Countless fragments flashed by like shards in the darkness:
"What is the essence of life, Liam?" Elizabeth's voice echoed through the lab, "Is it the flesh? The blood? Or something more... transcendent?"
The scene switches: an office on the top floor of TEC headquarters, with a post-apocalyptic wasteland landscape outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"You think the Awakened are the end of evolution?" Elizabeth elegantly shakes her glass of red wine, "No, my dear angel, this is only the beginning. the Genesis Protocol will bring true transcendence."
"Vital signs stabilizing. Host consciousness returning."
The system's voice brought me back to reality.
Snapping my eyes open, I found myself lying in the medical room of an underground base.Jack was sitting on the side, holding a modified shotgun.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," he gave a tired smile, "you were out for a full 36 hours."
I tried to sit up, but it was as if my whole body had been run over by a truck." The data..."
"It's all saved," Jack pointed to the device next to him, "but there's something you need to know. Right during your coma, TEC made a statement."
He opened his tablet and the news screen popped up:
"TEC's Chief Scientist, Dr. Elizabeth Reed, announced this morning a breakthrough discovery: a new pathway for human genetic evolution.Dr. Reed said the research will help humanity cope with the upcoming 'major crisis'..."
"The timing..." I gritted my teeth, "She's being provocative."
[System analyzing:
The decoded data shows:
1. the Genesis Protocol is more than just an experiment
2. it's an intertemporal program.
3. Elizabeth is utilizing a time paradox.
4. the goal: to create the perfect evolutionary form.
I closed my eyes and tried to make sense of it. Elizabeth in her previous life had encoded a great deal of information into those purple crystals in the last moments of her life. And the current Elizabeth had somehow accessed that information.
"System, display current status."
[Blood Angel Form:
- Energy reserve: 45% (recovering)
- New ability unlocked: time perception
- Special status: genetic structure optimization in progress
Warning: Unidentified gene fragments detected being integrated]
Is this the price? Obtaining that future information also caused my body to change in some way.
"Jack," I braced myself to stand up, "pull up the satellite image of the Long Island base for me."
"Are you sure you want to act now?" He looked at me worriedly, "Your condition..."
"We don't have time," I walk towards the equipment room, "Elizabeth is way ahead of where we thought she was. Not only does she know the future, she's actively changing it."
Pulling up a satellite map, TEC's secret base on Long Island was located in an abandoned military facility. On the surface, it was an ordinary research center, but underground...
"There's a composite facility six floors underground there," I pointed to the drawing, "In a previous life, this was the birthplace of Genesis Protocol."
Just then, the system suddenly gave an alert:
"Regional energy fluctuations detected!
Analysis: similar to purple crystal energy signature
Location: direction of Long Island base"
Elizabeth is already on the move!
"Ding! Emergency mission triggered:
Infiltrate TEC Long Island base.
Objectives:
1. Obtain the core data of the Genesis Protocol
2. stop Elizabeth's plan
3. Survive.
WARNING: This mission is extremely dangerous, failure may result in timeline collapse"
I put on my new tactical gear, which was specifically designed for the Blood Angel form. The lightweight armor works perfectly with the energy plumes and has stealth capabilities.
"You'll need backup," Jack picks up his own gear, "I can't leave you alone..."
"No," I interrupted him, "I need you to stay here. If I fail, you're the last hope. This information," I hand him an encrypted hard drive, "is all research on the Awakened. Keep it safe."
He takes the hard drive, hesitates, then nods solemnly, "Just... come back alive."
Activating his Blood Angel form, the familiar power filled his body once again. But this time it felt a little different, as if every cell in the body was resonating in a new way.
"Blood Wing!"
The energy plumes unfolded, their blood-red glow standing out in the pre-dawn darkness.
"Elizabeth," I whispered, "It's time we finish what we started."
Flying in the direction of Long Island, I knew that this would be a showdown between the past and the future. And the truth, may be even more frightening than I thought.