"Welcome."

As we spoke, a man dressed in strange clothes appeared in front of us: he was wrapped in a white robe, lined with Roman aristocratic shirts, but also immaculate white, with waist-length long hair, and his bare left arm was decorated with unknown black patterns, which looked quite religious. "I've been waiting here for a long time." He looked at us with a proud look on his face, and said in a rather contemptuous but slow tone.

Admittedly, it's definitely quite a nasty feeling, like some of the leaders who make their appearances on TV from time to time, procrastinating and weird. If it weren't for the face of a director, I would never believe that this god-like guy in front of me was Ayin's third demon.

"Hmph. It's boring. He glared and said, "You also know that the world has no pleasure in knowing the highest good. As he spoke, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth: "Think carefully about this miserable world: the Singularity makes everything around you change. "Wing" controls the whole world, and no one can survive without the constraints of "Wing". ”

And how brutal the "wings" are, mortals know it, but they can only choose to be silent. At this point, the man's tone had changed to a rather sarcastic sneer: "Those who refuse to obey the "Wing" are destined to become "losers" and get out of this world alone. And that's where you're now. ”

As he spoke, the man closed his eyes and began to chant the verses of the old days: "What kind of existence was I in the past? What should I do at this moment? Where should I go in the future? The questions that promote human growth have long been timid. Mortals are dying, and they are struggling to survive. I watched the foreseen depravity, and the boredom in my heart was beyond words. ”

That's why. I've found it—" He suddenly opened his eyes, and a smile crossed his lips...... No, that crazy look can't be called a smile at all—"the 'light' of a mortal's heart!" He excitedly declared, as if he were the god who lit the sun, and created all the miracles: "Helplessly, most people will not be able to catch a glimpse of that light in their lifetime." He also said with great regret: "Pathetic mortals are living in a desperate situation, watching the so-called 'hope' become more and more diminished. ”

"Abandoning reality and pursuing falsehood, such a person must be miserable." He smirked and said, "Mortals are beginning to seal the light in the depths of their hearts. And [DATA EXPUNGED] is determined to bring out that light. So......" he said, nodding triumphantly, "...... I was able to see the truth:"

"The Illusion is not an illusory being—the essence of the Illusion is the light that is drawn from the closed mind." The man read aloud his astonishing wonders, and he became louder and louder: "They are the truest form of human beings. The Fantasy is the purest shell of a mortal. They are the real human beings of this age! ”

"But mortals fear them and try to control them." The man's words changed, and suddenly he began to laugh for no reason:

"You don't have to blame the ignorant rats – it's normal for humans to be ashamed to see their naked bodies." The man said, shaking his head helplessly, but then immersed himself in his so-called "truth" again: "In any case, you and I have understood-"

"[DATA EXPUNGED] will be the forbidden fruit for the creation of a new humanity."

"Now, call out my name!" He opened his arms and raised his arms and shouted:

"My name is Adam - the first new human!"

"I will sow new seeds in this vast forest and wait for them to blossom and bear fruit."

"The forbidden fruit that can enlighten mankind has long grown in everyone's heart, but it has long been forgotten."

"Mortals only need to take a bite to be endowed with endless wisdom and open their eyes from confusion."

"Humanity will be redeemed from the sin of self-forgetfulness!"

Adam finally grinned, revealing an equally pure and flawless glazed tooth: "Only then will they feel shame. And once I can draw water from everyone's well, then mortals will no longer have to close themselves off. That kind of scene is really throbbing! Adam said, shuddering: "Mortals often ask, 'Why do we exist?'" But they can't give an answer. ”

"But, I can." Adam stabilized his emotions slightly, and reached out to us: "Join me, I will naturally show you-" He stared at us like a greedy hungry eagle, as if full of inexplicable confidence, but after a brief eye contact, he immediately showed panic like a rabbit: "You can't refuse!" You have no reason to say no at all! He began to look left and right, and his tone gradually became hysterical: "... Do you really think you can see things as they are? Even if what you see is just the tip of the iceberg? If you can do hundreds of good deeds, then what's the point of a single sin!? ”。

Seeing that the director was still unmoved, he quickly readjusted his wording: "The future of mortals needs to be guided by people like me and you...... Think about the wave of redemption that followed! ”

"Accept my invitation, and your future will be full of wonders!! Are you ready to face another unpredictable future!? ”

"Every minute, every second you spend here, is full of pain! You can't even be sure you're on the right path! ”

"The mysteries I know should not be wasted!"

At this point, the chattering old white baby finally realized his gaffe, he hurriedly adjusted his expression, shook his shoulders, and regained the arrogance he had when he came: "There is not much time left, if you are not ready, then I will be the first step..."

“...... Could it be... You..."

At this moment, he seemed to have completely lost confidence, as if something had been broken and broken. "Well, it seems that you don't plan to stop there. Rather, want to stop me? He pursed his lips, and threw a sentence at us as he was about to disappear:

"We'll see."

After a short wait, as always, my mind returned to the familiar room, only this time, the Director did not seem to intend to repeat any more, and simply closed the communication as usual, leaving only an inexplicable silence.

"Okay." I shook my head and sighed slightly, "Then ...... Let's get ready for today. ”

"Knock knock." Just as I was refreshed and ready to leave the dormitory, there was a sudden knock on the door of my room......

"Who's knocking on the door at this point?!" I felt a thump in my heart, and hurriedly stopped the movement of my hand, and waited—

"Knock knock!" The voice rang again, and it seemed that it was indeed a late-night visit. I took a deep breath and exhaled a long breath, then I showed Bo Twilight around me, slowly walked forward, and opened the door.

"Smack." I pressed the handle.

"Hello, may I ask ......" Just as I was about to be polite as usual, the dark figure that appeared in front of me immediately dispelled my luck like a storm - it was Minister Binah, even if it was the same box-shaped mechanical body, but its majesty and solemnity that seeped from the top down, from every crevice, still made my body shiver from the bottom of my heart—I froze in place, as if my blood had coagulated all over my body.

"Good evening, Miss Devna." She flashed her dim yellow one-eyed and greeted me mechanically in an extremely cold tone: "Visiting late at night is quite inconsiderate. ”

“Binah…… Minister. I stared at the woman in front of me vigilantly, "May I ask why you are here at this time?" I asked, pretending to be calm.

"Hmph......" Minister Binah didn't answer my question, but pushed open the door and walked inside.

"Well...... I knew I couldn't stop her, so I fell silent for a while, closed the door of the room, and moved from the closet, took out the teapot honey from it, and prepared to make tea for Binah.

"Smack." Her footsteps stopped at my delicate little table, and even though the mechanical body didn't get tired, she set up the stand under her - and just "sit" at the table, looking quite relaxed and natural.

In between teas, I sent an emergency signal to my sleeping colleagues to remind them that something needed to happen.

After doing all this nervously, I took a deep breath and took the brewed black tea out of the cooking cabinet, wrapped it in delicate white porcelain, and carefully delivered it to Minister Binah.

"Black tea, please use it slowly." As I spoke, I found a chair and sat down with us.

As always, Minister Binah did not rush to show his intentions, but took the cup of black tea and slowly poured a small amount into an extremely hard-to-find opening at his side. She turned off the twilight-glowing camera in front of her, as if she were an old tea customer enjoying a leisurely reminiscence. She slowly lowered the teacup, but she didn't want to stop at a shallow taste, and when the curling white smoke had cleared and the slightly hot body had cooled down again, she raised her glass to sip again. This went on and on, until the tea in the cup bottomed out, and she finally put the teacup back in front of the table, dragging out a long breath with the unique mechanical sound, as if she was still immersed in the vague grace of Fangcai.

"It's really worthy of my former subordinates, and the hand-brewed black tea is still so in line with my taste." She sat upright and half-quipped to me.

"It's just basic hospitality." I glared at her helplessly: "The morning bell rings at seven o'clock, and we still have two hours." ”

"In that case, there's no point in shirking it, so let's get started."

At this moment, she was finally willing to open Chrysostom, ready to talk about business.

"Yesterday's battle...... Are you worried? She said straight to the point.

"What do you mean?" I asked warily.

"I think you know the touch of being eroded by ego and connected to your body by a fantasy." Binah said unhurriedly, "There has never been a power in this world without a price, and this is especially true for the Bird of End. ”

"What the hell are you trying to say?" I asked a little bit of a way.

"Poof...... I can't imagine that time has passed, and I am still so anxious. Binah sighed slightly, and still in that unhurried tone, said to me slowly:

"I'm here to make a deal with you."

Finally...... Since the appearance of this black iron box here, she has finally said something practical, although such an act is difficult to arouse the so-called favor of ordinary people, but the few words in her mouth still aroused my great interest: "Deal? What a deal. I asked, frowning.

"We can help you escape the encroachment of the end and save you alive when that day comes, in the midst of the catastrophe destined to engulf the entire facility." She looked me in the eye and said word by word.

"Impossible." I flatly refused: "I'm sorry Minister Bianh, I really have no reason to trust you. Not to mention...... There's no way I'm going to leave these colleagues who are willing to lay down their lives for me to live alone – or if you can let everyone go. I laughed.

Minister Binah didn't answer me, but he still looked like he was in his chest, which always made people feel a little uneasy.

"Devna, have you ever wondered how I opened up a short period of time that belonged to us in the noisy battlefield on the day of the core suppression day of the R&D department." She asked me.

"Tsk......" I frowned, "this ......"

"Maybe you're aware that it's not the magic of the T Corporation's singularity that you can do all of that—but it's based here—the research on anomalies like the Terminal Bird in the Lobe Corporation." Minister Binah indifferently recounted: "This is indeed a prison for freedom and a vast sea for the search for knowledge. As she spoke, she stared at the sink not far away—"Spirit, condense." She snapped her fingers, and the faucet turned on, and the pleasant sound of water lapping white porcelain was instantly heard in her ears. Soon, she stood up satisfied, and slowly raised her right hand - "Long arm, grasp." She chanted softly.

"Buzz ————!!"

"What......!" I was startled by the sudden touch—and when I came back to my senses, looking at everything around me that had suddenly stopped, the sculptural flow of water, as if everything had stopped breathing at this moment—I immediately understood what Minister Binah had just said, that this new body had given me more acute senses since the day of the testimony, and that I could clearly feel that the power of time and space in her hand was due to the non-return of the borrowing of me as a "container". And when she began to expand her sphere of influence in time and space uncontrollably, I also felt a great burden and discomfort at the same time—under her triumphant gaze, my tired brain finally could not hold on to my shattered body, and my legs went limp, and I fell to my knees.

"Now...... Are you convinced? Binah quickly stopped releasing energy and asked me in a complete victorious stance.

"You...... How do you ......" I looked up trembling as I shuddered.

"I can exhaust in an instant for destruction; It can also be slowly replaced for remodeling. Minister Binah explained briefly. How is it? Is that enough leverage? She asked me playfully.

“…… cough...... "I took a deep breath and had to readjust the power of the apocalypse in my body, which was already out of balance. "Even so......," I shook my head, gritted my teeth, and said, "I won't give in to you......"

"On the contrary, it's not about giving in to 'us', it's about finding a future for yourself – you know it better than anyone else...... Is the price of allowing this power to further devour yourself, and what you will face at that time, the result of what you can still deal with...... Is it an outcome that is acceptable to all? Binah said to herself, as if she didn't care about my state at the moment: "...... After that man leaves, only the R&D department can help you get rid of this nightmare and this fate. ”

"It's still a long time...... I'll give you time to think about it. Minister Binah put the finishing touches on his remarks, then put away his stand and slowly got up.

"No need to send it." She spoke to me, who was still on my knees at my feet. Then he walked freely, and left this small room unhurriedly, as graceful and dignified as before.

"Huh——!" It was only a long time after he left that I finally took a breath from the tearing cramps that had tumbled over the sea, and I took a few deep breaths of comfort that I had not felt for a long time, and slowly climbed up from the ground.

"It's all right...... Come in. I looked at the anxious figures outside the door, breathed a sigh of relief, and motioned for them to stop their vigilance.