"Tell me! What the hell is going on?! ”

On the other side of the world, someone stormed Dr. Louis's office in a fit of rage, slamming a report on his desk.

"Why did this happen after I was only walking for a week!"

Louis raised his head from between the bookcases, calmly looked at his colleague in front of him who was almost going crazy, and pushed the glasses on his face expressionlessly: "Calm down, Dr. Fenris, what's the matter?" ”

The man named Fenris could no longer suppress the anger in his heart, and slammed his fist on the desk, roaring in a voice that could be heard from a fifty-centimeter concrete wall:

"d0071, how can you sell it!"

“d0071？” Louis looked at him suspiciously: "Which project's product?" ”

"Which else could it be?!"

Fenris roared, "Are you still playing this game?" You shitty bastard, I'm almost there! I've touched the edge of the genetic inheritance of subspace creatures...... You sold her like one of those bargains without my consent! Damn, who gave you such a right?! ”

"Oh, that's what was sold by the school board......" Louis nodded in a 'sudden realization', "The test that achieved the 'Energized Blood' and the 'Crossing Point'." ”

Picking up Fenris's report on the table, he looked at it curiously, "Let me see what makes you so angry." ”

Since abandoning the unrealistic 'Project 1 - Apotheosis' and '2 - Apostolic Manufacturing', and frustrating the project '3 - Divine Capacity Exploration', the research institute of Miskatonic University has focused on 'Project 4'.

D0071, the only 'semi-finished product' produced by the 'Holy Spirit Project' branch of Research Project IV-4, a classified research project of the Miskatonic Institute.

It itself includes research directions such as 'subspace research', 'ability manufacturing', 'angel creation', etc., which is close to the research results of a century, and has the opportunity to further break through the original blind spots and reach a new level.

After reading the information, Louis nodded with a clear face and sighed: "It seems to be a good test item, no wonder you are so angry." ”

Maybe it was unintentional, or maybe he didn't have any sympathy in the first place, this indifferent attitude completely stinged Fenris, and the raging anger in his heart completely exploded!

Across a table, the thin middle-aged man pulled Louis's collar, and his bloodshot eyes glared at the mocking eyes after a sleepless night: "Damn, how can you do this!" ”

Fenris's eyes were a little red, and he finally couldn't bear the pain in his heart, and his voice trembled: "She, she...... She's my 'daughter'. ”

"Flutter ......"

In the brief silence of the office, a mocking laugh suddenly came out of Louis's throat, as if he had heard a clumsy joke, and he looked at Fenris in front of him with undisguised disdain, and whispered in disbelief: "What did you just say?" You said you took her as your own...... Daughters, daughters? Poofha...... It's so interesting, it's so interesting, it's one of the most interesting things about Institute 4 this year, Dr. Fenris, and I'm going to make this one of the top 10 discoveries of this year's Miskatonik University! ”

Despite the fact that his bow tie was pulled in his hand by the man opposite, Louis raised his hand with a strange smile, patted the face that was close at hand, and was full of admiration: "Look at you, this kind of hypocrisy is admirable, it makes me feel like I am going to be converted to the arms of God again!" ”

Fenris was about to say something, but before Louis's hand burst out with unimaginable power, he broke free of his palm in an instant, and smashed his head on the desk with his backhand, and a low muffled sound spread.

"I'm guessing you don't know what I was doing before I started research...... Otherwise, you'll have to choose another way to talk to me. ”

Louis chuckled under his breath, pulled his loosened bow tie, and looked down at the struggling Fenris: "To be honest, I thought you came here just to ask me to increase my annual budget, but you actually told me, poof, haha...... Daughter? Daughter! ”

Looking at the roaring Fenris indifferently and mockingly, Louis chuckled in a low voice: "I said, Fenris. Dr. Klein, what the hell were you kidding?! I think...... The person who can become a so-called 'researcher' here has to be cold-blooded, ruthless and cruel than anyone else! ”

"So, don't joke anymore, okay, did you just come to tell me that you accidentally pinned your wishful thinking on the test subject?!"

Stuck in his throat by Louis's palm, Fenris roared hoarsely almost suffocating: "So what?!" ”

"Haha, so what?" Louis slowly lit a cigarette at the corner of his mouth with one hand, lowered the corners of his eyes full of mockery, and asked in a low voice:

"Since 0071 is your daughter, then from 0001 to 00070, what are the seventy test specimens destroyed by you?"

The body that was constantly struggling under Louis's suppression suddenly stiffened, and I didn't know how to answer him.

Without a pause, Louis smoked a cigarette and recounted his past experiments: "I remember the first lump of meat that wasn't human-shaped, right?" Your first daughter was thrown into the incinerator by your own hands.

The second is a humanoid, unfortunately, genetically incomplete and dysfunctional, I remember you threw him into the recycling department, right?

What did you do with your fifth daughter when he lost his experimental value? Do I need to repeat it? ”

At this point, Fenris had no strength to struggle, and fell to the ground with a clumped face, as if he was about to die, muttering something in a low voice that others could not hear.

Without waiting for him to resist, a somewhat bored Louis flicked the ash into the crystal ashtray, still chuckling quietly, "So, calm down, Mr. Fenris."

If my daughter is gone, I will make another one. Isn't that what you're here for? ”

A fluttering check was dropped from Louis's hand, and a dozen zeros were stamped over Fenris's face, causing a flash of ecstasy in his dull eyes.

No longer looking at this hypocritical fellow, Louis sneered and waved his hand: "Next year's annual budget, and a part of the honorarium to shut you up - because of your outstanding performance, I added another seven thousand dollars to you, thank me." ”

Without looking at him anymore, Louis sat back down behind the desk, continued to sort out the materials in his hand, and said without raising his head: "Now, take this, sew your mouth, and you can roll." ”

There was a rush of hurried footsteps, and silence returned to the office as the door slammed shut.

And this is just a small thing that happens in this world all the time, and it is not enough to be praised.

…

On the other side of the world, Russia, the empty and lonely squares are covered with melting snow, and there is no shortage of silence.

The gray-haired old man stood in the silence, raised his head to look at the pale sky, quietly listened to the report from the phone, and nodded after a long time: "Volks, I know, you can handle the rest of the things yourself, you don't need to report to me." ”

With that, he hung up the phone and turned his head to look behind him.

In the snow behind him, at some point, a thin man of the same old age appeared, not burly or handsome, but it gave the impression that every line of his body was like a cut cut on hard stone with an axe, hard and firm as iron.

Different from the awe-inspiring pressure of the person opposite, he is more like a statue that has stood for thousands of years, witnessing the changes of the world without saying a word.

Anyone who knew him knew that the old man's expression rarely changed, and he was silent most of the time, even though he was now the strongest man in the world - No.2: The City of Chains.

His full name has been forgotten by many, but many more have chosen to call him 'Pranchenko' in awe.

He looked silently at his long-lost 'friend' or 'foe' in the distance, and after a long time, he said, "You are really here." ”

The gray-haired man nodded, turned to look at the square behind him, and whispered, "Because this is a good place." We graduated from here, and the last meeting of the fraternity was held here, and everyone loved it. ”

Plunchenko walked up to him and said in a voice without hesitation: "Well, you looked much worse when you were younger than you do now. ”

"Each other, the one who proposed that everyone run the marathon here with their bare butts...... Aren't you the president of the fraternity? The man glanced at Plunchenko beside him, and sighed slightly disappointed: "I just didn't expect that you look a little older than me now." ”

Plunchenko didn't care, just looked at the person in front of him seriously, no longer entangled in the past time, and asked straightforwardly: "How many years ago you told me that the Foundation has deteriorated and is no longer the place you longed for, so you chose to leave and took those two children with you, but why do you want to come back now?" ”

The slightly older man chuckled under his breath, "I just don't like to wait meaninglessly, but I didn't say I was going to disappear completely. ”

"So you've let 'Odin' go now, and you've chosen to work with this beast that you put in a cage to deal with me?"

Plunchenko took a step forward, not hiding the coldness in his eyes at all: "After losing all your abilities, you appeared here, are you ready to throw yourself into the net?" ”

"Huh, who knows?"

The man patted the snowflake on his shoulder nonchalantly: "I just miss this place a little, so I'm here." If you want to arrest me, feel free. I'm not going to resist. ”

As he spoke, he raised his eyes and looked at Plunchenko: "But, don't you know better than I do?"

Even if you arrest me now, my will will will not be bound by you in a cage. Everything will go according to the plan, and whether I live or die, it makes no sense for what follows. ”

Plunchenko was silent, his eyes narrowed.

Having fought side by side on the same front, he knew very well how terrible the man in front of him was.

When he takes the first step, he sees the path to victory. He chose to be the enemy of everyone, and once he chose to appear in front of everyone, it means that everything has been settled in his plan.

Even if he is dead, the next world will go on according to the established trajectory and reach the end he planned.

Perhaps because of this, he asked so angrily: "Zhou Yan'an, my former secretary, what do you want to do?"

You helped me revise the Treaty of Self-Government for the Able, and now you want to tear him up?

We've managed to find a way forward, but you're going to put everything out in the dark! ”

"Direction? Didn't I tell you? That's just the wrong way. ”

The man named Zhou Jian'an turned his head to look at him, and his tone was still calm and calm: "Do you know? Hesiod, the Greek poet, divided mankind into four ages: gold, silver, copper, and iron.

In our worst of times, after the destruction of the gods, the Mighty and the human race have long since lost their way forward. ”

"Zhou Yan'an, now is the era of black iron, don't be delusional to let mankind return to the glory of the golden age, that will only cross the boundaries and forbidden areas planned by the gods!"

"So what?" Zhou Jian'an laughed: "Since the former No.4 apostle 'Nietzsche', everyone knows that 'God is dead', and all values need to be re-evaluated." ”

There was silence like a rock, and it was a long time before Plunchenko spoke: "Spring grows, grain and fruit grow naturally, and the river flows with milk and honey...... Golden age? It sounds like a good fairy tale, but don't forget, I borrowed that book. ”

Zhou Jian'an did not object to this, and nodded seriously: "Well, I like your library, but it's a pity that there are too many books you haven't read, just like now, Empty has the supreme authority of the Foundation, but he is tied up and doesn't do anything." ”

"Why do I only now find out that you are this crazy dreamer? Don't forget, the future you imagine is beautiful, but it's unrealistic. ”

Perhaps it is precisely because he knows better than anyone the history written in the blood of the capable that Plunchenko stands firmly in opposition to his former best friend and has never wavered:

"This world is human, and it is controlled by humans, and the Alien is a part of it after all, if this is the change you want, then even if it can be successful, it can only become a short-lived last elegy!"

Zhou Jian'an looked at his persistent expression, and after a long time, he laughed in a low voice: "This is the first time we have argued about this?" Plunchenko, I know you at the debates of the Elder Faith Institute, and you should know that you have never won against me in this regard. ”

"That's just a one-sided victory for you." Plunchenko said coldly: "But more often than not, in this world, it is not debate that can decide the winner!" ”

"I couldn't agree more."

Zhou Jian'an nodded, and whispered with a complicated smile: "That's why you need strength." ”

There was a faint sound of thunder in the sky, and behind the thick clouds, a pitch-black helicopter slowly descended through the Foundation's encirclement.

In mid-air, the cabin opened, revealing a burly man in sunglasses, standing at the door of the cabin, beckoning down.

Zhou Jian'an looked up at the signal from his assistant, laughed in a low voice, and waved to Plunchenko behind him: "The last break is over, goodbye, old friend." ”

Plunchenko indifferently watched the helicopter in the sky slowly fall on the square, watched Zhou Jian'an get on the plane, and then watched the helicopter rise into the sky.

From the beginning to the end, he never ordered the forces of the capable who were surrounded around him to attack; Maybe it's because you understand that even if you do, it's pointless, or maybe you don't want to face this former best friend so early.

But, no matter what......

"The next time we meet, will we be enemies?"

Plunchenko looked up at the sky and whispered, "Goodbye, I hope I will have the same determination as you did." ”

……

On the helicopter, a man named 'Volks' handed Zhou a file and said in a solemn voice: "The 'Restraining' global defense system developed by the US government was completed six hours ago, and an hour ago they secretly test-fired a ......."

Zhou gradually opened the file, checked the text and photos in the test report one by one, until finally looked at the ruins that were already nothing, and fell silent.

"What a nice thing, a deterrent weapon for the new era? Interesting. ”

The 'Suppression' defense system - a program that has been proposed since the successful landing of Apollo on the moon.

A huge strategic network composed of more than 70 military satellites and hundreds of large military bases all over the world, half of which have been transformed and processed by alchemy, and one-fifth of them are equipped with apocalypse weapons excavated from subspace by various countries over the years, and even rumored to carry an unknown god weapon.

Such a huge strategic defense system can be called the most powerful weapon in the history of mankind -- but who is the enemy it is aimed at?

As one of the designers of the time, he certainly knows better than anyone else the power of this thing and the reason for its design. Because of this, he sighed that fate was so magical:

Former friends have now become formidable enemies, former enemies have become allies, and what they helped to create in their early years is now going to destroy it.

"Since the era of the nuclear threat, they have developed a new Cold War model under the threat of the 'chaotic system'."

Whispering, he dropped the document in his hand, looked out the window at the pale sky, and gave the order: "Then let's go, this time the target is Germany."

I think we have something new to discuss with the Wheel of Light. ”

(To be continued)