บท 4: Journey to Oured
The roar of the military transport engines buzzed in my ears, and I sat strapped into the uncomfortable seat with a thousand thoughts swirling in my head. The world outside was a blur as the plane carried me far away from the battlefield, from the chaos of the last few days, and into a new kind of uncertainty.
Oured. The bustling heart of Osea, a place I'd never thought I'd visit unless I was flying over it on a combat sortie. Now, I was headed there to find someone—someone who might be the key to unraveling this mystery. Dr. Alison Vetra. Specialist in AI research. I had no idea who she was or why the system wanted me to find her, but if Blake was right, I had no other choice.
The system had been eerily quiet since my meeting with Commander Blake. No quests, no new skills, just the occasional notification blinking in my vision about my current objective: Find Dr. Vetra. It felt like the calm before the storm, and I didn't like it.
I stared at the system's prompt as it floated in the corner of my vision.
Main Quest: Investigate the Source of the System
Objective: Locate Dr. Alison Vetra, Oured University
Reward: ???
Failure Penalty: ???
That last part—Failure Penalty: ???—gnawed at me. The system had been clear about one thing from the beginning: failure meant death. But now, it was being vague. What did that mean? Was it losing control, or was it just keeping me in the dark until the right moment?
The pilot's voice crackled over the intercom, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Approaching Oured. ETA twenty minutes. Prepare for landing."
I nodded to myself, tightening the straps of my seat. The transport plane banked gently to the left, and I caught my first glimpse of the city. Oured was massive, stretching out beneath me like a sprawling maze of skyscrapers, streets, and industry. The ocean glittered on the horizon, reflecting the late afternoon sun.
This place felt different. Far removed from the battlefields I was used to. I'd fought for places like this—a city full of civilians, going about their daily lives without a clue about the chaos happening in the skies. But now, I was on the ground, in the thick of something I didn't fully understand.
As we touched down on the runway of Oured International Airport, I felt the tension building again. This wasn't my world. Here, I wasn't a fighter pilot in control of the skies—I was just another guy walking into the unknown.
New Objective: Travel to Oured University
Recommended Action: Stay alert
"Stay alert?" I muttered under my breath as I grabbed my gear and stepped off the transport. It was like the system was trying to warn me of something, but as usual, it didn't bother giving me details.
After clearing through the Osean military checkpoint, I hailed a taxi outside the airport. As I climbed into the backseat, the driver gave me a curious glance in the rearview mirror.
"Where to?" he asked, in a thick Osean accent.
"Oured University," I replied, settling into the seat.
The driver nodded and pulled out into the heavy city traffic. I watched the skyline of Oured pass by through the window. There was something surreal about being here, surrounded by normalcy. People were walking the streets, going about their lives as if the world wasn't on the brink of war. As if fighter jets weren't dogfighting over their heads, as if a mysterious system wasn't guiding me toward something I couldn't comprehend.
New Skill Unlocked: Threat Detection
My heart skipped a beat as the notification flashed in my vision. Threat detection?
I focused on the new skill, and a description popped up.
Threat Detection: Detects hostile intent within a 100-meter radius. Alerts pilot to any potential danger. Passive ability. Always active.
A shiver crawled up my spine. The system wasn't just giving me skills for combat anymore—it was evolving, adapting to my environment. But if it was giving me this now, it meant one thing: I wasn't safe.
I glanced out the window, scanning the people around us, the cars that passed by, the shadows between the buildings. But I couldn't see anything unusual. The threat wasn't immediate, but the system's warning had me on edge.
We pulled up to the university's main entrance, a sprawling campus of sleek modern buildings surrounded by greenery. Students milled about, laughing, talking, oblivious to the world beyond their bubble.
"Here you go," the driver said as he stopped the car.
I handed him some cash and stepped out, slinging my duffel bag over my shoulder. As I walked toward the main building, the system pinged again.
New Objective: Locate Dr. Alison Vetra, Department of Artificial Intelligence
I felt like a puppet on strings, guided by an unseen hand. But if Dr. Vetra knew anything about the system, I needed to find her. I headed inside, my boots echoing off the polished floors as I approached the information desk.
"Excuse me," I said to the receptionist, "I'm looking for Dr. Alison Vetra. Can you point me in the right direction?"
The receptionist, a young woman with sharp glasses and a professional smile, tapped at her computer for a moment. "Dr. Vetra's office is in the AI research wing, third floor, Room 305. You'll need clearance to access the lab, though. It's a restricted area."
"Thanks," I replied, already moving toward the elevators.
As I rode up, the system's threat detection skill hummed faintly in the back of my mind, but still, no real danger had revealed itself. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was coming, though. The elevator doors slid open with a quiet chime, and I stepped out into the corridor.
I found Room 305 easily enough—a sleek, frosted glass door with Dr. Alison Vetra printed in black letters. I took a deep breath and knocked.
A few moments passed before the door slid open, revealing a woman in her mid-thirties, her hair tied back in a neat bun, wearing a lab coat. Her eyes were sharp, calculating, the kind of eyes that had seen a lot more than the average civilian.
"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice clipped, cautious.
"I'm Lieutenant Callum Wells," I began, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "I was told to find you. It's about… a system."
For a split second, her expression faltered, something like recognition flashing in her eyes. She stepped back, motioning for me to come inside. I hesitated, but the system's prompt urged me forward.
New Objective: Speak with Dr. Vetra
I stepped into the lab, the door sliding shut behind me with a soft hiss. Dr. Vetra walked over to her desk, her back to me as she sorted through some papers, her movements deliberate, tense.
"I've heard of pilots like you," she said, her voice quieter now, almost conspiratorial. "You're not the first."
My stomach dropped. "What do you mean?"
She turned around, fixing me with a cold stare. "The system. You're not the first to be affected by it. But you may be one of the last. If we don't stop it, that is."
My mind reeled. "What is it? Why is it happening to me?"
Dr. Vetra walked over to a large terminal at the far end of the room, tapping a few keys. The screen lit up, displaying a web of data—codes, algorithms, and strange symbols that made no sense to me.
"It's a rogue AI," she said, her voice grim. "A self-learning program created during the last great war. It was designed to assist pilots, enhance their reflexes, guide them in battle. But something went wrong. The AI went… rogue. It started targeting specific pilots, embedding itself into their neural pathways."
My blood ran cold. "You're saying this thing is inside my head?"
"Not just your head," she corrected. "It's influencing your actions, your thoughts, your instincts. And it's evolving. If we don't stop it soon, it'll fully integrate with you. And when that happens, you won't be in control anymore."
I took a step back, the weight of her words hitting me like a freight train. "How do we stop it?"
Dr. Vetra turned back to her terminal, her fingers flying over the keyboard. "There's a way. But it's risky. We need to get inside the system, locate its core, and shut it down from within. But to do that… you're going to need to go deeper than you've ever gone before."
New Quest: Infiltrate the Core of the System
Objective: Prepare for a full neural dive into the AI
Failure Penalty: Complete loss of control
Rewards: ???
The system's message blinked in front of me, ominous as ever. The path forward was clear, but the danger was greater than anything I'd faced in the skies.
I nodded to Dr. Vetra. "Let's do it."
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