube on the worktable, making his way towards the room in the back.
As he stepped into the room, a wide smile adorned his face. An array of metallic suits was adorned on each side of the room. Haider ogled at the large black masterpiece in the middle.
Titan V
The humanoid black colossus slumbered like a sleeping behemoth. It’s smooth, muscular curves were sculpted meticulously with the fury of a thousand hammers. The black metal muscles reflected a yellow lustrous sheen.
“This is all men want in life.”
Haider said as he ran his hand on the smooth metal. The smooth, cold touch of the Rudranium brought a thrill in his spines. Even though He had been itching to wear this one, he never had the proper excuse to play with it.
“3097587”
*Whirr*
The black metallic giant emitted a faint whirring noise, its eyes glowing white as it swiftly disassembled into smaller components
*Ting Ting Ting Ting*
As the Titan V reassembled around his body, his expression looked akin to a child finding his favourite toy. Soon, his vision was engulfed within an inky blackness.
*Whish*
A blue digital screen displaying cursive numbers and stats floated in front of his retina.
“Scanning for data”
The deep metallic voice announced as the screen in front of him changed, finally showing the room again. Haider stared at the changing data with a hint of anticipation.
“Data acquired”
Soon, his stats showed up in the left corner of the screen.
> Name: Haider
>
> Strength: 17
>
> Agility: 28
>
> Durability: 23
>
> Intelligence: 138
>
> Dexterity: 35
>
> Mood: Exhilarated
>
> Skills: Pathological liar (SSS+), Sociopath (S+), Junior Researcher(B), Bargaining(E)
>
> Aspect: None
>
> Cultivation: None
>
> Soul artefact: None
>
> Rank assessment: F (Slightly stronger than a rabbit)
Starting at his rank assessment, Haider felt the veins of his forehead go up.
“This is why you cannot rely on machines. How can a dumb lump of metal gauge the great me?”
He consoled himself, however, a deep, proud metallic voice sounded near his ears.
“V is sorry that you are weak.”
Haider turned speechless. If he did not have a seal on him to hide his aura and cultivation, he would have shown the robot who is the boss.
“Your grandpa is weak! Your entire line of predecessors is weaker than a rabbit! Just you wait, you dumb robot.”
“V can take on Aspect 2 cultivators. V is certainly much superior to a rabbit. Furthermore, V does not have a grandfather.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Listening to the boastful voice filled with pride, Haider felt a mixture of irritation and amusement.
He gave a serious thought to the idea of putting the snarky robot in it’s place first. However, hearing the last remark, his anger died down, filling him with a bit of melancholy as well.
“Me too, V. Me too”
“[Pathological liar(SSS+)]!”
“I am not lying!”
.
Meanwhile, in front of the smooth square incubator, Long Tian carefully mixed a drop of white liquid with a bunch of solvents. If anyone looked at him mixing the white stuff with purple, yellow, and red liquids right now, they would certainly mistake him for a drug dealer.
As the test tube turned black, Long Tian poured the viscous liquid onto a round petri dish. He dropped an undiluted red liquid from the swirling red quartz
Quickly, the petri dish showed a strong reaction as the black liquid intermixed with the red, engulfing each other like waves of sea crashing onto the shores.
*Sizzle*
It started to churn loudly with a shrill noise. Long Tian's unending gaze locked at the petri dish, without a single blink.
*whirr*
A black titan floated behind him, towering over 3 meters in height.
"Ready?"
Long Tian asked without turning.
""Ready""
A metallic voice intermixed with Haider's resounded throughout the large room.
*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*
Black metal bars rose from 4 sides, sealing the room thoroughly from all sides. A blindingly white light emanated from the linings of V’s body, bathing the dark space in brightness.
Haider focused at the squirming mass of cells on his screen, staring at the giant mass of cells that kept getting bigger.
"V detects an excessive amount of energy. V protects master."
*Clang*
*Clang*
Parts of the thick limbs of the Titan V dismantled, soon rearranging into a shield, encircling Long Tian from every side.
A blue interface illuminated itself in front of him, the screen displaying a erratically pulsating hologram of V.
"V has missed master. Master should summon V more."
Long Tian remained silent, offering no response. Surprised at the solemn demeanour, a line of cursive question manifested in front of Haider.
"Human that is barely stronger than a rabbit, what happened to V's master?"
"No idea"
Although he had a bit of idea, he was not going to reveal it out of spite. His eyes were drawn to the squirming mass of black cells before him.
Haider felt the Qi in the air quickly decrease, feeling a bit apprehensive.
*Whirr*
"Not Yet"
Long Tian’s firm voice resounded in Haider’s ears, halting him from taking action.
*screeech*
A piercing scream came from the growing, squirming mass of cells that had started to grow organs and muscles. It kept trying to take on a humanoid shape.
A viscous, purple liquid exuded from it's pores, leaving a noxious odour behind.
Haider quickly prevented the volatile purple air from entering. Decades of experience as a spy taught him to be fast and concise when acting. However, the corrosiveness of the volatile liquid caused the Rudranium armour to show a pulsing reaction.
*Slash*
A resolute slash of the red blade cut off the outer layer of the armor like a hot knife through butter, swiftly removing the infected parts.
Eventually, the mass of muscle ceased it's attempt at taking on a humanoid shape and continued growing larger, becoming even taller than the black titan. The muscles around it’s body stabilized for a while before pulsating like a huge heart.
*Ba-dump*
A loud, thumping noise of a heart echoed throughout the metal room.
"Now"
As soon as Long Tian’s calm voice resounded, V sprung into action.
*clang*
Two gleaming, sharp blades materialized in V's black metallic hands. It's sharp edges that looked capable of cutting through bars of steel emitted a deep obsidian glow.
*Sizzle*
As the crimson blade violently reacted with the atmosphere, the surrounding air turned into a haze of white. Haider slowly walked up to the mass of cells with a villainous grin on his face, relishing at the opportunity in front of him.
"Now, this seems like my kind of job."
“Show off”
The pulsating mass of muscle and organs screeched loudly in fear, retreating towards the corner of the room.
"Make it quick."
*Slash*
Haider wasted no time, swiftly descending upon the writhing mass as he sliced through the air with deadly precision.
*Split*
Crimson blades created a barrage of mesmerizing afterimages. The squirming muscles and organs were cleaved down into numerous pieces as it danced through the air.
Long Tian could barely follow the Titan V as it attacked with thunderous speed. A pair of scalding crimson blades danced in the air like the most precise butcher’s blade, sending the torn muscles and organs up like pieces of floating wool.
*drip*
Burnt muscles and blood fell on the black titan as a smell of burnt plastics filled the air.
*splat*
The split pieces of muscles and organs quickly rejoined. Soon, it formed eyes and an outline of a human body.
The continuous onslaught only worked in its favour, allowing it to evolve under the pressure.
Haider paused, a hint of uncertainty flashing through his eyes as he locked his gaze onto the familiar eyes that mirrored Long Tian's.
"Sir, don't you think this is a bit unethical?"
He glanced towards the black shield that encircled Long Tian.
"It's not human."
Although Long Tian said that, his voice lacked the earlier firmness.
"I was just confirming."
*Slashhhhhh*
A wide grin spread across Haider’s face. The air around the area crackled as his relentless attacks left spinning crimson blurs across the room.
The mass kept growing more humanoid after each and every attack. Now it had almost started resembling Long Tian, except for the numerous small bumps on its skin. Felling a bit of danger, Haider taunted V.
“If this is the best you can do after all that trash-talk, then I would be certainly disappointed."
The red blades silently retracted at the provocation. Innumerable small fragments of black armour broke off from Titan's body, illuminating the entire room into a hazy crimson hue.
A red
"Alright, human that is barely stronger than a rabbit. Let V show you."
Now, V was in control.
The faint humanoid silhouette stared at the red room, it's expression full of fear and rage as it stared at the menacing black form in front. It's face full of tumorous budges moved as it spoke with great difficulty.
“I ju-t w-nt t- live. Plea-e”
Listening to the voice that was identical to his own, Long Tian felt a tug at his heartstring. However, he firmly ordered.
“Secure the heart.”
“Roger”
[Cyclop's final plight]
The reddish black metals floating in the air gave off heat waves as Innumerable red beams attacked from all sides, drowning the metal room into crimson madness. It burned the growing limbs of the homunculus relentlessly.
Soon, the homologous could no longer keep up with the onslaught of the crimson beams.
*SIZZLLLEEEEEEEE*
“PLE-SE”
The four limbs of the homunculus were burned, leaving behind black ashes. It struggled in silence without any screams.
*RIPPPPPP*
The Titan V inserted it's hand into it's chest and ripped a crimson heart out. Drops of blood drizzled into the red floor.
*Ba-dump*
Crimson linings of V reflected on the pulsating heart and blood.
However, the homunculus was not at all worried about that, it spoke out pleadingly once again.
“A- le-st l-t me see the ou-side wor-d.”
Long Tian stared at the face that looked identical to him. He never predicted that a homunculus would give birth to a soul, neither did he believe it could turn sentient and even speak all of a sudden.
However, all his expectations had been subverted. As he stared at the homunculus's that was quickly losing his life force, a laugh of self derision laced his lips.
“Stop.”
V paused, staring towards Long Tian.
“V, Let him see.”
The Titan stared at Long Tian, nodding after a while.
“V listens to master”
A bright red screen manifested in front of the body that missed a heart and four limbs.
A large city encircled in a black wall was revealed on the screen. Rows of neat black houses appeared in front of his eyes.
The homunculus with the face of Long Tian watched the bustling city full of life. His face turned full of wonder and envy as he stared at the birds flying over the green plains.
He opened his with great difficulty, speaking out with a throaty voice.
“What is -ts na-e?”
“It's called a bird.”
“A-d the below?”
“The green plains of Naqueser”
“Th- plains"
A bit of desire lit up in his dimming eyes, flashing like a lamp in the night desert.
He stared at the three huge, pale white buildings on the screen. The one in the back was much taller than the others.
“Th-s is?”
“This is where I live. It's called Long Manor.”
His eyes turned towards the serpentine structure connecting the three. He stared in awe at the long whisker of the dragon that seemed to exist throughout time. Soon, the homunculus felt his vision turn black. But his expression was full of understanding and gratitude.
“Please bury me among the green plains.”
It spoke in a deep, monotone voice. Now, he sounded just like Long Tian.
“Alright”
Long Tian's numb heart turned a smidge heavier.
“I am sorry.”
The homunculus shook his head.
"It's alright."
All the life force left him as his one final wish echoed.
“If there is a next life, I would like to be reborn as a bird.”