The old man finally said all this. He felt more relaxed than ever before. Not only was the pressure in his heart relieved, but after so many years, there were still humans living in the outside world, and they even had the ability to cross this barrier after another.
The line of defense stands in front of oneself.
This is a complex emotion that is difficult to describe. Human history has been tortured and ups and downs, but it still persists tenaciously. Just like the impurities in gold, no matter how hot the fire is and how many times it is refined, it still exists in it.
.
Both Lorenzo and Watson fell into silence. This time, the real history slowly unfolded before their eyes. Although there were many blanks in it, probably due to the limited memory of the old man, the disaster was almost completely recorded.
development of.
"By the way, I haven't asked you before, how is the outside world changing now?" the old man asked.
"It's very good. Railway tracks and waterways have shortened the distance between the world. Organizations have also emerged to fight against demons. Moreover, these organizations are different from the Demon Hunting Order. They are all pure humans..."
Lorenzo rambled on about what he saw and heard in the outside world to the old man. His retelling at first was a bit reluctant, but Lorenzo gradually found a way.
He thought of Merlin's museum. The sun-shrouded room was filled with strange things. He had heard from Eve before that Merlin had stuffed some kind of placenta into it, which made the museum's weirdness index soar.
However, although it is strange, as Lorenzo said before, that museum is the epitome of human civilization, the place of crystallization and glory.
He recalled those things, looked for situations corresponding to reality, and told the old man about the present.
The electronic eyes rotated slightly. Although his face was covered with steel, Lorenzo could feel his joy, and the indicator lights on his body flashed regularly.
"In other words, you have now entered the industrial age, but the development is a bit skewed..."
The old man thought about it. Without the intervention of the shelter, humans outside had actually survived and developed a certain degree of industrial civilization. However, this steam-driven civilization was a bit strange and reminded him of something from fantasy novels.
"Have you ever heard of oil?"
"Um?"
Lorenzo thought for a while and tried to recall the word "oil". Another thing came to his mind. He was not sure if it was what the old man was referring to.
"We do have something called lacquer antimony," Lorenzo said. "It is a black viscous liquid dug out of the ground. After processing, it becomes a flammable and explosive liquid."
"It sounds like this. By the way, what about the Original Sin Armor?"
The old man asked again, after so many years of barbaric growth in the outside world, it has turned into a civilization that is completely unfamiliar to the old man.
"You can understand it as a... gigantic version of you."
"I?"
"Yes, it's a large combat robot. However, due to material limitations, its main structure is made of demon flesh and blood. This thing has extremely strong regenerative capabilities. Coupled with the toughness of flesh and blood, the flesh and blood assists in driving the power. It fights fiercely.
, it will have an erosive effect on motorists.”
"You fused monsters and machines together?"
"uh-huh."
"It sounds... quite punk,"
The old man wanted to speak but stopped.
He is now full of curiosity about the outside world, a new era that is completely free from the interference of the shelter and can grow at will. He really wants to see the old Dun Ling that Lorenzo mentioned. He just hopes that the water vapor permeating there will not let him go.
His body is rusty.
But this is just a thought. This is the [Gap]. The old man in the real world has become a fragile brain tissue, and he has even lost the means to observe the outside world.
The pessimism only lasted for a short while. The old man had always been a man who could entertain himself. He and Lorenzo started talking passionately again. During the laughter, Lorenzo raised his question.
"Now the outside world is also encountering this problem. We came here this time hoping to find a solution to the population restriction."
Lorenzo looked at the old man expectantly. He had experienced so much and paid so much just to get the so-called hope from him.
"Now that human civilization is booming and the population is growing, it is once again on the verge of the red line. For this reason, the nation-builders are about to start a new round of restart... I hope to find a way to break through the red line here."
Lorenzo's voice sounded a little difficult. In fact, when he asked this question, he already knew the answer, but he still couldn't help but want to ask, unwilling to give up like this.
"Feel sorry."
The old man was silent for a long time. He shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly.
"If I really have a way, then it won't fail after restarting multiple times, right?"
The electronic eye looked around. In an instant, the bustling shelter in the [Gap] began to collapse. The containers on the well wall broke one by one, and the liquid poured into the darkness below. The surface of the metal was corroded, and the lights were extinguished one by one.
Finally fell into the dark ruins.
"In order to make all the equipment and buildings wrapped in forbidden alloys, we made a lot of choices. As a result, although it can be on standby for almost eternity, it is only almost permanent.
There used to be automated factories, cyclic life-support systems, independent research institutes, and large residential areas... It can be said that this was a war fortress that could operate completely autonomously. However, under the ravages of time and repeated failures, all of this has been destroyed.
Collapse and die.”
The old man said sadly.
"If you were a few hundred years ahead of time, I might be able to provide you with some advanced knowledge, but the reactor has been out for many years, the backup power supply is almost exhausted, and the database has been locked in order to last longer. Enter
Low power consumption state... In fact, even if you get this knowledge, you still need a certain amount of time to copy it. After all, there are no hard drives or the like in the outside world, right?"
The old man spoke words that Lorenzo could not understand, but judging from the meaning of the sentence, it should be some object carrying information.
"Not to mention that many technologies have been contaminated by the Unspeakable. Once the ban is lifted, the connection with it will be deepened. If the ban is not lifted... it will be like you are making a weapon. There is a missing link in the production process, thus making
The whole system collapsed."
He talked about this series of difficulties and restrictions. It is already a good performance that human beings can achieve this level under such constraints.
"Unfortunately, I have nothing to give you except the history in my head."
The words plunged Lorenzo and Watson into darkness.
There is all the truth here, but this truth is just the truth and nothing can be changed.
After hearing the old man's affirmation, Lorenzo felt his mind tremble slightly, as if he was about to collapse completely.
"In the end... nothing can be changed?"
Lorenzo's pupils were bloodshot, and countless images overlapped in front of his eyes. They intertwined with each other and outlined a crazy figure.
The silver armor that bound him cracked one by one, and deep darkness and gibbering poured out from the cracks.
Pioneer...or Roger Cruz, during these long years, he has been corrupted by the Unspeakable, and now he will start a war again, awaken the Unspeakable, and enable all mankind to complete this great sublimation.
This is the end of this meaningless existence.
"This is not just a reboot, this will be the last reboot."
Watson said slowly from the side. She and Lorenzo looked at each other and saw the panic in each other's eyes.
"If Roger Cruz is not stopped, not only the human beings will die this time because of the war."
Lorenzo whispered, but Roger was too powerful. Facing his power on the surface, Lorenzo had no power to resist. It seemed that only Adren could compete with him.
But the problem is that Edlen is also an uncontrollable factor. Like Roger, this guy stepped into the Well of Sublimation and had contact with the Unspeakable. The only difference between the two is probably that Edlen
Delenn did not completely fall into madness due to his long sleep, but who can guarantee that he will remain sane?
"The good news is that someone can help us beat Roger Cruz. The bad news is that both of them may lose, or only one of them may survive. I hope that Edlen survives," Lorenzo analyzed, and he felt extremely bad.
"But if you kill Roger, will Edlen become the next him? Or even say, will they all be dragged into madness by the Unspeakable before they can even decide the winner?"
Where is it?"
Lorenzo clenched his fists. He hated this feeling, the feeling that all the initiative was in the opponent's hands.
"We can make a bet on who wins." The old man joked inappropriately.
"Want to start a bet?"
Lorenzo actually took up what he said. Mr. Holmes had been in the casino for several years and had always won more than he lost. He was very confident.
"Anyway, I bet on Edlen to win."
The old man did not give Lorenzo any face.
The two of them fell into silence together, and the joking atmosphere was replaced by cold solemnity. This time they were serious.
"What will you do?" the old man asked.
"Both of them are unstable factors, I will choose to kill them both." Lorenzo answered without hesitation.
Lorenzo is also from the Demon Hunting Order. He understands Edron's original decision very well, and like Edron, he will make the same choice.
Cut off everything and eliminate all potential crises.
"But you can't beat them." The old man said.
"So I'm thinking of a way! If I can't get strength from you, I can't wait to die, right?"
Lorenzo's tone was a little irritable, but the old man burst into laughter.
"Look, aren't we at the end of the road yet?"
The old man said happily.
"Since Adren arrived here, I have been reflecting on why I tried so hard and only failed. But a random donation made these monkey-like believers really create a new world.
civilization."
Lorenzo stopped thinking, looked at the old man, and listened to his next words.
"Maybe times have changed."
"Times have changed?"
Lorenzo thought this reason was a bit strange.
"That's right, no matter what kind of person he is, he will be limited by his own era. Few people can break through it. It seems that I can't do it now."
He stared at Lorenzo, filled with hope.
"The choice of human beings should be left to human beings themselves, not me. I am just a ghost who has survived from the old era to this day.
You see, even without the intervention of the shelter, aren't you developing very well? I don't need to be too stubborn anymore."
The old man let out a long sigh and could see the pale mist covering the glass shell of his head.
"I don't know if I should do this, but it's reached a point where I don't think it's necessary to keep this thing." The old man started talking again.
"I don't have the power to give you the power to defeat powerful enemies, but there is still a weapon left here. As for how to use it, it's up to you."
"What?"
"A mechanism used to complete complete self-sealing. When the last secret keeper dies, the human fire is extinguished. Then it is time to let all this become history. It is a 'mechanism' that preserves history. We call it
As 'Amber'.
At that time, the entire sanctuary will be completely isolated by the antimeme, remain absolutely closed, be absolutely forgotten, and complete its self-[exile].”
"Then what?"
"There is no more, we are like a tomb buried deep in the ground. This mechanism just prevents the tomb from being disturbed by weird things and turns it into an exquisite specimen."
The old man raised his head again and looked at this shelter that was completely engraved in his soul.
"This beautiful ruin will be forever forgotten, but it will also live on forever."
"And now I will make a decision. I will close this mechanism. The price will be that this place will be even more dilapidated and even completely annihilated by time one day. But this will be exchanged for an opportunity and a chance to win."
"What is that thing?"
"An antimemetic weapon, a weapon called [Final Echo]."
Lorenzo's heartbeat accelerated a lot in an instant. He had heard of this weapon. In the mouths of the old man and Roger, they both mentioned this weapon repeatedly. It was an antimemetic weapon, and it caused unspeakable damage.
Or, it fell into a long sleep.
"According to the battle situation at that time, this weapon should have been dropped into Fortress No. 13. We always felt that if there were a few more rounds of [Final Echo], maybe we could completely change it from a cognitive and conceptual level.
Completely [Exile] the Unspeakable instead of just putting it to sleep.
But unfortunately, this weapon has some flaws. I don’t know what they are specifically. I am not an expert in this field, but judging from the words of several other old guys, it should be the lack of delivery means, which means that this
The weapon is missing a launcher."
The old man hit his head hard, causing the brain tissue in the glass container to shake.
"Sorry, I can't remember why this thing needs a transmitter. In short, this thing is defective, so it was placed here and became the Amber Mechanism."
"Where is it?"
Lorenzo asked anxiously, now holding on to every shred of hope.
"It's down there, with some other things."
The old man pointed downward, at the bottom of this huge columnar space.
Lorenzo looked at the darkness below, which was so deep that it was difficult to touch.
"Don't worry, there is an elevator. I just don't know if it's broken or not, but I think it should still be usable." The old man patted Lorenzo on the shoulder to reassure him.
"What are those 'other things'?" Lorenzo asked. He didn't think it was anything simple that could be put together with [Final Echo].
"a mistake."
The old man suddenly became serious.
"I don't know what it is, I only know that it was placed in the same room as [Final Echo], or... that [Final Echo] was placed together with it," the old man continued,
"My memory is completely blank about it. The only memory I have is telling me that the thing was a 'mistake', something that shouldn't exist."
He shuddered and couldn't help but think.
"Maybe the amber mechanism is not to preserve this place, but to destroy 'it'?"
The old man's eyes swept between Lorenzo and Watson, and he continued to ask.
"You probably still have some questions, right?"
"Hmm..." Lorenzo thought for a moment and nodded, and he asked without hesitation.
"Everything should have a source, but the story you told does not mention the source. Why... why do humans sublimate?
No...with such great power, how can human beings be sublimated?"
Lorenzo couldn't understand why human beings were sublimated? The old man didn't give such an answer, and it seemed that he had no chance to know the answer. After all, it had been too long, and it had been too long for the world to be recognized.
beyond recognition.
The old man shook his head and said.
"I have no idea."
This is the truth, the old man did not lie.
"I have lived too long, and the human body has its limits. Even if I optimize myself to only the brain tissue, the brain tissue will still age."
Listening to his words, Lorenzo felt a little sad.
"In order to remember these histories, I not only optimized my body, but also optimized my memory. I can't remember what my wife looks like, nor can I remember my parents... The same is true for my friends, and I can't even remember
Can't keep my name.
I can’t even be considered a person anymore, I’m just a tool, a ‘tool’ for recording.”
The old man waved his hand and said.
"Unfortunately, your questions are not within the scope of my records... But don't be too disappointed. I guess 'it' will give you the answer. I don't know what 'it' is, but my instinct tells me this.
, it will give you the answer to this question."
"By the way, there are some interesting mechanisms you need to know about 'it' and [Final Echo]. After all, this involves antimemetics..."
The old man started talking ramblingly again. Apart from his somewhat unfunny humor, his mechanical and cold electronic sound really sounded a bit machine-like. While listening, Lorenzo began to doubt that the old man could
It's not really dead, it's just a machine that's still running that communicates with itself.
The machine created a [gap]? Is the soul imprisoned in the steel? This sounds so weird.
A rift opened in the shelter, and Watson opened the way to leave. Here they had obtained enough information.
"So...where are your names? I want to record all this, maybe there will be unlucky people knocking on my door in the future?"
The old man asked Lorenzo and Watson, his eyes looking at Watson first.
Watson hesitated for a moment, and finally smiled reluctantly and shook his head at the old man. Seeing this, the old man did not force anything, and then he looked at Lorenzo.
"Lorenzo Holmes... you could actually add a prefix, like Lorenzo the Great."
Lorenzo talked bad things. In Watson's opinion, he and the old man were quite compatible. Both of their characters were slightly twisted.
"Oh, you are so narcissistic. This is so shameless."
The old man was arm-in-arm with him, and Lorenzo responded with a smile.
"Yeah yeah."
"To deal with young people like you, I usually use my super-pressure fluid cold cutting blade!"
"What's that?"
"Wait a minute, let me adjust it. I remember that I haven't dismantled this thing at this time."
Watson stood by the crack, waiting for Lorenzo to end the conversation, but he actually started playing with the old man. The two lowered their heads and didn't know what they were studying, and then heard a sharp sound.
A distorted stream of light flashed past, plowing a shallow ravine on the ground in an instant. Probably because there was not enough waste fluid from the machine, it plowed a few centimeters and then stopped.
After a brief period of calm, Lorenzo and the old man began to scream together.
"Oh oh oh oh! This is so handsome!"
Watson felt a little headache. Looking at the two guys dancing like monkeys, she began to think about why someone would give such an important responsibility to such a lunatic.
Finally, the happy time came to an end.
Lorenzo and Watson stood by the crack, bowing to the last unknown keeper and saying goodbye.
The secret keeper did not speak, but Lorenzo could feel that he was very reluctant to leave and also very scared. These short ten minutes were probably the only light he had in hundreds of years, and after Lorenzo left
After that, he will continue this hundred years of loneliness until the next visitor, or until the end of his life.
"It doesn't matter. I have said goodbye to too many people in my long life. I am used to it."
The secret keeper was as before, as if he could guess what Lorenzo was thinking.
Lorenzo said no more. He turned his head and was about to step into the crack with Watson and leave the "gap" of the secret keeper, when he heard a shout from behind him.
"Lorenzo!"
"Lorenzo Holmes!"
The Keeper looked at Lorenzo and said loudly.
"As I said, I am not a brave person. Rather than fulfilling my duties, it is better to say that I have been hiding in the shelter and avoiding these things.
But I’m glad that my escape awaited your arrival.”