Smack. Smack. Bang bang bang. I could hear the sound of hurried footsteps. Immediately afterward, more hurried footsteps echoed in a chaotic loop in a hollow environment. It can also be heard that a scene of escape and pursuit is being staged at this time.

Smack. The footsteps stopped abruptly.

Whew-Whew-Whew——。

The sound of wheezing was all too familiar to Chiko and Caitlin's ears. They all glanced at Eric, who was listening intently to the recording.

"You should exercise your fitness. A deep voice—old Puffre—was more intimate to Eric's ears than his own dyingly gasps.

"Is it, like you, living a Puritan ascetic life? I can't do that. ”

"Drunkenness only adds to the pain. Old Puffer seemed to be persuading.

"Oh, come on, you're not a qualified preacher either. Eric was dismissive of old Pfeiffre's "good intentions."

"But, I am a qualified businessman, and I can negotiate a win-win deal with you. Old Puffer said plainly.

"Judging by the current situation, I can only talk to you. Eric said with a smile.

"You give me this suitcase. "Old Pfeiffre offered the first condition.

"I'm alone right now, and it's easy for you to take this suitcase, it's not a deal. ”

"Of course, if you join us, it's a no-win deal. "Old Pfeiffre offered the real conditions.

"That's a good condition. Eric said playfully.

"Actually, you, me, and Jefferson are the same kind of people. Old Puffer said it meaningfully.

"Who, like you, poisoned creatures?" Eric's tone suddenly became cold.

"But I've saved a lot of people. Old Puffer paused and continued, "Don't you notice that all three of us are dystopian utopians. ”

"Dystopian utopianism? That's a new word. Eric laughed.

"We do not believe in the fate of humanity and the fate of the world that we can move towards the beautiful and prosperous future that politicians have depicted. This is our dystopian part. But we are not willing to give up hope, and we are eager to find a way to realize these seemingly utopian futures, even if only partially completed. ”

"It's our utopia, and it's a bit of a man-made thing. Eric's tone seemed disdainful, but there was a hint of concentration, as if old Pfeivre's words had struck his inner self.

Jefferson wanted to use politics -- the Great Peace Policy he had jointly pursued -- to cut military spending, to withdraw troops from overseas, to reduce military exercises, and he wanted to find a breakthrough in world peace, just as his ridiculous political proclamation -- to use chaos as a fulcrum to pry up world peace. There was a mockery in old Puffre's tone.

At this point, Eric was silent.

"Erik, in fact, you already knew it wasn't going to work. Jefferson was too arrogant, believing that the world's woes were a tragedy in which great powers wrestled for profit. And the withdrawal of country K can extinguish the flames of war in the Middle East that have crossed centuries. Pfeiffre Sr.'s criticism of Jefferson went from insidious to explicit.

"How humble you are, isn't it because Jefferson's peace policies cut off your arms business and power in the world, which are important sources of your wealth. Eric retorted.

When old Puffre heard this, he was silent for a moment, and then suddenly burst out laughing, and the laughter was full of unpleasant wanton and arrogance. After a moment, old Puffer stopped laughing and said, "Jefferson is wrong, and the friends behind him, the disciples who protect this suitcase, are even more wrong. The wealth and resources accumulated by the Puffel family over hundreds of years have long been unrivaled. And you are wrong to be misled by Jefferson's political rhetoric - my old Pfeiffre is out of interest and can't get along with him. Emotions will cloud your truest judgments, Eric, and I don't think you know yet about the rivalry between the Nicholas School and the Puffres behind Jefferson. ”

Eric sneered, "If I didn't know, I wouldn't have gotten this suitcase." ”

"How do you know?" asked old Puffre, unkindly, "from the private collection of a rich man?" ”

"What?" said Eric's tone of surprise.

"As I expected, after Jefferson's defeat, you put your utopia on this suitcase. So I said that you and I are kind of people – dystopian utopians. Pfeiffre Sr. continued, "Also, you, like me, have high-functioning sociopathic traits. ”

"Oh, that's why you want me to join the Smiley Army? Eric seemed disgusted by old Pfeiffre's words.

Old Puffer let out a sneer, and he said, "Eric, for me, you are vulnerable now. The reason why I take extra care of you is because I see in you a potential to be me. I want to see what choices you make when you become me. In other words, you're just my test subject. And recruiting you into the Smiley Army is just a catalyst for this experiment, allowing me to get the results of the experiment as soon as possible. ”

"It's a real honor to be your experiment. Eric let out a sneer.

"You're welcome, it's an honor to have Jefferson. Old Pfeivre's tone was gloomy.

There was silence.

"What do you mean. Eric's voice seemed to tremble a little.

"Don't you understand?" said old Pfeiffre, "I got rid of Jefferson not because of his foolish policies of Great Peace, nor because of my interests in global business, but for an experiment to make you who I am and to free you from Jefferson's boring utopia." ”

There was silence again.

"Bastard!" a roar came from Eric, only to hear a rush of footsteps running in one direction, and another "thud", a heavy fall to the ground.

"As I said, you are vulnerable in front of me now. Old Pfeivre's voice was filled with unquestionable pride, "Do you know what your greatest weakness is? ”

Eric didn't answer, only a quick, angry snort.

"Your greatest weakness is to be like a three-year-old frightened by a clown in front of the truth, you are afraid, you are powerless, and the saddest thing is that you cover up your fear of the truth with some seemingly high-sounding and righteous actions. "Old Pfeiffre became a great mentor," and Jefferson's death is the best example of this, as you already know that Jefferson's peace policy has reached an unsustainable point. ”

"A detective who calls himself a disciple of Sherlock Holmes is afraid of the truth. It's a great black humor. Old Pfeiffre seemed to be talking to himself.

"Heh, at least I still have compassion, a basic bottom line as a human being. Eric snorted.

Old Puffer let out another mocking laugh as he said, "What is mercy, what is the bottom line." You only remember that I killed more than 3,000 people, including Jefferson, in the Solomon area, and don't you know that the more than 200 war centers I have established around the world have taken in tens of thousands of old and weak women and children. And what did Jefferson do, lobby the capricious politicians, lay down their weapons, and stick a bright rose in the muzzle of the AK47?"

The voiceprint died down to a straight line again—another terrible silence.

Slap - slap - seems to be the sound of a lap on the shoulder.

"Eric, I know you're having a hard time accepting my invitation right now. To show my sincerity, I can tell you what power this chest, the secret treasure of the Nicholas School, contains. "I'm sure you already know the basic history of the Fèvre family, but you certainly don't know my great ancestor, Puffer Mailer, who has long since unlocked the ultimate secret of the Nicholas School, which is enough to influence the course of human history." ”

"What? You're saying that Puffel Mailer has unraveled the ultimate metaphor for turning stones into gold. Eric was clearly attracted by the "sincerity" of old Pfeiffre.

"Yes, my ancestors imitated the handwriting of Nicholas and wrote this secret into the decoded copy of the Jewish Book of Abraham in this box, and this secret can only be seen by the descendants of the Fivre family. Old Puffer's tone was filled with family pride.

"It seems that you don't know what this secret is. It's been hundreds of years since your boring ancestor, and perhaps this so-called secret has long since become widespread knowledge. Eric's suspicions are well founded.

"Even in a few hundred years, this secret will not go out of style. "Old Puffer is very confident.

"It seems that you are optimistic. Eric still wouldn't believe it.

"I haven't heard that the arrangement of the human genome map will become obsolete. Old Puffer laughed.

The voiceprint is again drawn in a straight line – silence.

"This, this is impossible, there are hundreds of millions of human genes, and even if all the computer calculations are activated, it is impossible to know the whole picture. What's more, hundreds of years ago, when there was no concept of genes, this was simply impossible. Eric questioned vehemently.

"Nothing is impossible, just like Leonardo's idiot, it is because of the light of the Pfeivre family, using the exploration of our family's ancestors in the library of the Nicholas School classics, to discover the operation of nerve cells, and then create the Dora reagent that makes this guy proud to this day. In fact, this is just a surface of the human genome map. Old Pfeiffre's voice grew more and more proud, "And my ancestor, Mailer, although he did not know the concept of genes at that time, deciphered a kind of arrangement of biological life. As long as you follow this arrangement, you can unlock the ultimate code of human life. ”

The voiceprint on the computer rises like a stormy wave, and suddenly disappears at the top of the screen.