Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Facing Fang Zheng’s words, Smith charged at him without hesitation, swinging his fist toward Fang Zheng’s cheek. It was a punch that no ordinary human could react to; if Fang Zheng had been a mere mortal, he would have been knocked down without any chance to retaliate, just like the few ”smugglers” before.

However, Smith’s punch was never swung.

Rather, at the moment he leaped, Smith’s body was frozen in mid-air, still as a paused frame, motionless. Even his clothing and the hem of his pants maintained their previous angles, without the slightest change.

”Sigh... though I anticipated this, as a major BOSS, you’re really disappointing me.”

Looking at Smith before him, Fang Zheng sighed and then reached out, gently pushing forward.

”Boom!!”

The very next moment, time resumed around Smith, and the unfortunate agent was flung away by a powerful force, his body slamming against the wall behind him. The thick stone wall could not withstand the force and caved inward—if this Agent Smith had been a mere mortal, that hit from Fang Zheng would have been enough to shatter him into pieces.

Luckily, he was not human.

”What are you...?”

Pinned against the wall by an invisible force, Smith’s eyes widened as he stared fixedly at Fang Zheng. Ever since that young man named Neo ”killed” him once, Smith found himself changed. He had become detached from the Motherbody, an independent entity now, which awarded him power far surpassing other agents. He had thought about observing Neo to gain enlightenment.

But now, he discovered an entirely unfamiliar entity before him.

He tried to analyze the other’s code, but completely failed. Not only that, the other’s control over this world even seemed superior to his own!

What exactly was this? Could it be, like Neo, this was some kind of ”anomaly”?

”Sigh...”

However, unlike Smith’s bewildered horror, Fang Zheng seemed somewhat disinterested. He still remembered that in the last part of The Matrix of Hackers movie, this Agent Smith transformed into thousands of virus clones, battling Neo in an epic fight, where Neo sacrificed himself to completely destroy Smith.

That battle, though not earth-shatteringly impactful, was quite exhilarating. But now, the final BOSS of that movie seemed like nothing more than a grasshopper under his control, unable to leap at all.

When had he grown to such an extent?

In that moment, Fang Zheng felt a pang of melancholy, but it was just a fleeting feeling. After all, the support mission was meant for the big shots to show off before the rookies. What was sought was the thrill of seeing an unbearably struggling BOSS easily crushed by a big shot’s hands. Otherwise, if they sent someone who matched the rookie’s level for support... well, wouldn’t that just create a mess?

”Alright, although I feel like this would be a good time to deliver a few thousand words of sentiment about my journey, sadly, I’m not much for speeches, so... Nymph, make your move.”

”Yes, Master.”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s command, the Little Angel who had been hiding behind him came forward—since this was a virtual domain, the Alchemy Tools she created couldn’t offer her any protection. Even though Little Angel’s skills in information manipulation were unmatched, her close combat abilities were virtually nil. In this world, should the agents get close, it could be dreadful for Little Angel... alas, what a sad story.

”...Another unknown entity.”

Utilizing his status as a ”GM”, Agent Smith quickly deduced that the girl before him was just like the man, a very strange entity that couldn’t be analyzed. However, he remained quite calm, even while nearly being crushed by that monstrous force.

After all, he was an ”Agent”—this was merely his hosting body, and even if he were killed, his ”data” would just seek another host to regenerate. Thus, ”death” was never a problem for him.

Unfortunately, everything has its counter.

When Nymph raised her hand toward Smith, he tasted what humans referred to as ”the pain of a soul being torn apart” for the first time.

”What are you doing?!”

As Nymph’s right hand lifted, Smith’s body trembled, unstable greenish digits that seemed composed of 0s and 1s rapidly emerged from the center of his body and spread outward. Soon after, the uniform he wore, along with his skin and hair, turned pitch black, leaving behind only a writhing, seemingly skin-flayed creature.

”You’re not OPDEJIWJI@)+@#*...!!”

Quickly, Smith’s voice became a garbled scream mixed with static, then swiftly faded away, while at the same time, Nymph gently gripped her right hand.

The next moment, Smith’s body instantly crumbled, disintegrating into primitive data that vanished into the air.

For an Omnipotent Angel from Synapsus specializing in electronic warfare, everything in this world was as simple as children’s building blocks.

”Alright, Nymph, it’s time we left.”

While saying this, Fang Zheng glanced at those who had fainted on the ground, the ”stowaways,” and then planned to leave with Nymph. Hearing Fang Zheng speak, Nymph showed an uneasy expression on her cute little face for the first time.

”Um... Master...?”

”Hmm? What’s the matter?”

”I... I...”

At this moment, the instincts deep within Nymph were clashing violently with her duty. For a Little Angel, obeying her master’s commands was her duty, and she was willing to do anything as long as her master didn’t abandon her.

But on the other hand, her instincts were resisting Fang Zheng’s command. The reason was simple: with the brain of a Little Angel, she naturally knew that Fang Zheng intended to take her... out for a spin.

But...

Remembering the experience she had just had, Nymph trembled. She could hardly remember how she got out of the car. The only memory that remained in Nymph’s mind now was the sound of the car tires rubbing against the ground, the noisy honking around, the scenery that had turned into straight lines and was almost impossible to see, and... the fear of death that was so close.

If before, the only thing the Little Angel feared was being abandoned by her own master, now, it seemed she could add another fear to the list.

Yet... as an Artificial Angel, she could not defy her master’s commands...

Thinking of this, a sudden realization dawned on Nymph!

”Yes, that’s right, Master, I want to go to the nearby park for a walk with you!”

”A walk?”

Hearing Nymph speak, Fang Zheng was momentarily stunned, while the Little Angel hurriedly came to Fang Zheng’s side, nodding vigorously.

”Yes, Master, I want to go to the park for a walk with you, and then we... we...”

As she spoke, Nymph suddenly stuttered, but at that moment, something Tilia had once told her flashed through her mind.

”... How about we date?!”

”Oh?”

Hearing this, Fang Zheng was stunned. Truth be told, he had never expected to hear this word from his own Little Angel. If it were Tilia, that would have been normal, but from Little Angel... that was indeed rare!

Because of this, Fang Zheng also smiled and nodded, then reached out his hand to hold Nymph’s soft little hand.

”Let’s go, Nymph.”

”Yes, Master!”

Shortly after Fang Zheng and Nymph left, several people dressed in black hurried to the subway station. Looking at everything before them, they too drew a sharp breath.

”God, what happened here?”

”No matter what, our comrades are still alive!”

Looking at those lying unconscious on the ground, one of the middle-aged Black men wearing sunglasses decisively issued commands.

”Immediately remove them from here, and then we need to find out what exactly happened here!”