The Moon, the original site of the Kepler base.

The scene of the rescue was a mess, separated by a pure white makeshift oxygen shed.

Inside, where the cold had not dissipated, the investigators took off their helmets, lowered their heads, and stared at the eyeless corpse in front of them.

"Has the deceased been identified?"

From the Command Bureau, the captain directly under the decision-making room asked.

"It has been confirmed to the [Silver Tablet] Workshop that this body is the Workshop's alchemist Ragnar himself. The assistant replied: "According to the restoration of the scene and the investigation of scholars, the identity of the murderer has also been ascertained...... It was William Bakker, the head of security at the Kepler base. ”

"Is there a grudge between the two sides?"

"No, no, William has never quarreled with anyone outside of work since he came here as head of security ten years ago, and is generally good-natured. The assistant said: "With Ragnar's character, he should not disdain to contradict the personnel of the same base." ”

"Okay, let me guess ......"

The captain, who had not slept for almost forty-eight hours, crouched on the ground, stared at the empty eyes of the corpse, and suddenly said, "This William Buckle must have served in the Dark Side Prison before coming to the Kepler base, right?"

The assistant was stunned for a moment, then looked down at the screen in his hand, and called up the file, but some of it was blocked.

Top Secret Nature.

"Don't look at it, this kind of top-secret archive on the moon is only the Sixth Research Institute except for the Dark Side Prison, and it is absolutely impossible for the people of the Sixth Research Institute to be outside......"

The captain rubbed his face: "In my name, send a letter to the Dark Side Prison to inquire." ”

In less than five minutes, the exact reply appeared on the assistant's screen.

As the captain had guessed, William Buckle had indeed served in the Dark Side Prison for twelve years before he came here.

The area of service is the 1st floor of Block B.

The place where Grand Master Publius is held!

Spooky coincidences.

“...... That's what happened, right?"

The captain's eyes stared at the corpse, but the empty gaze fell into the void, becoming gloomy and terrifying: "The service members of the Dark Side Prison are not allowed to return to the present realm for the rest of their lives, so they can only look for jobs on the moon and the border. As compensation, they will all have a well-paid and high-status position in various bases and departments......"

He paused, then turned around and ordered: "Check the whereabouts of the guards on the B1 floor over the years after they retired!"

Fifteen minutes later, the report appeared in front of the captain's eyes.

Over the past ninety years, a total of 141 guards have left the B1 floor, of which 34 have volunteered to stay in the Dark Side Prison and become logistics units, 40 have gone to the border, and the rest are scattered across the Moon's major research bases......

But when it was carefully organized, it was found that more than 11 people from hundreds of institutions on such a huge moon had come to this narrow area between the storm ocean and the island sea.

And without exception, in the midst of all kinds of accidents...... Swift, unexpectedly dead!

"When did the last death start?" the captain asked.

"Seventy years ago," said the assistant to ......, "Since then, no more expats have come to Kepler until Wilhelm retired two years ago." ”

"It's time for the front and rear Helios workshops to dock. ”

The captain laughed mockingly: "So, help me look at the medical records of Grand Master Publius, when did the signs of essentia decay and soul atrophy begin?"

"Nine, Ninety-One Years Ago......"

In the long silence, the captain lit the cigarette at the corner of his mouth and muttered to himself.

It's been 20 years.

"Have you been preparing to escape from prison since then, Publius...... Sure enough, the Great Grandmaster is the Great Grandmaster, and no one can be underestimated. ”

The assistant was stunned: "Isn't Publius dead?"

"Yes, yes, it's dead, but here's the problem...... How does a person's death be defined, friend? The captain laughed.

He raised his hand and pointed to his forehead: "Is it the destruction of the body or the dissipation of the soul? What does it mean if it is just a dead body? Isn't there no remnant of the soul at the scene?"

"Not the erosion of the spell?"

"Let's leave it at all the trouble of going to the trouble of rushing into the Darkside Prison to kill an old thing that the world has long forgotten, if, I mean, if there is even the slightest possibility...... What if his soul wasn't here long before he was killed?"

The captain raised his eyes, and a sudden light lit up behind his eyes: "What if he had escaped from prison before that?"

That's right, jailbreak.

The Grand Master of Essentia Publius, single-handedly accomplished a heroic feat that countless people have not been able to accomplish for hundreds of years.

Escape from the Dark Side Prison!

If it weren't for the recent anomalies in lunar surveillance and the strange events that happened in Kepler's crater, which had been the focus of the Astronomical Society, and then linked, no one would have been able to find any clues.

Only the professional hounds of the Primordial Dark Legion have such a keen sense of smell.

From the seemingly ordinary death, smell the signs of abnormality.

"Tony, what do you think?" the captain asked, looking up.

"I sat and watched. The horse-faced man who was smoking next to him shrugged: "I'm still on vacation, big brother, even if I'm dragged to work overtime, do I still have to be a compliment?"

"Now it's time to use your ideas to validate. ”

The captain stood up and suddenly asked, "If you were Grand Master Publius, how much would you pay to be free?"

Tony chuckled under his lips and grinned from under his mask as if he felt the same way.

I can understand the determination that has long been above ordinary people.

"Of course, at all costs......"

He could have said so.

Even if you are at this price!

Well, the answer is clear.

The first known condition is that the subject that the Grand Master Publius specializes in is the essence of man.

Known condition two, since ninety-one years ago, Publius's soul has shown signs of collapse due to aging, essentia has escaped, and until recently, he has lost all the ability to use alchemy before he died.

Known condition three, all the people who retired from the B1 section of the Dark Side Prison and came to the vicinity of the Kepler base all died for various reasons.

Fourth, the inhuman obsession with miracles shown by Publius, and even the great mistake he made because of it!

For what purpose, to get out of here.

He did not hesitate to kill himself.

"But is such a thing possible?" asked Tony, "is that a little too sensational?"

"Don't forget, he's the Grand Master, Tony. ”

The captain said, "A fifth-order sublimator may have a limit, but for a great grandmaster, as long as he is well prepared...... Nothing is impossible, and what about this mere 'suicide'?"

The only thing that cannot be separated from the cage is the longing of the soul.

He was thinking.

He kept thinking.

For him, get out of here as long as he wants.

The two glanced at each other and did not speak, but at the same time they felt an indescribable chill.

They all understood what the man who longed for freedom had done in the midst of the world's most heavily guarded and blockades, under constant surveillance without any privacy, in full view of everyone.

Countless long nights, enduring unprecedented pain, little by little...... Tear your own soul apart.

With wisps of scattered essentia, the broken soul was implanted bit by bit into the guards who were close at hand.

In order to avoid triggering monitoring, essentia should be incomparably thin, hidden in words, in thoughts, and in his sight.

Relying on the occasional eye contact, he couldn't get an answer, and he moaned when he talked to the doctor.

Cut their own souls apart, tear them to pieces, merge them into the souls of others, and finally combine them into shape, allowing them to take some of their own souls with them.

Again, and again, and again......

Create hell from your own soul, and then extract the essence of freedom from this narrow hell day after day.

As a result, essentia is gradually scarce, and the soul gradually collapses.

How many times and how many times did it fail after such a painful suicide was repeated for ninety years?

Every man departs with a part of his body, the remains of his soul.

It was like planting a seed, growing silently, waiting silently, until one day, the sustenance heard a certain news, saw a certain object, had an unusual dream, and finally, ushered in irreversible erosion and transformation, and became a part of the great master Publius.

If this is true, he divided his soul into at least eleven parts, no, if you count William, it should be twelve. Tony sighed, "Is it really possible?"

"Don't forget, Tony, he's the Grand Master. ”

As long as he can pay the price, he can do anything......

The captain extinguished his cigarette and whispered, "What is impossible for such an inhuman being?"

"If this kind of speculation comes to write a report, I'm afraid the lord above won't believe it, right?"

"Who's to say it's not?" the captain got up and took one last look at the corpse on the ground, "But what else is there to write about......? How to verify it, leave it to the old men above for a headache. ”

Three hours later, in a separate bedroom at Kepler's crater's makeshift settlement, the captain completed his sixth report.

After a small glass of wine, he wrapped himself in a blanket and fell into a deep sleep.

Snoring rang out.

The report was routed to the present via a satellite between the Earth and the Moon, where it arrived at the London extension Watt a minute later and was transferred to the central decision-making room and overhead floor.

After receiving the initial trial, the analysis team of more than 600 people collected and assembled the intelligence, and submitted the third batch of findings and speculations half an hour later.

Fifteen minutes later, after passing the axis mechanism check, the report was forwarded to the next level.

After another hour, the meeting ended.

After the video conference, Secretary General Yegor sat in his study in his pajamas, smoked a cigarette and did not drink alcohol.

Bow your head and sign a new order.

At the seventh hour, there was a state of emergency on the moon, and everyone was forced to stop all activity and went to the thirteen sanctuaries.

At the same time, the fourth adjustment of the Moon's orbit began, and in a state of emergency, it was temporarily decoupled from the gravitational pull of the current situation.

After the orbital inclination was adjusted, the huge star circled around for a circle, made a slight acceleration, and detached from the orbit with the effect of a gravitational slingshot.

Left behind a round of moonlight that still hung above the canopy of the present world.

And in the midst of countless star orbits, on the back side of the eternal dark moon, silver-white dust rose up.

In the vacuum, the Moon Sea cracked, and forty-seven ring-shaped metal creations with a diameter of six kilometers erupted into the universe with thin blue fire.

They seem to be pierced by an invisible axis, extending straight outward.

Far in the direction of Jupiter.

Hold on to the Devil's Eye.

In the center of countless concentric circles, under the cracked shell of the moon, a pure metal substance that had been silent for more than sixty years waited quietly.

Heavy guns of sufficient mass to rival the medium-sized islands are ready to fire.

Wait quietly.

Wait for the results of the observations.

Waiting for the war to come –

At the same time, under the aim of the heavy mass cannon, Huai Shi struggled in her sleep and felt a suffocation.

was about to be suffocated to death by the broken dog lying on his face.