Trung returned to central Saigon in the afternoon when the sunlight mingled with the halo from overhead energy stations, turning the entire sky into a shimmering mirror.
The night's rain had just stopped, and the streets shone, reflecting the lights from thousands of patrolling drones. He walked on Nguyễn Huệ Walking Street, which had become an automated zone flying cars hovered two meters above the ground, and people walked amidst streams of transparent advertising holograms.
This world no longer had true darkness yet the light brought no warmth.
Trung stopped in front of the Hồng Phát virtual coffee shop where a year ago, he had sat with the young reporter named Mai An.
Now, the shop only retained a real section old wooden tables and chairs; the rest was 3D projections, serving customers via AR glasses.
He stepped inside. An android waitress smiled:
"Welcome, customer. Today's interface is Saigon sunset in 1985. Would you like to save this feeling?"
"No need," Trung replied shortly. "I'm waiting for someone."
She nodded, then vanished like a wisp of hologram smoke. A moment later, Mai An walked in.
Her long hair was gone now cut short, neat her eyes were sharper, but weary.
She saw him, pausing for a moment.
"Trung... really? I thought... they said you had left the city."
"I left, but I didn't get far."
"I've been looking for you for a year."
Trung just smiled. A smile like that of a man who had passed through war looking at someone who had just returned from an illusion.
"Are you looking for me to write more articles?"
"No." Mai An placed a data chip on the table. "To return this. It's from Professor Khải."
The atmosphere between them grew heavy. Trung looked at the chip. Faded silver, engraved with the familiar, strange blue edged bronze drum symbol.
"Where did you get it?"
"A stranger sent it to the editorial office, saying it was for you. Left no name. Just said if you still believe in Sát Thát, listen to it with your left ear."
Trung looked at her:
"Listen with my left ear?"
"I don't understand it either. But I guess... there's something in there only you can decipher."
They sat in silence for a moment. The only sound in the café was the drone noise from the street outside. Mai An slowly said:
"Do you know why they still call you the Rebel Warrior?"
"Because I don't follow their rules."
"No, because they don't understand what you do." She paused, her gaze distant. "They fear people who do the right thing without permission."
He looked at her, smiling faintly:
"You're starting to sound like Professor Khải."
"He once told me... One day, if the man with the steel leg returns, tell him not to trust friend or foe. Because in this era, they constantly interchange roles."
The sentence fell in the cafe like a thin knife streak. Trung was silent.
"Where is he?"
Mai An lowered her head:
"I don't know. But rumor has it he is in the North, near the industrial border zone. Some say he is hiding in an old laboratory where Vạn Sinh once tried to create the Prime Sample Line."
"Do you believe rumors?"
"Rumors are often the truth that hasn't been allowed to be spoken."
She looked directly at him.
"Are you going to look for him?"
"Yes. Before they find me."
Mai An smiled lightly, with a touch of bitterness:
"You always go against the current. The whole world is trying to upgrade their bodies, and you are trying to preserve your soul."
"Don't you believe in the soul?"
"I do. But... in this age, people have learned to transplant memories, archive emotions, and even program belief. Are you sure that thing called 'soul' inside you wasn't data installed from that very leg?"
The air suddenly became heavy. Trung didn't answer immediately. He placed his hand on the mechanical leg, where the circuits hidden beneath the metal skin subtly vibrated.
"If it's data, I choose to believe it is the data of human heart."
"You sound... ancient," Mai An smiled softly. "But... perhaps that's why people still want to tell stories about you."
A moment later, she opened a small holo, displaying a national energy map.
"Look," Mai An said. "These are the unstable energy zones over the past month. All located along the Trường Sơn mountain range. Whenever there is a fluctuation there, radar picks up energy signals similar to the type emitted from your body."
"What does that mean?"
"It means... you might not be the only one with a steel leg."
Trung frowned.
"How are you sure it's not fake data?"
"Because one of them broadcasted at the same frequency as the chip Professor Khải sent."
He looked at the chip, as if looking at an open eye.
"Vạn Sinh has found a way to clone you."
"Or they have cloned your belief." Mai An spoke slowly, her voice fleeting like breath. "Don't you find it strange? They created you to prove that humans can be programmed, yet you are the one resisting. It's like... they want you to exist to prove that even freedom is part of their plan."
Trung remained silent. The statement weighed like a stone falling into his chest. Was it possible that even his desire to resist was a pre-installed line of code? He asked:
"If so... what is real?"
Mai pursed her lips, her eyes flashing with an unreadable light:
"Perhaps, only what you are willing to die for."
They were silent. The wind outside blew through the holo screen, making the image flicker briefly Trung saw his face on the advertisement distort, then switch to the Vạn Sinh logo. He shuddered.
"Mai An, are you sure you're not being followed?"
"Sure," she replied, but her voice dropped. "At least until we leave this place."
He looked at her. For a moment, he saw a small seam exposed near her collar a thin scar, like a weld mark of artificial skin.
"Did you... get an upgrade?"
She hesitated:
"Only for medical treatment. A part of my brain was damaged during the investigation in the North."
"Which part?"
"Short term memory. So sometimes... I don't know if I'm speaking the truth or repeating what someone has programmed."
The atmosphere dimmed. Trung felt cold on the back of his neck. Mai still looked at him, smiling.
"But at least right now, I know I'm talking to a real person. Right?"
"I think so," Trung answered softly. They both left the cafe when the light had turned a pale gold. The streets were streaked with neon, reflecting on the Saigon River like bright knife marks.
Mai An handed him the chip, her hand lightly touching his cold, trembling.
"If you go, take this with you. It might lead you to Khải. Or... to where they want you to go."
"Aren't you afraid?"
"I am. But silence is more frightening."
He looked at her, his gaze deep and sad:
"If anything happens, don't look for me. Don't write anything about me anymore."
"If I don't write, people will forget."
"Better they forget than remember wrongly."
The sentence made Mai An freeze, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Trung..." her voice choked. "If you really meet Professor Khải, ask him... if there is still a way to keep the human part in this world."
He nodded lightly. Then turned away. Behind him, Mai stood for a long time, until the hologram light on the boulevard turned red.
A very small "beep" sounded near her neck, and a tiny light on the scar behind her head glowed faintly.
She whispered, as if talking to herself or to someone listening:
"He took the chip. Direction of travel is North."
A metallic voice replied in her ear:
"Good. Maintain contact. He must not die before the process is complete."
Mai An closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry... Trung."
On the holo screen in the street, a new headline appeared:
"Sát Thát Warrior detected leaving Saigon, heading North. Reason undetermined."
Below, the fine print faded:
"All actions are within prediction."