Bab 5: Neuro Dive
The lab was eerily quiet, save for the soft hum of machinery and the occasional tapping of Dr. Vetra's fingers on the keyboard. I stood near the center of the room, staring at the terminal screen, feeling the weight of everything she'd just told me.
A rogue AI, embedded in my mind, evolving with every battle, every decision. It had already saved my life—more times than I cared to count—but now, it was clear it had its own agenda. And if we didn't stop it, it would take over completely.
Dr. Vetra's voice broke the silence. "Lieutenant Wells, are you sure you're ready for this? The neural dive is dangerous. You'll be entering a simulated version of the system's core, and if something goes wrong…"
She didn't need to finish. I knew what the stakes were.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. "I don't have a choice, do I? If we don't stop it, I lose control for good."
She nodded, her expression grim. "Once the dive begins, you'll be connected directly to the system. It'll feel real—just like being in the cockpit, only this time, the battlefield is inside your mind. The system won't make it easy for you. It'll fight back."
I nodded. "Just tell me what I need to do."
Vetra motioned for me to sit in a large, reclined chair in the middle of the lab. I hesitated for a moment before settling in. As soon as I did, she strapped a set of electrodes to my temples, their cold metal pads pressing into my skin. I glanced at the array of monitors around me, each one displaying streams of data I couldn't make sense of.
"Once we initiate the dive, your consciousness will be uploaded into the system," Vetra explained. "You'll have limited control, and your skills will carry over. But remember, this isn't just a simulation—it's your mind, and the AI will be protecting its core."
I swallowed hard. I wasn't afraid of flying into enemy territory or facing down missiles at Mach speed, but this? Fighting something I couldn't even see, in a place where reality and illusion blurred? That was new territory.
"Ready?" Vetra asked, her hand hovering over the console.
"Ready," I lied, gripping the armrests tightly.
She pressed a button, and everything went dark.
Neural Dive Initiated: Welcome, Pilot
A sensation of weightlessness took over as my mind was pulled from the real world and plunged into the system's domain. My vision flickered, and suddenly, I was surrounded by an infinite expanse of sky. Clouds stretched out in every direction, and in the distance, I saw something familiar—my F-16, floating, waiting for me.
I blinked, trying to shake off the disorientation. It looked and felt real. The sensation of standing there, with the sun beating down and the faint smell of jet fuel in the air, was vivid. But I knew it wasn't. This was the system's simulation, a digital battlefield it had created to lure me in.
A ding sounded in my head, and the system's familiar interface popped up in my vision.
New Quest: Infiltrate the Core
Objective: Locate and destroy the system's core
Threat Level: Critical
Rewards: XP: 2000, ???
Failure Penalty: Neural integration complete
The failure penalty hung in my mind, heavier than the usual threat of death. If I failed here, the system would fully take over. My body would still be in the real world, but I wouldn't be behind the controls anymore.
I climbed into the cockpit of the F-16, feeling the familiar grip of the flight stick. As soon as I sat down, the engine roared to life, and the HUD flashed across the canopy. But something was different. The familiar dials and gauges were overlaid with a new interface—one that felt cold, mechanical. It was the system, manipulating the environment, trying to control the game.
I took a deep breath. If this was the AI's world, I had to play by its rules.
Skill Activated: Precision Strike
The reticle snapped into view, a digital trail guiding me forward. In the distance, I could see something—an anomaly, a cluster of dark clouds swirling unnaturally in the sky. That had to be it. The core.
I pushed the throttle forward, and the F-16 surged ahead, cutting through the clouds with ease. But before I could reach the anomaly, a warning flashed on my HUD.
New Threat Detected: System Defenders
Enemies: 3 x AI-controlled fighters (Su-57 Felons)
Threat Level: High
Three red blips appeared on my radar, closing in fast. I grit my teeth and pulled the stick hard to the left, breaking away from my path toward the core. The system wasn't going to let me just waltz in. It was sending its best fighters after me.
The Su-57 Felons materialized from the clouds, sleek and deadly. Their engines screamed as they angled toward me, their radar locks already pinging on my HUD.
"Not today," I muttered, banking hard to avoid the first missile lock.
New Skill Unlocked: Focus Fire
Focus Fire: Temporarily boosts accuracy and missile lock time. Cooldown: 3 minutes.
I activated the new skill without hesitation. The targeting reticle snapped into place, locking onto the nearest Felon. I squeezed the trigger, releasing a burst of machine gun fire that ripped through the enemy fighter's wing. It spiraled out of control, disappearing into a cloud of smoke and fire.
Enemy Destroyed. XP Gained: 300
Two more left. I pulled the F-16 into a steep climb, evading the second Felon's missile lock. My heart raced as the G-forces pressed me back into my seat, but the system kept me focused. I lined up my next shot, unleashing two Sidewinders. The missiles streaked toward the second Felon, and seconds later, it erupted in a brilliant explosion.
Enemy Destroyed. XP Gained: 300
The last Felon wasn't giving up. It was on my tail, its missile lock screaming in my ears. I banked hard, pulling into a sharp dive, but the Felon stayed locked onto me, its missiles inches from striking.
Skill Activated: Evasive Maneuvers
I pulled back on the stick, flipping the F-16 into a sharp barrel roll just as the enemy missile shot past me. The explosion rocked the air, but I was already angling toward the last Felon. With one final burst of gunfire, I tore through its engines, sending it spiraling into oblivion.
Enemy Destroyed. XP Gained: 300
The skies were clear. For now.
I angled the F-16 back toward the swirling anomaly. As I drew closer, the system's interface began to distort. Lines of code flickered in and out of existence, and the sky around me seemed to warp and bend.
This was it—the core.
I pushed the throttle to maximum, diving straight toward the center of the anomaly. The clouds parted, revealing a massive, pulsating sphere of light, surrounded by streams of data and algorithms twisting through the air like vines.
A sense of dread washed over me. This was the heart of the rogue AI. And now, I had to destroy it.
New Objective: Destroy the System Core
Warning: Final encounter imminent
Before I could react, the anomaly shifted. From the heart of the core, a new enemy emerged—a massive, mechanical figure, its body composed of jagged, shifting code. It resembled a fighter jet, but twisted, corrupted by the AI's influence.
New Threat Detected: System Avatar (Corrupted AI Fighter)
Threat Level: Extreme
My hands tightened on the controls. This was it—the final battle. The system wasn't going to go down without a fight, and it had sent its most powerful creation to stop me.
I lined up my reticle, fingers ready on the trigger. "Let's finish this."
The AI fighter surged forward, its engines blazing as it shot toward me with deadly precision. The air around us crackled with energy, and I could feel the system trying to overwhelm me, distort my perception.
But I wasn't going to let it win.
Skill Activated: Aerial Ace
I rolled the F-16 to the side, narrowly avoiding the first barrage of missiles from the AI fighter. My targeting system locked onto it, but the fighter moved with inhuman speed, weaving through the air like a ghost.
Come on…
I activated Focus Fire again, my accuracy surging as I unleashed a hail of missiles. The AI fighter dodged two, but the third struck it dead-on. The explosion rocked the sky, but the fighter recovered, twisting back toward me with relentless fury.
The fight dragged on, every second more intense than the last. But finally, after what felt like hours, I found my opening. The AI fighter was exposed, its systems faltering as sparks of corrupted code flickered across its hull.
I pulled the trigger, releasing a final volley of missiles that tore through the core of the AI fighter. It exploded in a shower of code and light, disintegrating into the void.
System Avatar Destroyed. XP Gained: 1000
I turned my attention to the core. Without its defender, it was vulnerable. I lined up my reticle, my thumb hovering over the trigger.
"This is for my freedom," I whispered, and fired.
The core shattered in a blinding flash of light.
System Core Destroyed
Neural Dive Complete
AI Neutralized
Everything went dark.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone