Silence fell over the valley.
Cold.Heavy.Dangerous.
Lin Wei stared at the woman who should've been the safest person in his world—and felt nothing but a growing, suffocating dread.
Liu Fang was already stepping between them, despite her injuries.
Zhao raised his weapon until the barrel pointed directly at Lin Qiang's collarbone.
But Lin Wei…
He couldn't move.
Not yet.
Lin Qiang's last word still echoed in his mind, twisting deeper with every breath.
Everything.
A demand.A claim.A possession.
His voice cracked.
"Mom… what does that mean? What do you want?"
Lin Qiang's expression softened—like a mother comforting a frightened child.But her eyes remained clinical.Focused.Sharp.
"Lin Wei," she murmured, taking half a step closer, "I didn't fake my death to abandon you. I faked it to protect you."
Liu Fang scoffed bitterly.
"Oh yes. Excellent job. He nearly died six times this month alone."
Lin Qiang ignored her completely.
"I told the Core to hide you," she continued softly. "To delay your activation for as long as possible. You were never supposed to be exposed to the system in childhood."
Lin Wei blinked.
"Wait… you knew about the system?"
Lin Qiang smiled faintly.
"I built it."
The ground seemed to tilt.
Zhao lowered his rifle out of sheer shock.
"You mean the cheat? Heaven Reward Hard Work? That entire mechanism—?"
"Yes," Lin Qiang replied. "A developmental training matrix built to reward sustained effort, reinforce neurological pathways, and mold behavior with gradual enhancements."
Liu Fang's face drained of color.
"You turned your own son into an experiment."
Lin Qiang's smile didn't falter.
"I turned him into a survivor."
Lin Wei felt his stomach twist.
"So all the nights I collapsed from migraines? All those blackouts? The sudden surges? The pain?"
She didn't flinch.
"They were necessary side effects. And you handled them better than predicted."
Liu Fang gasped in disgust.
"How can you say that? He was a kid!"
Lin Qiang finally looked at her—with chilling disinterest.
"A child with potential is still potential."
Lin Wei felt the breath leave his lungs.
She said it like a fact.A neutral statement.Not cruelty—which somehow made it worse.
The Core Reacts
Inside his mind, the Core pulsed sharply—like a heartbeat skipping.
Panic.
Discomfort.
Fear.
"User Alert.Cognitive threat detected."
Lin Wei flinched.
The Core was afraid of her.That could only mean one thing:
She had been here before.
Inside the Core.Inside the architecture.Inside the deepest neural layers he hadn't even touched yet.
Lin Wei steadied his breath.
"Mom… where have you been these last seventeen years?"
She exhaled.
"I was perfecting the next stage of the project."
Lin Wei's heart froze.
"Next… stage?"
Lin Qiang stepped closer—too close—and he instinctively took a step back.
Her smile widened.
"Don't be afraid, Wei'er. You've already accomplished more than any prototype before you."
Liu Fang hissed:
"Prototype?!"
Zhao stiffened.
Lin Wei's throat went dry.
"Mom. What did you do?"
She clasped her hands lightly behind her back, posture calm.
"Your genetic sequence was chosen for compatibility. Your father provided neural stability. I contributed cognitive resilience. You were bred for this."
Lin Wei staggered.
He felt the world shatter under his feet.
"You're lying."
"No," she said softly. "I'm telling you the truth you deserve."
Liu Fang grabbed Lin Wei's arm like she feared he might fall.
Zhao pointed his rifle again.
"You talk like a scientist, not a mother."
"For seventeen years," Lin Qiang replied coolly, "being a mother would have gotten him killed."
Lin Wei shook violently.
"Then why show yourself now? Why come back now?"
Her expression darkened—finally, something real.
"The Chairman accelerated the project. He wants the Core. He wants you contained. He'll use your power to reshape the national grid or wipe it clean. He sees you as a tool."
She stepped forward—
And this time, Lin Wei didn't back up.
She lowered her voice.
"But you're mine."
The Core inside him twisted—flared—and whispered:
"Danger."
Liu Fang stepped between them.
"No. He's not yours. He's a person—"
Lin Qiang lightly tapped her on the forehead.
Just a flick.
Yet a shockwave of kinetic force launched Liu Fang backward.
"LIU FANG!"
Lin Wei caught her before she hit the ground, but the vibration in her skull made her vision blur.
"Don't touch her," Lin Wei growled.
Lin Qiang's expression didn't change.
"She interfered with a direct instruction."
Zhao fired.
A warning shot past her face.
"Do it again," Zhao snarled, "and I'll aim lower."
Lin Qiang didn't even blink.
The Core inside Lin Wei flared again.
Energy rippled along Lin Wei's skin—white light cracking across his arms.
Liu Fang exhaled shakily against his chest.
"Lin Wei… don't go to her."
He gently lowered her to the ground and stood.
The earth trembled faintly.
Lin Wei's eyes glowed softly—not harsh like energy discharge, but steady, controlled.
"Mom. You're powerful. You know the Core. You know what I can do now."
She smiled.
"I know it better than anyone."
Lin Wei took one step forward.
"So hear this carefully."
The air vibrated.Pebbles lifted from the ground.The atmosphere thickened as a field of pressure expanded outward.
Zhao stumbled back.
Liu Fang shielded her face.
Lin Qiang's smile finally faltered.
Lin Wei's voice was quiet.
Cold.
Unshakable.
"I am not your experiment."
White lightning flickered through the air.
"I am not your prototype."
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
"I am not yours."
Lin Qiang took a step back.
For the first time—she looked afraid.
Lin Wei raised a hand.
The air compressed around her like a tightening fist.
"Touch Liu Fang again," he said softly, "and I will show you exactly what your project has created."
Lin Qiang inhaled sharply.
Not in fear—but in awe.
"You are extraordinary," she whispered. "More than even I anticipated."
She lifted her hand slowly—
And a tiny bead of light formed on her palm, swirling like a miniature star.
Zhao yelled:
"Everyone DOWN—!"
Liu Fang shouted:
"LIN WEI—!"
But Lin Qiang's eyes shone with a chilling certainty.
"This will hurt," she said softly, "but it will take you home."
She released the sphere.
Lin Wei reacted on instinct—
The Core surged—
Light clashed with light—
And the valley exploded in white.