It felt like falling into a deep sea of ice, the endless cold and darkness wrapped the warm body, no matter how much you struggled and stretched out your hand upwards, you could never reach the fading glimmer above your head, the heavy suffocation felt in your throat, all you could do was keep falling until you reached the bottom of the abyss.

In the end there is nothing left, except for the cold, all that is left is your thoughts in the dark, and gradually you no longer know how long it has been, until the only consciousness you have sunk in the darkness.

"Begin the will testimonial. ”

"The electrodes are energized...... Record Values ......"

Someone whispered in the darkness, as if it was not the time to die, and opened his eyes and returned to this crazy world.

Galahad coughed hard, a little blood spat out from under the translucent respirator mask, and he breathed heavily, the machine rumbling and sending the painkiller-laced mist into the respirator.

Exhausting eyes swept back and forth, all that could be seen were the walls of steel and the snakes carved into the steel dome, intertwined, biting each other's tails, black scales like pitch black night, until they formed a continuous ring.

It was an Ouroboros, a religious symbol, some people said it symbolized the cycle of life and death, or reincarnation or something, and the mysterious alchemy described it as the crystallization of the soul, but Galahad knew very well that in his impression this thing only meant one thing.

Unlimited, always-on operation.

It was the concept proposed by the first director of the Institute of Mechanics, that is, he invented the great steam engine, on the basis of which he believed that there should be such a machine in the world, which would never stop working after starting, without any subsequent energy, he quoted the symbol Ouroboros, and named that machine a perpetual motion machine.

Galahad's mechanical attainments were very low, but he also knew that this was not in line with the conservation of energy, and that such a thing could not exist, but just like the crazy conjecture of mankind, the chief decided that the machine must exist, so he built the perpetual motion pump on top of the mechanical institute and pursued the ideal machine, which continues to this day.

"I thought you would be in a coma for at least a week, I didn't expect you to wake up so quickly. ”

The voice sounded on the side, Nikolai walked over slowly with a cup, his pale face was a pair of dark circles, and he walked lightly, which always made people feel that he would die suddenly in the next second.

"How does it feel?"

Sitting on one side, Galahad tried to move, only to find himself in a translucent jar, filled with a pale green liquid that covered him, leather and steel holding him in place, mortal wounds slowly healing under the soak, but on the other side there were exposed metal cables also soaked in water.

"Nightmarish ......"

Galahad said weakly.

As if noticing his gaze, Nikolai continued.

"I beg your pardon, you have been eroded by the armor of original sin, and if you lose control a second time, we scientists will not be able to control you. ”

Nikolai smiled as he looked around, it was a group of people in the same uniform as him, but like ghostly ones, they walked without making any sound, without superfluous conversation, only the sound of keys and the pen of the calculus.

There are young people and old people, and there are even people who push huge external circulators to maintain life and work hard, and everyone here is a giant in a certain field, and it can be said that they have pushed the edge of human cognition of the world to the current state.

The Mechanical Institute promotes the technology of mortals, and the Perpetual Pump on top of it is developing the power of pursuing the gods.

This is the center of the world's technology, the center of wisdom of the entire Invig, and once these people die, Invig's technology will stagnate for at least ten years.

"So that's your insurance?"

Galahad said as he lifted his strength and looked at the cable soaked in liquid.

"Of course, above us is the Pillar of the Furnace, and according to the Queen's approval, we have the highest priority power supply, and as long as you lose control, I can gently pull down the brake, and you can experience the feeling of being struck by the lightning of the god Odin. ”

Nikola pulled out an ugly smile.

"But it should be short-lived, not even a second, without the original sin armor, your brain will be scorched in an instant, and then your whole body will be carbonized into a pile of ashes, and you can hug the Thames with the Thames by pressing this drain button. ”

Galahad didn't like the joke, he said.

"Nikolai, you weren't so full of nonsense before. ”

"There's always some comfort for a terminally ill patient, isn't it?"

"You think those damn jokes are comforting me?"

These crazy people have been underground for a long time, and their mental state is really not normal.

"Okay, then let's skip this unpleasant part. ”

Nikolai's eyes sank, his face was like stagnant water, he picked up the report sheet on the side, walked to the edge of the container and said to Galahad.

"Galahad, your will test is bad, you are tainted by the armor of original sin. ”

"Speaking of the results, I'm the chief knight, and I know what the original sin armor is made of. ”

Galahad said lightly, not caring about the so-called "terminal illness".

After a moment of silence, Nikolai slowly read the data on the report.

"The nerves you were being were 47% eroded by the Original Sin Armor, and although it didn't break through the threshold, your nerves were too deeply injured, and the erosion should have decreased a little after treatment, but only some. ”

"That means the erosion is irreversible this time, right?"

For the first time, Galahad's expression changed, but for a moment, he reverted back to his cold look.

The Armor of Original Sin is a secret weapon of the Perpetual Pump, and it is unknown how these madmen created this thing, it has the properties of demons, but unlike demons, it can be controlled by humans.

But like a double-edged sword, humans use it as if they were fighting demons, suffering from its erosion.

"Yes, contact with demons will be polluted, and then the weird pollution will erode us, and the degree of erosion will gradually subside after getting rid of the source of pollution, but some people who have been in contact for too long, such as you, can only be slowly reduced, or even said to rise, and once the threshold is broken...... You will start demonizing, and when you reach 100% you will become a demon. ”

This is something that everyone who cleanses the organ will know, but at this time, it is cruel to say it, and those who fight against demons will eventually become demons.

"But don't worry, I'll propose to Arthur that you be transferred, you're not fit to work on the front lines Galahad. ”

As if remembering his long-lost hometown, Nikolai continued.

"Do you need me to sort out your retirement? You can go to my hometown, it's a little far from Invig, but it's a nice place to retire because of the sunny weather. ”

Hometown?

Galahad was slightly stunned, he had known Nikolai for so long, he had never heard of Nikolai's hometown, this guy was an international student, from a small place, and in his first semester at the Royal College of Mechanical Engineering, he had lost the power of the entire school because of his invention.

He was not punished, and at that time, a researcher of the Institute of Mechanics was working as a part-time director there, and he discovered Nikolai's talent and introduced him to the Institute.

The madman stepped into the madman's paradise and rose all the way to the present, and in Galahad's view, Nikolai's life was nothing but invention and explosion.

"Yes, my hometown, if it weren't for the fact that I heard that Old Dunling is the most advanced place in the world, I wouldn't want to leave my hometown. ”

"Leaving home...... Sounds so heavy, why are you here?"

"For the sake of science. ”

"Science?"

"yes, science, Galahad, you're just a reckless man, I've seen your college transcripts, and your mechanics are nothing short of impressive. ”

Geniuses are always like this, mocking mortals with casual speech.

"Whether it's a regime or a masterful sword skill, they only have a small impact on the world, affecting generations, and science is different.

Everyone in the world is directly or indirectly enjoying the convenience brought by technology, which is not something that can be done by ideas and force, so it is not politicians or warriors who really change the world, it is science that really changes the world. ”

The eyes that had been dulled by lack of sleep glowed, and it was hard to believe that Galahad had seen something similar to an ideal in the eyes of this madman.

"So Galahad, no matter what Arthur decides, don't resist, if you continue, you will only become a demon, and it will change the world very little. ”

It's like persuasion.

“...... What did I do after I lost consciousness. ”

Not paying attention to Nikolai's words, after a brief moment of stunnedness, Galahad looked down slightly at his body soaked in pale green liquid. He was out of control, but he was alive, and Galahad remembered the powerful feeling he felt when he put on the armor, and it was reasonable that he would have been eroded to death by the armor, but now he lived...... Someone subdued him.

"You nearly killed the robin and the shrike, and then you almost killed me in the face of smoothbore shelling and high-voltage electricity. ”

Nikolai analyzed the battle situation at that time, and there was no expression on his sick face, probably because the facial nerves had been boiled to death after staying up all night for a long time.

"A thirty-kilogram warhead can only stop you a little, not even a deadly mercury vapor can subdue you, and thank you for losing control, except for Lancelot's Original Sin Armor, the other Original Sin Armor needs to be readjusted, I don't want to recover you a second time. ”

Lancelot.

The familiar name sounded again, and Galahad a feeling of indescribability.

"That guy can handle armor?"

It was a nightmarish experience, and even a familiar colleague could not help but feel strange to be able to support in that terror.

"That guy was made for armor, you knights are neuro-specialized, you can survive the will of demons for longer than ordinary people, and even ignore most of them, and Lancelot is the best among you. ”

Nikolai recalls the first experiment, Lancelot as a test driver, after being completely wrapped in the original sin armor, he did not lose control, not even emotional fluctuations, absolute sanity, like a cold machine.

He followed Nikolai's instructions to complete all the difficult movements, was ruthless and efficient, and absolutely obeyed orders, for which Arthur conducted a separate test for him, and Lancelot passed with perfect marks.

"You also know the peculiarity of the Original Sin Armor, it took us so many years to make the first batch of finished products in Perpetual Motion, and every call requires Arthur's will, and Lancelot was directly assigned by Arthur to carry the Original Sin Armor on his own. ”

"Okay, don't think about it so much, you need to rest, the residue of the original sin armor in your body also needs to be cleaned, sleep. ”

As if tired of talking, Nikolai didn't give Galahad a chance to speak again, and pressed the switch on the side, and new gas poured into Galahad's trachea through the breathing mask, and in just a few seconds, Galahad's consciousness fell into darkness again, and he fell asleep in the container.

Looking at the sleeping face, Nikolai's expression gradually became serious, and he circled to the back of the container, and through the translucent wall of the vessel could see Galahad's body.

The back was an eerie gray, most of the flesh was necrotic, and gradually decomposed under the pale green liquid, and the fine sarcoma fell off, and the wound was worse than Nikolai said.

"The part of the assimilation with the original sin armor has been removed, and based on the nerve fluctuations at the time of the conversation, it can be confirmed that the level of Galahad erosion is stable. ”

An assistant walked in, and he had been recording data in the dark corner since Galahad awakened.

"It's serious......"

Nikolai knew very well what the original sin armor was made of, and it was better to be partially demonized by that kind of thing, but fortunately they saved Galahad, otherwise what would have been waiting for Galahad would have been the incinerator of the perpetual motion pump.

"Give the report to Arthur, and it's up to him what to do with Galahad next. ”

Nikolai said as he signed his name on the report, and when he had finished writing the first half of the report, he seemed to have forgotten something, and he stopped writing and rummaged through his pocket for a long time and finally found his nameplate, no wonder Berau said that this was a group of madmen, and these madmen were so happy that they could not even remember their names.

Picking up the pen but stopping in mid-air, Nikolai froze in place, looking at the figure in the container like a sculpture.

After withdrawing from the front line, Galahad is bound to never be on the battlefield again, although most of the emotional intelligence is used for IQ, but Nikolai knows very well that this is a blow to Galahad, and there are also his reasons, if it weren't for his experiment, maybe Galahad would be fine.

He whispered as if to comfort himself and Galahad.

"So one person can't change anything in the world, and I'm different, Galahad.

I'm a scientist, and I'm someone who is destined to change the world. ”

As the words fell, meters thick of electric light streaked through the steel dome, illuminating the dark corners and turning Nikolai's face white.

Thousands of cables are arranged in a mysterious manner, and from time to time there are flashes of lightning and thunder, as if a god has descended into the world.

The staff stopped, not resting, but waiting for Nikolai, all the preparations for the experiment were ready, and now waiting for Nikolai to start it all.

One last glance at Galahad, who was sleeping in the container, Nikolai handed the signed report to his assistant next to him, only to see a line of crooked handwriting under the dense data.

Nikola tesla.