**Chapter 1: The Lost Core**

Ye Feng's laboratory is located on the edge of the city, far away from the hustle and bustle and disputes. As night falls, neon lights illuminate this mechanized city, but in this silent laboratory, only the low hum of the machine and the faint hum of the circuit accompany his breathing.

He sat in front of the workbench, his eyes focused on a metal disc emitting a faint glow. This is an object he accidentally found in an abandoned warehouse. Its surface is covered with strange symbols, and the extremely complex circuits and mechanical structures seem to be beyond the level of existing technology.

"What is this?" Ye Feng whispered to himself. Although he is an expert in mechanics, he still feels a little strange and frightened when facing this mechanical core. The power it exudes is not something he can fully control.

He has been endlessly curious about mechanical hearts since he was a child. .These legendary cores are a kind of existence that can integrate human consciousness and machinery. They are the pinnacle of technology and his only hope after losing his father. His father died in an experimental accident, and the core of that accident was related to this "mechanical core".

He gently touched the surface of the core, and the current quickly passed through his fingertips to his brain. An inexplicable force suddenly pulled his thoughts to a distant time and space.

He saw a ruined city where machines and humans coexisted. The pedestrians on the street had no expression on their faces, but the same light flashed in their chests. They are mechanical cores-each core is a container of human consciousness.

Then, he heard a voice, a whisper from the mechanical core: "Find your father's legacy and uncover the forgotten truth."

Ye Feng opened his eyes suddenly, his heartbeat accelerated, and a tear oozed from his forehead. A layer of cold sweat, that was not a dream, but some kind of deep memory.

"My father..." Ye Feng stared at the crystal core in his hand and muttered to himself.

Just then, the door of the laboratory was suddenly knocked open, and Su Ya hurried in. Her face was not very good, and it seemed that she had encountered something urgent.

"Ye Feng, what did you find?" There was a hint of nervousness in her voice.

Ye Feng did not answer immediately, but gently put the mechanical core back on the table. He turned to look at Su Ya with a very serious expression: "I found a mechanical core, and I think this core is related to my father's death."

Su Ya frowned, walked to his side, and looked at the core on the table: "Are you sure? This thing has disappeared for decades, and no one knows its specific function. Some people even think that it does not belong to our era at all."

Ye Feng looked Guang stared at the core firmly, his voice was low and firm: "No matter where it comes from, I must uncover its secret."

Just then, there was a roar from the laboratory window, and the air was filled with an uneasy atmosphere. Ye Feng looked up and saw dark clouds rolling and lightning flashing in the distant skyline.

"Oh no, someone is coming." Su Ya suddenly grabbed Ye Feng's hand with a solemn look.

Ye Feng's heartbeat accelerated, he knew that all this had just begun.

**Chapter 2: Shadow of Pursuit**

Ye Feng's hand tightly grasped the mechanical core on the table, as if it was the only key that could allow him to return to the past. Su Ya pulled him back and motioned him to calm down. The constant roar from outside made the air in the laboratory heavy.

"We must leave here immediately." Su Ya's voice was full of unquestionable determination, "That These people are not only looking for your father's inheritance, they may know that you have discovered this core." Ye Feng nodded, realizing that this was no longer a simple scientific exploration, and it seemed that there was a more powerful force behind it pushing him. He put away the core and quickly hid it in his backpack. Su Ya had closed the door of the laboratory and checked the surrounding safety devices. "We need to find more clues." Ye Feng said, "This core was left by my father. He must have known the secret of this core before he died." "Your father's matter." Su Ya whispered, with a complicated tone, "I know you want to find out the truth, but you have to think it over. Continuing to investigate may bring greater dangers." Ye Feng did not answer, but turned around and walked out the door firmly. The outside world was still shrouded in thick black clouds. , there was an uneasy atmosphere in the air, he could feel that there seemed to be some powerful force watching him.

The two walked quickly through the corridor of the laboratory and came to the underground parking lot. Ye Feng's mood became heavier. He knew that there was no turning back.

Just as he was about to get in the car, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the distance. Ye Feng looked back and saw a figure walking out of the shadows.

"Thor..." Su Ya exclaimed in a low voice, obviously knowing something about this person.

He was a man about 1.9 meters tall, with a tall figure and cold eyes. He was covered with a layer of black combat armor. There were faint blue spots on his shoulders and chest. Even in the dim parking lot, his presence was still depressing.

"Have you found the core?" Thor's voice was low, as if it came from the depths of his throat, and his eyes were looking directly at Ye Feng.

Ye Feng tightly grasped the backpack, terrified: "Who are you?"

"My name is Thor," he smiled slightly, but there was no warmth in his smile, "I came to you to stop you from making unwise choices."

Su Ya hugged Ye Feng, with complex emotions in her eyes: "Are you really here to help us, Thor?"

"Help you?" The smile on Thor's face disappeared instantly, replaced by a cold expression, "I don't care if you live or die, I just want to make sure the core doesn't fall into the hands of the bad guys."

"You found the wrong person?" Ye Feng looked at him puzzled.

Thor chuckled: "Do you think that core is just a legacy left by your father? No, it represents much more than you think. It is a kind of power, a power that can change the world. I came here just to make sure it won't be abused."

Su Ya frowned. Frowning, obviously uneasy about Thor's threat: "Are you here to stop us from finding out the truth?"

"Not to stop you, but to protect you," Thor's voice was soft, but his eyes were still cold, "If you continue to explore, you will find an unbearable history. Behind the core, there is not only the death of your father, but also a deeper secret."

Ye Feng's heart tightened. He once thought that all this was just a simple technical problem, but with Thor's words, he began to realize that he was not only touching the truth of his father's death, but perhaps also related to the future of mankind and even the fate of the entire world.

"What do you know?" Ye Feng asked in a low voice.

"I know more than you think," Thor's eyes swept over the two of them, as if weighing their decisions. "Are you ready to face the truth?"

At this moment , a violent explosion suddenly sounded in the distant sky, and a deafening echo came from the air. The lights of the entire parking lot flickered for a moment, and then returned to normal. At the same time, the ground began to shake slightly, as if a huge machine was approaching.

"They are coming!" Su Ya shouted, her face pale.

Ye Feng knew that he could no longer escape. The threatening force was approaching, and the mysterious identity of Thor seemed to imply that there was a bigger conspiracy behind all this.

"Let's go." Ye Feng said without hesitation, "I must know the truth no matter what."

"Do you really want to take this road?" Thor's eyes were sharp, like a cheetah staring at its prey.

Ye Feng did not look back, and ran directly to the exit of the parking lot, followed by Su Ya. The two ran quickly to their flying car, ready to quickly Leave here quickly.

However, behind them, Thor's figure never left.

"You will never know the truth," Thor whispered.

The flying car started quickly and shuttled over the city. Ye Feng knew that this was just the beginning.

**Chapter 3: Unveiling the veil of darkness**

The flying car shuttled over the city at a speed that almost merged with the wind. Ye Feng sat in the co-pilot with a firm gaze, but his mind was in chaos. Su Ya nervously checked the surrounding sensors and vigilantly searched for possible tracking signals.

"Where are we going?" Su Ya asked anxiously.

Ye Feng did not answer immediately, his eyes were always fixed on the front. The huge city outline looked lonely and desolate in the night sky. Mechanized buildings, suspended aircraft, and endless neon lights, these seemingly bright appearances were , hiding an unknown darkness.

"Go to a safe place." Ye Feng said at last, "To crack this core, I need more information. As long as I find the files of that research institute, I can know more."

"That research institute?" Su Ya looked at him in confusion, "You mean your father's research institute? But it has been abandoned for a long time, and we have almost no useful clues."

"But I don't believe it." Ye Feng clenched his fists, his eyes flashing with determination, "My father's death was not a simple accident. If it is true as Thor said, there is a huge secret behind this core, it must be in the files he studied."

Su Ya was silent for a moment, and finally nodded: "Okay, but we can't be too careless. You can see that Thor is not a simple person. We can't be controlled by him anymore."

"I "I know." Ye Feng said in a low voice, "but I can't stop. No matter what happens, I must know the truth." The car continued to speed over the city. The night became darker and darker. As they left the prosperous area, the surrounding environment became more and more desolate. This is the edge of the city, sparsely populated, with occasional abandoned factories and old buildings. In this dark area, Ye Feng felt an unprecedented sense of oppression. Finally, they arrived at their destination - an abandoned research institute. This institute looked like it had been abandoned for many years. The outer wall was full of cracks, and the glass windows were broken so that they could hardly be seen. Ye Feng stopped the car and walked to the door of the institute. The door lock was rusty, and it was obvious that no one had been here for a long time. "This is where my father works." Ye Feng whispered, with some memories in his eyes.

"Let's go in." Su Ya also felt the heaviness of the atmosphere.

The two walked through the dark corridor, and there was silence all around, as if every inch of space here was covered with the dust of history. Ye Feng walked in front, with firm steps, but his heartbeat became more and more intense with every step. This place that once carried countless memories now seemed to become strange and indifferent.

Finally, they came to a closed office, which was Ye Feng's father's private laboratory, filled with various documents, mechanical parts, and those unfinished experimental projects.

Ye Feng walked to the table without hesitation and began to look through the scattered documents. Su Ya also helped him sort them out to see if he could find any useful information.

Suddenly, a folder covered with thick dust caught Ye Feng's attention. He picked it up carefully, gently patted the dust, and the document There was no text on the cover of the folder, only some strange symbols engraved on it.

"What is this?" Su Ya asked with a slight frown.

Ye Feng did not answer, but directly opened the folder. There were several photos and some paper materials in it. The people in the photos were Ye Feng's father, and behind these photos, there were some numbers and symbols marked, which seemed to be some kind of code.

"These symbols..." Ye Feng muttered to himself, "Looks very similar to the mark on the core."

He turned the photo over and looked at it carefully. Gradually, his expression became solemn, and his finger gently pointed at the corner of one of the photos: "Here is my father's note. When he wrote this paragraph, he mentioned, 'The core of the earth is about to start, and disaster is inevitable.'"

"What disaster?" Su Ya's voice was full of doubts.

"My father once "I have participated in a confidential project of this institute." Ye Feng took a deep breath and said slowly, "The goal of that project is to use the mechanical core to allow humans to gain power beyond the flesh. However, the project soon came to a standstill because of a major accident that caused the death of many experimental subjects." Ye Feng's finger stopped on a line of text: "'Core, the final choice'." "Core, the final choice?" Su Ya repeated with a vague understanding, "Your father's experiment is not just to prolong life, but to try to perfectly integrate human consciousness with machines. The core may not be harmless." "Yes." Ye Feng's eyes became more determined, "and these materials left by my father may be to warn me and tell me the consequences of this experiment." Just as the two were immersed in these discoveries, suddenly, the real There was a sound of footsteps outside the laboratory door. Ye Feng and Su Ya immediately became alert and turned their heads to look at the door.

"Someone is coming." Ye Feng whispered.

"It's them." Su Ya's face turned pale. Obviously, she also realized who was coming.

"We can't stay too long." Ye Feng quickly picked up the documents and photos on the table and put them in his bag. "We have to leave here."

The two retreated quickly, but just as they were about to leave, the door of the laboratory was suddenly knocked open, and Thor appeared at the door with several mechanical soldiers wearing black combat armor.

"You finally decided to face the truth." Thor's voice was as cold as ice.

"Who are you?" Ye Feng clenched his fists and looked firm.

"I said, I came here to stop you from making mistakes." Thor's eyes flashed with a dangerous light, "Now, there is no turning back."