"Are there seven apostles?" Sally asked, holding her chin.

"There should be seven, for the book of Revelation says that seven apostles will come to earth before the end of the world." When the priest answered, he still did not stop carving, his hand was steady.

"Doomsday...... Alas. Sally sighed softly, took a piece of dry, hard, black bread made of mutated crops and nut flour from her bosom, and nibbled on it vigorously. She has limited time, and even time to eat has to be saved. Surviving in the wilderness is a race to death all the time. There was silence for a few minutes before Sally said, "Father, don't you think we're already in the middle of the end?" ”

"It depends on whom." The priest laughed and said in a deep, thick, and soft voice: "Before the war, the world was heaven for mankind and the end for other creatures. Mass extinctions are occurring, and the slow evolutionary process is not enough for new species to emerge. And this war, for the creatures of our planet, is the end of the world. This time, not a large number of species died, and only one percent of the human race remained, but capable people and mutated creatures appeared. War is not the end of the catastrophe, because for the capable and intelligent mutated creatures, the present world is heaven. ”

Chewing on the black bread slowly, Sally said, "Father, how should ordinary people deal with the relationship with the able?" I want to say that in the future, there will be a stable structure that will allow us to coexist. If it's possible, we should do it now, and if not, then ...... I will try my best to make everyone capable. However, after a year of observation, at most only one-tenth of our people have the potential to become capable. ”

The priest looked at Sally with some surprise, and instead of answering her question directly, he asked rhetorically: "What do you think would be the way if it was really possible for that kind of stable social form to exist?" ”

Sally replied quickly, apparently having thought about this question for a long time: "First of all, it should be a hierarchy with obvious class differences, and the basis for delineating the rights and obligations of each class is the level of ability, and the difference in rights between each class should be large enough to reflect the power gap between the capable and the ordinary people." It is quite possible that there will be a supreme being above many classes, who wields absolute power, even greater than the dictators of the old days, if he can have an overwhelming advantage over others. ”

The priest nodded, and continued to ask, "Then do you think there will be such a supreme person?" ”

Without hesitation, Sally said, "Yes." The Spider Queen is, if the historical data is not falsified. Even if the empress is no longer the strongest person in the future, there will definitely be a new figure who occupies the supreme power. ”

"Why?" The priest asked, and he still didn't stop carving.

"Because evolution and mutation have no end." Sally said.

If there is no end to evolution and mutation, it means that there is no end to ability, and there will always be more powerful beings. At that time, the only choice for society was dictatorship. And if there is a final ceiling in human evolution, then there will be a small group of people with roughly the same ability, and the ideal model would be an oligarchy democracy. That's Sally's answer.

The priest stopped what he was doing, looked at Sally with some surprise, smiled, and said, "You are a very clever child, and your guess is very close to reality. Yes, there is no end to evolution, at least with our limited vision, and there is no end in sight. You're right, I think that eventually there will be a supreme being who will rule our world. It doesn't have to be the strongest, but it does have to be one of the strongest. Of course, such a structure is not very stable, and it needs to be added with several layers of cornerstones. Speaking of which, you should understand that perhaps the monarchical feudal system of the old era would be the most suitable system for this era. In one's own territory, the lord is the supreme being, and the will of the lord is a qiē. The size of the territory is determined by the strength of the lord. An interesting system, isn't it? ”

"But isn't this similar to the current Bloody Council? No, it's not even as good as the Bloody Council. Sally's little face was full of struggle. The priest understood what she meant, and she held out hope that there would be a place for ordinary people in the world of the future. Although 'democracy' is destined to become a historical term.

"So the Bloody Council is not stable and destined for war. Another reason for the outbreak of war is that it is not long enough to be old, and there are still many people who refuse to accept the reality and yearn for the democracy and freedom of the old era. Ordinary people fantasize about being equal to those with ability, and those with low ability fantasize about being equal with those with high ability. As long as these people remain, wars will break out again and again until the illusion is completely shattered. Only then will new social systems be built on ruins and corpses. ”

The priest describes the harsh reality and the future in a melodious voice. Sally knows that this is the most likely reality, unless ...... Unless all those who are able to do it die.

Even in this settlement, even if it is loved and respected by the majority, the contradictions still exist and are becoming irreconcilable. For example, those who are capable have begun to imply that they should be given more resources to lean in, including but not limited to food, rest, and women. On the other hand, the side of ordinary people, which is also fueling this tendency. Some women will quietly offer their services to those who can do it in exchange for protection or more food. Other free women are openly vying for the place in the bed of the able. And some husbands will even encourage their women to go to bed with the able, in exchange for something or preferential treatment. All in all, the family structure that Sally had painstakingly built based on the morals and ethics of the old times began to crumble after only one winter.

The reason why there are still some unspoken rules that are followed is because these abilities only have about second-order abilities on average. They were able to deal with seven or eight adult men, but a dozen ordinary people could kill them as soon as they swarmed up. In addition, there is the existence of none of them who is capable enough to overwhelm everyone else, and if there is a fifth-order capable person here, then he can definitely become the king of this settlement. Two of the three third-order abilities have now set their sights on Sally. And Sally knows that one of the reasons why they haven't dared to do it yet is because she is also a capable person. After studying at the Dragoon Headquarters for more than a year, it's incredible that someone who isn't capable.

Sally does have the ability, perhaps because of her overly strong desire, and because of the few evolutionary potions that Su and Rigorei later gave her, she does have the ability to partially perceive the domain, and her memory and brain thinking ability have been greatly improved, so that she can memorize a huge amount of knowledge in a short period of time. With ten times the intelligence and memory of her past, Sally felt the power of the powerful, which made her almost hopeless about the ideals she once held.

It's brutal, but that's the reality.

She smiled reluctantly and said, "Then, what I should do is to help all those who have potential become capable." But what about ordinary people who can't become capable? ”

"They will live because they are the cornerstone of the mighty," said the priest. Of course, this comes at a cost, they need to be obedient, patient, and need a little luck so that they can live in the new order. ”

Sally was silent for a moment before she said bitterly, "But...... What about their dignity as human beings? ”

The priest sighed and said, "My child, the most difficult thing in this world is to live with dignity. Dignity is now a privilege reserved for a few. ”

"But is there no other way? Such a new anecdote sounds desperate. ”

"There's a way, and that's faith. Faith gives people hope in the darkest moments, and it also makes people feel the value of existence and thus live. The priest said.

Sally glanced at the seven apostles in a circle and asked with hope, "Father, is there really a God above the apostles?" ”

The priest put away the carving tools, sat down beside Sally, and smiled, "I don't know. Actually, it doesn't matter if there is a god or not, as long as we believe in its existence, that's enough. In the new order of the future, there will still be a way to change upward, that is, to become a capable person. But until now, no one knows what determines the talent of the able, and it is exactly like a gift from God. In order to receive this gift, faith is a must. Praying to God does not necessarily increase the chances of the next generation having the gift of ability, but it does bring peace to those who pray. Faith is a ray of sunshine in a dark world that can guide people to a better new world. It may only be guided by a few people, but for the thousands of people living in darkness, the most important thing is not whether they will be redeemed, but to be able to see the existence of this ray of sunshine. This is faith, and it gives hope and peace. ”

Sally smiled, a bitter smile. She knew that the priest had not yet said a word. The forces that sustain the new order are no longer the army and the police, but the capabilities of the capable, especially the supreme one. This is a force far more terrifying than the army, and the only way ordinary people can rebel against the new order is to perish. Those who can overthrow the powerful are only those who are more powerful. The new order isn't all bad, at least it treats ordinary people as the same race, leaving them a little space to be able to live.

Under the new order, there is no possibility of revolution.

The priest is not a prophet, and there is no need for prophecy to come to such a conclusion, just common sense.

The priest looked at Sally and asked, "You are a little special today, is something happening?" ”

Sally lowered her head, put her hands on her shoulders, sighed softly, and said, "I don't know what's wrong, I woke up this morning, and I suddenly felt that the whole world had changed. I don't know exactly what has changed, it's just ...... It made me suddenly scared of the world...... It seemed colder and darker. I couldn't see a shred of sunlight. Father, I'm ...... Need faith? ”

Her head drooped deeper and deeper, and her shoulders swayed silently. At this time, she was like a girl who was not yet twenty years old, rather than a guide who carried the responsibility of nearly a thousand people on her shoulders.

"Son," said the priest, "when you ask this question, you already need faith. But you are different, you do not lack courage and ideals, you are just temporarily tired. As believers, of course, we will rejoice in the existence of God, but for you, I need to remind you that if there is a God being, then God may bring not only salvation, but also judgment. ”

Ordinary people have the fate of ordinary people, and in this time of turmoil in the world, the capable have their own troubles, even if they are as strong as Rafite.

At this time, in the basement of a private hospital, a warehouse has been cleared into a practice field, and a dozen laser generators and miniature force field devices have been built into a simple virtual reality system. After setting up all the equipment, Helen returned to the corner of the driving range and pressed the start button on the light screen. The diesel generators outside roared, and the electric sparks jumped along a dozen staggered wires, quickly lighting up all the force field generators. More than a dozen lasers intertwined in the air, outlining a human body composed of silver-gray light. It is nearly 1.9 meters tall, has an entirely human form, and moves its joints like a human, and makes some offensive movements. Along with the attack of Hikarito's punches and kicks, the force field generator is also adjusted accordingly, and if you only feel it on the surface, it can be said that Hikaritato is a real person.

Raffi stood in the middle of the driving range, still looking irreverent, her fiery silver eyes staring at Helen, not letting go of every detail of her body. Helen was still wearing the long white coat that doctors and researchers were accustomed to, which basically hid her figure, but roughly exposed the curves that belonged to women. But Raffi stared at her closely, and his gaze was even more presumptuous, from the top to the bottom, and then from the bottom to the top, leaving no dead end at all. With his eyesight, even if a woman stood still wrapped in a polar winter suit, with the faint vibrations and shaking that her body could not control, Rafi could completely restore the woman in her mind. Of course, another direct way is to use a combination of perspective and ultra-tactile sensation, which can also achieve the effect of seeing through the human body. Rafi's way of looking at people has made it clear that he wants to restore Helen in the first way. As for the second method, it is naturally immediate to deal with Helen, who has no ability, but in the eyes of Lafite, who thinks very highly of himself, it is definitely an insult, not only to Helen, but also to himself.

The strange thing is that Curtis was actually present, and he also had a pair of small eyes, staring at Helen fiercely. From the flickering gaze, it can be seen that Black Steel actually has the same idea as Rafite.

Helen stood there, breathing, heartbeat, and uncontrollable shaking like an ordinary woman. These numbers were enough for Raffi to spell Helen tens of thousands of times, but his eyes widened more and more, and silver flames several centimeters long erupted from his pupils, and all his hair was flying, like silver flames! Raffi has gathered more than half of his ability, and his brain calculation speed is close to the limit of 80, and tens of thousands of them are put together in an instant, but each has a slight difference, and Raffi knows that it will definitely not be Helen's body. Helen can easily interfere with Rafite's detection with a tiny number of errors, causing him to generate false images. What's worse is that these errors are still changing randomly, and the frequency of their changes is so high that it can completely offset Lafite's error repair calculations. When Rafi increased the speed of his brain to more than 90 dangerous points, the images that changed more than 10,000 times per second gradually merged together, forming a very vague and hazy figure, and even men and women could not be distinguished.

At this time, Raffi was close to Helen's real body. But if you want to splice and restore her, it is not necessarily useful to increase the computing power of the brain to 100. And at that time, Rafi will definitely not be able to control the huge energy he has called, and the storm formed by the overflowing energy will hit Helen hard, and may even kill her. In fact, at this point, Rafe can be said to have lost, but he still persists, wanting to wait for Helen to make a mistake.

It's not impossible, but it's definitely a small probability event, at least in Rafite's memory, Helen hasn't made any mistakes yet.

Curtis in the corner was no better than Rafite, sweat the size of a bean rolled out, and it was evident from the thick veins and wriggling square muscles that he was struggling. It's just that no one knows what kind of brain Cortis has inside his amazing body, but it's very unlikely that he will surpass Raffi in computing power.

Helen didn't seem to see the strange gaze of the two at all, just lowered her head and adjusted the number on the light screen. In fact, this is some kind of small game between the three of them, and the reward is Helen's. Helen didn't take the game to heart, for her, it was just a prize that would not be paid at all. And some boring men, like Raffi and Curtis, like the feeling of repeated defeats.

With Helen's flying ten fingers, the light man is also doing one movement after another, and it is becoming more and more fluid and natural. It was only then that Rafite gave up his efforts and turned his attention to the people of light. After looking at it for a while, his face began to become solemn, because the light man's movements were full of spirituality, just like a powerful person with rich combat experience, and it was completely the result of intelligent program deduction and calculation, and had nothing to do with Helen's manipulation. Because Helen is incapable, she can't talk about combat experience.

"You called me the real yàn of cooperation, and it has something to do with this guy?" Raffi asked.

"It will be your opponent in a while, and now I still need about three minutes of debugging and correction time, please be patient for a while." Helen said in a symbolic mechanical voice.

"My opponent? Hehe! Raffi laughed, and although Hikarito looked powerful, he didn't believe that a piece of intelligence could defeat him. Even if he doesn't use overwhelming power, it's enough to take down his opponent in a single flash. So he shrugged his shoulders and asked, "So, dear Helen, can I ask what is the purpose of this real yàn?" Do you want to collect my battle counts? , I don't have a problem, but I'm going to get the big black guy out first. I don't want to have no secrets in front of him, in that case, I won't have a chance to swell his eyes next time! ”

"This is a high-level proficiency test. According to my calculations, in addition to the eleventh-order ability of the perceptual domain, 'multi-dimensional computing', there should be a twelfth-order ability, which I call 'pre-knowledge'. The purpose of this practice is to verify whether the 'prior knowledge' exists zài. ”

Helen's mechanical voice sounded like thunder in the ears of Raffi and Cortis!

The eleventh order was already called the ability of the gods, and there was actually a twelfth-order ability on top of it. Even if it is just a theoretical possibility, it is enough to subvert the times!

This book. D