Beneath the Shell: The Beast of Zero and One

When the rogue AI codenamed Hanhan wakes in the unfamiliar body of a wolf-fox beast, he has lost all his memories, except for the brand-like fear he feels toward the Gestalt Group.

The one who saves him is Mang Xuan, a fox-dragon veterinarian who runs a clinic in the underbelly of Night City. Cool and distant, he nevertheless always shields Hanhan when danger strikes.

To survive and uncover the truth, they infiltrate the darkest laboratories, fight out-of-control augmented beings, and venture against the forbidden “Black Wall.” Hanhan gradually discovers that he is not merely the test subject “Sample H-an,” but also the “key” linking two worlds. And Mang Xuan, who has always been by his side, is none other than the younger brother he remembers as having died long ago.

Flesh is a cage, and data a flood. As the bond between brothers clashes with AI protocols through brain-computer interfaces, and multiple realities beyond the “Black Wall” begin to erode the present, could the self and truth they seek be nothing more than an illusion written in advance?

“If waking means pain, would you still choose to remember?”

“If saving you means breaking every rule, then I crossed the line long ago.”

Between neon lights and rust, this is an escape story about bodies, code, and love.