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Chapter 327: The Machine Faction
Somewhere, in a bustling laboratory.
The roar of instruments filled the room, and researchers bustled about, operating various control devices. With a ding of successful authentication, a metal door slid open, and a man wearing a long white robe walked in briskly.
"What's the situation?"
"Sir, there's been a development! It's Power Girl!"
The Man in White frowned. "Has she broken free of our control?"
The loss of control over Power Girl was the handiwork of this very laboratory. They had applied an extremely advanced miniature robot technology, specifically designed to target the physiological mechanisms of a Kryptonian. By simply entering the body through blood circulation, the miniature robots could interfere with the operation of a Kryptonian's various abilities from within.
Just like what was happening to Power Girl right now.
"Not yet, but the Machine Faction's condition is abnormal. Multiple individual units have suddenly gone offline and lost contact," a Researcher said. "We speculate that she must have drilled deep underground, using the power of the Earth's core's magnetic field to interfere with the robots' operation!"
The Man in White narrowed his eyes, muttering to himself, "Surprisingly clever, isn't she..."
"Sir, what do we do now?"
"Calm down."
The Man in White crossed his arms and said calmly.
"Although a small accident has occurred, the situation is still under control. We already had contingency plans for various unexpected situations the robots might encounter. It's just a bit of magnetic field interference, not a big problem."
The Man in White paused, glanced at the readings on the surrounding displays, and waved his hand.
"Reset the connection. Increase the robots' magnetic field power output."
The Researcher's face changed. "You mean the detonation protocol? But doing that will cause..."
"It will cause the residual energy within that girl's body to explode, correct. But it's not a big problem. If she's lucky, she might survive. Even if she doesn't, at least we will have obtained sufficient data." The Man in White said icily, "Now, do it."
"...Yes, sir."
"I feel like something's wrong..."
Karen staggered a couple of steps, clutching her head as she half-knelt on the ground.
"That's because of the Machine Faction inside you. I tracked the source of the magnetic field and found them. It seems they're the culprits behind your abnormal abilities. The person behind the scenes just had them reboot and increase their power," Orin Vale said, holding his chin. "From the looks of it, you're about to explode."
Karen collapsed to the ground, her ten fingers, like steel, digging deep into the earth.
"So why are you just standing there watching?" she said in agony. "Do something!"
Orin Vale remained standing where he was, but he smiled.
"What gave you the mistaken impression that I haven't done anything?"
In the laboratory.
"Sir, something's wrong!" a Researcher said in panic. "Our robots are going offline at a rapid pace... We've lost over a hundred in the last few moments!"
"What?"
The Man in White was stunned.
"How is that possible?"
"The robots have entered combat mode! It seems they're engaging something inside Power Girl's body... Switch to the internal feed!"
The view switched, and the first-person perspective of a robot was projected onto the large screen. It was located inside Power Girl's body, advancing along the network of her blood vessels.
And appearing before this squad of machines, blocking their path, was a red-and-silver body that had emerged with a flash of brilliance.
"...Ultraman!?"
The entire laboratory was shocked.
"Impossible! Isn't that a giant creature from outer space?"
"Judging by the camera's scale, isn't he about the same size as a miniature robot?"
"And why is this thing inside Power Girl's body?"
In the few moments it took them to speak, Orin Vale's miniaturized, high-speed afterimage had already flashed along the entire blood vessel, charging straight through to the end. The red-and-silver afterimage, trailing an electric arc, detonated all the robots in its path, reducing them to ash in a series of rumbling explosions.
Similar situations were not uncommon in the records of the Land of Light. In the TV series of his predecessors, there were frequent precedents of small monsters causing serious illnesses by wreaking havoc inside human bodies, and the senior Ultramen had more than once miniaturized themselves to enter a creature's body and battle these small monsters.
To deal with similar situations, the Land of Light also offered specialized courses. These were roughly about the physiology of various creatures. Students were required to become proficient at navigating freely within different organisms and were strictly controlled during combat to avoid causing any additional damage—after all, when fighting a monster inside someone's heart, the slightest bit of collateral damage could send the patient straight to their grave.
Orin Vale wasn't very familiar with this course, but fortunately, today's patient was a Kryptonian. Orin Vale knew her body could completely withstand it, so it didn't matter if he messed around a little inside.
"He's rapidly clearing out our robots!" a Researcher said frantically. "The weapons equipped on the Machine Faction have no effect on him at all."
This turn of events also took the Man in White by surprise. But after a brief moment of contemplation, he quickly stepped forward, pushed aside a Researcher at the control console, and pressed a button.
"Ultraman, is it? You should be able to hear me, right?"
Orin Vale's movements paused briefly.
It wasn't that he was surprised the machines were equipped with speakers, but rather that the mastermind would take the initiative to speak with him through them.
"To be honest, I'm very surprised. I didn't know you would interfere, much less that you possessed such an ability to fight my Machine Faction at this microscopic scale. However, I advise you to stop right now."
The Man in White said lightly.
"This is merely a test of a new type of weapon, to study its effects within a Kryptonian's body. All we need is the data. If you obediently exit her body now, I guarantee this girl will be perfectly fine in the end.
Otherwise, I don't mind turning her into a corpse right now. You've already seen the effect the Machine Faction has on her. I assure you, this is not an empty threat."
Orin Vale sized up the miniature machines surrounding him. They looked like mechanical worms, with the body structure and wings of an insect, yet also somewhat resembled some kind of spaceship.
This was definitely a level of craftsmanship that Earth's current technology could not achieve.
However...
"I believe you have that ability," he said calmly.
The Man in White smiled. "I'm glad we could reach an agreement..."
"But, I refuse."
The Man in White: "!?"
His expression changed, and he said in a low voice, "Are you saying you don't care if this Kryptonian lives or dies?"
"I've just observed your technology a little. It's quite interesting. Not to mention the industrial difficulty of operating on such a scale, but invading a Kryptonian's body with a foreign object is inherently very dangerous. After all, Kryptonians aren't just powerful on the outside; they are equally strong on the inside."
Orin Vale said.
"For example, even if The Atom were to shrink to this size and enter, he wouldn't be able to cause any damage to a Kryptonian's incredibly durable organs. In fact, he himself would be in great danger...
But you were clever. You solved this problem, didn't you? Kryptonite radiation, right? Every squad in the Machine Faction has at least one energy unit capable of simulating Kryptonite radiation, responsible for acting as the squad's vanguard.
A very small amount of Kryptonian energy, which a Kryptonian would likely barely feel on a macroscopic level. But inside their body, it's enough to prevent their physiological functions from harming the Machine Faction."
The Man in White narrowed his eyes.
"Then let's say, just hypothetically... what if, when I was passing through your Machine Faction at high speed just now, I uploaded a virus I wrote into one of them—a virus that could forcibly shut down the Kryptonite radiation simulation system, and has already infected the entire faction through the Machine Faction's internal network..."
The Man in White's pupils contracted.
"Sir!" a Researcher cried out in terror. "The Kryptonite radiation system isn't responding! The shield has been disabled! The faction's mother unit... the mother unit is still inside the Kryptonian's brain!"
"That's right." Orin Vale smiled and wagged his finger. "Without the protection of the Kryptonite shield, your mother unit will be crushed into residue by the Kryptonian's nerve fibers."
The Researcher shouted, "Disconnect! Disconnect everything!"
"The Machine Faction isn't responding..."
The Man in White's expression was grim. "Tch, you meddlesome pest..."
"One step short. A pity," Orin Vale's voice continued to transmit. "The idea itself isn't bad, controlling a Kryptonian from the inside with miniature machines. But I'm guessing this wasn't your original idea, was it? Earth doesn't have technology of this level yet."
The Man in White suddenly froze.
Wait.
All the robots were already disconnected, so of course, the remote communication was down. The surveillance camera feeds on the big screen had all, without exception, gone black.
So if the communication was already cut...
...why could he still hear this guy's voice?
"Looks like you've noticed. Sorry, the reason I've been talking so much is that I needed a little time to trace your signal...
...so that I could do this."
As his voice fell, the control console in the laboratory suddenly erupted in a radiant light.
Amidst the unparalleled shock of the Man in White and the entire laboratory, a ball of light burst forth from the control console's screen. Countless swirling particles of light gradually coalesced into the physical form of Ultraman.
The Man in White's jaw dropped, as if he had fallen into a deep existential crisis.
Th-th-this...
He came through the network connection???
(end of chapter)
Somewhere, in a bustling laboratory.
The roar of instruments filled the room, and researchers bustled about, operating various control devices. With a ding of successful authentication, a metal door slid open, and a man wearing a long white robe walked in briskly.
"What's the situation?"
"Sir, there's been a development! It's Power Girl!"
The Man in White frowned. "Has she broken free of our control?"
The loss of control over Power Girl was the handiwork of this very laboratory. They had applied an extremely advanced miniature robot technology, specifically designed to target the physiological mechanisms of a Kryptonian. By simply entering the body through blood circulation, the miniature robots could interfere with the operation of a Kryptonian's various abilities from within.
Just like what was happening to Power Girl right now.
"Not yet, but the Machine Faction's condition is abnormal. Multiple individual units have suddenly gone offline and lost contact," a Researcher said. "We speculate that she must have drilled deep underground, using the power of the Earth's core's magnetic field to interfere with the robots' operation!"
The Man in White narrowed his eyes, muttering to himself, "Surprisingly clever, isn't she..."
"Sir, what do we do now?"
"Calm down."
The Man in White crossed his arms and said calmly.
"Although a small accident has occurred, the situation is still under control. We already had contingency plans for various unexpected situations the robots might encounter. It's just a bit of magnetic field interference, not a big problem."
The Man in White paused, glanced at the readings on the surrounding displays, and waved his hand.
"Reset the connection. Increase the robots' magnetic field power output."
The Researcher's face changed. "You mean the detonation protocol? But doing that will cause..."
"It will cause the residual energy within that girl's body to explode, correct. But it's not a big problem. If she's lucky, she might survive. Even if she doesn't, at least we will have obtained sufficient data." The Man in White said icily, "Now, do it."
"...Yes, sir."
"I feel like something's wrong..."
Karen staggered a couple of steps, clutching her head as she half-knelt on the ground.
"That's because of the Machine Faction inside you. I tracked the source of the magnetic field and found them. It seems they're the culprits behind your abnormal abilities. The person behind the scenes just had them reboot and increase their power," Orin Vale said, holding his chin. "From the looks of it, you're about to explode."
Karen collapsed to the ground, her ten fingers, like steel, digging deep into the earth.
"So why are you just standing there watching?" she said in agony. "Do something!"
Orin Vale remained standing where he was, but he smiled.
"What gave you the mistaken impression that I haven't done anything?"
In the laboratory.
"Sir, something's wrong!" a Researcher said in panic. "Our robots are going offline at a rapid pace... We've lost over a hundred in the last few moments!"
"What?"
The Man in White was stunned.
"How is that possible?"
"The robots have entered combat mode! It seems they're engaging something inside Power Girl's body... Switch to the internal feed!"
The view switched, and the first-person perspective of a robot was projected onto the large screen. It was located inside Power Girl's body, advancing along the network of her blood vessels.
And appearing before this squad of machines, blocking their path, was a red-and-silver body that had emerged with a flash of brilliance.
"...Ultraman!?"
The entire laboratory was shocked.
"Impossible! Isn't that a giant creature from outer space?"
"Judging by the camera's scale, isn't he about the same size as a miniature robot?"
"And why is this thing inside Power Girl's body?"
In the few moments it took them to speak, Orin Vale's miniaturized, high-speed afterimage had already flashed along the entire blood vessel, charging straight through to the end. The red-and-silver afterimage, trailing an electric arc, detonated all the robots in its path, reducing them to ash in a series of rumbling explosions.
Similar situations were not uncommon in the records of the Land of Light. In the TV series of his predecessors, there were frequent precedents of small monsters causing serious illnesses by wreaking havoc inside human bodies, and the senior Ultramen had more than once miniaturized themselves to enter a creature's body and battle these small monsters.
To deal with similar situations, the Land of Light also offered specialized courses. These were roughly about the physiology of various creatures. Students were required to become proficient at navigating freely within different organisms and were strictly controlled during combat to avoid causing any additional damage—after all, when fighting a monster inside someone's heart, the slightest bit of collateral damage could send the patient straight to their grave.
Orin Vale wasn't very familiar with this course, but fortunately, today's patient was a Kryptonian. Orin Vale knew her body could completely withstand it, so it didn't matter if he messed around a little inside.
"He's rapidly clearing out our robots!" a Researcher said frantically. "The weapons equipped on the Machine Faction have no effect on him at all."
This turn of events also took the Man in White by surprise. But after a brief moment of contemplation, he quickly stepped forward, pushed aside a Researcher at the control console, and pressed a button.
"Ultraman, is it? You should be able to hear me, right?"
Orin Vale's movements paused briefly.
It wasn't that he was surprised the machines were equipped with speakers, but rather that the mastermind would take the initiative to speak with him through them.
"To be honest, I'm very surprised. I didn't know you would interfere, much less that you possessed such an ability to fight my Machine Faction at this microscopic scale. However, I advise you to stop right now."
The Man in White said lightly.
"This is merely a test of a new type of weapon, to study its effects within a Kryptonian's body. All we need is the data. If you obediently exit her body now, I guarantee this girl will be perfectly fine in the end.
Otherwise, I don't mind turning her into a corpse right now. You've already seen the effect the Machine Faction has on her. I assure you, this is not an empty threat."
Orin Vale sized up the miniature machines surrounding him. They looked like mechanical worms, with the body structure and wings of an insect, yet also somewhat resembled some kind of spaceship.
This was definitely a level of craftsmanship that Earth's current technology could not achieve.
However...
"I believe you have that ability," he said calmly.
The Man in White smiled. "I'm glad we could reach an agreement..."
"But, I refuse."
The Man in White: "!?"
His expression changed, and he said in a low voice, "Are you saying you don't care if this Kryptonian lives or dies?"
"I've just observed your technology a little. It's quite interesting. Not to mention the industrial difficulty of operating on such a scale, but invading a Kryptonian's body with a foreign object is inherently very dangerous. After all, Kryptonians aren't just powerful on the outside; they are equally strong on the inside."
Orin Vale said.
"For example, even if The Atom were to shrink to this size and enter, he wouldn't be able to cause any damage to a Kryptonian's incredibly durable organs. In fact, he himself would be in great danger...
But you were clever. You solved this problem, didn't you? Kryptonite radiation, right? Every squad in the Machine Faction has at least one energy unit capable of simulating Kryptonite radiation, responsible for acting as the squad's vanguard.
A very small amount of Kryptonian energy, which a Kryptonian would likely barely feel on a macroscopic level. But inside their body, it's enough to prevent their physiological functions from harming the Machine Faction."
The Man in White narrowed his eyes.
"Then let's say, just hypothetically... what if, when I was passing through your Machine Faction at high speed just now, I uploaded a virus I wrote into one of them—a virus that could forcibly shut down the Kryptonite radiation simulation system, and has already infected the entire faction through the Machine Faction's internal network..."
The Man in White's pupils contracted.
"Sir!" a Researcher cried out in terror. "The Kryptonite radiation system isn't responding! The shield has been disabled! The faction's mother unit... the mother unit is still inside the Kryptonian's brain!"
"That's right." Orin Vale smiled and wagged his finger. "Without the protection of the Kryptonite shield, your mother unit will be crushed into residue by the Kryptonian's nerve fibers."
The Researcher shouted, "Disconnect! Disconnect everything!"
"The Machine Faction isn't responding..."
The Man in White's expression was grim. "Tch, you meddlesome pest..."
"One step short. A pity," Orin Vale's voice continued to transmit. "The idea itself isn't bad, controlling a Kryptonian from the inside with miniature machines. But I'm guessing this wasn't your original idea, was it? Earth doesn't have technology of this level yet."
The Man in White suddenly froze.
Wait.
All the robots were already disconnected, so of course, the remote communication was down. The surveillance camera feeds on the big screen had all, without exception, gone black.
So if the communication was already cut...
...why could he still hear this guy's voice?
"Looks like you've noticed. Sorry, the reason I've been talking so much is that I needed a little time to trace your signal...
...so that I could do this."
As his voice fell, the control console in the laboratory suddenly erupted in a radiant light.
Amidst the unparalleled shock of the Man in White and the entire laboratory, a ball of light burst forth from the control console's screen. Countless swirling particles of light gradually coalesced into the physical form of Ultraman.
The Man in White's jaw dropped, as if he had fallen into a deep existential crisis.
Th-th-this...
He came through the network connection???
(end of chapter)
