Chapter 52: Liberation-Guia de Trabalho no Mundo Pós-Apocalíptico(Marcas da maré)

A sudden voice echoed not only in her mind but also exerted an invisible force, forcibly controlling her body.

Her muscles stiffened uncontrollably, while a sharp, continuous pain pierced through her brain.

The warning alarm blared deafeningly, nearly scattering her consciousness.

[Activation Protocol: High-Risk Control Mode]

[Execution Level: Maximum!]

Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, she instinctively clasped her head, her body retreating uncontrollably as the short sword clattered to the ground.

Through blurred vision, she saw the overseer’s lips curl into a cruel smile.

“What’s wrong, little mouse? Is your body no longer obeying you?”

[Motor Control: Interference Mode Activated.]

Crimson blood transformed into a sharp blade, striking heavily at her right leg. Although Xing Yu barely dodged, her body was sluggish and unresponsive.

The blood blade slashed across her thigh, instantly tearing a gruesome wound.

Beneath the ripped muscle, not only bright red blood but also a faint silver fluid was visible.

[Pain Perception: Increased by 200%.]

Xing Yu fell to her knees in agony, clutching her head tightly, her fingernails almost digging into her scalp.

Her body trembled uncontrollably; chaotic breaths filled her entire awareness, while a low, guttural whimper resonated from her throat.

Her consciousness was on the verge of being torn apart. Her vision flickered between light and darkness, black spots repeatedly flashing before her eyes.

[Execute Command: Recalibrate Subject Consciousness.]

[Priority: Maximum!]

A cruel delight flickered in the overseer’s eyes.

“How pitiful. Where did your courage from just now go?”

The blood blade precisely pierced the side of Xing Yu’s neck, mirroring the spot where she had previously injured him.

A deep wound, bone visible, instantly gushed fresh blood.

[Command: Remain Still!]

“If your worthless sister knew this—that she endured it time and again only to end up like this... Haha!” The overseer laughed maniacally, his voice dripping with morbid excitement.

“To be honest, I never expected you to be the second. Looks like you sisters share the same ‘luck’?”

Throughout, Xing Yu instinctively maintained the same defensive posture.

No movement. No cry of pain.

She seemed to have completely lost consciousness, becoming a lifeless shell.

The overseer leaned in close, his breath hot against her ear, his voice low and threatening.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make you feel what it’s like to be dismantled piece by piece. You’ll understand the true meaning of pain more than your sister.”

---

“This is the price of rebellion!”

Only then did he hear her faint murmur.

“Looking for…”

She had been searching all along.

Her body grew progressively stiffer; even her fingers began to fail her.

Her imitated nails pierced the skin, almost sensing the pulse of blood vessels beneath her skull.

The subtle sound of blood rushing through vessels in her head whispered like a stream.

Her rapid heartbeat thundered like a storm, every breath clearly audible.

The scraping of nails against bone was magnified infinitely in her ears, sharp enough to make her scalp tingle.

Mechanical noises emitted a piercing hum, but as her fingers groped beneath the torn skin, the sound seemed to shift gradually.

Amid the intertwining breaths, heartbeat, and blood flow, she fought to maintain her last shred of consciousness, searching toward the direction where the sound grew stronger.

Her fingertips touched a tiny protrusion just beneath the frontal bone.

[Warning: Subject consciousness synchronization frequency severely deviated!]

The texture there differed slightly from the surrounding bone, as if a foreign object was embedded within.

Gritting her teeth, Xing Yu endured the excruciating pain and continued her exploration.

At last, she touched a small, hard object lodged in the groove of her frontal bone.

[Warning: System integrity threatened!]

The mechanical noise reached its peak, nearly shattering her eardrums.

[Warning: Calibration failed, soul tuning frequency misaligned!]

[Re-executing, attempting to recalibrate subject consciousness, attempting to recalibrate subject consciousness, attempting to recalibrate subject consciousness...]

Finally—

With all her strength, Xing Yu pried her fingertip into the gap around the chip.

She could feel the connection between the chip and the neural tissue; forcibly tearing it away caused intense ripping agony.

But she did not stop.

[Countdown: 10, 9, 8...]

Warm blood surged out, winding down her arm, its sliding sensation painfully vivid.

With a chilling “pop,” the chip was forcibly pulled from the bone.

Severe pain shot through her entire body like lightning—like the agony of breathing anew after suffocation.

“…Found it.”

A chaotic data stream crashed through her consciousness, as if countless fragments exploded inside her mind.

---

Then, all fell silent.

She felt an unprecedented freedom.

The invisible shackles shattered instantly; the prison that bound her finally crumbled.

She slowly lifted her head, the light of the night sun casting over her blood-stained face.

Blood soaked every inch of her skin, trickling down her cheeks and gathering into small droplets at her chin.

Her silver-white eyes stood out vividly against the crimson backdrop, like two full moons floating in a deep red sky.

The information in her sight had changed.

The small chip, smeared with blood and cerebrospinal fluid, along with its biocompatible wires, lay quietly in her palm.

A faint current still flowed through the chip—the very source of her control and restriction.

She stood again; her voice was soft but clear in the silent night.

“Is this your last will?”

“Impossible… no, you…” The overseer stepped back, disbelief thick in his voice.

At this moment, genuine terror appeared on his face.

Xing Yu did not answer. She picked up the short sword and suddenly charged at the overseer.

Though her wounds were clearly more severe, it was as if some invisible constraint had been lifted, radiating a chilling aura.

The overseer hastily raised his hand; blood congealed into a shield.

The blade clashed against the blood barrier with a sharp tearing sound, the shield pierced as easily as paper.

In the next instant, he felt a searing pain—the blade plunged straight into his abdomen.

The sword slid through flesh, encountering soft yet resilient resistance.

Blood splattered on the surrounding walls and floor; pain flickered across the overseer’s face.

He gritted his teeth, refusing to retreat.

...Until his eyes met Xing Yu’s.

An unprecedented terror gripped his heart.

Those eyes did not carefully watch his movements but locked onto his gaze with near-manic intensity.

Even under attack, her gaze did not waver.

This extreme focus made her all the more eerie.

The overseer’s face finally showed true panic; all his confidence and arrogance crumbled in that moment.

He stumbled backward, faltering, completely forgetting his wounds, desperately manipulating his blood to erect barrier after barrier between himself and Xing Yu.

“You monster!” the overseer roared recklessly, unable to hide his fear and fury any longer.