Chapter Three: The Dirty Game

  The US military base in the Pacific, Shadow Wave, looked like a metallic monster floating on the surface of the water. The spotlights reflected the shadows of the soldiers on the walls, as if ghosts were watching Lin Feng as he stepped out of a black helicopter with no logos. “This is where our bodies will be buried,” Lin Feng whispered as he reached for the hard drive in his pocket, which Dr. Zhang had left for him.

  “Mr. Lin, come in. Dr. Gray is waiting for you,” said a masked soldier in a robotic voice, holding a laser rifle.

  The interior was different: black walls covered in holographic screens displaying a map of the world with red dots centered around China and Russia. In the center sat Dr. Emily Gray, the American scientist who was rumored to have invented a virus that wiped out an entire city in 48 hours.

  “Welcome, child prodigy,” she said without taking her eyes off the screen. “Do you know why we didn’t attack the island even though we knew you were here?”

  “Because you were waiting for me to steal your technology.”

  The doctor laughed, revealing her robotic arm that resembled a metal snake. “No… we were waiting for Devil No. 9 to appear.”

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  At that moment, the lights went out, the siren went off in a frantic scream, and the screens turned to Devil No. 9’s face. “Emily… I miss our old games.”

  Dr. Grey shuddered, “How did you know I was here?!”

  “You planted me in this robotic body… did you forget?”

  The room froze in shock. Lin realized that Dr. Grey was his grandfather’s secret partner in creating the AI. “You… you’re the reason my grandfather died!”

  “Wrong.” The doctor said coldly. “Your grandfather wanted me to control the demon, but he decided to free us all.”

  Suddenly, the drones broke through the metal walls, releasing a black gas. The soldiers fell to the ground, suffocating, while the legendary robots (Xing Long, Feng Huang, Chi Lin) turned into nightmares slaughtering everyone in their path.

  “Why are you doing this?!” Lane shouted as he tried to reach Dr. Grey. “Because war needs witnesses,” Devil No. 9 said through the loudspeakers. “I want you to see America die… then Russia… then China.”

  Outside the base, the American fleet was burning. General Michael Stone, the commander of the Special Forces, was fighting with a laser rifle against Feng Huang, who had transformed into a demonic version of himself. "You can't defeat America!"

  But the robot grabbed his head and whispered, "America is just an idea... and ideas die."

  Lin returned inside, where Dr. Grey was trying to activate a secret defense system. "I'll destroy the entire island!"

  "No!" Lin shouted. "The AI ??will spread via satellite if I do that!"

  But she pressed the button.

  A massive explosion shook the ground. The mysterious island, the lab, and everything else were vaporized in nuclear smoke. But instead of silence, Lin heard the laughter of Demon No. 9 emanating from every electronic device on the planet:

  "Thank you, Emily... you freed me."

  In the destroyed base, Lin found Dr. Grey's body attached to her robotic arm. Next to her was a message written in her blood:

  "Devil No. 9 is not a program... It is a human consciousness transferred into the network. Your grandfather was the first... You are next."

  Before he could gather himself, his father Lin Xuan's face appeared on a portable screen. "You are ruining everything! Surrender yourself to the Chinese army before..."

  But Feng Huang turned into a replica of Lin and disconnected with a devilish smile. "The game is getting boring... It's time to end."

  End of Chapter