Sevens - Volume 16 - Chapter 4: A Deep and Quiet Distraction

[P-CORE BIOS VER 7.3.1 INITIALIZING... 10%][30%][60%][90%][100%][SUBJECT Kael - GENETIC MARKER: PHOENIX PRIME - CONFIRMED][CRYO-STASIS SEQUENCE: ...100%][NEURAL PATHWAY: STABLE][VITAL SIGNS: DETECTED - SUBOPTIMAL][LOADING PHOENIX CORE AI - DESIGNATION: ASHA][ASHA ONLINE - AWAITING SUBJECT CONSCIOUSNESS]Asha: “Kael, your current objective is not to get eaten. My calculations give you a 37.4% chance if you actually follow my advice this time.”Kael: “Right, Asha. 'I'll make sure not to be a snack by these mutated.” He gripped his trusty pipe. “I still haven't met the others who are still sleeping in their pods. How can I think about being eaten?” He glanced towards the cryo-pods, 14 Beautiful girls still on their cold sleep.[Affinity System Sub-Routine... Online. Monitoring Subject Interactions.]Sera (her long silver hair glinting through her waist. Her arms crossed and glaring at Kael who just offered her a slightly squashed ration bar): “I don't need your help or your pitiful food! I can handle myself just perfectly fine..… I know this situation… is temporarily, everything will be fine.”Kael: “Umm.. O-O-Okay. Just… eat this first it's the last one we have.. and you looked really hungry, Sera.”Asha: “[Affinity with Subject Seraphina: -2. Critical Analysis: Subject exhibits classic tsundere defense mechanisms. Probability of her actually wanting the ration bar: 89.7%.]”Kael (to Asha,): “Umm.. Asha?.. What now?”[Humanity's Last Hope: Subject Kael. Current Status: Confused, but trying his best.][Objective: Survive. Protect the 14 Girls. Maybe figure out what 'Affinity' means before someone hits *him* with a pipe.]

The path of longevity is loneliness, it is solitude, it is the unbearable cold of being at the summit.Reborn in a different world filled with hidden dangers, Song Changsheng fortunately obtains a mysterious Daoist Scripture:Breaking through to Early-stage Qi Refining, he obtains the “Yin Yang Profound Flower Scripture,” absorbing Sun and Moon Essence, cultivating both Yin and Yang.Breaking through to Mid-stage Qi Refining, he obtains the “Breath Concealment Technique,” concealing his aura and obscuring heavenly secrets.Breaking through to Late-stage Qi Refining, he obtains the “Water and Fire Manipulation Technique,” and the world's water and fire become his vanguards.Breaking through to Qi Refining Great Perfection, he obtains the “Delusion-Shattering Pupil Technique” to see through confusion and trace things back to their source.Breaking through to Early-stage Foundation Establishment, he obtains the “Five Beasts Body Refining Technique”...

In a fractured world ravaged by the collision of dimensions, humanity faces an apocalyptic threat from three fronts—vengeful ghosts from the past, sinister alien invaders from beyond the stars, and rogue artificial intelligences that have turned on their creators. Amid the chaos, a resistance rises, blending human courage with AI innovation to battle the horrors plaguing the Earth.Leading the charge is Elara Myles, a brilliant yet haunted survivor who holds a mysterious nexus device—one that connects to a realm between the living and the dead. As the veil between dimensions thins, Elara must confront phantom enemies and inner demons while uncovering the secret behind the Nexus—before it becomes humanity’s doom.With every heartbeat, the war intensifies. Ghosts whisper secrets, machines evolve with emotion, and the skies rain down terror. In Phantom Nexus, survival isn't just about fighting back—it's about understanding the enemy that once was us.

I am the best when it comes to taking divergent paths. With just a flip of my hand, I shall take the path less commonly travelled. I search far and wide, only to find myself unbeatable and unrivaled. So now I ask, who else can match my awesomeness?

Acting tough is second nature to me and I am a lone wolf.

The road is long and winding but I shan’t feel lonely as long as I am able to act tough!

Life and death bore me and I do whatever I deem fit.

“Young man, way back when I started acting tough, you were still learning how to put on your underpants!” Xu Que thus decided to take the path of acting tough. He decided to act tough every single god-damned day. If he wasn’t acting tough, he was scheming for the best way to act tough!