This morning, the returnees were invited by Mark to discuss Angela's coping strategy and the plan for the next work in the preparation room of the training department. When Loki and I met at the restaurant and confirmed each other's identities. began to silently walk towards the predetermined place.

"Yesterday was a normal weirdness." In the corridor where he was about to reach his destination, Gray said to me, "There have been very dangerous events for almost a week, either employee riots or very strong paraphantic escapes. Gray sniffed: "Only yesterday - everything went well at work, the test was immediately suppressed, and there weren't even a lot of civilian casualties...... It's as quiet as the garden of the M nest. ”

"Uh-huh......" I nodded, "This sudden silence is really unsettling, and God knows if Angela is recuperating and poking us out of a bigger basket." ”

"I think ......" Maxi suddenly stepped forward and interjected, "If there are really those more terrible accidents than now, can we really solve them?" ”

The air fell silent for a moment, and it was clear that we were not able to answer such questions, and we could not even pinpoint our role in this huge script. The topic ended unsurprisingly, until the leader Loki suddenly stopped his steps:

"We're here." In front of a large door, he turned to us.

It wasn't working hours, and the training department's preparation room wasn't open yet, so Loki rang the doorbell, and after a brief but detailed scan of the smart lock in front of the door, the lock was forced to open as promised, allowing us to enter.

"Wow!" When we went around the corner and really entered the interior, a rather spectacular scene came into view: the rows of seats were piled up with piles of books of all sizes like hills, and the clerical staff of the editorial team of the training department were almost all present, and dozens of old pedant-like employees were busy shuttling through the stacks of books. As we looked, three figures appeared in front of us from the podium—it was Mark and Minister Hod, who seemed to be arguing over an unknown booklet, and of course little Eugenie was recording on the side, and she had become Mark's personal secretary at the moment.

"Mark!" Gray stepped forward and called out to his old comrades, which of course attracted the attention of the others, and everyone looked at each other and said hello briefly.

"Comrades, let's not gossip." Mark looked around us, and at the same time turned his back to lower the cognitive disturbance remotely, and breathed a brief sigh of relief. Then he said straight to the point: "I think you all studied the minister's intelligence analyzed by Rocky yesterday, and here is the content provided by Minister Hod, and I made a rough screening. With that, he handed us a chip. As usual, the data was copied into the memory memory built behind the ears of the six returnees. At the same time, Minister Hod stood to the side: "I wish I could help more." She said nervously.

"Where, where, ......," Mark hurriedly smiled, "You are willing to share information about Angela with us, I believe it is already a great help." ”

After hearing this, the minister seemed to be comforted a little, but he still couldn't help but show a little contempt: "Maybe I'm ...... It's been a very hypocritical guy all along. In order to satisfy himself, he also stole the name of kindness......"

"Where? Minister, you're really kind, okay! Maxi suddenly rushed up again and interjected: "When you help us, you are very serious. We're looking! ”

"Yes...... Is it? Minister Hod showed an unexpected surprise: "I'm glad I can help you, Maxi." ”

"Hmmm! Sister hod has been great! ”

"Ah...... I, actually, ......"

"A few ......" At this time, as the copies of the six people were completed one by one, I sorted out my thoughts and said first: "Angela, she...... Admittedly the most puzzling guy I've ever met in this company. In the days since the 34th day of this cycle, she has caused an uproar that has spread almost throughout the facility: the situation at the central headquarters is still on the verge of chaos. The sheer increase in tasks has also made the Corrections Department quite unstable now: Lydella is looking at me like a monster now. I said, pointing to my golden eyes.

Maxi sighed and felt that "the Ministry of Welfare can only allocate more civilian colleagues to work overtime and set up a new special liaison group, otherwise it will be difficult for our upper and lower levels to continue their work......"

"I'm more curious about the details of her time making all this commotion." Loki pondered, "The two anomalies who were supposed to be asleep next to her on the day of the presentation, and the 'AI Angela' that Maxi and Devna met when they went to the Ministry of Welfare that day, I believe these two events are no coincidence. ”

"There was also an abnormal departmental blockade the day before yesterday, and the order to evacuate other departments is likely to have something to do with the machine secretary in charge. On that day, the security department was stuck in front of the gate for almost two hours, which was the result of a deliberate plan. ”

"And that secret passage......" I said, frowning, "there's no way a normal employee would know about that place, and we have no memory of her before." Is she really a former colleague of ours? ”

"That's confirmed." As soon as the words fell, Ada, who was on the side, added: "Although we have artificially deleted some of our memories as returnees, according to my records of the archives of the Intelligence Department and the Records Department, I can still find some clues - thanks to my dear, it is him." "Saying,

"Uh...... Well. Loki agreed a little shyly, but quickly regained his form, adding, "We found at least thirty employees named 'Angela', but based on the results of extensive data analysis, it is clear that one is not in the file, but we still managed to reconstruct some of her life in this facility: in short, we found a few employees who had a lot of interaction with her long before the cycle officially began. ”

"There is also the video taken on the day of the speech, although most people expressed quite shock and weirdness at Angela's sudden appearance, but there are also people who have a look of anticipation and a different kind of nervousness, as if they have been waiting for this moment for a long time, or know the guy in advance." Ada said, using the brain's built-in memory to show us several screenshots.

"That...... Can I interrupt? At this time, Minister hod suddenly interrupted our plan and asked us in a tone full of confusion and anxiety, "Isn't the 'Angela' you are talking about, the AI secretary next to Mr. Supervisor?" ”

"Uh......" Everyone was silent for a moment, obviously the minister and AI Angela are not simply subordinates, all this is a little difficult to explain. Well, it's true, but the two are undoubtedly inextricably linked. Mark hurriedly stepped forward to explain. That is to say, the tragedy of the day before yesterday, and those terrible accidents earlier, have anything to do with (AI) Angela? Minister Hod said, his tone becoming more disgusted and incredulous: "If it's true, why would she do it?" ”

Mark's remarks made us feel a little surprised and surprised, it is true that we, as returnees, have maintained a fairly close relationship with almost all ministers, but the trust that Mark has so completely unreserved in dealing with Minister Hod is still unique to us, as if she is one of us, our community of destiny, the guy who will never betray.

"Please...... Please calm down first. In the face of Minister HOD's barrage of questions, Mark hurriedly reassured: "There are many questions that we can't confirm for the time being, so there is no need to be so nervous for the time being." ”

"Hmm......" Minister Hod seemed to calm down, rubbing her mechanical fingers together and seemingly softening, "As we agreed, I will not lose my temper." ”

Eugenie was still the same, recording without saying a word.

I shrugged my shoulders and prepared to bring the conversation back to discussion: "Or rather, actually...... It's long overdue for us to discover the connection between Angela and the AI secretary, and I think the relationship between the two is far more complicated than we thought. ”

"Hmm...... According to Devna's headquarters, the headquarters had planned to hold a training meeting the day before yesterday – which was the reason for the sudden increase in personnel stationed at the headquarters that day. ”

"But in fact, the event was not held at all, and not even a platform was set up." Mark said with some indignation: "After all the staff arrived, all the gates were immediately blocked. Ten minutes later, there was a push and shove in the crowd, and it spread rapidly through the crowd like a virus, and finally turned into a departmental riot in just half an hour. Mark's tone became more and more agitated, and his words were already full of unconcealable anger: "This is obviously a premeditated massacre!" ”

Seeing this, Maxi hurriedly stepped forward to extinguish the fire: "Calm down, Brother Mark." We're not thinking about countermeasures right now. ”

"No, no, I know, just to this extent." Mark waved his hand, "There will be a way, I am convinced of this." ”

"This again involves lying about the report, and if even Minister TipherethA did not interfere in this matter, intentionally or unintentionally, then there must be a big mystery behind it...... It is very likely that it was the direct intervention of the AI secretary. Ada shook her head and said, "As well as information about Angela's identity, we found a few people who caused trouble on the day of the speech - although they were dressed differently, they were all from the R&D department without exception. According to the information collected by my dear and me, about 50% of the first riots at that time came from the R&D department, 20% from the central headquarters, 20% from the disciplinary department and sporadic members from the remaining departments. From this, we can tentatively suspect that the riots on the speaking day were also a premeditated disturbance, and that they were inextricably linked to the R&D department. ”

After hearing this, Gregory frowned, and said with a bitter face: "Damn it, there is still the R&D department......"

"And the Motobu riot the day before yesterday...... Because too many troublemakers have been dealt with by the Corrections Department, we can only restore the original scene of the incident for the time being, and we will not be able to investigate further in the short term......," Ida made the final addition with a little regret.

"yes, Angela, and that AI secretary, and now the R&D department. I'm really getting more and more confused. Maxi sighed to himself.

"This facility is a mystery." Ida couldn't help but sigh: "Regarding the passage that Adele discovered, when we went to investigate again, we couldn't knock that thing open with all our might, and we couldn't even explore the internal environment, that thing seems to be an advanced thing encrypted with singularity technology." ”

Minister Hod seemed to feel the weight of the topic and began to try to find another way in his own way: "Actually, we ...... Why don't you try to talk to the 'Angela' you guys talked about? Maybe it's all just a misunderstanding......"

But Loki then poured cold water on such a slightly naïve proposal: "If we can actually locate her whereabouts...... That guy is out of nowhere, and there is no sign of Angela in the canteen, dormitory, and preparation room where normal employees are stationed. I even doubt if that guy is a living ghost. ”

"Why be so discouraged." Mark suddenly smiled and said a little mysteriously: "I received information from the newcomers in the containment team, and today a colleague with a fifth-level title in the R&D department suddenly 'cut in line' to settle in the containment team of the R&D department - presumably it was her." ”

"What ?!!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the containment team present was instantly stunned, but they were not necessarily happy, and there were more doubts: "Why did she dare to face us, and why did she have to face us?" I blurted out.

"Maybe it's for her sabotage plan; And during work, there will be a supervisor to ensure that she is thorough. Mark speculated, "After all, the containment team's senseless attack on a colleague is a very serious disciplinary issue, no matter what." ”

Gregory is more concerned about security: "You mean, we have to work not only with her, but also with her if necessary, to participate in the repression?!" You know, this guy just wanted to put Devna to death the day before yesterday! "Yes, yes!" Maxi also hurriedly chimed in: "What if she makes it bad again?" ”

"Then it seems that we can only try to avoid acting alone and taking turns spying on her for the ......" Loki suddenly felt resentful at this point, "but this is also too passive, and it is easy to be bitten back." Isn't there a better way?! Saying this, Loki sighed again, causing Ada beside him to look a little sad.

"Actually......" At this time, the HOD minister suddenly stepped forward and said, with a hint of smugness in his tone: "Mark and I are preparing for this. ”

"Huh?" Gree's gaze swept through the cognitive disturbance to the clerical staff who were busy in the stacks of books, "Are you talking about those books?" ”

"Only partially." Mark replied, "That's the latest work instruction manual. ”

"Emergency Response Handbook 4&X!" Eugenie suddenly added excitedly: "There is also the "Training Department's New Work Optimization Guidance Collection", it took us a lot of effort to complete this! ”

"Thank you also to Minister hod for helping to borrow Company T's time freeze device so that we could compile and print these manuals in just a few days, and now the clerical staff outside are picking and distributing them." Marth said, bowing to Minister Hod, "I am sure that you must have made a great personal sacrifice for this, and humanity will remember your contributions. ”

"Actually, I ......" was a sincere and touching statement, but the minister was particularly uneasy: "I just want to remedy what I did in the [DATA EXPUNGED] research institute in the first place, everyone is ...... because of me"

Maxi seemed to be quite curious about this, but he didn't go into any more details because of the situation, "Sister Hod......" just muttered.

"I was still called Michelle at the time, and I joined the project because I admired Miss [DATA EXPUNGED]......"

[DATA EXPUNGED] - what kind of existence is she, who has single-handedly supported almost the entire operation of the Institute, and in a few short years has completed the development of a singularity technology, defeating the Coordinator who came to defeat him, a feat that no gang, guild, or even World Wings can hardly replicate. It also made me deeply curious about this legend.

“…… However, both Mr. Director and Yesod have asked me, 'Do you want to join the Summit, knowing that the status quo of the experiment is not stable, and that the research must be in defiance of the Summit's regulations?' 'If your beloved parents, or your most precious friends, offer you sweet words to persuade you, do you really think you can reject them?' ’…… I didn't answer at the time, it was Miss [DATA EXPUNGED] who encouraged and trusted me all the time. Minister Hod said, his expression almost completely darkened, "But I still ...... Failed them, when I saw Enoch and Elijah die tragically because of the experiment, and saw little Lisa cry for the death of her childhood sweetheart's companion, I ...... I...... I told the head of everything about it. At this point, Minister Hod was already quite excited, and his words were almost incoherent: "At that time...... I, I didn't expect anything to happen next, and she just broke into the institute and ......"

"And then what happened what we're going through now." Mark added with some reluctance, "The Institute was destroyed, and the Director established the Lobe Company in the Misty War that followed, and the next step was the script for the Seed of Light. ”

Self-explanatory, Minister hod - also Michelle, she seems to play a rather special role in the research period, she is a traitor, but the motive is not derived from private interests, the minister is so kind and simple, it is not surprising that she must have been born in the nest of the Xian clan, since she was a child, she was isolated from the sorrow of the back alleys and the sorrow of the suburbs, in the overwhelming propaganda, under the meticulous protection of her parents, blindly believing in the justice in the mouth of the leader, believing in the truth in front of her, supplemented by her timid and gentle character - Presumably, all this became the trigger for her choice of betrayal.

"When I later learned about what happened in the research institute, thinking back to the past with Miss [DATA EXPUNGED] and everyone's past, I finally couldn't bear all this, and chose the most painful means I could think of to end myself......"

"Tragedy." Gray made a brief and incisive assessment, but from the look on his face at the moment, he seemed to show a vague sneer at such a weak storyline, and I certainly understood him—after all, in the back alleys of the city like blood vessels, similar tragedies were played out every day, and everything here, everything they thought was painful, in almost every gang member who had been in the back alley for a long time, the veteran finisher was as childish and pretentious as a child's story, unable to make a ripple in the silent heart.

"When I woke up again here, I thought...... This must be a second chance for me to try to make up for my past sins. But can I really be considerate of others? Maybe I can't hold that emotion in my heart. Minister Hod continued: "I want to be a good person! But even though I understood that I didn't really want to help others, I was just comforting myself. ”

There was silence, perhaps out of surprise or plain annoyance, and most of the returnees watched like living sculptures, without saying a word. Only Eugénie, who was intently recording on the side, was startled by this scene, and she looked at us in a little panic, a little overwhelmed.

Seeing this, Minister Hod showed more hesitation and frustration, "Maybe everyone...... I would love to criticize my betrayal and hypocrisy, but in fact...... In fact, everyone can say that it doesn't matter. As she spoke, her head lowered.

"Actually...... Miss Minister, you don't have to blame yourself so much. Mark broke his long silence abruptly, "Actually, we don't have to separate the two things...... He said, expectant and honest.

"Huh? Hmm......" Minister Hod didn't seem to understand Mark's words quickly, but she still felt Mark's enthusiasm deeply, and she listened carefully.

"The minister thinks that the so-called 'goodness' is for himself. That's true, but it's not entirely true: but when you're doing counseling, when you're holding a training event, if it's really helpful to your colleagues, then you're doing it for others as well. Mark sums it up: "We participate in the common work, both for ourselves and for others. You don't have to see only the former and fall into senseless self-deprecation; Nor should they fall into the fresh cluster of the latter and eventually lose themselves. ”

Minister Hod seemed to frown: "Yes...... Is it like this? ”

"But we still have to understand what kind of behavior we have to do to really help others and really help ourselves." Mark is sincere: "In general, enkephalin is often not a good option for feeding the human brain. ”

"Well......" the minister seemed to understand a little, and said emotionally, "If I can save... Or at least if I can comfort anyone, I can live with pride! ”

Perhaps this was a successful enlightenment. But I believe the Minister did not fully understand Mark's point – after all, it was so profound and difficult to refute, and as far as I was concerned, it was also used to respect it.

"Each of us is a complex aggregate, where good and ugly coexist, reason and emotion coexist." Mark added.

On one side, Eugenie's mouth opened wide into an "O" shape, and she nodded like pounding garlic, as if she had obtained a treasure.

"If you have found a treasure, everyone." Loki smiled helplessly, pointed to the book mountain outside the curtain and said, "Do you want to continue now?" ”

"Hmm." Mark nodded, "These are all preparations for a bigger plan. We need to be like the roots of a tree that are coiled up in layers, and organize the people of the company who are scattered in the sand. ”

Gray frowned, he didn't seem to understand a little: "Then what is your plan...... Let them read these books? ”

Mark didn't heed his interjection, but continued to add his logic and plan: "I'm going to set up an organization, with the Returnees and Training Department as the core, and in other departments, around each containment group, and develop other colleagues, and finally organize everyone as completely as possible." Only by fully mobilizing more people will we be able to grasp the initiative in all this. ”

"Good idea." I nodded: "So how are you going to land?" And how do we get everyone to follow our instructions? ”

"Did Neves from the Intelligence Department scoff at your words?" After hearing this, Mark asked unhurriedly, "As far as I know, he is now convinced of the fact of the Light Seed Project, and he relies on you more than before. As he spoke, he called up the psychological counseling records of the training department, and the word "Neves" stood out.

Loki seemed to want to refute something, but soon fell silent in Mark's argument that followed: "I don't think he's an exception, thanks to Minister Yesod's serious management, the Intelligence Department as a whole is quite well organized. And your personal abilities are actually trusted by at least forty percent of your colleagues. ”

Admittedly, Loki is smart, and even completely genius in terms of technical aspects. But his ill-fated experience seems to have doomed this somewhat stubborn guy to always be difficult to make appropriate adaptations in the face of complex and changeable people's hearts, and he is not good at balancing contradictions and winning people's hearts. However, what Mark said was not true, and I was impressed by the rather strong civilian team under his command - at least he was able to complete the "Training Department's New Work Optimization Guidance Collection", which is almost 30 centimeters thick and magnum opus, intricate and extremely accurate. It is enough to amaze ordinary people.

"Neves, the rest of the containment team, they trust us, not the AI secretary known as 'Angela' who only has a metrical mind. The civilians trust the staff of the containment team for their own personal safety - that's the foundation of how we organize it all. Mark continued: "Debunking all the false words of the company. Just to survive and live! This is the strongest call we can make. ”

I looked down and pondered, and while the plan wasn't clearly framed in my head, my gut told me that it seemed to be the only way to turn defeat into victory at the moment, and at least I decided to give my old friend Mark his full trust. In times of crisis, we cannot deviate from morality.

"Like...... Sounds doable. Maxi nodded thoughtfully: "I agree, I believe in Mark." He said, holding up his hand.

Loki was not in a hurry to express his position, but Ada, who was beside him, seemed to have more of his own ideas: "The general idea should be feasible, but we need time to study the 'work guidebook' before deciding on the next action." ”

Gregory and I didn't speak, and we acquiesced.

"Thank you, thank you for your trust!" Seeing this, Mark stood up calmly and eagerly, bowed deeply to the crowd, and made a final summary: "Comrades, our current enemy is strong and unknown, and only when each of us unites can we finally overcome difficulties and achieve true freedom and liberation!" ”

At this point, the simple mobilization meeting is over, and more practical efforts are next. With the help of the time freeze device borrowed by Minister Hod from the warehouse, we had the equivalent of three days of in-depth discussions and program development - all of which had the basis of the mark in advance, but the complexity of the work was beyond all of our imagination, and we only managed to arrive at a draft. But even then, we have to start deploying, and we're nearing the end of this cycle, and if we can't really meet that unified metric, all the hard work we've put in will be in vain.

One more thing to add: the old machine in the warehouse was a T product that had been phased out five years ago, and its actual effect was not enough to freeze time, and in order not to be overly suspected, we could only use it for ten minutes a day, which provided about three full days of extra time. But the situation is still extremely urgent – after all, there is more important than that, and we are not studying a lot of subjects to prepare as well as possible for the future.

Angela, AI Secretary, R&D ...... These terms are deeply imprinted in my brain, all their movements, and the unknown hands that manipulate everything in the dark. If there is a deep sense of powerlessness and great worry, then it is nothing more than this.

I believe that the speech on the twenty-seventh day had a practical effect, as a glimpse can be seen in the days that followed, as the bodies of the civilian officers of the Department of Control, who were often found in the quarters, and who were unable to face the predicament before them, and chose the simplest and most stupid way to escape.

But we can't run away from it, let alone from it, and even if tomorrow is so dark and miserable, we must overcome it.