Reborn as a Mechanist with a God-Tier System-Chapter 245: The Terror of a Reality Sculptor [5]

Thud!

The body collapsed but even in death, his dignity was kept intact.

Major Mendez was dead.

Major Kai who hovered a distance away, heavily injured and covered in blood stared in a daze.

Seeing the look on his face, General Murphy threw his head back and erupted in uncontrollable laughter. "Kakakakakakakaka...!" He laughed till his mechanical stomach hurt.

"Ahhh... that look, it’s killing me!" He wheezed.

Major Kai didn’t react, he just stared at Mendez’s corpse in a daze.

"NOOOOOO...!" Major Potter finally reacted as this NetRunner felt like he was losing his mind.

In just one battle, he already lost some of the most important individuals that he’d built a life with in these past few months.

Neural Projection!

The Major impulsively hopped through the psionic network, not caring about any ambush from the General as he appeared beside the fallen Cyber Gladiator.

With shaking hands and burning eyes even as tears flowed uncontrollably down his cheeks, he stood over the body of his friend and despite the pain currently in his heart, he stood with his back straight and defiant.

Major Potter pursed his lips as they trembled subtly.

And as he looked at the corpse, memories surged in his head.

5 years ago, Major Potter never believed that the scattered rebel groups around the world had any hope of uniting to actually pose a threat to the Omnicore Federation.

Then, he lived his life just for the sake of it.

As a Geneform who grew up Neo-Solace, one of the major cities of the Omnicore Federation, he may not know what those who grew up in the Wastes suffered but he knew his own suffering.

As a kid, he grew up in Neo-Solace surrounded by racism and discrimination.

Geneforms were always out of place in any Omnicore city.

He grew up in an economy that made him understand that young Synths could insult his parents without consequence, and they dared not talk back or even try to discipline them.

Synths could slap his parents in public, and they dared not complain or retaliate. In Neo Solace, Geneforms had no dignity.

Their lives were just half a level higher than the living condition of slaves.

He grew up having to watch some of his parents’ Geneform friends in the city being locked up in jail because they spoke up against the discrimination.

He grew up to see as his uncle was sentenced to death because he secretly took online tutorial classes and mastered the Python programming language, successfully became a programmer.

He watched as no matter how much his parents worked and how good they were at their work, they always stayed in one stagnant position in their work places as newly graduated, unqualified Synths were promoted over them. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

He grew up poor and forever destined to be poor.

As a Geneform in Neo Solace, it does not matter how hard you work. Your race already determined how high you’ll grow from the moment of your birth.

Potter grew up oppressed, but he never realized that he was being oppressed because at some point in his life, he learned to accept that perhaps this was the natural way of life.

He blamed his misfortune and suffering on his race.

Somewhere on the line, he believed that it was his bad luck to be born as a Geneform, a useless and weak race.

He believed that Synths were the true superior race that he should have been born as, and this bred resentment in his heart for his parents and for his race.

At some point, he hated Geneforms with a passion despite also being a Geneform.

This resentment lasted right until he saw his father being prosecuted for a sin he never committed, sentenced to death by hanging for stealing a wrist watch.

Everyone knew it was the unruly son of their neighbor, a Synth who likely stole the noble’s antique Apple wrist watch, but they pinned it on his father who was not even home throughout that day and was at work.

The man came home after a long day of work only to be labeled a thief.

Watching his father being sent to the gallows, the tears in his eyes, the pain, the look of fear and despair on his face, for the first time, Potter realized that the world was not fair.

After that, 3 days later, his broken mother took a gamble and smuggled him out of the city but she didn’t make it.

She died protecting him, and she didn’t even leave him any last words.

Potter lived with these trauma for years.

Years later outside Neo Solace, Potter finally learned about the outside world, becoming a NetRunner in the process as he realized just how much injustice his parents suffered in Neo Solace.

He was bitter, he was broken, he was traumatized but he knew that he had no hopes of ever having his revenge against the Federation.

Heck, he had no hope of living with true freedom in any city in the West and Central, but instead of wallowing in sorrow and self-pity he used his trauma as motivation to become stronger.

He fought, he trained, he learned.

He became a notorious mercenary who killed in cold-blood for money, right until he met Ren Nora.

Meeting the already established Freegrid Collective a few months ago changed his life completely as for the first time, he got to live in an ecosystem that truly welcomed him as one of their own.

In Ren Nora’s upstart organization, there was no discrimination, there was no fear, and they were led by a leader who truly cared about their wellbeing and the fight for freedom.

They came from different zones and areas of the world, but in Iron Reef they all lived like one big family.

That was what separated Ren Nora’s organization from others.

The more he saw Ren Nora and the more he heard him speak, the more faith he had in the young NetRunner and soon, he decisively put all his support behind the Freegrid movement.

For the first time in years, Potter believed in a freedom movement and for the first time, he believed in a leader that could lead them to actually oppose the Omnicore Federation.

Now, months later, he was right. The Freegrid Collective had ballooned in scale and numbers, and he was now a Lieutenant of the Freegrid Collective.

During this time, he made friends and colleagues.

It was just a few months but during this time, he had some of the best memories of his 50+ years life here. And now, one of the men that he forged the closest bond with and had some of the best memories with in this period was now lying in a pool of his own blood, dead.

Major Potter’s emotions were chaotic and heightened.

As he stared at the dead rebel soldier, in the silence, the real General Murphy stepped closer to him in an unhurried manner.

"You fought well," he said with a grin in a familiar taunting tone. "At least, for rebels".

Hearing the General’s voice and knowing he was so close, Major Potter felt no fear. Heck, he felt no emotions.

All his emotions and feelings felt hollow at this moment.

Major Potter’s red eyes welled up with tears as he laughed. He laughed in a broken manner, he laughed in a furious manner, then he growled. "I’ll kill you!"

BZZZ!

Neural Projection!

Psionic Assault!

...

[Special Appreciation to Yametekudastop, Darks4int, Shadesworn, and r03n for the Golden Tickets, thanks for the support!]