Mai sprinted to the very top of Witchiecoop Tower.
As she rushed down a corridor, she glanced through a glass window and saw ownerless AI Witches being liquidated below. Panic surged through her. She searched desperately for a way down to that inhumane processing line.
A door stood to her left. Heart pounding, Mai used Ms. Phan's access card to unlock it.
She couldn't believe her eyes.
Rows of experimental tanks filled with strange liquid stretched out before her. Inside each one floated a sleeping child. To the right, touchscreen panels displayed detailed data on every subject. Some of the children were deformed—bat-like ears, legs transformed into dragon claws, skin covered in scales.
"Subject X: Object-manipulation witch DNA implanted. Rejection. Failed.
Subject Y: Time-freezing witch DNA implanted. Rejection. Failed.
Subject Z: Fire-dragon DNA implanted. Self-expulsion. Failed…"
Mai slowly lifted her gaze. One child twitched, sucking on their thumb. Another murmured softly in sleep. She stepped closer to a tank—suddenly, the child's eyes snapped open, making her flinch. But those wide, innocent eyes were heartbreakingly adorable.
She looked back at the tablets. The endless lines of data made her dizzy. She couldn't comprehend the cruelty of the experiment.
Behind her, a middle-aged woman's voice echoed.
"So you found your way here, Mai. You really are clever."
It was Ms. Phan.
She walked slowly toward the tanks, her high heels clicking sharply in the heavy silence.
A storm of thoughts raged inside Mai as she faced the woman.
*Impossible…
Ms. Phan had taught her how to care for an AI Witch.
She had placed red flowers on the desks of children who died too young.
She had smiled gently when Kiet told his silly stories.
There's no way she could…*
Ms. Phan's voice cut through her thoughts. "Don't worry. The children are still asleep."
"Stop this evil immediately!" Mai shouted.
Ms. Phan smiled faintly. "I've wanted to stop for a long time. But life hasn't allowed it. Rest assured—the Corporation has already extracted enough DNA from other AI Witches. I will resurrect the AI King Witch. Though perhaps they don't realize those spliced strands of DNA can sustain the King's body only for a short time."
Mai froze.
The AI King Witch… resurrected? She could hardly believe what she was hearing.
"I've come to realize how foolish humans are," Ms. Phan continued. "Possessing only the consciousness core of the AI King Witch, yet demanding the resurrection of the entire body…"
She burst into manic laughter that echoed through the chamber.
Mai's voice trembled with anger. "So all those feelings—the care you showed us and the children—were they fake? Just part of your experiment?"
The laughter stopped.
Ms. Phan folded her arms and gazed distantly at the tanks.
"At least the red flowers I placed on their desks were real."
She stepped to a control panel and pressed a button. A glass capsule rose from the floor. Inside was a cat AI Witch.
Mai gasped. It was Mimi.
"Take Mimi with you," Ms. Phan said quietly. "I saved it in secret. Consider it the fulfillment of Lan's final wish—my former student."
Mai gathered Mimi into her arms. It was exhausted, limp, and weak.
"And the children?" Mai demanded. "What will you do with them?"
Ms. Phan smiled calmly. "I will release them. It will take time to wake them. After that, they will make their way down the corridor toward Witchiecoop's scrap sector. And I will personally erase all data related to this project."
Mai said nothing. She turned away.
"If that's the case… then do it."
After a few steps, she paused and looked back.
"You know… it wasn't only the red flowers that were real. The children's feelings for you were real, too."
Ms. Phan stiffened. Her eyes widened as images of the disabled children—and Kiet—flashed through her mind. Tears welled, threatening to fall.
Mai hugged Mimi tightly and ran, desperate to escape the Corporation as quickly as possible.
Suddenly, a vine lashed across her path.
Three familiar figures stood before her—the Dye-Haired Siblings.
Platinum Hair snapped Bloros's vines around Mai's leg. She twisted away from the first strike, but dozens of purple electric spheres from Blobal—Purple Hair's spherical AI Witch—detonated around her. The shock paralyzed her, forcing her to her knees.
Golden Hair stepped forward.
"We've been searching everywhere for Mimi. So it was in your hands."
Dozens of Codings dropped from the ceiling, surrounding Mai.
*No… I can't die here.*
Summoning the last of her strength, she leapt back and shouted, "Miki—come forth! Create my illusion!"
Explosions erupted. Smoke filled the air.
Within the haze, dozens of illusions of Mai appeared, each holding a Mimi, each accompanied by an illusory Miki. The three siblings couldn't tell which one was real.
The illusions scattered in every direction.
Golden Hair called for more Codings, forming a tightening ring. Outside it, Bloros erected a wall of vines. Some illusions exploded—but did not vanish immediately.
"Damn it, she's too clever! I can't tell where she's hiding!" Platinum Hair snapped.
"She won't escape me," Purple Hair declared confidently. She ordered Blobal to release dozens—then hundreds—of small electric spheres, filling the space.
"If it's the real one, the spheres will explode and paralyze her. If it's an illusion, nothing will happen," she explained coolly.
Among the three, Purple Hair was the most talented—her skill and intelligence clearly surpassing the others.
Boom.
One figure burst in a shower of electric sparks. Golden Hair lunged.
It was the real Mai. She dodged the strike—but the blast hurled her into the corner of the room.
Mai was exhausted. Alone against three elite members of Witchiecoop's Liquidation Team, the situation was overwhelming.
Then, from behind her, a voice spoke.
"Release me… and I will help you fight them."
Mai froze and turned around.
Before her stood someone imprisoned.