On one of the highways leading out of New York City, a black car sped toward the harbor.
"Hello, yes, sir, no one except me is aware of this," Nathan, seated in the back seat with his eyes glancing outside the car window, informed someone on a phone call while his other hand grabbed a small transparent envelope carrying a small green-colored chip, which had slight blood stains on some portions—as if it had been extracted from someone's body.
"Sir, we are being followed by Master Joseph's car," the driver informed.
"....This kid..." Nathan narrowed his gaze and looked behind, only to see the familiar car trailing him. His eyes glanced toward the chip in his hand before looking back at Joseph's car, a smile forming. "It appears we are getting two chips in a single day. Tell the captain of the ship to wait for some more time."
"I understand."
.
.
.
.
.
Vroom.
Seated at the wheel of his car, Joseph tapped his finger on the steering wheel. Noticing the signboard ahead, he realized that his uncle was heading toward the harbor as they finally entered the bridge area leading out of the city.
It was confusing because Nathan had been busy with rites and hadn't had the chance to leave since he met them at the hospital—indeed, he had been in the hospital from the start.
Turning the steering wheel, Joseph recalled how his uncle was the first one to reach the hospital, or maybe he was already present there.
[Scan Neural Pathways]
[Encode Data]
[Form Synapses]
[Stimulate Neuroplasticity]
[Integrate Memory]
[Finalize Integration]
'It was fast,' Joseph thought, as since the moment he left and decided to follow his uncle, he had been trying to transfer professional skills—which typically take years to learn—into his mind using the chip. He had already learned more than ten different skills.
He had started by transferring the skills related to driving and then to his games—gun handling skills, close combat, knife handling. Given the realistic simulations, there was hardly much difference between real combat fights and gaming if one removed the fantasy elements like superpowers from them.
Its mechanism worked in a rather straightforward manner, unlike how he thought it would be complicated for him to understand.
[Scan Neural Pathways] involves mapping the brain's existing networks to identify regions associated with the skill. [Encode Data] converts the skill into neural signals the brain can process. [Form Synapses] triggers the creation of new neural connections to store the skill. [Stimulate Neuroplasticity] enhances the brain's adaptability to integrate the new information. [Integrate Memory] links the skill with existing knowledge for better retention. Finally, [Finalize Integration] reinforces the pathways for long-term storage and application.
'Doodle—
BAM!
"Kugh!?" Before he could utter another word, a sharp force came from his left as a truck collided with his car, causing his hands to lose control of the steering. However, he was on the handbrake and accelerator; he slid the car before stabilizing it—thanks to the recently transferred driving skills.
'What the—'
BANG!
Before he could look back at the truck driver, a bullet pierced through the side mirror, coming from the far end entrance of the bridge where dozens of cars were dashing toward him. The bullet narrowly missed him as his hands pressed against his body, his eyes reflecting the moment it passed through the other side of the glass, just inches away from his head.
"Shit!?" It didn't take him long to realize that he was under attack on the highways leading out of the city, clearly understanding that the one behind it didn't fear the laws or, most probably, the chances of them being from the government side were also high, leading him to swiftly take a detour and change the direction of his car.
But his uncle's car suddenly reversed, slamming into the railing to create a makeshift barricade, forcing Joseph to swerve and collide head-on.
In that moment, his eyes met those of his uncle seated in the back seat. Though fleeting, instinctively, his hands clenched on the steering as he realized that he was the one behind it.
"Why?" In that moment, he wanted to know why he was trying to kill him, as due to the AI chip, he didn't feel the emotions which he knew would have been intense—betrayal, sadness, anger.
Yet, the only thing in his mind was to tackle the situation.
For him, rather than confusing this hollowness, not feeling any emotions was similar to how, when he played games, he didn't treat it like reality, making him take quick decisions. And even now, it was as if his brain was in game mode, trying to tackle and solve the problems rather than feel betrayed at the moment.
He simply changed the gear and tried to back away his car while his eyes were still fixed on the man wearing glasses who was looking at him with visible coldness and intent to kill, but the truck from behind did not give him space to turn his car.
Through the back mirror, he noticed how two individuals in black suits exited the trucks, guns in hand, while he looked around to notice how unnaturally the highway seemed empty, as if everything was a setup for him to die today, going so far as to take such a risk.
"You want me dead that badly?" Naturally, in this moment, one should feel betrayed and broken; if mentally strong, then angered. But it was as if he was not feeling any attachment. And he knew that if he were to let his emotions go unsuppressed in such a situation, like every human, he would break down, allowing himself to drown in emotions and die here.
And he didn't want to die, at least not until knowing the reason for his brother's death or that game's last event which, for him, was not a coincidence.
"Then be it," Joseph, without a moment of hesitation, pressed the accelerator, directly colliding with the car.
The impact caused Nathan to stumble for a moment as his eyes widened—naturally, he had not expected him to retaliate in such a way.
After all, backstabbers expect shock, surprise, and even tears from those who trusted them, but here, Joseph had just attempted to stab him back.
The shock on that man's face clearly showed that he expected Joseph to die without understanding why he was killed. And not only that man's expression, but in that moment, where 120 frames per second passed through Joseph's eyes, he saw a transparent emblem flinch in mid-air within the car before falling.
That image was enough for him to realize what it was, 'It was you, right doodle? How does he have that?'
[Affirmative, the structure is 99% similar, and blood stains signify it was extracted from a certain host.]
'Huh?'
In that moment, two realizations hit Joseph. The first was how emotions and other useless thoughts usually blur a person's ability to think straight. Evident from how, being not swayed by the agony of his brother's loss or the betrayal from his uncle, he was still able to deduce that the chip in his hand was extracted most probably from his brother's brain.
From childhood, his mind processed things much faster than others. Due to decision-making and reflexes, he became a pioneer in gaming, and due to observation skills honed from such games, he could clearly say right now that his uncle's presence in the hospital, where his brother, who had been alive for a decade, suddenly died, then this man having no time to leave the place due to rites, and now him holding a chip—which any government would want at any cost—while moving towards the harbor.
Everything signified that Nathan was the one who killed his brother while trying to remove the chip from his brother's brain.
'Bastard.'
There was no anger, hatred, sadness, or anything. It was just rational thinking, where he cursed the man. While the first emotion, which was even though suppressed by the chip, came to his mind; it was to kill this man.
If he thought from his heart, most probably Joseph would have thought about how his aunt would feel sad if something were to happen to this man.
But now, he only saw how she would kill this man with her own hands if she were to know what he did to Raven, causing him to grip the accelerator as he placed the nitro button within the car.
This car belonged to his brother, who had a habit of modifying cars and was always involved in street racing. It had nitro cylinders that Joseph maintained in hope that one day his brother would come and race again, but now it was the end for both of them.
Joseph knew this wasn't a game where he possessed enough strength to fight gun-carrying members who were flocking around several cars heading in this direction.
This wasn't a movie, and if he were to exit the car and fight hand-to-hand, even if he were to kill a few, he would soon be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people with killing intent.
Clenching his jaws and analyzing the moment, he knew the only thing he could do now was at least take this man with him as he broke the safety glass over a red button—he had added it as he knew a day like this would come when he would do racing.
SWOOOSH
BOOM!
His car shot forward, nitrous cylinders roaring as it slammed into Nathan's bulletproof vehicle. The impact shattered the railing, sending both cars hurtling into the icy depths below.
He could see the horror in his uncle's eyes, something one feels when they get stabbed while backstabbing—a terror of death—but he knew the fear he was having was from the fact that there was no expression on his face while seeing how both of their cars were about to fall into the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean, of course knowing the chances of survival—not for him, but for his uncle.
With all the calculations in hand, no matter what he did right now to save himself, in the end, given the number of men on the bridge with guns and cars while that man had a chip, Joseph would just endanger the life of his aunt and himself in this greedy world.
Laws, governments—everyone would make sure to come after him. After all, his uncle, who should have been a part of the family, went this far to break their trust—involvement of foreign governments was undoubted and even his own country's government too.
As soon as a barrage of bullets pierced through his car, penetrating the rear mirror, due to mind acceleration he could process that death was inevitable today.
It became evident as a bullet directly pierced through his one ear, hurling flesh in his line of sight.
His eyes could see how Nathan's body, with his glasses askew, was hurled around inside his vehicle, a design that prioritized safety above all else.
The car was bulletproof and specifically engineered for high-risk situations, fitting for someone of Nathan's status as a VIP.
Yet for Joseph, this was a one-way route, a journey that offered no return.
So, he needed to make sure that if he were going to die, then he would make sure Nathan did too, along with both of these chips.
Joseph commanded while just a few milliseconds away from falling into the ocean, 'Kill this man and destroy yourself and that chip, doodle.'
SPLASH!
BANG! BANG!
With the splash of water resonating in the air and sounds of bullets bombarding the metal surface of the droning car and even the water, everything silenced for Joseph except for his mind where a series of commands started to resonate.
[Host Integrity Compromised: Initiate Self-Preservation Mode]
[Override Host's Conscious Motor Control]
[ Embedding present logs into the host's mind ]
[Activate Muscular Control Subroutines]
[Reposition Limb for Lethal Strike]
[Enhance Grip Strength by 300%]
[Target: Nathan — Engage Neutralization Protocol]
[Prioritize Severing Carotid Artery]
[Initiate Neural Shutdown of Hostile Target]
[Begin Oxygen Regulation Override: Sustain Host's Body]
[Override Pain Response: Maximize Host's Survival]
[Hostile Target: Nathan — Eliminate]
[Execute Lethal Force — Full Throttle]
[Damage to Host's Shoulder: Initiate Emergency Stabilization]
[Priority Objective: Kill Nathan]
[Complete Neural Override: Host Unconscious in 3... 2... 1...]