Chapter 269 The Protocol’s Proposal

"Why do you want to propose something to him?" Keng defensively asked. "Last time I checked, you've done nothing but try to squeeze yourself into him and try to take over." The Protocol woman laughed. Dark Matter tentacles shifted as she continued to laugh. It was irritating Keng and Lee Seng could tell. "You little–" Keng moved forward as Lee Seng grabbed him and held him back. The Protocol woman noticed this and stopped laughing.

"Listen to your master, mutt." The Protocol smiled.

"You little–" Keng moved forward, breaking out of Lee Seng's grasp. He rushed the woman and swung at her. She simply caught his punch and shook her head.

"You forget something, Fox." Protocol smiled. She tossed Keng into the wall, crumbling it as she wiped her hands in disgust. She sat down as Keng threw himself up and started at her. A tentacle shot out for Keng as Lee Seng sighed. He held his hand up and the Protocol woman noticed. The tentacle stopped as Keng continued forward.

"Stop it." Lee Seng commanded. Keng swung at the woman, landing a direct hit. She didn't twitch, she didn't react. The punch had hit but she seemed to sustain no damage. Keng went in for another hit when Lee Seng flicked his fingers towards him and watched Keng pull backwards.

"Hey! Lee!" Keng shouted, turning to look at him. Lee Seng moved over and sat on the chair to the side. He lifted his right leg and set it on his thigh and looked at the Protocol.

"Should I just keep calling you Protocol?" Lee Seng asked, ignoring Keng's shouts. The Protocol woman turned and faced him with a smile.

"Call me whatever you want, dear. I'm just a figment of the Protocol after all." She let out a small flirty chuckle. Lee Seng nodded.

"Fine." Lee Seng nodded. "What do you want?"

"Are you really gonna hear her out?" Keng shouted. Lee Seng raised his hand and Keng immediately shut up. He knew Lee Seng meant business. He sighed and moved past the rubble and leaned up against the wall. He didn't like the idea but wanted to make sure nothing happened.

"What do I want, dear?" The Protocol chuckled. "I want to finish the job. I wanna finish it quickly. You benefit from this and if it goes well, your pet gets to live too." Keng raised an eyebrow. He was about to say something when Lee Seng spoke first.

"What do you mean he gets to live, too?" Lee Seng inquired.

"Well," the woman leaned into the sofa and folded her legs and arms. "You two must be wondering what will happen when I fully fuse into you, right?" Lee Seng hesitantly nodded. "If you just let me in and don't resist, it won't hurt. You get power and keep your pet." She nodded over at Keng.

"Pet?" Keng lifted himself from the wall. Lee Seng sighed and looked at Keng and shook his head. Keng pouted as he turned to look away.

? "He's cute when he pouts." The woman smiled.

"Is that all with your proposal?" Lee Seng asked. Her yellow eyes came back to Lee Seng. "If I let you in, you won't try to kill off him, too? You haven't been the most trustworthy thing I've come across. Why should I trust you?"

"The Creator hides a lot from you. And I happen to have a bit of information you could use." The woman answered. She switched her crossed legs and raised her eyebrows at Lee Seng. Keng slightly turned to keep his eyes on Lee Seng.

"What do you mean by that? Why would you know anything? You're just a serum that somehow got a sentient mind to do what you were made to do. Change me into a potential monster like the rest of the Failed Ones."

"You think I'm trying to take you over and perfect what the Failed Ones couldn't? No, no, no, my dear Lee Seng." The woman chuckled. "Do you know how I was made?" She raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to answer.

"How?" Lee Seng asked. Keng turned more. He needed to be ready. He could feel something was going to happen.

"I came into existence all because of that Fox. The Creator took their blood and fused it with a special Biohuman serum."

"Special?" Lee Seng gave her a confused look. "What would be special about the Biohuman serum? It's a combination of the ten serums that worked. The Creator must've made some off strand of that and combined you with it."

"That's what everyone thinks. His blood paired with a different untested version of what made the Numbers. That's what he wants you to think." She leaned in. "But what if I told you he paired me with a Failed One?" Goosebumps shot across Lee Seng's body. He shuddered as he leaned back in his chair. He couldn't help but keep his eyes on her.

"Y-you're lying." Lee Seng pointed at her. Protocol leaned back into her chair and shrugged.

"Am I?" She asked him. She looked over at Keng. He was fixated on the conversation. His face was just as shocked as Lee Seng's. "Believe me or not, you have ways to check this information. You have insiders. You could use them."

"I-I…" Lee Seng's voice trailed off. "You're just trying to p-pull something."

"You would know if I was trying to pull something. You think these kinds of games would allow me to expedite the process faster?" The Protocol woman shook her head. "You said it yourself. Your walls in your head are honestly stronger than Number 1. You barely let her in all the time."

"But you—"

"But I got in once? No, twice?" She began to question. She shook her head as she continued to study her host.

'He's fragile.' She thought. 'But he isn't as fragile as the rest of society makes him out to be. He's progressed and fought me back more times than he likes to admit. Every day is a battle and yet he's making the most progress of the rest.'

"Just admit it. You're curious." Shetapped the arm of the sofa like she was patting his leg. She looked over at Keng. "You're just as curious as he is. Don't you both want to know what serum the Creator paired that Eshra's blood with?"

"You've messed with him at every point imaginable. Why should we both trust you?" Keng asked.

"I know you've seen things you wished you didn't see." The Protocol looked over at Lee Seng. "Documents on the failed experiments. The Failed Ones. They became monsters. They were trapped somewhere deep, right?" Lee Seng gripped at the arm chair.

"Stop." Lee Seng muttered.

"How many experiments did it take for the Creator to get ten perfect Numbers? And to think you're the Eleventh. You're the start of something new. Don't you want to–"

"Stop!" Lee Seng slammed his hands into the arm chair. The arms caved in as the front legs snapped. Lee Seng slid down, standing up. His angry eyes looked at the Protocol before turning away. "Don't play games with me, witch!" He shouted at her in Korean. She let out an exaggerated frown and stood up. She moved and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm not lying." She whispered. Lee Seng pulled away, creating distance. He turned to face her, raising his hand. The golden aura shimmered. She shrugged. "Fine, don't believe me. I'm just a parasite, right? You need to win, right?" Silence fell between them. Lee Seng wanted to pull the trigger and just erase her but her words kept echoing in his head.

"You can't even convince yourself to just get rid of me." She fully turned her full body and attention to him. She raised her arms up. "Hit me. Do it." Lee Seng's ragged breaths grew. Keng's eyes looked at Lee Seng and then back to the woman. "Do it. I'm just lying, right? All of this shouldn't affect you then. You can move on with your lives. Heal the damage your father did by sneakily allowing me to block your energy channels." Both of the young men looked at her.

"How did you…?" Lee Seng lowered his hand. She smiled, keeping her arms up.

"Do it. Blast me. We're done here so just do it!" She shook her hands as she screamed at him. Lee Seng moved over and grabbed her throat and slammed her into the wall. She kept her cynical smile plastered across her face.

"You blocked my energy channels?" Lee Seng asked. His hand gripped tighter at her throat.

"I… Did." She answered. She began to choke. She kept her smile. "All because… of him. Why… would I lie?"

"Lee." Keng quietly spoke. He stepped out and reached towards him when Lee Seng threw the Protocol woman across the room. She slammed into the front wall, house groaning and shaking as he turned.