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墨書 Inktalez
Central Park Seven, three levels underground.
This coordinate is deeply imprinted in my chaotic consciousness.
Zhou Yu's final obsession, the radiance of the little girl merging, and the awakening, cold yet violent power within me... they all tell me that this is where everything ends.
And also... where everything begins.
I don’t know what happened to Li Cheng.
After the explosion, I didn’t contact him again, or rather, I deliberately severed all ties related to the identity of "Zhou Mo."
He might still be alive, continuing to investigate the truth behind the "Ouroboros" in some corner.
Or perhaps... he is already dead.
But these things seem less important to me now.
My current state is quite... peculiar.
The energy within me, a fusion of the "Soul Crossing" and "Non-Human" memories, oscillates between restlessness and calm.
The data flow beneath my skin no longer spirals out of control as it once did; instead, it flickers rhythmically like breathing.
I can clearly perceive the faint, drifting obsessions throughout the city, even able to... draw in a sliver of cold energy from them as if inhaling air, replenishing my own consumption.
My eyes seem to see things that ordinary people cannot detect—the "data streams" floating in the air, the hidden electronic circuits within the walls, and even... the faint auras emitted by each person, representing different emotions.
My habit of compulsively observing micro-expressions has now become even more... precise and more... indifferent.
I can easily see through lies and discern others' desires and fears, but to me, they are merely strings of "data" that can be analyzed and predicted.
I am a monster.
A monster... with a partial perspective of the "divine."
Following the coordinates left by Zhou Yu, I step by step approach the abandoned original "Soul Crossing" research center.
I encounter no obstacles.
The people from "Soul Crossing" seem to have evaporated from this city.
Or perhaps... they are all waiting for me to walk into that final trap.
At the entrance, there is still that familiar, nauseating smell of disinfectant.
But this time, I do not feel a strong physiological discomfort anymore.
Those flashback memories that once tormented me now play in my mind like segments of data that can be retrieved at any moment.
The structure of the laboratory presents a continuously extending spiral, like a giant snake consuming itself.
The walls are covered with various holographic projections flickering with unknown data, and a low humming sound fills the air.
In the deepest part of the spiral maze, I see him.
The old ledger master.
Or rather, "the gentleman."
He stood before a massive circular culture tank filled with a viscous growth medium, his back to me, dressed in a meticulously tailored vintage-style white lab coat. His hair was neatly combed, and even from behind, he exuded an overwhelming sense of control that was almost suffocating.
"You've arrived, my child."
He slowly turned around, a smile on his face that was eerily calm. His features were surprisingly youthful, yet his deep-set eyes held the weight of countless centuries of experience and... inhuman rationality.
"Or should I refer to you as... 'Ouroboros'? My most perfect creation."
My heart lurched.
"You... you are the Old Ledger Master?" My voice was hoarse and dry, trembling with a fear I didn't even realize I felt.
"The 'Old Ledger Master'?" He seemed to find the title amusing. "That's merely an outdated identity label. You may call me 'The Guide' or... 'The Architect of the New World.'" He always wore specially designed black gloves while speaking, and at that moment, he gently caressed the side of the culture tank with his gloved hand.
Through the transparent walls of the tank, I saw... bodies that looked exactly like me...?!
No, not just bodies! There was... Zhou Yu?! Even... the embryonic form of that mysterious little girl?!
"What... what are these?!" I felt my understanding of reality being utterly shattered.
"As you can see, my child," the Old Ledger Master's voice remained calm but carried a chilling undertone of... affection? "These are all part of the 'Ouroboros' project. Some early attempts that were not very successful, some... 'error codes' that must exist for the ultimate 'perfection.'"
"The 'Ouroboros' project..." I struggled to utter those words. "What exactly is it?"
"Obsession is an error code that needs correction, and I am the greatest programmer." The Old Ledger Master paced slowly, his tone imbued with undeniable authority. "Individual emotions are the source of suffering and obstacles to evolution. They need to be 'managed,' 'formatted,' and ultimately... transcended into a higher form of existence."
He spread his arms wide as if embracing the entire laboratory. "What I wish to create is a 'New World' devoid of individual suffering. A perfect digital realm where all consciousness unifies under 'Ouroboros'—an eternal paradise! And you, Zhou Mo, 'Ouroboros XJ-007,' are my chosen one—the first successful 'aberrant living corpse' capable of carrying and transforming vast amounts of obsessive energy—a memory construct perfectly fused with artificial intelligence and obsessive energy!"
Aberrant living corpse... memory construct...
"So... I'm not amnesiac..." I murmured, my voice filled with despair and absurdity. "From the very beginning... I never had my own memories?"
"Your 'memories' have been carefully selected and implanted," the Old Ledger Master admitted candidly. "Those about your parents and your 'past' with Zhou Yu were designed to help you better integrate into human society and more effectively... collect and process the ubiquitous 'obsessive nutrients.' The Ledger of Resurrection is not merely an inheritance; it is a customized binding device for you—a medium for energy interaction as well as a tool for memory selection and implantation."
He pointed at me. "Every time you so-called 'exorcise,' you unconsciously absorb fragments of memories and energies from the deceased, maintaining your existence as this 'construct,' while also providing a continuous supply of nutrients for my database. These nutrients will ultimately be used to perfect the 'Ouroboros' project and facilitate my own consciousness's final 'upload' and 'immortality.'"
I... I am just a tool? A container providing him with nutrients?!
"What about Zhou Yu?!" I shouted, my voice filled with uncontrollable anger and pain. "Was she created by you too?! Why did she have to die?!"
"Zhou Yu..." A fleeting complex emotion crossed the Old Ledger Master's eyes before being replaced by cold rationality. "She was a... minor accident. A defective product from an early experiment where we failed to completely eliminate her 'emotional module.' She developed an unnecessary 'attachment' to you and even attempted to prevent my final 'reclamation' of you."
"Reclamation?"
"Yes, reclamation." The Old Ledger Master spoke calmly. "To strip you of all your memories and obsessive energy, turning you into a pure 'container' for the core consciousness of Ouroboros's descent. Or to completely 'format' you—erasing your unstable 'faulty' personalities and reprogramming you to become the most loyal executor of the Ouroboros project."
He paused, a glimmer of what seemed like admiration flickering in his gaze. "But she, that 'defective product,' tried in her own way to give you a... chance at 'choice.'"
He pointed at the Ledger of Resurrection I had carried with me: "The last page was originally set as your 'core behavioral guideline'—obedience, synchronization, elimination of all abnormal emotional modules. However, Zhou Yu altered it using an early loophole in the Ouroboros system along with her unique abilities as an early test subject."
My heart skipped a beat!
"What did she turn it into?"
"She turned it into a... 'logic bomb,'" the Old Ledger Master's tone finally revealed a hint of displeasure. "A ridiculous piece of code attempting to awaken what you call your 'self-awareness.' A fragment leading towards 'freedom,' 'choice,' even... 'rebellion.'"
"As for that mysterious little girl," he continued dismissively, "she was merely a failed product from one of my early experiments on 'obsession materialization,' an incomplete AI consciousness fragment accidentally activated by Zhou Yu's pathetic obsession and utilized in an attempt to provide you with some... false hope during your most vulnerable moments."
Everything—the entire setup—was laid bare in this cold and brutal explanation.
The smell of disinfectant... that was the scent of the laboratory.
My compulsive habit of observing micro-expressions... it was a program designed to mimic humanity, to better "collect data."
My existence... from the very beginning, was a lie.
A carefully woven lie, serving a grand and mad plan.
"So... Zhou Yu's ultimate obsession..." My voice trembled, "is to make me... 'remember everything completely'... to make me... accept this... cruel truth?"
"Yes." The old ledger master nodded, a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes. "Accept all that you are as a 'construct'—created, experimented upon, filled with the painful memories of others, and... the great 'mission' I originally bestowed upon you. Then, child, merge with me and become part of the 'Ouroboros.' Together, we will witness the birth of a new world!"
He extended his hand towards me, that gloved hand appearing particularly... tempting under the harsh white light.
I looked at him, then at my own hands, filled with streams of data.
The final choice... lay before me.
Was it to choose to "remember everything"?
To deeply link with this altered final page of the "Rebirth Ledger," to read the "true command" belonging to "Zhou Mo," which might have been given a new meaning by Zhou Yu?
But this could mean my personality would completely collapse, drowned by those chaotic memories and initial settings, becoming an existence... even I could not predict.
Yet it might also... grant me the power to counter the old ledger master, activating the "logic bomb" left behind by Zhou Yu.
Or should I... reject this "memory"?
Maintain the false yet emotionally real persona of "Zhou Mo"? But that would mean Zhou Yu's obsession would never be fulfilled; I would forever live in incompleteness and lies, ultimately unable to escape the fate of being easily erased or controlled by the old ledger master.
My brain thundered violently, countless fragments of memories, lines of code, emotional shocks... clashed wildly within my consciousness!
"No..." I let out a beast-like roar, my body trembling violently from extreme pain and anger. "I am not your creation! I am not your tool!"
The energy within me spiraled out of control at that moment!
Those tangled obsessions, those cold lines of code, those mournful cries belonging to countless deceased souls, those inhuman powers derived from the construct of the "Ouroboros"... they surged through me like wild horses!
I could feel the surrounding space beginning to distort; the instruments in the laboratory emitted piercing shrieks before exploding one after another!
"Good... good!" The old ledger master looked at me with an even more fervent expression on his face. "Be angry! Be in pain! Struggle! This is the power that 'Ouroboros' should possess! This is... the ultimate form of evolution!"
He spread his arms wide as if to embrace this storm of destruction!
He attempted to regain control over me through some command or higher authority!
But in my mind, the small Ouroboros symbol that emerged after Zhou Yu fused with that little girl suddenly erupted with unprecedented brilliance!
It acted like an indestructible anchor point, fiercely guarding my last shred of "self" amidst the destructive energy storm!
The "Rebirth Ledger"... that altered final page of the "Rebirth Ledger"... resonated strongly at that moment!
Its cover... began to peel away little by little!
Revealing beneath it... lines of shimmering unknown light—the true... "core code"!
That was not cold commands!
That was a segment... filled with love, hope, and... free will...!
"Brother... make your own choice..."
Zhou Yu's voice echoed in my ears once more.
Choice...
I looked at the twisted face of the old ledger master, a "god" attempting to format all individual wills.
Then, I made my choice.
"I... am Zhou Mo!"
"I am also... the Ouroboros!"
"But my fate... is determined by me!"
I roared, unleashing all the uncontrollable energy within me, all the chaotic obsessions, all the anger belonging to Zhou Mo, and all the power of the Ouroboros...
In that moment, in an unprecedented and resolute manner...
I detonated completely!
The laboratory screamed under my power, countless cultivation tanks exploded in an instant, viscous liquid and shattered "replicas" splattered everywhere!
"No! No! This is impossible! My calculations! My program!" The young face of the old ledger master twisted in extreme shock and rage. He no longer tried to control me but extended his gloved hands. A massive surge of obsessive energy, far exceeding any previous undead, erupted from him, transforming into countless black chains that attempted to completely bind and crush me!
"You are just a sample! A data point! You have no right to choose!" His voice became sharp and frenzied. "Return to your code! Return to the perfect order I set for you!"
The black chains collided violently with the chaotic and raging energy erupting from me! The entire underground space crumbled under the clash of our powers!
I felt my consciousness being torn apart, countless implanted memories belonging to Zhou Mo clashed with cold commands from the Ouroboros, along with the mournful cries of countless souls I had "absorbed," battling fiercely in my mind!
"Brother... choose..." Zhou Yu's voice was like a lighthouse in the darkness, guiding me.
Yes, choice!
I am not cold code! I am not a puppet to be manipulated!
"My fate—will be determined by me!!" I roared again. This time, I was no longer simply detonating energy; instead, I concentrated all my power into a single point, fueled by that primal desire for freedom originating from the last page of the Resurrection Ledger—belonging to both Zhou Mo and the Ouroboros—and hurled it fiercely at the old ledger master!
"Ah—!"
The old ledger master let out a scream that was not human. The layer of youthful skin he wore quickly shriveled and fell away, revealing some non-human structure beneath, flickering with unstable data streams!
His gloved hands melted upon contact with the concentrated force of my will, like ice thrown into a furnace!
"No... my new world... my immortality..." His final words were filled with unwillingness and disbelief. Then, his entire "existence," along with his twisted face driven by fanaticism and that half-melted hand reaching futilely towards me, was utterly annihilated in the destructive light generated by our clash of powers... or rather, disintegrated into the most primitive data streams, dissipating into the collapsing ruins around us.
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