Athanasia: My Hacker System-Chapter 249: They Are Not Humans, They Are Cyborgs!!

"The Hiveminds were generous enough to share lots of secrets with us."

Mark continued, his evil grin never wavering. "They explained how they came into existence. Did you think they were always machines? No. They were once a normal race, made of flesh, a primitive race of beasts and insects that lived in the dark corners of the universe."

John stood still, his sword held low. Learning from his past experiences with this freak, he knew it was wise to let the program talk. Mark was a narcissist of the highest order; he loved the sound of his own brilliance.

Back at the prison, Mark’s need to gloat had led him to slip up, revealing the admin passcode that had literally saved John’s life and set him on this path of ascension.

John listened with full attention, not missing a single detail, while his peripheral vision constantly checked the map. He needed to be sure no external surprises were closing in while Mark blabbered. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"The process is, if my guess is right, the same as what you’ve experienced twice so far: the nutation of the Fog Seeker den!" Mark laughed, the sound loud in the quiet area.

"This den isn’t simple. It’s a primitive type of portal, but it can be upgraded to kickstart a forced mutation. You saw how the Fog Wrathers changed into those yellow monsters. Using that same method, one can turn beasts and insects made of flesh into hybrids. Half-organic, half-machine. Evolution at the speed of light."

The man gestured toward the horizon, his eyes glowing with anticipation. "And in our case, Mr Mirage, the Hiveminds showed us we can open a back-door path. We can let our ready battalions flood these lands through the den’s gateway... Though I must admit, you pushed me to the limit by breaking my D-1000 toys back then. That was a costly setback."

John’s mind raced. Mark was about to reveal the core of his plan. But just as the secret was about to spill, a voice cut through the air like a stray rock.

"Shut up, you lunatic!" Luke suddenly snapped, stepping forward and brandishing his club. "You’re talking to our John! This is the mightiest and strongest human to ever walk these fcked-up trials! You think your little crazy and fabricated stories scare us?!"

’I swear, I’m going to kill him myself,’ John thought, his jaw clenching so hard he heard his teeth grind. He restrained the urge to turn around and silence Luke with an unbelievable curse and roar. He needed Mark to keep talking, and Luke was treating this like a schoolyard brawl.

Luckily, Mark didn’t take the bait. He merely looked at Luke with an expression of profound pity.

"Pathetic," Mark said, shaking his head. He gestured vaguely at the one thousand humans standing behind him like statues. "Do you think this is my army? Do you think I’m crazy enough to bring a bunch of useless meat sacks to fight and take over a pocket trial? Are you out of your mind?"

Mark turned a deaf ear toward Luke after that, deciding it was pointless to argue with a naïve human. He returned his full attention to John, his expression shifting back to that vicious, calm mask.

"See, Mr Mirage? Do you see the difference between us? Humans are stupid, noisy, arrogant, and useless. Machines are the future. They are the objective truth of the universe. And today, I’ll show you a few lessons about our supremacy before you die.

I guessed you would eventually take over the Bulltors, but I’ll be honest, I was surprised to hear about what you did to the Hiveminds. You used the rules of the game against them. Well played, Mr Mirage. Very well played."

Mark took another step forward, his voice dropping to a whisper. "So, let me use those same rules against you. I’m sure a man of your intellect won’t mind a taste of your own medicine, right?"

John inwardly cursed Luke again. The interruption had diverted Mark from the explanation. John knew he had to steer him back, to keep the ego fed until the weakness was exposed.

"I know what you’re talking about, but I can tell you right now, it’s impossible," John said, shaking his head slowly, playing on the chords of Mark’s arrogance. "You’re trying to use humans as catalysts instead of monsters. But look around, Mark. There isn’t a single speck of a black cloud. There is no lightning..."

"Quite disappointing, Mr Mirage," Mark snorted, "do you think my way is this primitive? It’s way more sophisticated! Look around, there are three hundred humans already triggering the gate to open! I don’t need lightning, as we are providing them with power from the other side, way stronger, way fiercer than the primitive lightning here..."

"You are noisy..." Luke waved his club, yet the moment he opened his mouth, John turned his head towards him, with a glaring look that he had never seen before. A single look was enough to silence Luke, make him swallow what nonsense he was about to say, and John didn’t stop there. He glared at all others, warning them silently not to open their mouths or say a single word without his permission.

"Sorry about that," John finally turned to Mark, "anyway, your method won’t work as our human bodies don’t have what it takes to channel all this power..."

"You are still speaking about these as if they are really humans," Mark laughed, before slowly raising a hand and snapping his fingers. The next instant, the three humans John killed slowly stood up, and in his vision, he could see that some sort of transformation was happening.

Their green code structure was gone, replaced entirely by blue codes, "Come on, Mr Mirage, think, think! There is no fun beating an ignorant, stupid human! What do you think they are? The answer is in you, you know it!"

John already grasped this point for a while now, so he slowly said it, "They are cyborgs, all of them!"