Chapter 9 -- A Different Metabolism

 Chapter 9

A Different Metabolism

After Salih said, “I’m exiting the game under my QX23 reference,” the opposing faction member who had approached him took him by the arm and gently helped him to his feet. The moment Salih stood up, he instinctively checked his leg. The sharp pain caused by the bullet was still vivid in his mind, yet when he moved his leg, there was no problem at all.

It was as if that terrible pain had never happened.

He rotated his ankle, bent his knee.

Everything was normal.

Just then, Nathan, Gideon, and Arch walked over toward him. Neil joined them a moment later. Nathan—who minutes ago had looked like he was on the brink of death; Gideon—who had been shot in the chest… all of them were standing upright. There wasn’t a single wound on their bodies.

A mix of shock and anger crossed Salih’s face.

“Damn it!” he said through clenched teeth.

“These new suits hurt like hell. This is insane…”

Nathan raised the transparent tablet in his hand, a mocking smile on his face.

“Look,” he said, pointing to the graphs on the screen.

“See the bullet that hit me? It went in from behind, straight into my lungs. If I’d been able to speak, I would’ve exited the simulation too.”

He gave a slight shake of his head, as if reliving the moment.

“But it was so intense… I genuinely felt my lungs tearing apart. I couldn’t make a sound. I was… basically dying.

Then you saved me.”

Salih froze.

“I can’t believe it, man… so what happens when you die?” he asked in disbelief. “You really felt it go all the way into your lungs?”

Nathan let out a short breath.

“Yeah. That’s how the new system works. When you die, the suit disconnects you from your consciousness—until the simulation is canceled or ends.”

Salih shook his head slowly, still under the lingering effect of the pain.

“At least before,” he said, “the suits only made it feel like a needle prick—a pain reflector. This time, it felt almost exactly like taking a real bullet.”

His breath trembled.

“This can’t be right…” he muttered to himself.

“Just thinking about it… I’m starting to be afraid of getting shot.”

The team fell silent for a moment.

There were no visible injuries, but the pain they had experienced was far too real to be erased from their minds.

Arch, Neil, Gideon, Nathan, and Salih stood side by side. Even though they had exited the simulation, the sounds of combat still echoed around them—gunfire in the distance, bullets striking metal, shouting… Other groups were still fighting: mixed factions of humans and robots.

The five of them stood almost as if forming a circle, trying to catch their breath. The pain they had just endured had left a very real imprint on their minds.

With calm composure, Gideon reached into his backpack and pulled out his own transparent tablet. Even in that simple motion, his confidence and cool-headedness were evident. Salih’s eyes immediately locked onto him, watching his movements closely.

Salih frowned and asked:

“Hey Gideon… did you really feel that pain too?”

Without lifting his eyes from the screen as he activated the tablet, Gideon shook his head slightly.

“Actually,” he said in his usual controlled tone, “I only experience a protective reflex.”

Salih looked at him, not quite understanding.

Gideon continued:

“My metabolism is different from yours. Naturally… I simulate pain. But I don’t truly experience it.”

Nathan lifted his head slightly; Arch observed the two from a step behind.

A mix of surprise and faint anger passed over Salih’s face.

Gideon’s words were simple, but their impact was heavy:

Some of them truly felt the pain.

Others only experienced its simulation.

And in that moment, the invisible line between them became unmistakably clear.

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