Chapter 262 | The Alliance Hired Me to Play Final Boss

However, this mechanical arm was severely damaged.

It looked as if it had been hacked in half by a single, brutal blow, leaving only a mangled stump.

The metal edges were twisted and broken, wires were exposed and sparking, and the interface where it met the shoulder was a bloody mess. Thick electrolyte fluid mixed with blood seeped from the wound.

The old man’s face was deathly pale, clearly enduring agonizing pain, yet he remained steadfast in front of the boy, refusing to retreat a single step.

Ren Yi felt a flicker of confusion.

Things were becoming increasingly "interesting."

What kind of world was this exactly?

Mechanical arms? Cybernetic enhancements?

Cyberpunk mixed with Anomalies?

Only now did he realize that many people in the crowd possessed various degrees of metal modifications.

Some had mechanical hands, others had mechanical legs...

It was just that none were as sophisticated or high-grade as the old man’s arm, leading him to overlook them as ordinary prosthetics.

The old man stood before the guard, his voice low and respectful.

"My lords, you are... 'People on the Lake,' are you not?"

People on the Lake.

At those four simple words, a violent commotion rippled through the crowd.

Before the guard could respond, the frail boy who had nearly been seized looked up, grit his teeth, and questioned in a low voice.

"Why have the People on the Lake come to the territory of the 'Tide-Followers'? You have your lake; is that not enough?"

Using the chaos of the commotion as cover, Ren Yi used his perception to capture the whispers in the crowd, quickly piecing the information together.

The People on the Lake referred to the high-level staff and armed guards of this base.

They presumably came from a highly developed core region of this world.

In short, they were the privileged elite.

And these people were the "Tide-Followers."

This ragged group belonged to a nomadic tribe that wandered the wasteland, following the cycles of certain resources.

"Wait a moment."

As the atmosphere grew tense, B406 suddenly spoke, stopping the guard.

Ren Yi thought the staff member was going to punish the old man for his defiance, but B406 merely glanced at the old man’s mangled limb and said indifferently:

"This Consumable looks like he’s about to die. His condition is too poor. Use the other one instead."

His tone was flat, as if he were commenting on the remaining charge of a spent battery or sorting through a pile of junk—utterly detached.

The old man’s face twisted with rage and shock, his eyes reddening as he gripped his broken mechanical arm.

The boy immediately grabbed the old man’s sleeve, biting his lip, his eyes filled with indignation and despair.

At that moment, the guard spoke for the first time.

His voice came through his mask with a slight metallic hum, coldly rejecting B406’s suggestion.

"The Doctor’s requirements are very high."

"If this defective product dies halfway through data collection, do you want to hand the Doctor a broken report?"

B406 did not react.

Seeing this, the boy took a sudden step forward and stood tall. "I will go in the Tribal Chief's place."

"Evans!" The old man tried to stop him, but he was too slow.

B406 didn't even bother to watch their struggle. He gave the guard a brief nod. "Fine, have it your way. Any of them will do."

He didn't lay a hand on the boy or impose any extra restraints; he simply gestured for him to follow.

The hundreds of Tide-Followers remained silent throughout the ordeal, none daring to speak up.

Only the old Tribal Chief opened his mouth to protest, but he was held back by those behind him.

Ren Yi faintly overheard remarks like "How long has he even been here?" and "Maybe he's the one who led the People on the Lake to us."

The boy named Evans had already walked a short distance when the trembling and fear typical of someone his age finally began to show.

He likely hadn't heard the whispers. He turned back and forced a faint smile toward the old Tribal Chief.

B406 led Evans through the corridors, soon arriving at an isolated decontamination chamber.

The glass doors slid shut, and the surrounding nozzles activated instantly, spraying a white mist of disinfectant in an all-encompassing wash.

Evans choked on a mouthful of the spray inside the compartment and began to cough violently.

B406 pressed a hand to his earpiece and reported calmly, "Doctor, the temporary Consumable is ready. Status: qualified."

In the neighboring monitoring room, the Doctor’s voice came through the earpiece: "Understood."

"Do not apply active interference to B-013-A for the time being."

She stared at Ren Yi on the screen, then issued an order that made Ren Yi’s heart sink.

After B406 acknowledged the order, he looked impassively at the boy, who had just stepped out of the decontamination chamber in a change of clothes.

"I am going to take you to a room."

"Ignore everything else in that room. In the center, there is a silver, mirrored sphere."

"Bring it out, and you will live. Do you understand?"

The boy named Evans nodded obediently.

This was the Doctor's command:

"B-013 should have already activated once; it shouldn't exhibit another anomaly for a while..."

"Of course, it doesn't matter if it does."

"Send the Consumable in to retrieve B-013."

"We need to see if B-013-A exhibits a stress response to the departure of its 'container.'"

She added one more thing.

"Preheat the weapons. If B-013-A shows signs of going berserk, proceed directly with physical suppression."

Hearing this, Ren Yi’s heart went cold.

This was bad.

Even if the Doctor wasn't killing him yet, it didn't mean she was letting him go.

She wanted to separate him from the Base Station.

If they were separated, the charging process would be interrupted.

In that case, his plan to lay low for three days and then teleport away would be completely ruined, leaving him with no way out.

Before Ren Yi could think of a countermeasure, the heavy metal door of the room slowly creaked open.

Ren Yi finally saw the frail boy named Evans with his own eyes.

He was instantly plunged into a dilemma.

How should he react to achieve the best possible outcome?

Stop him? Attack him? Kill him?

Should he use his abilities?

But what use was there in planting a Seed in this boy, a mere "Consumable" in the eyes of the People on the Lake?

Should he continue to lie still and play along, maintaining his harmless appearance?

In this split second, Ren Yi had to make a choice.

The boy’s frame was thin, his eyes timid. He stood at the doorway, looking lost.

His gaze immediately fell upon the conspicuous, mercury-like mirrored sphere of the Base Station in the center of the room, and his footsteps faltered instinctively.

Then, he saw Ren Yi—a mass of gray-white cloud huddling in the corner.

Ren Yi was fully prepared for the boy to scream, flee, or cower in terror.

But in the next second...

A wave of warmth, soft and pure, suddenly radiated from Evans.

Now, Ren Yi was truly stunned.

What was going on?

The boy looked at the strangely shaped entity before him with a look of slight confusion.

He seemed misled by Ren Yi’s current appearance and felt no panic; he was likely wondering if this was some sort of bizarre rabbit.

But Ren Yi knew that the boy’s emotions didn't quite match the expression on his face.

That wave of warmth wouldn't lie.

Think about it:

You’ve been captured by a strange organization along with your entire tribe.