Chapter 151: Lost Dream (1)
“Who am I?”
“Ah, I’m—Xu Bai, Commander of the Sharp Assault squad.”
“No, that’s not right. I’m not Xu Bai. I’m Bai…”
“…Bai?”
“But who… is Bai?”
“Where… am I?”
“It feels… familiar…”
A dimly lit laboratory, surrounded by sterile white walls, the light rippling and distorting.
A figure in a white lab coat, indistinct, murmuring something.
Then, a clear, calm voice.
“Zero is stable. Preparing for release… come, a historic moment.”
Zero?
Yes, I think I’m Zero.
A small, silver-haired figure stood up in the transparent container, the distorted light returning to normal as the liquid drained, the door opening.
“Phew… nice to meet you, Zero,” the figure in the white coat extended a hand. “My name is Neily.”
Neily?
I’ve heard that name somewhere…
The silver-haired little girl stared at Neily, her unsettling dark-gold eyes blinking.
“N-nice… to… meet… Z-ro, Nei…”
Her childish voice struggled to imitate Neily’s, her clumsy attempts making Neily’s serious expression falter slightly.
“Alright, I think I overestimated you, Zero,” Neily sighed, relaxing her grip on the small pulse pistol in her hand.
Even if it wouldn’t do much damage against such a being, it was a small comfort.
“Z-Zero…”
The silver-haired girl’s earnest, yet comical, expression was endearing. But as Neily was about to smile, she remembered Zero’s origins, and her grip on the pistol tightened.
Zero was a creation of a terrifying entity, rumored to be connected to “her.”
“Nei… Neily…”
After a long struggle, the silver-haired girl seemed to have gathered her thoughts, her tongue finally untwisted, her soft, childish voice clear. “Nice… to… meet you, Zero. My name is… Neily.”
“…” Neily’s lips twitched, and she rubbed her forehead, sighing. “Alright, I definitely overestimated you.”
“Zero… isn’t as dangerous as I thought…”
Seeing Neily’s gesture, the silver-haired girl also raised a small hand and rubbed her forehead.
“…Pfft!” Neily couldn’t help but laugh.
But she quickly composed herself, a look of resignation on her face.
“I thought she would be a terrifying monster… but this. How am I going to explain this to the higher-ups…?”
But she didn’t notice the faint smile on her own lips, or the fact that she had already put the pulse pistol away.
The silver-haired girl tilted her head, confused.
“Am I Zero? Is she Neily? Or…”
No, I’m not Zero. I’m Bai.
Time seemed to shift, and the Neily before her was now wearing glasses, her features more mature, but the laboratory remained unchanged.
“…Your hair is white, your skin is white. Let’s call you Bai,” Neily said with a smile, looking at the silver-haired little girl with satisfaction.
The girl considered this surprisingly casual naming for a long moment, then nodded. “Bai… that sounds nice. I’ll be Bai then.”
Neily patted her head, then turned, sitting at the lab table, writing.
Curious, Bai approached, trying to see what she was writing.
But before she could, Neily had finished, putting the notebook away.
“Sister Neily, what are you writing?” Bai asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
“Just… writing,” Neily said, tapping her chin with her pen. “I’ll show you later.”
“Why not now?” Bai frowned, a cute, pouty expression on her face.
“Well,” Neily smiled mysteriously, “it’s not finished yet.”
Seeing Bai’s continued curiosity, she quickly changed the subject. “Bai, do you want to go outside?”
“Outside?” Bai paused. “Outside where?”
“Outside this room,” Neily replied.
“Sister Neily said it’s dangerous outside,” Bai said. “I don’t want to go.”
“I don’t want… to worry Sister Neily.”
“Hahaha… Bai is so good. But do you want to leave? To see the outside world?”
Neily leaned closer, tapping Bai’s nose. “If you want to, Sister Neily can help you, no matter how dangerous it is.”
“…A little,” Bai said, looking away. “If it’s not dangerous.”
“Alright. Sister Neily will work a little harder, and soon, Bai will be able to go outside.”
She stroked Bai’s hair again, the soft, silky strands a comforting sensation.
But Bai didn’t like having her head patted, and she quickly disappeared, hiding somewhere in the lab.
She could conceal herself, make herself invisible to others.
Otherwise, with so many people coming and going, she would have been discovered long ago.
Neily had warned her not to be seen, and Bai had always obeyed.
But this ability only worked within the lab. Outside, Vikarn’s ubiquitous security systems would instantly detect her.
But Bai still had one question.
What was Sister Neily planning to do, to allow her to freely leave the lab?
With that question, her consciousness began to fade.
After what seemed like a moment, or an eternity, she awoke to a tense atmosphere.
Neily was at the lab table, a stern-faced old knight in a pristine uniform standing beside her.
“…How is Project Zero progressing?”
“The ninth attempt failed. The sample is… problematic…”
“Neily, the Empire is at a critical juncture. We need—”
“I know. Soon. I promise.”
After the old knight left, Bai reappeared, leaning on the lab table, looking up at Neily.
“What were you talking about? Zero? Were you talking about me?”
Neily’s hand trembled slightly, and she forced a smile.
“Of course not. You’re Bai, not Zero.”
“Then who?” Bai pressed.
“…No one, for now,” Neily said, her head lowered, her expression hidden. “But soon. Soon, there will be a Zero.”
“And then, Bai can go outside and see the world. Yes, I promised you that.”
Bai frowned, a feeling that Neily was hiding something from her.
