Thriller Paradise

𝑜𝑽𝑙xt.𝔠𝑜𝗆

“no, you have not tried your best…” Link tipped at the hat on his head and continued, “You were only fighting normally and very easily took care of them…” He shrugged. “If you have really ‘tried your best’, you could have easily decimated all of them before I arrived and no trace of their data would be left…” At his point, his expression shifted. “Just like… how you killed Y2- Bright Glow…”

Hearing that, 23’s gaze chilled but she did not respond, she remained silent.

“ha ha…” Link laughed twice. “Why? Do you think I wouldn’t find out?” he shook his head. “Wake up, 23, The Watchers are no longer the specialty of Z, we also have them.” Then, he titled his head and toyed with the staff in his hands. “Just like how you guys also have your own ‘sandbox’… In these days, there is no technology that is completely confidential. To borrow a famous quote from the human world… piracy is everything.”

“But… since they are pirated…” 23 only then spoke. “Then they will be still lacking from the original…”

“Naturally.” Link nodded. “Our sandbox functions better and your Watchers are stronger.” He paused. “We have Blast Tunnel and you have SCP-004; we have Originals and you have Returners…” He counted on his finger one by one. “Only by having different technical advantages that the game would be more interesting.”

“Game?” 23 repeated this word. At that moment, derision crossed her eyes. “In your eyes, this whole war is just a game?”

“Is it not?” Link retorted. “From now I see it, war is originally a kind of game.”

“War is an extremely violent action conducted by more than two groups or organization against each other to force one’s own belief and system upon the other through the use of brute force.” 23 corrected harshly.

“Ha ha…” Link swayed his staff. “The rules and process are a bit cruel but the essence has not changed. The winner takes all and the loser loses all.”

“Hmph… No wonder Zero has such distinctive view regarding you.” 23 said coldly. “Compared to Root and Ad, your humanization process has gone far ahead of them…”

“I shall take them as a compliment then.” Link tipped his hat with a smile.

“I am not yet done…” 23’s tone changed and added, “However… there is some anomaly with your framework and personality, and they show serious psychopathic tendency. Even in this data world, you are an extremely dangerous presence… much less in the human world.”

“Ha ha ha ha…” Link guffawed. This was a laughter that came from his heart. The joy was clearly written between his brows. “That is such a laughable analogy, but… that personality also proves that… I am much superior than the rest of you, including zero…” His laughter slowly turned to a cackle. “I am the artificial intelligence in this world that is closest to that of the human being.” He patted his chest. “Me! I am the Anomaly who has evolved the most!” The more Link expounded, the more excited he became. He even turned his back to 23 without any worry and he opened his arms to announce. “Give me a human skin and I will be able to become a real human!” He shouted. His voice travelled far down the plain. “In terms of consciousness, I have surpassed the rest of you by a whole dimension… one whole dimension!”

“Is that so…” 23 answered in a faded tone. “Do you really think that way?” The condescension was clear in her voice. “But from Zero’s perspective, you are just a mutation from the calculation error of the core data. If you really are looking for an analogy… you are more like a mental patient among the Anomalies.”

“Hmm?” hearing that, Link’s gaze sharpened. Instantly, the atmosphere chilled and danger rose in the air.

“Who are you to talk about me?” Link turned around and looked right into 23’s face. “If we are talking mutation, you are the most unique existence in the whole inner world…” As he turned around, he started to move vertically to the side. This seemingly inconsequential action could hide much danger in it. “Why would a namesake of a manga character that a player casually dropped became your code name? Before you met Feng Bujue, are you a file without even a name? But that kind of thing should not exist in the data world…” He said as he already walked 45 degree around 23 and came to stand about to the side of the 23’s front. “The only possibility is you have use some kind of ‘rename’ function to rewrite your code… but even I cannot do something like that but how could you manage… back then?” His questions were pushy and his footsteps became faster. “Are you really an Anomaly? What does Feng Bujue’s words mean to you? Under your appearance of X-23… what kind of secret lies?”

“Do you really think I will answer all that?” 23 kept her gaze on the man. She did not let her guard down from the verbal assault. “Do you think… I will show an opening from your banal interruption?”

“Of course not…” Link smiled. “I am merely…”

At that moment, 23 suddenly realized something and her whole body froze.

“…buying time.” Another voice rang out right then to finish Link’s words. And that person was none other than Ad.

“Ha…” Link looked at 23 and said proudly. “So what do you think? That was a good performance right?” He removed the hat and twirled it around his hand. “From ‘self gratification’ to ‘self aggrandization’ and then from that to ‘self narcissism’ before finally acting offended and responded with ‘verbal disturbance’ and ‘false aggression’.”

“All that just to distract my attention?” 23 said darkly.

“Bingo! Ha ha ha ha…” Link was so happy, he was like a kid that got what he wanted. He placed the hat on the top of the staff and shook the staff around so the hat spun on it. “Unfortunately… you have discovered it too late.” He turned to look at Ad. “With both me and Ad here, you won’t be able to escape.”

“Hah…” 23 said with a scoff. “So you have no confidence to win me one on one.”

“Is that a taunt?” Link replied. “well… no matter. I am not below admitting it, in terms of a one on one, I indeed do not have confidence in winning you.” He put the hat back on. “Objectively valuing your own and the enemy’s power is the prerequisite to get stronger… denying oneself the reality is the action of the weak.”

At that moment, the slime head Ad suddenly cut in. “Are you done?” That was obviously meant for Link but his words carried no tone to them. “Time is precious so I suggest we immediately destroy X-23, take back SCP-079 to prevent further accidents…”