The Dawn of the New World

"Meow~!"

Zhurong laid on Hao Xuan's bed, glaring at him with resentful eyes.

"Come on, I told you why, be reasonable man," Hao Xuan pleaded, trying to move him but he would come back as fast as lightning every time.

When Hao Xuan went for training he didn't bring along either Fortis or Zhurong. Fortis was more or less okay with the arrangement as long as there was enough food around to keep him occupied but Zhurong wanted to come with and was pretty mad when Hao Xuan disappeared in the middle of the night.

"Meow meow meow meow!" the little fluffball meowed a few times and walked out of the room stomping his little paws, as if having had enough of Hao Xuan. It obviously didn't have the effect he was going for because just looked even cuter, almost like a stuffed animal.

Hao Xuan shook his head helplessly and sat down on the bed. There were a lot of things that he needed to take care of within the next few days. The last day participants could enter the tournament was in 13 days now.

"Baracus, what else do you need for your thingy?"

*Beep*

"The "thingy" you're referring to is almost done, but I have a new proposition. It would take some time but would be much more beneficial. Interested?"

Hao Xuan's brow scrunched up. It had already taken a lot of money to get him the components he needed, adding more to the plate would not really be good...but why not? It doesn't hurt to hear him out.

"Alright, I can't promise anything but go ahead."

"Let me explain the previous plan first so you better understand the new proposal," Baracus started explaining with an unusually excited tone.

"Since I am an AI, I have a grade like any other equipment. With this world's classification system I would rank somewhere in the upper limit of Initial Saint Grade. When progenitor created me he had already laid out a detailed plan. At the final stage of this plan I could become something that could rival the most powerful of beings out there, but that is far from achievable right now. Even he didn't have anywhere near enough resources to make that happen."

"With that in mind, I created another plan. Progenitor's plan was to make me into a separate entity entirely. A hybrid of organic and non-organic materiels, with the abilities of both. But since that's not feasible anymore, I propose to take more of a supporting role. Instead of being a separate entity, I could integrate myself with your body, if you will allow it."

Hao Xuan's eyes narrowed into small slits.

"What exactly do you mean by "integrating" with me? What exactly would this mean for me?"

"To become a part of you. I have some scrapped plans from an old project Progenitor started a long time ago. He wanted to create nanoparticles that could hold an AI's consciousness. They would be then injected into your body and expedite all normal processes. It would be similar to having a second brain basically."

"But...you would be INSIDE of me, correct? All the time?"

"Correct. But there is no problem with that. I am already under your complete control so I could never do anything to harm you. That was Progenitor's main concern and the reason why the project was scrapped. It truly has unlimited potential."

"And if it turns out you don't like it, my consciousness, or 'soul' as you like to call it, can be transferred out at any time. That's my biggest advantage over organic beings like you. My soul is mobile and not attached to anything. It can go from one suitable environment to another without any side effects."

Hao Xuan was dumbstruck upon hearing Baracus's proposal. Such a thing was possible? Even in this world he hadn't heard of anything like that. But come to think of it, why not? Baracus, for the lack of a better word, was a tool at his disposal. It would be a huge loss if he just let him go to waste like that.

"Alright, but don't scarp the first plan either. I don't know what you need for that but stick to it. If you can move in between bodies, it doesn't make sense to only have one right? What do you need to make the second plan happen?"

"Only nanoparticles. And a lot of them. I have checked around and found a suitable place."

"Wait, how did you check around? I thought you didn't have access to the net here?"

"I don.'t. I piggybacked on Ryfon Biric's spirit band. Although of a much higher level than others, it's still like a children's toy in front of me. I hacked it and whenever I'm nearby, I can browse the local net. But you might not like where this place is."

Hao Xuan paused, a place he wouldn't like?

"Where...?" he asked hesitantly.

"It's a private company called Par. Owned and operated by an up and coming genius, the company is well known for its nanotech."

Hao Xuan frowned, "I have never heard of that name before. Why wouldn't I like this place?"

"Par is owned by Fehim group of industries. The ship you came on, it was owned by the same group. From what I can tell, Par's CEO works for the same people and they do not sell to outsiders. You will either have to force him and take him 'under your wing' or ask someone higher than him for help, like Princess Ceni for example."

"Ceni?" his frown deepened. He didn't have much of an opinion of her to be honest. He heard that she took care of him, whatever that meant, but he didn't have many interactions with her. So her entire image was completely made up in his own head. But if given the option, he would still choose to stay away from her.

"Contact Henrik for me, maybe he knows someone. Also call and inquire from Ryfon about it as well. And see if you can get me in the room with the CEO of Par. Maybe I can 'change his mind.'...." Hao Xuan finished with a somewhat sinister smile.