The instant she was pushed, No.54’s mind went blank.
It was like her breathing and heartbeat stopped at the same time. All she could hear was the wind screaming in her ears.
For the first few seconds, she didn’t even feel fear.
Then she realized CST had been talking into her headset the whole time. No.54 only caught the end of it.
“…Did you hear me?”
“What?” No.54 gasped. “What did you say?”
“Don’t be scared. Don’t scream. Don’t talk,” CST snapped. “Stretch out as much as you can. Back facing down. Don’t make me repeat it a third time.”
“Why?!”
“Stop asking why. Do it before I finish talking. I’m done talking.”
No.54 didn’t have time to think. She shut her eyes, twisted her body, and spread her arms and legs wide like a star.
About ten seconds later—
Poof.
She slammed into something like a thin membrane. It was unbelievably soft and incredibly stretchy. It barely hurt.
Then—
Poof.
A second layer. It sagged under her weight, funneling downward. In panic she reached for something to grab, but the surface was slick and offered no hold.
Splash—!
Wrapped by the membrane, No.54 hit the ground and cried out, and the cry came with a watery slap. The membrane bounced, lifting her slightly, then dropped her again.
Soft. Cold.
Only then did she realize there was water beneath the membrane.
And somehow… it still hadn’t torn.
The bulging film held her up like a gigantic inflatable mattress. She bobbed with the vibration as if she were floating on water.
No.54 stared, stunned.
She wasn’t hurt at all.
Between the two layers was trapped air, and beneath them was water—three cushions that had absorbed the fall.
A hissing sound rose around her. The membrane was deflating, sagging like a punctured balloon.
She tried to stand. The surface wobbled. She fell twice before she finally managed to get upright on the sinking air cushion.
Everything beyond the searchlight glow was black. She couldn’t even tell how big this “cushion” was.
“You just collapsed a Bubble Farm,” CST laughed in her headset. “Heh.”
“Bubble Farm?”
“Was it exciting?!”
“I thought you were trying to kill me.”
“This is the only way you leave the tower alive.”
“Then why push me? That shove felt like it broke my bones.”
“Idiot,” CST said. “Do you think falling from two hundred-plus floors up onto a bubble was an accident?”
“I—”
A blinding beam of light snapped onto her face, burning white across her vision.
A voice barked, “Don’t move!”
“Heh. You got spotted,” CST said with obvious delight.
“Was that part of your plan too?” No.54 muttered, lowering her head.
“Maybe.”
“You jerk. What do I do now?”
“Raise your hands over your head. Don’t move unless you’re told. And no matter what they ask you—don’t speak.”
Before No.54 could answer, CST cut the connection.
No.54 had no choice. She raised both hands and stood still.
“Walk forward,” the voice ordered.
She stumbled across the wobbling cushion for twenty-some meters until her feet finally found solid ground. As soon as she stepped off the air cushion, the voice ordered her to stop.
Now she could see them.
Two armed robots, and a middle-aged human in a guard uniform.
“Are you alone?” the guard demanded.
No.54 kept her head down and said nothing.
“No.54.” The guard spotted the marking on her clothes and frowned. “Did you jump off the tower?”
No.54 remained silent.
The guard noticed the headset and yanked it off her. “What’s this?”
More robots arrived—four or five of them—circling the collapsed Bubble Farm and sweeping it with lights until the whole area was bright as day.
The guard fired off more questions. No.54 didn’t answer, but her fear kept climbing.
Crack!
Something in the dark made a sharp noise.
The guard turned toward it immediately. Then he barked at the robots beside him.
“Take her back. Hand her over to Supervisor Pang in the Bio Sector on Level 250.”
Two robots marched her to a maglev car parked nearby. There were no doors, so they held her pinned between them as the vehicle started moving.
No.54’s panic swelled. She remembered what CST had said when it shoved her. That jerk… is it really going to leave me?
Her eyes burned. Tears spilled again.
Then the car rounded a bend, and in the darkness, the massive silhouette of Edean Tower rose ahead—half-hidden, like a mountain.
I’d rather be shot than go back, she thought.
She lunged for the robot’s gun on her left.
The robot raised its rifle butt to smash down—
But a force like a steel cable yanked it sideways, ripping it out of the car.
The robot on the right snapped its weapon left.
Too late.
A thin blade speared clean through its head from the right side.
The blade didn’t stop. It split into two, shearing outward. The robot’s head parted in halves, sparks bursting as it terminated.
CST retracted the blade, reshaping it into a hand. It tossed the wreck out of the car, flipped inside, and gave No.54 a crooked smile.
“What were you trying to do just now?”
CST hopped into the driver’s seat. Switching to manual control, it spun the maglev car one hundred and eighty degrees and accelerated into the dark.
“See how easy that’s?” CST said cheerfully. “And it saves me the trouble of finding a car.”
“I thought you’d already left,” No.54 said, her voice tight with tears.
“I said I’d get you out,” CST replied. “Forgot already?”
“You also said you’d use me to draw the enemy.”
CST chuckled and didn’t answer.
“What are you laughing about?” No.54 demanded.
“Nothing.” CST kept driving. “I just remembered something from a long time ago.”
“What?”
“Back in the human era,” CST said, “there was an amusement park ride called Rapid Crash Landing.”
“It simulated a crippled aircraft dropping straight down from high altitude—of course it always landed safely.”
“The robot running the ride wanted to make it more ‘exciting.’ So right before launching, it would pick up a comms unit and loudly announce, ‘Major fault detected. Unable to resolve. Stop the ride immediately and send technicians at once.’”
“It made sure the passengers heard every word.”
“Then it would quietly hit the launch button anyway.”
No.54 didn’t say anything.
“The passengers got double the thrill,” CST said, glancing back. “And then the joy of surviving.”
“Can’t you feel it?”
“Are you sure that’s joy?” No.54 said dully. “I’ve two days left.”
“My only wish is to see this world once, with my own eyes. If you can do that, take me. If you can’t—kill me now.”
“Fine.” CST’s grin faded. “Hope you’re not disappointed.”
The maglev car glided through the darkness. CST didn’t turn on the lights, but in its specially built eyes the landscape was almost as clear as daylight.
It also knew the route.
In a month of confinement, it had already dug through Edean’s database and learned every secret it could.
After twenty minutes at high speed, the car slowed. According to the stolen map, a tunnel ahead—two hundred meters out—was the exit.
CST parked against a rock wall and told No.54 to wait. Then it walked into the tunnel alone.
More than ten minutes later, No.54 heard a burst of chaotic gunfire from inside.
A muffled explosion followed.
Then silence.
A while later CST returned, carrying a backpack. It tossed it at No.54.
“Finally found one for you. Put it on. Your wish is about to come true.”
Inside was an insulated suit. It fit a little tight—clearly meant for a girl a few years smaller than her. There was also an oxygen mask and some food.
After No.54 got dressed, CST drove the maglev car into the tunnel.
The tunnel was brightly lit, but the floor and walls were littered with robot wreckage and shell casings.
It widened and narrowed. At its widest point, a standalone building sat in the passage, its door blasted open, Avenger wrecks scattered around it. CST said the backpack had been found there.
Ahead, two massive doors blocked the way. They’d been blasted with a crack—but not wide enough for the maglev car.
They abandoned the vehicle and squeezed through the gap.
Beyond the doors, the tunnel continued. Under CST’s constant urging, No.54 ran until her lungs burned.
Five minutes later, she saw it—
Light.
Only then did CST’s tense face relax.
No.54 found herself wondering what could possibly make something like CST nervous.
But the moment she stepped out of the tunnel and felt the icy wind on her skin, the moment she saw the aurora rippling across the sky, she forgot every question she’d ever had.
CST was still scanning the surroundings when it heard No.54 whispering to herself.
“What did you say?” CST asked.
No.54 smiled, eyes fixed on the icefields ahead.
“I finally understand why I came into this world.”
“What reason?” CST asked, genuinely puzzled.
No.54 didn’t answer.
She tossed away the oxygen mask and ran forward onto the frozen plain—hopping, spinning, laughing softly to herself.