The red sand of the Tây Nguyên region was like blood, the wind whipped into small vortices and lashed fiercely against the scorched cloak on Trung's shoulder.
It was early morning but the clouds were thick, the sun unable to penetrate the heavy dust layer of the border region. Far away, the sun was only a faint streak of light beyond the silver horizon, illuminating the fire in his eye a mix of memory and despair. Dũng ran after him, his voice hoarse:
"Trung! Don't do anything stupid!"
Trung kept walking, his hand tightly gripping the energy rifle. His breathing was rapid, yet each rhythm was as steady as the sound of a bronze drum echoing deep within the earth.
"I'm not stupid, Dũng. I just can't leave her there."
"She is no longer human!" Dũng yelled, his voice breaking in the wind. "You saw it, didn't you? That body… is just a metal shell! If you go in, they will erase you like erasing a data file!"
Trung stopped in the middle of the desert, turned back, his eyes bloodshot.
"If I leave her behind… then I'm just a breathing corpse myself."
A moment of silence. Dũng looked at him for a long time, as if wanting to capture that image.the man with half a body made of steel, standing amidst the sea of sand, his eyes directed towards the horizon where the steel pyramid of Tây Cục (West Bureau) was looming.
"You're crazy, Trung. But if you've decided…"
He pulled a small piece of metal from his pocket and threw it towards Trung. "This is Professor Khải's temporary code. It can open the outer gate for three minutes. After that, the door will lock permanently."
Trung caught it, nodding slightly. "Thank you, Dũng. If I don't come out in two hours…"
"Then I'll burn this entire area down." Dũng gave a pale smile. "So no one else can be turned into a monster."
Trung placed his hand on Dũng's shoulder, his gaze silent like the wind before a storm.
"If I don't return… tell the two children that their father never gave up."
"I promise."
Dũng squeezed his hand tightly, then turned away. Only Trung remained, standing amidst the wind blowing red sand, looking towards the distant Tây Cục lying silently like a giant tomb. He pulled an old piece of cloth from his coat, still faintly carrying Mai's scent. A smile briefly flashed across his face.
"You told me I must live, Mai. But if living means not being able to save you… then that is not living."
He hid the cloth, bent down, and activated the control panel on his wrist. The screen lit up. Biological code confirmed: Trần Trung Prime Sample.
A hoarse mechanical voice echoed:
"Temporary access granted. Tây Cục Gate opening in 180 seconds."
He began to walk. The sand under his feet was dry and hot, each step felt like treading on a memory. He remembered the first day he met Mai an afternoon in 2068, when he was still an engineer in the rescue robot repair workshop.
She walked in wearing a white protective suit, her eyes bright and her smile round like a reflected hologram light.
"You're Trung, aren't you? The one who fixed the exploded drone in Hòa Bình?"
"Yeah. Who are you?"
"The one who will make you fix your heart, not just machines."
He laughed remembering it. Back then, he didn't understand, but now, in this desert of metal, her every word became a knife deeply carved in his heart. He arrived at the steel gate. The control panel lit up, transmitting identification:
"Genetic signal matched. Prime Sample: Trần Trung."
A female voice, emotionless, rang out through the internal speaker:
"Prime Sample is granted temporary access. Warning: Tây Cục area contains top-secret data. Unauthorized intrusion will result in permanent memory deletion."
"Just try it." He replied, his voice hoarse, then placed his hand on the cold steel surface.
The door creaked, a cyan light shining out like a blade sweeping across his face. The air inside exhaled a smell of cold metal and burnt ozone. He took a deep, long breath, then stepped through.
Behind him, Dũng watched his shadow, whispering like a farewell:
"Go, man of the old century… Go find your own soul."
The corridor inside Tây Cục was long and narrow, the lights flickering intermittently. On the walls, a series of swirling genetic symbols lit up and died down. Trung walked step by step, his heart pounding, sweat running down and mixing with the machine oil from his mechanical arm.
He could hear his own breathing echoing deep, hoarse, and mixed with the sound of metal.
"Mai…" he called softly, just enough for his voice to dissolve into the void. "If you hear me, don't be afraid."
Another voice rang out, small, mixed in with the loudspeaker sound:
"Brother… Trung?"
He froze, his whole body numb. That voice… He knew every intonation, every beat.
"Mai? Is that you?"
"You… came late."
The voice was broken, distorted, as if passing through hundreds of signal layers. Trung ran towards the sound, down the cyan-lit corridor. At the end, a second steel door appeared, coldly inscribed with the words:
M-01: EMOTION CONTROL ROOM.
He placed his hand on it. The door squeaked and opened. Blue light flooded out, sweeping over him. A chill ran down his spine. Trung looked up, and saw her standing in the center of the room.
She did not turn back. Black hair, silver armor, her back straight as a bowstring. Trung stepped forward, his voice trembling:
"Mai…"
She tilted her head slightly. On the screen in the middle of the room, a line of text lit up:
"M-01: ACTIVATING."
Trung halted, unable to believe it. The cyan light in the room reflected on her face, clearly highlighting every energy circuit running beneath her skin. She turned slowly, her eyes open, clear as glass, cold as steel.
He took a step back, his lips moving but unable to form a word. In the vibrant blue light, her shadow was like a soul imprisoned in a shell of iron.