👤Chapter Six: The Name (2)

"You must hate that man..."

"Do you mean Dad?"

"Don't call him Dad! He's a madman! He abandoned you! He never loved you!"

"But Dad always liked me the most. He used to play with me and even gave me a pandarabbit..."

"Shut up! Don't call him Dad anymore! He abandoned you! He never loved you!"

"He abandoned me... He never loved me..."

"That's right! He's not your dad! He's your enemy! He abandoned you! He never loved you!"

"He's not my dad... He's my enemy... He abandoned me... He never loved me..."

"He's not your dad! He's your enemy! He abandoned you! He never loved you!"

"He's not my dad... He's my enemy... He abandoned me... He never loved me..."

"He's not your dad! He's your enemy! He abandoned you! He never loved you!"

...

...

...

"He's not my dad! He's my enemy! He abandoned me! He never loved me!"

The cyborg boy awoke with a start, sitting up abruptly from the nutrient tank! He looked around in shock, as the blurred surroundings slowly came into focus. The room was filled with various instruments, flickering lights of different colors, the faint hum of electronics, and a strange scent—a mix of laboratory chemicals and the fragrance of lily lanterns...

"You're awake?" a mechanical voice sounded in the boy's ears.

"Who are you? Where are you?" The cyborg boy looked around but saw no one.

"I'm sorry, my physical form no longer exists. What you're hearing is a simple AI program I left in your mask. I can't do much, but I can help you with the limited data I have," the voice continued. The boy traced the sound to his mask, realizing it was transmitting the voice through vibrations to his eardrums.

"I am Laba, and I was the chief scientist of Laba Labs when I was alive," the AI ​​introduced itself.

"When you were alive? Do you mean when you died?" The boy was shocked.

"Yes, my body died 6 hours, 45 minutes and 32 seconds ago." Laba said calmly.

"Just six hours ago? What happened? Why am I here?" The boy's questions came one after another.

"Too many questions at once. Please receive the message I left for you when I was alive, and then ask your questions." Laba replied, starting to play audio and video data. The boy's electronic eyes began to display a recorded message.

...

"Hello, I am—or was—Laba, the chief scientist of Laba Laboratory. This is my final message as a carbon-based life form," began the image of a cyborg similar to the boy.

"I've concealed some shared secrets to prevent data interception. But understand this: I know who you are," Laba said. "Don't be shocked or doubtful; your secret was uncovered when your genetic analysis was conducted."

The boy felt a cold sweat break out. The secret he had guarded so carefully was now exposed, leaving him stunned.

"The relationship between you and the person whose name cannot be mentioned was easy to deduce. The person who performed your prosthetic surgery likely figured it out as well, given how unique your genetics are."

"I'm not here to meddle in your affairs, nor can I clearly define my relationship to you two. Biologically, I can't say whether I should consider myself your brother, your father, or perhaps half of your clone."

"Though I came into this world with a defective body, life is still a wondrous thing full of unknowns. Regardless of my origin, I'm grateful for the experience."

"I have no intention of interfering in your grievances, even if they involve me and a group of others. But all beings are born free and independent; they should live their own lives, even if I only have a few organs left that can be called human," Laba's words made the boy feel a wave of shame and intensified his resentment toward that man.

"I don't know how to judge him, but I want to show you some intelligence I've gathered over the years. It might help clarify some of your questions."

Laba presented the boy with some astonishing secrets, leaving him in silence for a long time, his mind in turmoil.

"The grudges between you must be resolved by yourselves. I have some potentially good news for you: your future may no longer be haunted by genetic tests."

"You were infected with the black virus from the Lizardmen Desecrators, a very dangerous situation. The only hope was a full-body blood transfusion. Unfortunately, neither Gulaba nor any of us cyborgs could directly transfuse blood to you for reasons you understand. Time was running out, so we had to induce a genetic mutation to create blood compatible with yours."

"Your body couldn't survive a failed transfusion; there was only one chance. So the experiment was conducted on me..." Laba paused, and the boy's mask lights flickered as if gazing at him.

The boy felt as if his heart were being squeezed painfully. He struggled to speak, murmuring to himself, "Did you give your life to save me? Did you exchange your life for mine?"

As if anticipating the boy's thoughts, Laba in the video continued, "If I didn't tell you the truth, you might feel even more guilty. I don't want to morally coerce you; my body has been deteriorating since birth and has long been failing. Even if you hadn't appeared, I wouldn't have lasted another year. So you don't need to feel too guilty. By saving another life at the end of mine, in a way, my existence is extended. I'm grateful to you."

Hearing this, the boy felt even more sorrowful, his mechanical hands clenching so tightly they made cracking sounds.

"Interestingly, after receiving the blood, your genes underwent a peculiar change. In a sense, you've become somewhat separated from your past and your lineage. Whatever choices you make going forward, I won't interfere. All I ask is that you take care of the cyborgs at the lab on my behalf. They're all unfortunate souls; without me, surviving in the perilous Time Town will be tough. I ask you to take on the name of Laba and lead this group to experience the beauty of life."

...

Laba's farewell message was long. He entrusted everything to the boy before the recording deleted itself, leaving behind only a simple, emotionless AI. Yet, the boy's heart would forever remember this short, yet profoundly impactful life.

L323 entered the room, slowly placing the black five-star badge, the symbol of the chief scientist of Laba Laboratory, in front of the boy. He then stepped back, standing silently.

After a long pause, the boy picked up the badge and embedded it into his shoulder. He took a deep breath and told L323, "Replace my armor. This way, no one will notice the difference."

At this, L323 couldn't help but tremble slightly. "Understood, Chief!" he said, bowing before leaving the room.

The boy watched L323 bow to him, knowing the gesture was meant for someone else. But from now on, they would be one and the same.

"From today on, my name is Laba."