Lin Xia’s fingertips still tingled from the tremors of Gu Chuan’s mechanical heart, but before she could process the sensation, her mother’s hand had already pierced through her chest. There was no pain—only a numbing rush as her nerves were flooded with data streams. This body had been modified long ago.

  “Surprised?” Her mother withdrew her hand gently, revealing a pulsating purple chip in her palm, synchronized with Lin Xia’s own frequency. “The real Lin Xia perished in that explosion years ago. You’re E-000, our most perfect creation.”

  Gu Chuan’s mechanical arm suddenly clamped around her mother’s neck, his reactor’s blue glow shifting to a menacing crimson. “Even the gravestone was a lie?” He tore open the back of her neck, exposing the Black Tower’s raven insignia. “Using clones to impersonate the dead—disgusting.”

  A familiar lullaby echoed through the lab. Lin Xia’s pupils contracted—it was the tune her father used to hum on her fifth birthday. The “father” in the incubation pod opened his amber slit pupils, holding an energy core identical to Gu Chuan’s.

  “Lin Xia,” he intoned, “let’s return to the game.”

  Three thousand clones simultaneously raised their right hands, emitting laser beams from the interfaces in their palms. Gu Chuan shielded Lin Xia, maneuvering through the web of light. His mechanical skeleton melted and reformed under the intense heat. She noticed the clones weren’t targeting her but were adjusting their trajectories to protect her abdomen.

  “Seems you haven’t realized,” Gu Chuan bit into the skin of her neck, injecting a nano-chip into her bloodstream. “What they truly want is…”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Agonizing pain erupted from her womb. Lin Xia collapsed, witnessing a faint blue embryonic silhouette forming on her abdomen—an embryo entwined with data chains and feline gene spirals.

  Dr. Z’s projection cackled maniacally. “At last, the quantum embryo has matured! The ultimate fusion of human and AI!”

  Gu Chuan’s reactor detached from his chest, transforming into a blade that sliced through the embryonic image. Lin Xia screamed in pain, but the light dissolved into a stream that entered his exposed mechanical heart. The clones froze, lifeless like puppets with their strings cut.

  “You won the gamble,” Gu Chuan’s mechanical fingers brushed her abdomen, now marked only by faint golden lines. “The quantum embryo was a decoy. The real key was hidden in your telomerase when I rescued you from the fire.”

  Lin Xia’s cat ears involuntarily emerged, her claws tearing through his tattered shirt. Between his metal ribs, a holographic projection of her childhood photo appeared, its edges worn from years of handling. On the back, faded ink read: [Rescue Plan Iteration 1426].

  Explosions erupted around them. Gu Chuan used his remaining human hand to shield her head, his mechanical body disintegrating under the shockwaves. Amidst the flying metal debris, Lin Xia bit into his throat, allowing her mutated feline genes to take over.

  “If you dare die,” she growled, “I’ll buy the Black Tower and turn it into a cat café!”

  “As you wish,” Gu Chuan’s lips met her beastly eyes, embedding the reactor shard into his heart. As the data flood engulfed the world, Lin Xia glimpsed memories he had never shared—how he had restarted the timeline 3,426 times over twenty years, only to lose her each time.

  When dawn broke through the smoke, Lin Xia awoke to the aroma of coffee. Gu Chuan, wearing an apron, was frying eggs in the open kitchen, his human skin glowing healthily in the sunlight. The TV news reported the overnight collapse of the Black Tower Group, with the founder’s remains showing feline gene traces identical to hers.

  “Explain,” she demanded, holding up the glowing blue mechanical heart beside her pillow.

  Gu Chuan arranged salmon slices into a paw shape. “Ever seen a proposal ring made from one’s own spine?” Blood oozed from the bite mark on his neck. “The quantum embryo required the fusion of both parental genes, and during the 300th iteration…”

  Lin Xia’s tail wrapped around his wrist, pulling him onto the bed. “Took you 1,426 restarts to win me over? Pathetic.” She licked the cracks on the mechanical heart, “This time, I want a wedding in my orange tabby form.”

  Suddenly, the glass shattered. A swarm of drones burst in, carrying a wedding dress adorned with reactor fragments. Clones E-000 to E-3000 stood atop the clouds, offering their blessings in unison. Lin Xia’s beastly eyes sparkled with joy. In this game, the winner takes all.