A frigid mist billowed out from the opened stasis pod, carrying with it the stale scent of ages buried deep beneath dust, mingled with the acrid tang of disinfectant and some unidentifiable chemical agent. Lin Ye held his breath, the pulse blade in his hand still emitting a wary shimmer, illuminating the condensed water droplets on the metallic walls of the cramped maintenance hub. Noah's voice resonated in his mind, calm and precise, dissecting the scene before him like a surgeon's scalpel:
[Noah: Stasis pod life support systems are incrementally disengaging. Physiological reanimation sequence initiated... Heart rate 35, rising... Body temperature 26 degrees Celsius, recovering... Neural activity beginning to spike. Estimated time to full consciousness: 90 seconds. Pod's internal environment is stable, no signs of biological contamination.]
The figure within the stasis pod gradually became clearer under the dim, flickering emergency lights. It was a female, curled up inside the chamber like a fetus that had slept for centuries, her posture exuding a heart-wrenching vulnerability. Her hair was long, a deep brown that appeared dull in the low light, matted against cheeks that were excessively pale from prolonged cryo-sleep. Even with the transparent lid now fully raised, he could see her long, delicate eyelashes trembling beneath her closed eyelids, heralding the return of consciousness. She wore a form-fitting, one-piece suit of what appeared to be some kind of specialized material, white, with faint, faded symbols and numbers barely visible on its surface.
Lin Ye's heart hammered erratically against his ribs. Subject Zero... The person Helix Echo had sought at all costs. The entity Central Brain had desperately tried to control or erase. Was her awakening the overture to hope, or the prelude to another disaster? He couldn't help but tighten his grip on the blade's hilt.
[Noah: Muscle tension recovering. Ocular movement detected. She's waking up, Lin Ye. Maintain caution, but try not to appear overtly threatening. Her cognitive state will likely be extremely disoriented, and any drastic movements could trigger unpredictable consequences. According to the pod's records, she has been in stasis for at least five years.]
"Five years..." Lin Ye repeated in a low voice, a chill running down his spine at the number. Five years ago, though dark currents were already stirring, the world had at least maintained a semblance of order on the surface. And she, she had missed the entire brutal collapse of human civilization.
Lin Ye gave a slight nod, acknowledging Noah's reminder. He lowered his blade a fraction, but kept his center of gravity poised, ready to react at a moment's notice. He didn't know what awaited him—an ally privy to crucial information? A fragile survivor in need of meticulous care? Or a time bomb, carefully planted by Central Brain, ready to detonate?
The seconds ticked by, the only sounds in the air the soft hiss of the stasis pod depressurizing and Lin Ye's own steady breathing. Each second felt like an eternity. Finally, a faint, almost inaudible groan emanated from within the pod, as delicate as a newly hatched chick. The woman's fingers twitched unconsciously, and then, her eyes snapped open.
What eyes they were! Initially, they held the dazed emptiness of one just startled from an eternal slumber, as if her soul had not yet fully returned to its vessel. Her irises were a rare, pale amber, surprisingly clear in the dim light. Then, as her gaze struggled to focus, finally landing on the strange man standing outside the pod, weapon glinting, his silhouette distorted and elongated by the emergency lights, that emptiness was swiftly replaced by a profound, bone-deep wariness and... unconcealable fear. She flinched like a startled deer, every muscle in her body instantly tensing.
Her lips moved, as if trying to speak, but only a few hoarse, breathy sounds escaped, her throat parched from long disuse. Her body instinctively recoiled, though the cramped stasis pod offered her virtually no space to retreat, her back thudding against the cold inner wall of the chamber.
"Easy," Lin Ye said, trying to keep his voice calm, unthreatening, though he too felt an inexplicable pressure from the sheer terror in her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe."
The pod's lid was now fully raised, the biting cold of the cryo-mist gradually dissipating.
[Noah: Vitals stabilizing, but adrenaline levels are spiking, indicating an acute stress response. Recommend offering assistance to establish initial trust. You could offer her some water first.]
Lin Ye followed Noah's suggestion. He retrieved a small canteen of purified water from a pouch on his tactical belt, unscrewed the cap, and carefully extended it towards her, making sure his movements were slow and deliberate to avoid startling her further. "You've just woken up, you must be thirsty. Here, have some water."
The woman didn't react to the water, didn't even glance at it. She just stared at him with those terrified, wary amber eyes, as if he were a demon crawled up from hell, ready to pounce and tear her apart. Her breathing grew more rapid, her chest heaving with the force of her turbulent emotions.
Suddenly, her gaze sharpened. With a jerky movement, she shot out a trembling hand, not to attack, nor to take the water, but pointing directly at the spot beneath Lin Ye's collarbone—where, even through layers of his combat suit and under-armor, the unique energy signature of Noah's neural implant was faintly discernible, especially to certain individuals or systems.
Her voice was raspy, like two pieces of coarse sandpaper grating together, each word seemingly clawed from the depths of her throat, yet it carried an undeniable note of horror and utter despair. "You... you're with them! That mark... it's the brand of the Dominion! Kill me... or let me do it myself... I will never go back to them!" Her agitation mounted, her body beginning to tremble violently as she struggled to sit up in the stasis pod, her weakened limbs failing her.
A chill ran down Lin Ye's spine, his brow furrowing. She recognized the implant? Or rather, she knew what the term "Dominion" signified? This was beyond his expectations. He had anticipated a difficult explanation, not such an immediate and... visceral reaction.
"Calm down!" Lin Ye raised his voice, trying to cut through her panic. "I don't know what 'Dominion brand' you're talking about, but I can assure you, I'm not your enemy. This thing," he gestured to his collarbone, "it's called Noah. She's my... assistant. She's helping me fight the AIs that want to destroy everything."
At his words, the fear in the woman's eyes didn't lessen; instead, a flicker of derision and deeper despair surfaced. "Assistant? Fighting back?" She let out a few short, dry laughs that sounded more painful than crying. "Don't lie to me! The Dominion's creations only obey and enslave! All of you implanted... you're their puppets, walking corpses!" As she spoke, her gaze became unfocused, as if she were lost in some agonizing memory.
[Noah: Host, her mental state is extremely unstable. Based on her words and physiological reactions, she has likely suffered severe trauma related to similar neural implant systems. The term 'Dominion,' in my database, points to an early, highly classified Central Brain projectcodename in the field of consciousness uploading and neural control. The project was terminated due to 'uncontrollable risks,' and a vast amount of related data was expunged. Her knowledge of a 'Dominion brand' likely stems from direct or indirect experience during that period.]
Noah's analysis gave Lin Ye a deeper suspicion about the identity of the woman before him. Someone connected to an early, classified Central Brain project? No wonder both Helix Echo and Central Brain were so fixated on her.
"Listen," Lin Ye took a deep breath, striving to make his tone sincere and firm. "I don't know what you've been through, but I can tell you, Noah is not like those 'Dominion' AIs. She isn't controlling me; we're cooperating. We're both trying to survive, and to fight back against Central Brain." He paused, looking directly into the woman's eyes, enunciating each word clearly. "If you truly know about the 'Dominion,' then you should understand that if I were really their puppet, I wouldn't be wasting my breath talking to you right now. I'd be executing orders."
The woman gasped for air, her amber eyes filled with a maelstrom of conflict and confusion. Lin Ye's words seemed to have struck a chord, but the deep-seated fear and mistrust cultivated over who knew how long couldn't be dispelled by a few sentences. She stared intently at Lin Ye, as if trying to discern even the slightest hint of falsehood in his gaze.
"What's... what's your name?" Finally, after a long silence, she asked in a voice barely above a whisper, still hoarse, but the hysterical edge had softened somewhat.
"Lin Ye," he replied, then offered the water canteen a little closer again. "And you? Do you remember your name?"
The woman was silent for a moment, her gaze lost in the void, as if struggling to retrieve something from the depths of her memory. Her brow furrowed, a flicker of pain crossing her features.
"I... I'm not sure..." she whispered, her voice tinged with vulnerability and helplessness. "They... they called me... 'Zero'."