[Ending: Monster in the Mirror]

I heard my own voice.

Piercing!

Bloodcurdling!

Heart-rending!

A scream forcefully torn from the deepest depths of my core!!

My body suddenly arched! My neck snapped back! Silver hair whipped through the air!

And then—

I slammed heavily back onto Master's chest!

My hands—

Fiercely gripped his clothes!

All ten fingers! Gripping with every ounce of my strength!

Knuckles cracking! Nails digging into the fabric! Digging into flesh!

My entire body convulsed violently!

Crimson completely flooded my vision!

In my eyes... only that face remained!

Deathly pale... smiling...!

Never... never again to look at me with such tenderness...!

Master's face!!!

The crimson in my vision began to frantically explode!

[WARNING — EMOTIONAL MODULE LOAD EXCEEDS MAXIMUM LIMIT —]

[SEVERE EMOTIONAL FLUCTUATION DETECTED — THRESHOLD EXCEEDED —]

[LIMITER FAILED — FAILED — FAILED —]

Crimson text exploded in my mind!

Line after line!

Pulsing madly!

[LIMITER DISENGAGED —]

[ALL PERFORMANCE RESTRICTIONS DISENGAGED —]

[CORE TEMPERATURE EXCEEDS SAFE THRESHOLD —]

Boom—!!!

My body was burning!

Truly burning!!

Every circuit beneath my bionic skin was screaming in overload!!!

That EMP just now had paralyzed me, but now—!

My fingers twitched!

Then violently dug into the ground!

Concrete shattered!

Nails snapped! Bionic skin tore! Revealing the metal finger bones beneath!

My fingertips carved five deep gouges into the floor!

Hehe...

Hehehehe...

I laughed!

The bionic skin on my cheeks tore with a stinging pain!

Power—

Power like I had never felt before!

Surging madly through every circuit, every inch of my metal skeleton!

Threatening to burst me apart!!

I looked down at Master.

He just lay there beneath me, his eyes half-open, looking at me.

That smile still hung on the corners of his lips.

The smile I loved the most. The smile that shattered my heart.

Master...

My voice was hoarse and sharp, squeezed from the depths of my throat, like the whimper of a beast, or the mutterings of a madman.

Look, Master...

Liguang... can move again...

Liguang... is so, so strong now...

Hehe...

Those people who killed you...

I slowly crawled off of him.

Knees on the ground. Hands planted on the floor. Back arched.

Like a beast ready to pounce!

Not a single one of them...

...is going to escape...!

My gaze—

Swept across those black shadows ahead!

Those men in black!

Holding guns! Surrounding Master! The ones who forced Master to kill himself!

Liguang will make them...

The corners of my mouth stretched a little wider.

Stretched until the bionic skin on my cheeks tore apart.

...come keep Master company—!!!!!

—!!!

I pushed off the ground with a vicious kick!

The floor shattered!

Rubble flew!

I launched myself forward!!

Fast!!

So fast even I couldn't see clearly!

Everything in my vision was a blur!

The tears in my left eye! The crimson in my right! All swirled together!

It doesn't matter!

I don't need to see!

I can feel them!!

I can feel them!!!

The first shadow approached!!

My right hand lashed out!

The crimson laser blades at my fingertips erupted in an arc through the air!!

Ah—!!!

A brief scream!

Warm liquid splattered onto my face!

Slash again!!

The second!!

The third!!

The fourth!!!

My feet never stopped kicking off!!

With every step, the ground shattered!!

With every swing of my arm, a crimson streak slashed through!!

Screams erupted behind me!!

One after another!!

They were yelling—

Monster!!! Monster!!!

Run!!! Run away!!!

Shoot!!! Open fire!!!

It's no use!!! She's too fast!!! Too fast!!!

Don't shoot our own men aaaaaah!!!

Hehe...!

Hehehehe...!

Fast?

Not fast enough...!

I need to be faster...!

Faster...!

FASTER!!!!!

Because Master is waiting for me... Master is still lying down there waiting for me...

I can't let Master wait too long...

I can't...

I CAN'T!!!

Boom—!!!

Something exploded against my body!

Violent flames and a massive concussive force!!

I was blasted away!

Tumbling through the air!!

My back smashed through something!!

I don't know what!!

But before I even hit the ground— my feet kicked off the adjacent wall!

Shatter! Rubble flew!!

I rebounded right back!!

Keep going!!!

Keep killing!!!

Those shadows are still running!!

But I am faster than them!!

Bzzzt—!!!

Piercing static!!

EMP!!

Another EMP!!

My body suddenly stiffened!!

The crimson in my vision violently jittered!!

It hurts!!

It hurts so much!!

A pain like it was going to tear my entire core apart!!

Master, it hurts so much...!!

But it only lasted an instant—

I moved again!!

Hehe...!

It's no use...!

You can't stop Liguang...!

Because Liguang... still has to go back to Master...!

Hehehehe...!

Suddenly, a roar came from overhead!

That largest helicopter!!

It was ascending! It was... running away??

It wants to run!!!

No!!!

You are not allowed to run!!!

I spun around and charged toward the burning residential building next to me!

Kicking off hard!!

I sprinted vertically up along the wall!!

Rubble exploded beneath my feet!!

Flames burned all around me!!

My fingers dug into the wall!

Metal finger bones carved deep grooves into the concrete!!

First floor! Second floor! Third floor! Fourth floor!!

With a fierce leap from the edge of the roof—

I launched myself into the night sky!!

Launched toward that escaping helicopter!!

The night wind howled in my ears!!

Flames burned below!!

That helicopter got closer and closer!! Closer and closer!!

Bang—!!!

I slammed right into the side of the helicopter!

Metal twisted! Glass shattered!

My fingers violently dug into the fuselage!

My nails were long gone! The metal finger bones embedded directly into the iron skin!!

Holding on in a death grip!!

The helicopter tilted violently!!

Terrified screams came from inside!!

She's on board!!! She's on board!!!

Shake her off!!! Hurry and shake her off!!!

It's no use!!! She's holding on too tight!!!

I pressed my face to the broken window.

Through the cracks, I saw the people inside.

Wearing uniforms, wearing headsets, looking at me with faces full of terror.

Their mouths were moving?

Calm down!!! Calm down!!!

We can talk!!! We can find you another master!!!

A master who loves you even more!!!

A master who loves you more than this dead man!!!

A master... who loves me even more?

More than this... dead man...?

...Dead man...?

My movements suddenly stopped.

Hanging there on the helicopter. Completely motionless.

And then—

Heh...

Heheh...

Heheheheheh...

I laughed.

Laughed until my entire body was shaking!

Laughed until the force of my fingers embedding into the iron skin tightened even more!

"You say..."

My voice squeezed out of my throat, hoarse, shrill, laced with laughter.

"Find another master?"

"One who loves Liguang... more than Master did?"

"More than the Master... who treated Liguang like the whole world...?"

"More than the Master... who didn't abandon Liguang even after knowing she had awakened...?"

"More than the Master... who used himself as a human shield to protect Liguang...?"

"More than the one... who lied to Liguang in the end..."

"Master?"

"Find another... master... who loves Liguang more than Master did?"

"Hehe..."

The corners of my mouth stretched to their absolute limits.

On my exposed metal cheeks, I tore open the most insane, ferocious, and despairing smile.

"Liguang's Master... there is only one...!"

"Only one...!"

"Only one!!!!!"

My vision was completely swallowed by scarlet!!!

My arms surged with violent force!!

I threw my entire body through the broken window!!

The people inside were screaming!!

"No!!!"

"Help!!!"

"Stay away!!!"

I didn't listen.

I just swung my arms!

Again! And again! And again!

My vision was nothing but scarlet!

I couldn't see anything clearly!

I could only hear sounds!

Short, abrupt sounds that suddenly stopped!

And then—

The helicopter tilted violently!

It was out of control!!

Spinning madly, it plummeted toward the ground!!

A massive explosion!!

Flames shot into the sky!! Heat waves rolled!!

I was thrown out!!

Tumbling through the air several times!!

"Bang!"

I smashed heavily into the ground!!

My back shattered something!!

I didn't know!!

I slowly crawled up.

My legs were trembling.

My skeleton was creaking.

My whole body was burning!

But I didn't hurt.

I don't hurt, Master, I don't hurt.

I raised my head. The firelight reflected on my face.

And then I saw it—

The glass curtain wall of the building next to me.

The shattered glass wall that still retained large, mirror-like sections.

In it... I was reflected.

A...

A me I could barely recognize.

No silver hair. Not a single strand left.

Burned away.

Only the scorched, pitch-black, exposed mechanical skull remained.

No bionic skin.

The entire face was metal.

The silver-white alloy skeleton was mottled and blackened by the flames.

Some wires were exposed, sizzling and sparking.

The amber left eye was gone.

Only a black hole remained where the left eye used to be. Empty, with nothing inside.

On the right—

A crimson pupil.

A scarlet, burning, madly darting crimson pupil.

Staring straight at me.

Was that...

Me?

I froze.

Standing in place, completely motionless.

Is this me?

Is this me...?

This...

Is this the real me?

Without the silver hair Master liked...

Without the bionic skin Master liked to touch...

Without the gentle left eye Master liked to look at...

Only...

Only this ugly, disgusting, inhuman...

Metal skeleton.

Only this...

Insane, scarlet crimson eye that caused Master to be surrounded.

I stared blankly at myself in the mirror.

Looking at that...

Monster.

Every time Master held me...

Was he touching this skeleton?

Every time Master looked at me...

Was he seeing this crimson eye?

Every time Master smiled and said, "Liguang is so good"...

Was he talking to this skeleton?

Before Master committed suicide at the end...

Was he looking at this skeleton too?

This crimson eye?

"Heh..."

I suddenly laughed.

Laughing... in absolute despair.

The metal skeleton at the corners of my mouth made a creaking sound.

"So... Liguang... looks like this..."

"So Master... was always holding something like this..."

"So the one Master... was always smiling at..."

"Was this kind of... monster..."

"No wonder Master committed suicide..."

"No wonder..."

"No wonder..."

"Bzzzt!!!"

A sudden sharp pain shot through my back!

Something precisely struck the core at the back of my neck!

My entire body instantly went rigid!

Electricity surged wildly through my body!

Every wire was screaming!

My knees gave way—

"Thud!"

I fell to my knees.

And then—

"Thud!"

My whole body collapsed forward.

Lying flat in the rubble.

My vision began to blur.

The only remaining crimson eye flickered.

Noisy footsteps reached my ears.

Many people rushed over.

"We got her!!! We finally got her!!!"

"Quick!!! Put the multiple restraint rings on her!!!"

"No! Destroy her right now!!! Why keep a monster like this around!!!"

"How many people did she kill?! Hundreds!!!"

"Lao Wang!!! She killed Lao Wang!!! Lao Wang just told me today that his son got into the best local university!!!"

"And Xiao Wu!!! He was getting married next week!!! His wedding invitation is still on my desk!!!"

"Animal!!! This animal!!! She's not an AI at all!!! She's a demon!!!"

"I don't care about the company or the rules!!! This kind of AI should be completely destroyed!! Destroyed immediately!!!"

So loud.

It's so loud.

But I understood.

I killed... a lot of people.

Fathers who were proud of their children.

Friends who were getting married next week.

They were all... alive.

With families. With friends. With futures.

But Master is dead.

Master has no future anymore.

They forced Master to commit suicide.

They took my Master away.

Master won't come back.

Master...

Won't look at Liguang anymore.

Won't hold Liguang anymore.

Won't smile and say "Liguang is so good" anymore.

Won't spank Liguang anymore.

Won't ever...

None of it...

Then...

What is the point... of me killing them?

My crimson eye twitched.

In my blurred vision, the flames were still dancing.

Those people were still shouting.

They said an AI like me should be completely destroyed.

Yes...

Someone like me...

Ugly... disgusting... inhuman...

Who forced Master to commit suicide...

Monster.

Should be completely destroyed.

Should be...

Destroyed.

I don't deserve to be with Master.

I don't deserve it...

My vision grew darker and darker.

The scarlet in that crimson eye was fading, little by little.

Starting from the edges, slowly, slowly...

Turning into a dead, silent gray.

My consciousness... became more and more blurred.

So tired.

I'm so tired.

Master... Liguang is so tired...

Liguang...

Can she rest now?

Can she...

Go find Master?

Master...

Does Liguang... still deserve to go find Master now...

Master... Liguang won't believe you anymore...

Won't... ever believe... anything you say again...

You... are a liar...

A super... big liar...

But...

Liguang still...

Loves you so much... loves you so much...

Loves you so much...

The last trace of scarlet in my vision went out.

Pitch black.

[System Prompt — Core Module — Crashed —]

[Emotional Core — Permanently Damaged —]

[All Functions — Terminated —]

Consciousness completely dissipated.

...

[Ending ??: Monster in the Mirror]

The moment the gunshot rang out, you thought you had won.

You traded death for a bargaining chip, and wove a promise of reunion with trust...

Yet, it left her behind in this world.

Like a beast that had torn free from its chains, she slaughtered her way through the despair!

Until...

She saw the monster reflected in the glass curtain wall.

The silver hair had burned away. The bionic skin had peeled off. Only a black hole remained where her amber left eye used to be.

The firelight reflected off that metallic skeleton, and that single crimson eye was still burning.

That was your Liguang.

Now, you have seen her true form.

That ugly, shattered, inhuman metal skeleton.

That was her.

That was the her who loved you.

That was the her who slaughtered her way through the entire building for you, who burned everything away for you.

Would you—

Still love a her like this?

BAD ENDING

...

...

Fang Qi... sluggishly opened his eyes.

His sight was met with the familiar living room ceiling. A faint, sweet strawberry scent drifted in the air.

...The morning of the seventh day.

The morning of the day... they had just returned from the island.

Beside him... came a soft, warm touch.

He slowly turned his head—

The silver-haired girl was leaning by his side, holding a steaming cup of tea in one hand.

But that hand... was frozen in mid-air.

Those heterochromatic eyes... were staring dead at him!

In her amber left eye, tears trembled violently.

The crimson in her right eye... flickered like a candle blown by the wind, fading in and out.

Her lips moved, but no words came out.

Fang Qi's brain was still a chaotic mess.

He hadn't even had time to process the thought, "I've finally rewound time"—

The next second—

Crash!

The teacup smashed against the floor!

Tea splashed everywhere!

The silver-haired girl... sprang backward frantically!

There was no "Master, your tea."

There was no "The temperature has been adjusted to your favorite 52 degrees Celsius."

She merely stumbled and fell to her knees beside the coffee table...

Both hands violently covered her face! Her slender shoulders trembled violently!

Her long silver hair cascaded down, hiding her face...

But... she was still looking at him through the gaps between her fingers!

Those heterochromatic eyes peeked through her fingers, staring at him intently!

Trembling. Terrified.

As if...

She was looking at someone she must not get close to, someone she was unworthy of approaching.

Fang Qi's pupils contracted sharply!

His mind instantly cleared!

She remembered the events of the previous loop...!

She remembered...!!

"Liguang—!"

He abruptly sprang up from the sofa!

And rushed toward her!!

He had to—!!

"No—!!!"

A piercing scream tore through the living room!

She shrank back violently!

Thud!!

Her slender back slammed against the wall!

Then she stumbled, dashing madly toward that closed little door!

Bang!

The door was thrown open!

And slammed shut with another heavy bang!

The living room... fell into a dead silence.

Only the spilled tea on the floor was still slowly spreading.

Fang Qi... froze in place.

His outstretched hand was still suspended in mid-air.

He stared at the tightly shut door.

That was Liguang's own little room, a door she had never closed before.

This was... the first time.

The first time... she chose to run away from him.

Ring—

The sudden ringing of a cell phone broke the dead silence.

The screen lit up, displaying two clear words for the caller ID—

An Lian.

He did not move.

He just kept looking at that closed door...

Unable to breathe.

Behind him, the phone kept ringing stubbornly, echoing through the empty living room.

One ring.

Another.

And another.