The freezing wind of Antarctica sliced through Qiyue’s visor like a blade. He trudged through the blizzard, his footsteps heavy and uneven on the ice sheet. Despite the sub-sixty-degree temperatures, the hilt of his Nano Quantum Blade radiated a faint heat; inside, five Coding Chips rearranged themselves in a continuous loop, forming a pentagon of pure gold, pink, sky blue, indigo, and the newly integrated emerald-green medical code.
"The signal source is three hundred meters directly beneath you," Scholar Su Muqing’s voice crackled through his earpiece, layered with static. "But the readings are bizarre. The vital signs indicate... two Su Muqings?"
Qiyue stopped, a sharp sting erupting from the scar on his right eyebrow. Ever since the violet lightning in Rio, the boundaries between the seven voices in his consciousness had grown increasingly blurred. The Financier’s analytical prowess and the Soldier’s combat instincts were merging, while fragments of the original host’s memories flashed by like scenes from an old film.
Chapter 22