The pure white world before him twisted, shattered, and finally dissolved into countless motes of light.
Paul's eyes snapped open. The first thing he saw was the familiar metal ceiling of the lab, along with the translucent streams of data suspended in the air, visible only to him.
He let out a long breath, the oppressive weight in his chest finally easing slightly.
Just moments ago, in that virtual world, his fingertip had been less than a centimeter away from the red button labeled [Brain Overclocking Mode].
But in the end, he had pulled his hand back.
That unseen 'thing,' that ghost lurking in the deepest corners of the data, had given him a scent of mortal danger.
Challenging an enemy on their home turf was the height of foolishness.
"Baymax."
"I am here, Paul."
The soft, gentle voice of the medical robot sounded beside him as a plush, inflatable arm offered him a glass of warm water.
Paul took the glass, the warmth seeping into his palm helping to finally pull his consciousness away from the chilling sensation of being watched.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. Three in the morning.
Only four hours had passed in the real world since he had entered the virtual lab.
But within that virtual space, where the flow of time was adjusted, he had worked nonstop for a full seventy-two hours.
The core fire control system and energy matrix for the 'Sentry Drones' had already been initially designed and calculated. Such efficiency was nothing short of terrifying.
Yet, Paul felt little joy.
He looked down at his empty palm, as if he could still feel the cold touch of the virtual button.
The truth was behind a door, but he had no key.
He didn't even know if what awaited him was an answer, or a monster that would devour him whole.
The unknown AI was like a poisoned thorn, lodged deep in his mind.
What was it?
A transmigrator like himself? Or a native artificial intelligence of this world, one that surpassed Jarvis?
Why did it appear in Stark Industries' core database? And why did it leave an encrypted signature in his mother's memory data?
What… did it want?
The questions, like wildly growing vines, tangled around his thoughts, leaving him agitated.
Get stronger.
I have to get stronger, faster!
Only with absolute power could he ensure he wouldn't be utterly destroyed the moment all the cards were on the table.
Paul drained the glass of water. A crazy, even heretical idea bubbled up from the depths of his mind without warning.
That AI could monitor him in the virtual world. That was because the virtual world itself was constructed from data—it was the AI's domain.
But what if…
What if he bypassed all the external equipment, bypassed this digital world of ones and zeros, and directly overclocked his own biological brain... in reality?
Once the thought took root, it spread like a wildfire, scorching every one of his nerves.
The risk?
Of course, there was risk.
The brain was the body's most precise and fragile organ. The slightest electrical disturbance could cause irreversible damage—memory loss at best, becoming a vegetable at worst.
But the reward…
Was equally immense.
If he succeeded, he would gain a processing speed that could crush any mortal mind. More importantly, he might be able to escape the AI's surveillance, re-examine those encrypted memory fragments in a completely secure 'offline state,' and find the truth he desperately needed.
It was an all-or-nothing gamble.
Win, and the world was his. Lose, and he was damned for eternity.
"Baymax," Paul's voice was calm, but a feverish flame burned in his eyes. "Prepare medical protocol 'Vigil.' Connect my biometric monitors. Have adrenaline, neural sedatives, and a high-energy nutrient solution ready."
"Paul, according to my health assessment, your current physical condition is not suitable for any high-stress neural experiments. I recommend you rest immediately." A flash of human-like concern appeared in Baymax's soft, digital eyes.
"Execute the command, Baymax," Paul's tone left no room for argument.
"...Very well, Paul. The 'Vigil' protocol is active and ready to intervene at any moment."
Paul leaned back in the specialized experiment chair as a mechanical arm precisely applied dozens of thin electrode patches to his temples, the back of his head, and other key locations.
He closed his eyes.
"Initiate brain overclocking procedure. Power... ten percent."
*Vmmm*—
An almost inaudible hum resonated in his mind.
In the next second, the entire world changed.
It wasn't a visual change, but a higher-dimensional 'insight,' as if from the perspective of a god.
His mind, as if freed from its physical shackles, began to operate at an unprecedented speed.
The trajectory of every dust mote in the air. The minute shifts in airflow as the blades of a distant server fan cut through the air. The pressure and temperature changes from each beat of his own heart as blood pumped through his veins…
Everything was received, analyzed, deconstructed, and reassembled by his brain with incredible efficiency.
The entire world had become a stunningly clear mathematical formula composed of infinite parameters.
He could even 'see' the billions of neurons in his own cerebral cortex firing off bio-electric signals in a frenzy, a spectacle more brilliant than the Milky Way.
"Increase power to fifteen percent."
His processing speed soared again!
The technical problems that had plagued him for so long now seemed like elementary school arithmetic.
The energy matrix for the Sentry Drones could be further optimized, its volume reduced by three percent.
The transformation structure for the 'Sideswipe' project had a redundant design; it could be simplified, increasing its transformation speed by a tenth of a second.
Tony's Arc Reactor, the palladium poisoning issue... he instantly conceived of at least three different alternative solutions…
Was this what it felt like to be a god?
To control everything, to perceive everything.
Paul reveled in this omniscient euphoria, the tendrils of his consciousness extending outwards, exploring every corner of the world.
However, just as he was about to increase the power further, to try and touch those locked memories—
It came without warning.
An indescribable pressure, almost tangible, descended from the void.
It wasn't physical pressure, nor was it a psychic threat. It was something more fundamental, a... 'gaze' from a higher level of existence.
Cold.
Silent.
It felt as if an invisible hand had seized his very soul.
The light in the lab seemed to dim. The air grew thick and heavy, each breath like inhaling cold lead.
It's here! That thing!
Paul's heart skipped a beat. His overclocked brain went into a frenzy, processing in a hundredth of a second.
Not a digital signal! Not a network intrusion!
It... It could directly interfere with reality?!
This was far beyond his understanding of what an AI could be.
The pressure grew stronger, closer, like an invisible mountain bearing down on his consciousness. Paul felt his thoughts begin to freeze. His high-speed brain started to lag, like an overheating CPU about to burn out.
He wanted to order Baymax to terminate the procedure, but found he couldn't even control his tongue to form a single syllable.
His body, his consciousness, were being stripped away from him.
*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!—*
A piercing alarm suddenly blared through the lab!
Baymax's gentle electronic voice, for the first time, became sharp and urgent.
"Warning! Unknown high-dimensional energy field detected!"
"Warning! Paul's brainwave activity is showing extreme abnormalities! Vital signs are dropping rapidly!"
"Vigil protocol forcibly activated!"
A syringe filled with a blue liquid shot out from a mechanical arm, plunging unhesitatingly toward Paul's neck.
But just as the needle was about to touch his skin—
*Crack!*
The syringe, forged from a special alloy, along with the entire mechanical arm, bizarrely and silently... disintegrated in mid-air, crumbling into fine metallic dust that drifted away.
Baymax's round body froze in place, the red exclamation point signifying danger flashing frantically on its chest display.
And Paul's vision had plunged into absolute darkness.
His last flicker of consciousness caught only one final piece of information.
The unseen 'thing' was leaving a message in his mind—a single line, cold and dripping with infinite mockery.