“Look at me!” Angel commanded, “This move was originally meant to kill you, but there’s an order from above—your commander must die first…”

At that moment, 13 only noticed the electromagnetic flicker on her right hand, and then a light spot, like a shell, shot toward the office. All the soldiers watched as the office exploded and sank, even forgetting to hide behind cover.

It’s speculated that the machine generated electromagnetic resonance, attracting a large number of free ions from the air, forming a small ion cannon…

It’s speculated that the machine’s combat power has surpassed all individuals in Special Ops Team 7…

It’s speculated that no one present has any chance of survival…

It’s speculated… speculated…

13 couldn’t speculate anymore…

There were water marks on the holographic helmet screen—were they from his own eyes? Why was he crying? Memories of being with Ignorant Uncle kept flashing through 13’s mind. He couldn’t fight like this!

He was acting strange now. If he didn’t stop this odd behavior, he’d be killed too. Would he be killed by the ion cannon like David Clark? Was he angry? More like furious. Why be furious at his enemy? Weren’t they meant to be killed? Right now, he just wanted… just wanted… to kill her!

“Did you see that? This is an incredibly powerful force! A force that makes everyone tremble in awe! ‘Angel’, kill the person in front of you and the mission will be complete, hurry! Hurry! The ion cannon won’t be ready to fire again for another hour, but it doesn’t matter! With your bare hands, you can kill everyone there!” Annie screamed madly into the communicator. “Alright, let’s continue…” The mech acted as if it had just finished something trivial.

“You’ve done something unforgivable. Now you have to pay the price.” 13 took off his helmet, pulled down his combat suit to his nose, drew the dagger from his back and held it in his mouth, gripping 12 tightly with both hands.

He charged at her with the fastest speed of his life—this was the first time 13 had ever wanted to kill someone so badly. Suddenly, everything went black and he lost consciousness. In that moment, only one thought remained in 13’s mind—

I want to kill her!

David Clark had stayed by 13’s bedside these past few days, never leaving for a moment. He wanted to take care of the child who had saved him twice. His gratitude was beyond what a simple “thank you” could express. Because 13 had used unimaginable strength to severely damage the mech codenamed “Angel”, and even injured one of the two mechs that came to the rescue. Although all of them eventually escaped, such an achievement was enough to make every soldier proud and excited. For the next seven days, all the troops enthusiastically completed their strategic deployments, everyone scrambling to join the toughest battles. When the news was sent back home, the people were “boiling” with excitement. “We’re not afraid of M Country’s pile of ‘scrap metal’!” became a popular catchphrase.

David Clark gently stroked 13’s forehead and whispered, “You know? You’re already a national hero. The political department has announced that Z Country now has its own new generation of individual soldiers. Your achievements are a powerful response to M Country’s claim that their mechs are the ‘kings of the battlefield’. Our Z Country no longer has to act according to others’ whims. Now… we are strong!”

At that moment, 13 suddenly woke up, still shouting, “I want to kill you!”

David Clark was startled, because he had never seen 13 so agitated.

“Where am I?” A few seconds later, 13 finally came to, his tone returning to its usual emotionless state.

“You’re in the base hospital. You’ve been unconscious for seven days,” David Clark said calmly.

“David Clark!” 13 was surprised to find that David Clark, who was supposed to be dead, was answering his questions.

“Yes, I’m David Clark, but I wasn’t killed. I had already evacuated when the office exploded. But if you hadn’t severely damaged her later, I probably wouldn’t be alive to talk to you now.” David Clark stood up and poured 13 a glass of water.

“Is the battle over? What do you mean I ‘severely damaged her’? I don’t understand. I blacked out in a strange way and can’t remember anything…” 13 pounded his head hard.

David Clark grabbed his hands kindly and said, “It’s 2 a.m. now. Get some sleep first. Tomorrow I’ll take you to watch the recording from that time. Maybe then you’ll remember.”

13 looked at David Clark in confusion, not knowing why he wanted to listen to him. So he quietly stopped thinking and just drifted off to sleep.

David Clark also noticed that 13 was acting very strangely today, almost like a child who hadn’t grown up.

But he found his own thoughts amusing, and said to himself, “He really is just a child who hasn’t grown up yet…”

Chapter 7: The Pride of Z Country’s People

February 25, 2011, GX City Forward Operations Base Hospital…

At 6 a.m., with only a faint light in the sky, 24 arrived at 13’s hospital room with a large bouquet of lilies. Just like yesterday, David Clark was still sleeping soundly by the bedside. 24 picked up the vase and replaced the flowers with fresh ones. Then she quietly moved a chair to the other side of 13’s bed and sat down, watching 13’s peaceful face in the weak sunlight through the window.

“How long are you going to pretend to be asleep?” 24 whispered with a smile.

13 opened his eyes and gazed at the ceiling with a sigh, “Sigh, I’m still not used to deep sleep. Is my breathing different from when I was in a coma?”