Ryan wakes up to find a terrible mattress and a cat lying on his chest.

When the courier wakes up from his slumber, the animal looks at him with big blue eyes. The Persian cat has a layer of white fur in its purest form, as well as a languid expression, like an animal that sleeps 18 hours a day without being ashamed.

This is......

It's the perfect Bond villain cat!

Ryan immediately let out a cry of delight, and the cat looked at him with noble curiosity.

"I'll call you......" Ryan lifted the cat over the ground to see if it was male or female, and let his imagination do the rest. Eugene-Henry von Schrödinger!"

eug - he

Y meows in response.

"The name sucks," someone complained in the "room" next to him — another animal cage that had been converted into a cell. Ryan recognized it as Sarah's voice. "It's terrible."

"Like many geniuses, I was ahead of my time," Ryan replied, scratching behind Eugene Henry's ear. "You like the name, don't you?" You love it, don't you?"

"Is that the white cat?" Sarah peeks into Ryan's private space and finds the courier sitting on his sheets with the cat on his lap. The courier assured himself that he would work hard to develop his diabolical mastermind pose, even though he would need to buy a cashmere suit first. "It has a sixth sense and can find suction cups that are willing to feed it. That's why it's so fat. ”

"Hey, he doesn't judge people by their looks!"

"Once, I showed him a mouse, just a meter away from his face, and the lazy hairball didn't even react."

"Slander!" Ryan defends his new partner. "Is there a shower?" I think I slept in that bed catching fleas. ”

"Yes, but the water is muddy. Mom said she would fix your car after checking it today. ”

Check his - - - -

"Damn, I hope she won't find the body," Ryan said, getting up from the bed. Yugeney Henry immediately took his place and moved under the sheets to better protect the mattress from intrusion.

"There's a place to put that," said little Sara nonchalantly. "Drug addicts call it the Happy Hole."

As it turns out, Rusty Town does have tourist attractions.

Ryan starts getting dressed, but immediately notices that something is wrong. That is, his gun is missing, and some of his weapons are not in place. Apparently someone checked his luggage while he slept.

The dwarf may be willing to help, but she doesn't fully trust him yet.

The courier comes out of the orphanage and finds Ryan fiddling with his car, he opens the hood of the car and looks inside. She put the water gun on the right.

"Comrade Shorty, just because it's an American car doesn't give you the right to destroy it," Ryan said. "Find yourself a Lada."

Ryan took her head off the engine, and when she grabbed the water gun, Ryan's mischievous demeanor disappeared immediately. "Ruili, what did you do?"

What did he do?

What didn't he do?

Ryan glanced inside the hood of the car, his old friend aiming her weapon at his head. Unfortunately, Ryan discovered the brain and came to the wrong conclusions.

“Ri

i, have you ever ...... "Le."

Obviously didn't want to finish the sentence, but forced himself to say it anyway. "Did you put people in?"

"You won't believe how many times I've tried to find the right person." He immediately raised his hands, and Ryan made an embarrassed expression. "Relax, I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" It's not even sentient!"

"Relily, don't, don't joke about it." She said angrily, holding the weapon in her hand all the time.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he apologized. "When I'm stressed, I default to humor, and I don't drink coffee in the morning."

Len was still as stiff and gloomy as ever. "Reli, where did it come from?"

"It's grown in vats, a gift from another genius." Don't answer. "Little man, I'm not a serial killer, I'm not going to kidnap homeless people on the road to experiment on them."

"Reli, I'...... I want to believe you're not crazy. I really want to. She shook her head. But you have to put the thermonuclear device next to the child. ”

God, if only she knew about stuffed animals. "Lunn, there are no permanent consequences around me."

"But what if you're wrong?" She asked, biting her lower lip. "What if you jumped into another universe every time you died, leaving a nuclear pit?"

"That's not how my superpowers work," Ryan comforted her. "I promise you, I won't jump into another universe when I die. I checked. If I knew I was left with a mess, I wouldn't be doing half of what I do every week. My power only affects our universe, and all I do is make it stop drinking. ”

"That's even more terrifying," Ryan said, still trying to make sense of the full extent of his power. "If you're right, then you can rewrite the entire space-time continuum almost at will. It's not just time manipulation, it's reality bending. ”

"Yes, dwarf, some people get water guns for Christmas and I get fat ones," Ryan said, placing a finger on the tip of her gun. "So, can you ......"

She hesitated, apparently oscillating between trusting him and fearing him, but eventually put down the water gun. "Be disciplined when you stay here," Lunn said. "I ...... Even if there are no consequences from your point of view, I don't want anything dangerous near the kids. ”

"Lunn, they have guns."

"Because they need weapons to protect themselves in this hellish place." Genius replied. "But that nuclear bomb, Rayleigh, won't help anyone. It's literally death in a can. ”

"Okay, I'll get rid of it." He would give it to Vulcan as a symbol of friendship. "Can you give it back to me, then?" I swear you'll never see that bomb again. ”

She hesitated in pain for a long minute, then searched through her jumpsuit and handed him the bomb. Ryan put his hands on them, their gloves rubbing against each other. The Courier sensed her reluctance to surrender her weapon, but she did it anyway.

Although Ryan doesn't believe him, she wants to believe in him. He won't let her down.

“Ri

I, why would you put your hands on a weapon like that?" She asked as the courier put the bomb in one of the inner pockets of her coat.

"Do you really want to know?" Ryan nodded, and Ryan sighed. She didn't like his answer. "Because I'm bored, I thought it would be fun to use a nuclear bomb as a restart button."

"Can't you use time to stop auto-restart?" You say this causes you to reboot early. ”

"Nope. When I say start over, I mean start over early. Have you never wondered why I called myself to help?"

She finally understood. "That's how you 'save.'"

"Yes." By the time the courier has mastered this mechanism, he has already cut off a lot of back roads. "Since I need to kill myself to get back in time, I guess I should make it fun."

The "genius" looked at him with pity, sadness and sympathy. "Do you think your life is worthless?"

"No, of course not, I like life." If he wanted to die forever, he would have fought with someone like Sykes a long time ago. "As long as I'm alive, things can get better."

After an unsettling silence, Ryan abruptly changed the subject. "Did you sleep well?"

"Well, I've slept in worse places," the courier replied, and then he shuddered at the memory of his worst death. "Whatever you do, Ryan, don't sleep in Monaco."

"Monaco? Why?"

"Shorty, I'm from the future. Don't go to Monaco. He glanced at the car, and a panicked Ryan began to put the engine parts back in place. Should I expect an installed water tower?" Please tell me you added a gadget. ”

"I'm just checking the chr

o

o

ADIS and its related components. It was only then that Ryan noticed that Ryan still had a gun in his hand when she stopped pointing it in his face.

Baby's steps.

"Pretty good technique, huh?" Ryan put a hand on the hood and showed off his car. "You're the last genius who can study this treasure"

"I saw it. Actually, there's a lot I can do. "Lunn closed the hood as soon as he finished his work." Relily, why did you connect the tiny particle accelerator to the radio?"

Ah, that's a long story. Ryan has worked on this particular quest many times and spent decades.

"The purple world is a crossroads, not only between time and space, but also between different dimensions," the courier explained. "Did you know that some violet genomes summon creatures like the monsters in Alien? Or is it an elf?"

"Are they pulled out of these dimensions?"

"Yes. Most of these universes are very different from our own, but some are alternate histories that Earth may have experienced. Often, these histories are not stable, but fluctuate and only become 'real' when observed. ”

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Well, we humans think that time is stable and the past is immutable, but in fact, it is like the water you love dearly, forever changing." Ryan's experience has also taught him a lot. "I mean, I just have to jump back and pop and it changes."

"You've never thought about it......" Len frowned worriedly, speechless.

"Will I destroy the universe and all the people in it when I die?" I try not to think about it. "If only because of the horror in it. It's a rabbit hole full of depression, moral issues, and self-suffering. He prefers to think of it as a universal amnestic tool. "Anyway, I feel like space-time broadcasting can help me find a specific reality and travel back in time."

"A timeline where everything is going well for us," Ryan guessed.

"Yes," Ryan sighed and opened the door. "But I never found a way to get to another Earth, even with a custom-built particle accelerator. All I could do with space-time radio was listen to what could have happened. ”

"Where are you going? She asked with a wry face. Did she think he would kill herself? Again, they are close to the garbage dump. "What about the undead madman in the back seat?"

"I should have received a message from Wyve

and Vulca

but I'm not sure if I'm in Rust Tow

and whether she will stick to it. After that, I need to clean my windshield and Daddy will be someone else's problem. ”

"Wyvern?" Len's brow furrowed even more when he replied.

"I heard that Dinas locked you up, so I looked into it," Ryan admitted. "What the hell is going on?"

"They treat the residents of Rusty Town as low-wage laborers in their factories," Ryan said angrily. "They only pay them enough euros to support themselves and put them in dangerous jobs, but they don't provide health care and safety guidance. One in five people is disabled or dies as a result. ”

"I don't think I'm in favor of these practices." Even the young hero he met at the seminar seemed to be more narcissistic than positively malevolent.

"They ignore the real problem." Len shook his head. "Not all criminals wear masks. Most people wear suits and ties. Because no one was going to stand up for this place, I stepped up. ”

"So you attacked Dy

A facility at AMIS?"

"Chemical plant," she said in more detail, her face darkening. "But...... They caught me. Someone betrayed me and brought private security to my former workshop. ”

"One of the people you want to fight for?" Ryan guessed, and his friend nodded. "I'm sorry."

"I guess...... I guess people always want to take shortcuts. Len shook his head. It wasn't the Wyvern who rescued me, it was Vulcan. Even so, it's not free. I had to help Augustus deliver drugs and take their hard-earned money. ”

"Well, I'm not going to go to Dinas this time," Ryan reassured her. "I think there's only one way to kill Psyshock permanently, and that's the only option for augusti."

Le

Obviously didn't like the idea. Even though she works with the Vulcans, she clearly doesn't love her organization. "We can catch him," she said. "Based on what you told me, he had to die to activate his abilities."

"If he's smart enough, he'll have a suicide button." Hopefully this is not a thermonuclear device. In addition to making the world a better place, destroying Psyshock will also prevent him from piloting Mech afterward

o

Mecha. "Although I didn't believe it, Vulcan said she could empower me. Unless you have other suggestions, they seem to be our best bet. ”

Unfortunately, she had no choice. "I ...... I need more time, Reli. It's time to figure it out. ”

"Figure out what I'm capable of, or are we?"

"Both." Ryan replied as he looked away. "I want to help you, Riley. It's true. Other people shouldn't go through what you're going through. ”

"Thank you," Ryan said sincerely. "Your willingness to help means a lot to me."

She blushed a little. "But here's the thing, Rieley, even if we succeed in helping you, I'...... I'm not sure if there will be us after that. ”

We.

The words brought back memories of Ryan, who believed they would have a future. He felt that his feelings for Ryan had changed after so many restarts, and that he had gone beyond the realm of teenage love. But every time he looked at his old partner, the messenger always wondered what it might be.

What is impossible.

"There are some things I can't forget, Ri

i," she admitted. "My dad, that bomb ......"

"You don't feel safe around me," Ryan said obviously. It's like blood.

Len shook his head sadly, and the courier drove away in silence.

"So, let me be clear." The Shroud, like an evil mastermind, put his fingers together. "There is an MEC underneath the dump

o

A repository of technology, the Superpowers are trying to enter. Dy

AMIS provides them with counterfeit elixirs, contact lenses, and weapons. ”

"Meow, that's right." Ryan replied, holding Uglen Henry in his arms while the ghoul's skull roared in a glass box. The messenger briefly pondered the possibility of waterboarding a lungless head, but he pushed the idea aside.

The Shroud was silent for a moment. "It's worrying."

What an understatement. Ryan tried to outdo it. "The Titanic also had loopholes."

Glass Genome turned around and began typing on his computer, various files appearing on the screen. Rya

Identify them as financial statements, supply run reports, and logistics analysis. The Shroud ran a program that apparently found some disturbing elements.

The hacker said, "Elixi

s Dy

AMIS claims that there is a bit of a strange gap between the number of counterfeits produced and the amount actually sold in their store. "I think it's just statistical error or theft, but it could easily cover up unaccounted for deliveries to Meta."

"Can this be covered up by nerds or managers?" Psyshock can brainwash some employees into subverting Dy

amis》; However, this is unlikely to happen due to the lack of attacks on the company's operations.

"Unless there's an executive involved," Windshield replied. "They're very strict with these potions."

"Then call it Blackthorn."

"Unlikely," the SafeLite ad said. "As far as I know, he's innocent."

"Have you seen his office and clothes?" Ryan asked, Eugene Henry exclaimed. "He's clearly a diabolical mastermind."

"Where's his office?" Looks great. "It's clear that he's been monitoring the place." Do you know why Blackthorne ended up being the brand manager and in charge of the millionaires?"

"Because Hector Manada only believes in his son."

Part of the reason is that, although Il Miglio

The heroes in e fight crime in New Rome, but they don't go to war against really dangerous genomic warlords like Augustus, and they don't decide Dy

The future of AMIS. Their real job is to act as the face of the company and follow instructions, not to set them. Enrique's position was prestigious, but not very powerful. ”

"I know what's going on, and not just because you're translucent."

“E

ique Ma

Ada is groomed to become Dy

Vice President of Amis until he began to publicly push for social reform and Rust Tow

of redevelopment, "Sh

OUD explained. The board of directors dismissed him, and the chairman decided to choose his brother Alphonse (Alpho

SE) as Vice President. Hector, in order to avoid a conflict with Augustus, had to send Alphonse to Sicily to wage war, but you get the idea. ”

"Well, Blackthorn still looks like a comic book villain."

"It's you who takes that cat and looks like a villain. By the way, why did you bring it here?"

Because Ryan loves cats, Felix can testify. "It's a Schrödinger's cat, and he's doubled my strength."

"Don't you need to use a black box first?" The Shroud was expressionless, then serious. "Unfortunately, I have no evidence other than what you say about the bunker."

"Psyshock is going to attack the orphanage soon, and you can ask him yourself when the time comes. If only he could survive. ”

"Do you think she's coming?" The Shroud asked. It was clear that he had mind reading on the glass controls. "No, that's a stupid question. Of course she would, and this is the perfect opportunity to fight superpowers. If Augustus believed your intelligence. ”

"Well, if she doesn't, we're going to have to put Sepsi in the aquarium, like this squid." Ryan shrugged. "Is there any hope for us to team up to attack the scrapyard?" I wanted to do it myself, but my gut told me it was going to be a blast. ”

"For a while, we didn't have enough people to challenge Meta-Ga directly

g，”Sh

OUD admitted. This confirms Ryan's suspicions that he is only a pioneer and that the rest of his team is scheduled to arrive later. "But if I confirm your information, then we will have to. Adam's acquisition of Mekrona's technology would be a disaster. ”

"Just want to make sure that McLaren isn't behind it?"

"No, he's dead."

"Are you sure?"

"Leo was there when he died," replied the glass operator. “Mech

o

Already dead, he won't come back unless he has a hidden clone. That's not true. ”

Did Ryan sense a hint of uneasiness in his voice? McLaren's death must have upset the seasoned assassin. "Come on, tell me the details of the gore."

"You'll have to ask Leo himself." The Invisible Boy refuses to indulge the Courier. "If you can't get the Augustus on board, I will fulfill our promise to help protect the orphanage. In return, please don't tell them about the dump. If there really was a McClain Bunker under New Rome, it should have been buried in the ground all along. ”

"Afraid that the thug Zeus will find a bag of flour inside?"

"Even you have to understand that if he gets Mekron's technique, it won't end well."

Ryan shrugged his shoulders and left the venue, the road ahead cleared. He would go to Bacuto, but instead of pretending to go to Lunn, he told Zambato that he wanted to fight the Superpowers, and he didn't believe Dinas could do it. If you're lucky, Rya

It could be a big surprise for Psyshock.

However, even though he didn't notice, the Shroud gave the Courier a crucial message that worried him so much.

"You'll have to ask Leo."

That is, Leo Hargraves will come to New Rome and possibly with the rest of the carnival. If Ryan cross-cross-checked this grapevine with the information gathered in the previous cycle, he still had three weeks to go before the bloody battle between the Living Sun and Augustus.

At that time, Ryan had better not yet arrived in New Rome.