Bai Wu entered the train conductor’s room, and the Inner World suddenly changed.
It was as if he had stepped from that pitiable soul’s Inner World into Zero’s Inner World in an instant.
The distorted clocks hung in the sky like the sun. The sky was no longer a swath of azure, but black, purple, red, blue—a mix of various colors.
The clouds floating in the sky bore the faces of countless beings, each expression twisted.
Mockery, sha, anger, sorrow, fear, envy... Bai Wu looked at the faces filled with negative emotions on the drifting clouds, then at the dark chanical City on the ground, and he felt only despair and oppression in this world.
Different from the colorful sky, the contour of the chanical City on the ground was still the sa, but as if it had been scorched by Karmic Fire, it was nothing but charred blackness.
Countless black shadows swayed within the charred chanical City; they seed to be the chanical People of the chanical City.
Only Zero seed to possess color in this world. The silver hair and the crimson pupils allowed Bai Wu to spot Bai Wu at a glance.
In that instant, Bai Wu actually felt a sense of regret for Zero.
He seed out of place in his own Inner World. But in the outside world, it seed difficult for him to blend in as well.
Bai Wu found himself at the crossroads in the city center, stepping out of the previous train car, the next step landed him here.
He opened the conversation:
"Why is your ti running short? Can you enter the Inner World of every chanical core in the chanical City? Is it through so ability you’re using to enter, or is it forcibly connected to you?"
Bai Wu was not surprised by Zero; he had treated many people these days, and after Jia Kai’er’s death, he felt as though he had t Zero many tis.
Zero looked to be a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, expressionless, but the face of a person often carries a certain temperant; so convey temperant through smiles, others don’t need to express anything at all.
Zero was like that. To Bai Wu, he seed truly just like a robot.
He clearly had the appearance of a human boy; apart from the unnaturally colored pupils and hair, there didn’t seem to be any incongruities.
The most glaring incongruity was probably his eyes, which showed no hint of emotion.
As expected, Prayle’s Eye chickened out at the critical mont.
[You are on vastly different levels, and even though it is weak now and will be even weaker later, the gap between you is still wide. Even if the rookie were here, I wouldn’t be able to tell you its information, oh no, it’s not my fault, bla your constant overleveling, in any case, try to connect emotionally, like... brother, care for a cigarette?]
There was no information, but the fact that the eye didn’t provide information spoke volus.
The First Generation Masked Strange Person, Jing Liu, the person chained up in the unknown area.
They were all cases where the eye could not provide information. It wasn’t that it couldn’t provide it, but rather it seed that information could only be obtained if the ability gap was within a certain range.
"You have too many questions," Zero said as he walked towards the South.
Compared to the real chanical City, the biggest difference here, apart from the color being pitch black, was the absence of Core City.
"We’re not that pressed for ti, are we? To be forewarned is to be foreard. The tactics you play within the Inner City must be in preparation for so powerful enemy. We should be allies," Bai Wu said.
Bai Wu couldn’t be short on words, as this was a major support in dealing with the Well Clan. Even at that ti back in Baichuan Middle School, from the remarks in the eye and the questions posed by that group of teachers, he had considered such a possibility.
Zero said:
"With external enemies invading, does your Raou Virus Therapy Theory have sothing to do with this?"
Bai Wu was astonished.
How... did Zero know everything?
"That’s what I’ve been thinking too. I’ve seriously summarized human history; people are a very interesting species," Bai Wu replied.
The voice of Zero gave Bai Wu an unsettling premonition.
This individual’s strength is not only reflected in his combat prowess but also in a knowledge base richer than my own.
"The contradiction between rationality and sensibility has been eliminated, every action undertaken by a person is in a state of unity, and an era of mutual understanding between people has indeed briefly erged, not during a ti of religious domination but during a ti of war."
These words were spoken by Bai Wu.
He still hoped that his discoveries could provide so assistance to Zero.
In the South District, at this mont, a group of dark figures was lining up to head to the underground city.
In reality, Bai Xiaoyu and Yan Zizai saw a grand procession of people marching towards the sewer under the escort of the Guard Team mbers.
Their faces were all adorned with tears and smiles. They wanted to resist, but the strength of the Anti-virus Guard Team was too overpowering.
The verdict given by the Core was that accepting one’s fate could allow one to survive a bit longer, while fleeing would lead to instant death.
Seeing the large crowd pouring into the South District, the once gang-ridden Heaven Avenue was now devoid of fights.
It was as if they saw themselves in the future. Each year, the Lau virus claims many lives, and then the gods of the Core City create nurous chanical People.
Yet the number of infected increases annually, and no one knows if they will be next.
The sight of a large number of chanical People heading to the sewers to et their death was fantastical yet incomprehensibly cruel.
For Zero, this was rationality.
But watching these crowds, seeing the sorrow on their faces, and the morbid joy due to the virus, Bai Xiaoyu felt that the world should not be like this.
These scenes were not visible in the Inner World.
Bai Wu continued to speak:
"Religion brings about an illusory rule, and forsaking one’s life and death for a false god is an extrely twisted act. Such deaths do not benefit the world in any way."
"However, the sense of crisis brought by external threats can lead people to sacrifice themselves and forget about death. Their sacrifices, their resistance, are all part of making themselves and this world better."
"Biological territorial instincts gradually, for so reason, evolved into national consciousness, and such consciousness, in the face of great wars between nations, can be stimulated to the extre."
Zero’s steps did not halt, and Bai Wu kept on speaking:
"In human history, there have been many poignant and heart-stirring tales, all of which can be sumd up in four words—ho, country, and the world. People are drawn to the tragic hues of heroes primarily because heroes, due to so emotional decision, beco enemies with the world."
"The chanical People of chanical City, differentiated into nurous gangs, conglorates, companies, factions. From small offices to large corporate powers.
Everything I’ve seen since coming to chanical City is struggle. All the scheming is for profit, but what if one day, there is no profit? Or what if everyone’s primary goal becos unified?"
Of course, profit will not cease to exist, but profits have priorities.
"Light cannot survive without darkness, and vice versa. The pursuit of an ideal society where people understand each other is inherently flawed because when placed in a society, everyone’s needs are different. Our thinking is thus limited."
"But what if we step back from the particulars and look at a larger whole? With a formidable enemy approaching, no one knows what lies outside of chanical City. With an impending invasion, people will have no choice but to unify their desires under the threat of annihilation."
Zero nodded unexpectedly.
"Your thoughts are quite similar to mine. I too have been waiting for a formidable enemy to descend, but this ti, the foe is too strong, and chanical City might be destroyed in an instant."
Bai Wu had also guessed this. Zero’s recent actions had been strange, and this strangeness didn’t seem to be just to cope with the rage tide.
It is likely that a terrifying existence, as powerful as him, has set its sights on chanical City.
"My subjects, as they appear similar to humans due to their souls, engage in vicious intrigues and fight amongst each other in pursuit of maximized interests determined by the Core. In this chanical City, there is no talk of the smaller self versus the greater self."
"For seven hundred years, they have not lived comfortably, but at least because of , there have been no outsiders daring to invade chanical City."
Zero stated calmly, yet Bai Wu sensed an air of dominance in his words.
Because of his existence alone, this black area had beco a forbidden zone for the Evil Fallen.
"A powerful external force will unify people’s goals and desires, with the rich and the poor forming the sa interest collective due to the concept of nationhood," he said.
"Infighting is aningless because if the external enemy isn’t killed, they will all end up dead. With the ergence of the interest collective, the individual self was elevated to a greater self."
"As such, the contradiction between the soul and the core had mostly dissipated, for love and trust were no longer considered a disease. On the contrary, these emotions helped eliminate barriers and enhanced tacit understanding when resisting external enemies."
The Lau virus was essentially a virus that forbade love; guilt towards subordinates, forgiveness towards others, and fond mories of parents—such forms of love, which didn’t align with core interests, could beco permissible by the core due to the peculiar nature of the era.
Formidable enemies had invaded, hating the chanical Race to the bone, with no possibility of negotiation.
And they were powerful enough that Zero couldn’t protect against them; only by uniting the entire force of chanical City could they resist the invaders.
"This external enemy has now appeared, and its na is Jing Wu. It is currently on its way to Core City."
The news ca in waves, shocking Bai Wu.
"Does it want to kill you?"
"It wants to control . Reincarnation can superficially resolve my Lau virus symptoms, but at the sa ti, it will trap in a certain period."
"Reincarnation?"
Zero beckoned to Bai Wu.
As if the direction of gravity had suddenly changed, Bai Wu’s body flew towards Zero, and then many silver thread-like objects extended from Zero’s back. These threads pierced Bai Wu’s arms like so kind of parasite.
In that instant, Bai Wu felt a surge of mories pouring into him.
"This is one of my avatars, a conversation between Divine Guard Captain Arcas and Jing Wu."
Bai Wu quickly absorbed the mories and shook his head, saying:
"Reincarnation is a legendary Mutation Entry; honestly, such power is almost inexplicable. Reincarnation cannot necessarily reset you to decades ago, Jing Wu is deceiving you! There’s no absolute certainty in such matters."
"Besides, if you don’t help Jing Wu, then in the competition among the major forces, your only enemy is Jing Wu. Once you help Jing Wu, then your enemies will beco all the forces outside of Jing Wu."
"Especially since Jing Wu will prioritize consuming the chanical City, and absolutely not deplete itself first!"
If Zero were to ally with Jing Wu, then Bai Wu and his companions would have to die. Thus, Bai Wu pointed out the nurous disadvantages of allying with Jing Wu without mincing words.
Still indifferent, Zero replied:
"Everything you’ve thought of, I have also considered."
This sense of feeling impressed Bai Wu, who was used to relying on Prayle’s Eye and being the one with the most information and computational power.
But now, this chanical Evil Fallen nad Zero seed to have intelligence to match his own.
"The chanical Race is a species I created, but I am not of the chanical People myself, and my Lau virus infection is much more severe than theirs. You must be curious why those infected with the Lau virus exhibit different emotional symptoms across seasons."
"Yes, I still haven’t figured out the real reason," Bai Wu admitted.
"It’s because of —the great Core City is my chanical heart, but that’s not quite accurate either. It should be said that it is one of my hearts. The question you asked earlier, I can tell you, I can indeed enter the Inner World of every chanical person," Zero explained.
As Zero spoke, those thread-like connectors extended from his back once again, linking to a dark figure.
"With this link complete, every soul I’ve created will appear in my Inner World."
"Therefore, my emotions affect them, and my happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy also have the sa effect on them."
Sothing felt off to Bai Wu:
"But most of the ti... don’t you lack joy and sorrow?"
"Yes, I am a half-chanical being. I don’t have many emotions. I separated Arcas, representing my love and protection for chanical City. Compared to , Arcas is more like a ’person’."
"I am just an emotionless manager, so I have no joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure."
Zero actually had quite a favorable view of Bai Wu, at least Xie Yingjie and Xie Xingzhi couldn’t even discover the origin of the Rau virus.
But Bai Wu was able to analyze many problems on his own.
"Are you trying to say that since I have no emotions, why do effects like the Season of Joy and the Season of Anger occur?"
"Yes."
"Because these are the symptoms of my Rau virus infection. Many, many years ago, my reason told that I had the power to destroy the world, and the world did not love . I should have claid it for myself."
"But I didn’t do that. I listened to my sensibilities, chose to forgive my parents, chose to give them the opportunity to satisfy their vanity, chose to create a new world as the Era of the High Tower arrived. This world might not be inhabited by humans, but the souls of those who had died had a place to reside."
Indeed, Zero had humanity. It was due to his kind humanity that he was infected by the Rau virus.
Bai Wu didn’t know whether to feel happy or sympathetic at the mont.
Zero turned away, his back looking extrely lonely:
"I can’t erase these emotions; they have beco the cause of my Rau virus. It is an illness called love. I should not have love, nor should I have joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure. I once hoped I was human, but later I wished I was purely chanical."
"The Rau virus, it made experience a lot of emotions; hatred and love for humanity, regret and mories of the past, subjective impressions of the world, doubts about myself."
"These emotions, because I am alive, I can’t delete them. They keep piling up in my core, becoming useless data which can’t be deleted. I could only keep expanding the core to store them."
For seven hundred years, Zero, as chanical, managed the chanical Race with his rationality.
But at the sa ti, over seven hundred years, Zero, as a human, kept missing and despising, being grateful and hating the world that had given him life.
The emotions he had no place for, the joys and angers he had cut off, beca the source of the Rau virus.
"These data, though not under my control, will transform into joy, anger, sorrow, and fear according to so pattern. Hence, all the cores I created, after being infected with the Rau virus, also felt compulsory joy, anger, sorrow, and fear."
The huge Core City was actually Zero’s core for storing emotional data?
Bai Wu could not imagine how much "useless data" Zero had stored.
"For chanical People, their symptoms are being dominated by emotions, but for , it is the weakening of control, the weakening of strength. The core has consud a lot of my energy. And the Season of Anger is the most troubleso of the seasons."
"When the Season of Anger erupts, my subjects beco furious, and I beco unprecedentedly weak."
Bai Wu understood; if Jing Wu attacked at this ti, Zero would have no fighting strength.
"Bai Wu, you and I indeed found a way to cure the chanical Race, but for , responsible for the arrangent, it’s useless."
Bai Wu had to admit that Zero had seen everything.
As an enemy invasion, chanical City will fall into an unprecedented calamity. After this calamity, Zero could create the illusion that foreign enemies might invade at any ti.
All chanical People will unite for survival, for the defense of chanical City. Interests and desires unified, love and trust are no longer the source of their virus infection. As a result, chanical City will eliminate many divisions of power and gradually grow stronger.
But although this great city might be redeed, its master would still be infected with the Rau virus.
And the biggest contradiction at the mont, if Jing Wu can’t be repelled, this plan won’t be realized.
Zero looked at the distorted giant clock in the sky and said:
"The auction has started, Jing Wu has arrived."
In the real world, outside Core City, clad in a black robe, Jing Wu appeared. Gazing at the massive chanical Temple, Jing Wu revealed a smile.
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