?In a room filled with the pungent smell of antiseptic, an old man with a silver beard hanging down to his knees sat on a worn-out root-carved wooden chair, flipping through the papers on the table, and kept recording something in his hand.
Rachel and Sabrina followed the servant and stood behind the old man.
The former lowered his head and waited for the old man to speak with a submissive face; while the latter clenched the dagger in his arms with a wary face.
After writing the last letter on the paper, the old man sighed softly, took off the crystal glasses on the bridge of his nose, and turned to look at the two "visitors".
"Rachel, you always like to leave without saying goodbye, and you always like to appear suddenly." Eliade twisted his sore back and looked at the woman in front of him with soft eyes: "Before you exhaust my patience.
, you'd better make your purpose clear."
Rachel did not speak, but took out a brand new printed book from her arms and gently placed it on the table.
Eliade picked up the book and flipped it through at random. He was surprised by the neat words and neat layout in the book.
"Is this the printing technology of Muxi City?" After receiving Rachel's affirmative answer, Eliade touched the faint marks on the paper and said: "Unlike the engraving printing in the south, the one used in Muxi City is movable.
Blocks…a bunch of smart guys, fun.”
Looking at Eliade's expression, Rachel breathed a sigh of relief, and then said: "Elder, please turn to the title page and see who is the author of this book?"
Eliade put on his glasses again and turned to the title page as instructed. A familiar name jumped into his eyes, making him laugh.
"Terrence... that old stubborn man, not only is he not dead, but he still has the strength to write a book?"
The smile on the old man's face finally made Rachel completely relax.
"Let me see what this old guy wrote...Molecular theory of the microscopic world? What is this?"
Eliade frowned and read a few pages, put the book down, and asked Rachel: "Is this book really written by Terrence?"
Rachel smiled: "Elder, do you think I would use a book to deceive you? It's like using a stone to deceive a jewelry appraiser. This book is indeed the work just completed by Master Terrence.
Muxi University’s advanced textbooks can be purchased everywhere in Muxi City.”
Eliade looked at the theories and diagrams in the book again, shook his head and said: "There should be more than this theoretical system..."
As if conjuring magic, Rachel took out six more books from her arms and placed them in front of Eliade: "These are textbooks on microscopic theory. Master Terrence is responsible for the last one, and the previous ones are
Compiled by many scholars."
Looking at the books on the table, Eliad looked at Rachel with a headache: "Rachel, your little cleverness always makes people helpless. To be honest, you shouldn't come back here."
Rachel shook her head with a wry smile and looked around at the furnishings in the room, the biological organs soaked in glass jars, the surgical instruments placed in the cabinets, and the neatly stacked books and drawings. These made her whisper with emotion: "
I was born here and I belong here."
The old man pointed his finger at Sabrina and said to the masked servant: "Take her to the next room to rest."
Sabrina, who was listening to the conversation between the two, stood up in confusion. She was about to ask a question, but after seeing Eliad's expression, she immediately gave up the idea of resisting.
Eliade watched the masked servant take Sabrina to the next room. He then arranged the books into a pile and placed them on the side of the table. A trace of unknown regret appeared on his face full of grooves: "
Rachel, now that you are back here, I'd better tell you some things... your birth is my fault."
"Decades ago, Eleanor, who was pursuing immortality, found a secret method of human body replication from the collection of the Presbyterian Church." Eliade shook his head slightly: "As long as you get a part of the human body, through the effect of supernatural powers
, and the immersion of chemicals, you can grow identical replicas in the culture tank."
Rachel lowered her head quietly and listened to the old man's narration with a calm face, but her nails had penetrated deeply into the skin of her palms.
"At that time, I was very interested in this technology, so I hoped that Eleanor would tell me its principles. What I didn't expect was that she put forward a condition that shocked me: asking me to help cultivate
A clone of her."
Eliade stood up and looked at the huge glass tank in the corner that was already dusty: "I asked her why...she told me that if she could have an exact replica, once her human body reached its limit due to aging, she could
Get everything she needs from the clone...organs, skin, blood..."
"At first I was very resistant to this approach, but the attraction of the secret method finally forced me to compromise. After that, you were born."
Rachel brushed the hair beside her ears and said in a teasing tone: "So, I'm like a backup tool box. The parts on my body can be removed at any time and replaced by others?"
Eliade ignored Rachel's sarcastic tone and continued: "After you were born, at first I just treated you as an experiment. However, as time went by, I watched you grow from
From a baby to a young girl, the various experiences I experienced gradually made my mood change a little bit."
Eliade stroked his beard and recalled: "I remember, it was a winter evening. You were going to have your coming-of-age ceremony in three months, and Eleanor found me and asked me if your body had...
Mature"?"
Rachel's eyes were cold and she said nothing.
"At that time, I suddenly realized that I didn't know how to reply. After sitting in the laboratory for a whole day, I finally made a decision... I did some tricks on you."
"Hands and legs?"
"I have used some special drugs and mixed them into your daily diet. They can cause some toxic reactions in your body, making you no longer suitable to be Eleanor's backup."
Hearing this, Rachel was a little surprised: "The diseases that I suffered from in the past were actually not due to birth defects, but because of the medicine you secretly administered?"
"Even if I use drugs to make you show signs of poisoning, Eleanor still has no intention of letting you go. She has tried to destroy her own copy, which is you, more than once." Eliade looked at Rachel's face.
, said slowly: "As for the reason, you should be able to guess it."
Rachel lowered her eyelids, thought for a while, and said with a smile: "Because she saw another version of herself in me."
"That's right, as a copy of Eleanor. At that time, you were exactly the same as Eleanor in terms of appearance, body, and temperament. According to that woman's personality, it was impossible to tolerate the existence of another self.
"
Rachel suddenly raised her head, looked at Eliade, and asked in a deep voice: "Please tell me truthfully, is Mia's death also related to me?"
The latter was stunned, silent for a while, and finally shook his head: "That is a tragedy, but her body can just help you get rid of Eleanor's endless entanglement."