4:30 a.m.
The artificial sun of Rocky City had not yet risen above the dome, and the steel metropolis remained shrouded in a dark, hazy blue.
The icy circulating water pounded against Shen Kai's chaotic mind, clearing his nerves. He had been kept awake all night by the "Core Whisper."
Last night, the whispers had been more active than ever, filled with temptations and warnings that caused his "colorless core" to flutter unsteadily.
He quickly tidied up his belongings, put on his combat suit, and the "Pioneer" arm patch—a crossed sword and shield—stood out vividly under the dim light of the bathroom.
When Shen Kai arrived at the designated assembly point below the dormitory building, Nadeshiko and Ryan were already there.
Nadeshiko carefully inspected her tactical medical kit while Ryan leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. However, the slight twitching of his eyelids betrayed his inner restlessness.
At exactly 5:00 a.m., Gestalt arrived as scheduled. He was still wearing his signature iron-gray special operations uniform, which seemed to blend seamlessly with his body and emanated an icy aura that deterred others. Shen Kai keenly sensed that the faint "lead-gray" core energy fluctuations emanating from the captain were more stable and refined than usual.
Gestalt's voice was short and direct.
"Mission briefing."
"Today's mission: All members of the 'Pioneer' team, go to the Technology Department's 'Core Adaptation Center.'"
"Target: Ryan Red Flame and Sakuraba Nadeshiko."
"Conduct the first official 'Allochromatic Core' screening, activation, and preliminary adaptation process."
Ryan and Nadeshiko's eyes flashed with a hint of nervousness and anticipation at the same time. This was undoubtedly the most important step in their careers as recruits.
Gestalt paused, then turned his gaze to Shen Kai.
"Shen Kai, due to the uniqueness of your core, the Technical Department lacks a standardized adaptation protocol for your case."
"During this mission, you will serve as an observer while the Technical Department collects and analyzes additional core data."
"Observer? Data collection?"
Shen Kai's heart sank, and the unease of being treated as an "alien entity" for study resurfaced.
The Core Adaptation Center was located deep underground in Rocky City. It had heavy alloy isolation gates with flickering blue warning lights on the corridor walls. Researchers in fully enclosed, white, sterile, protective suits—their faces expressionless—moved back and forth, making Ryan and Nadeshiko, who were visiting for the first time, feel a strange sense of unease.
Just as they were about to enter their designated biological isolation corridors, a senior researcher from the Technical Department approached Shen Kai with the tacit approval of Gestalt.
He wore a badge featuring the "Li Jian Expert Team" logo with precision gears and brain neurons. He held a portable, high-precision "Core Morphology and Energy Spectrum Analyzer."
The researcher wore thick protective goggles, and his eyes behind the lenses bore pure scientific curiosity. He aimed the instrument's scanning probe at Shen Kai's chest, the location of the "colorless core."
The instrument's screen instantly displayed a chaotic interference image composed of countless tiny colored noise dots and irregular geometric shapes. This image was accompanied by a piercing "beep" warning sound.
A prominent red warning message stabilized at the bottom of the screen:
Error: Unrecognized core type.
Energy characteristics deviate severely from known database standard thresholds.
Information entropy overload.
Recommend manual analysis or use a higher-permission protocol.
The researcher's expression froze instantly. His pure scientific curiosity transformed in a single second into a mix of extreme shock, disbelief, and pathological fervor—akin to discovering a new continent, brimming with greed and desire!
He quickly jotted down a few notes on his encrypted data pad, then nodded apologetically to Shen Kai and Gestalt, signaling that they could enter the nearby observation room.
Shen Kai keenly observed this subtle interaction, along with the unabashed gleam in the researcher's eyes—as if he had discovered a rare experimental specimen.
His "colorless core" was indeed a forbidden existence.
The appearance of the "Li Jian Expert Team" felt like an invisible net slowly closing in on him.