Abyssal Wanderer.

A fleeting memory, a familiar voice, the delicate scent of lavender...

In his dazed state, Jim felt as if someone had undressed him.

The man's cold, trembling hand fumbled on his chest, as if searching for something, and then—

Jim was jolted awake from his unconsciousness by a sharp pain in his chest.

"So... now you can trust me, right?"

A woman's voice, filled with helplessness, came from a little further away.

"Shh, wait a minute—Jim, are you feeling alright now?"

A little closer, the woman beside him asked in a very concerned tone.

At this moment, Jim's vision and mind were in a frenzy of constant jumping and flashbacks. Countless past scenes were replaying before his eyes like a revolving lantern, while his thoughts were still stuck on the moment before he lost consciousness.

However, compared to his mind, his body, controlled by the Night Marrow, regained its ability to move first.

He sat up abruptly, grabbed the hand of the woman beside him, and, in a daze, called out the name from his memories.

"Hanell!"

The woman whose hand he was holding clicked her tongue in annoyance and immediately tried to pull her hand back. But it was clear that she couldn't possibly overpower the force of the Alder Crossbow.

"That's enough already!"

After struggling for a while to no avail, the man raised his voice by eight octaves.

As if it were preordained, the flashback caused by the strong empathy circuit subsided in an instant, and Jim's vision and consciousness returned to normal at the same time.

He finally saw the person in front of him clearly.

The person whose hands she was holding and whose eyes she was facing was not the silver-haired, blue-eyed Elois Haenel, but the black-haired, black-eyed Wang Ying wearing an orange parka.

Wang Ying's gaze was constantly shifting between worry and anger. And for some unspeakable reason, it was gradually leaning more towards the latter.

Jim very carefully and slowly released her hand.

"Sorry... I was a little confused just now."

In any case, calling someone by the wrong name is always an embarrassing thing, especially when the other person is caring and looking after you.

While apologizing to Wang Ying under her gaze that seemed to pierce his head and shoot several inches further, Jim looked down at the still throbbing spot on his chest.

A monstrous creature, combining the hideous features of a leech and a lamprey, clung to his chest near his heart. It was writhing its segmented, slimy body.

"This is fucking..."

"A healing symbiote produced by Apollo Biotechnology, codenamed Hiruko... You should still remember it, Jimmy."

A pleasant voice came from behind Jim, and he turned around.

“Hanell…”

This time, Jim didn't mistake the person again.

The moment he uttered that name, he couldn't help but recall the brief conversation between Jiang Zhou and Hanel.

Narcissus Path Depth 4, Adjustment and Transformation - Reflection, Research Zombie, Free Will... One concept after another flashed through his mind, making him feel dizzy.

"Why...are you still alive? No...did Eloiz Haenel ever really exist?"

Finally, he spoke in a hoarse voice.

Are you sure you want to talk about this now?

Facing the questioning with complete composure, Hanel tilted his head.

Jim nodded firmly in response.

"Okay... I guessed so. I probably would have asked the same question if I were in that situation."

She sighed, then looked at the symbiote called "Hiruzen" on Jim's chest.

"But before that, could you please explain to the detective next to you that I meant no harm? After all, it probably wouldn't be enough to cleanse the biological toxins in your body with just a drop of leech blood. Although I know she meant well, it's still a waste of time for her to keep me from treating your wounds personally."

As if to echo Hanel's words, the leech clinging to Jim's chest writhed slower and slower. Finally, it lost all its vitality, fell limply from his chest, and quickly decomposed into a pool of foul-smelling slime.

Jim looked at Wang Ying, who was standing to the side with a wary expression, and asked her what was wrong.

In response, the police superintendent pointed to the pharmacist huddled in a corner of the room not far away and said:
"This writhing, disgusting thing was vomited out of the monster's mouth. I really can't be sure if it's dangerous."

Although she concealed her cuff as she pointed at the apothecary, Jim still keenly noticed a mark on her arm where leech blood had been absorbed—it seemed Wang Ying had tested it on herself first, confirming it was basically harmless, before daring to use it on him. "No problem..."

Jim began, then turned to look at Hanel beside him.

"If she really had any malicious intent... we would both be dead already, there would be no need to resort to such unnecessary methods."

Hanel smiled knowingly at his words, then struck a graceful pose of thanks, like a noble lady.

What Jim didn't say was that the other party even respected Wang Ying's free will—if Narcissus's power were truly used, Hanel had plenty of ways to make Wang Ying unknowingly agree with her actions.

"Also, thank you so much for what happened earlier."

Jim continued.

Although he said this to Wang Ying, he knew that Hanel should be able to tell that it was also meant for her.

Wang Ying first glared at him, then stood up without saying a word, making way for Hanel, who was carrying several other "leeches".

"For those who adjust the Chimera Path, using poison is a basic skill..."

As she spoke, she casually smeared leech blood onto Jim's several obvious wounds.

"Fortunately, this person seems to have some mental issues. The biological toxins he used are the kind that take effect slowly and mainly cause pain... However, it's normal for people with the Chimera Path to have mental issues. No, I should say that all Coordinators have some mental issues to some extent."

She kept muttering to herself, as if trying to hide something.

Not only her appearance and figure, but even her speaking style when she's nervous is exactly the same as her back then.

Jim has always believed that, compared to physical appearance which can be changed at low cost through technology, this mindset of retaining impulsiveness and vitality is the true yardstick for defining age in this era.

Now, Hanel seems to be as youthful and energetic as ever, both in appearance and mindset, while I have truly become a weary middle-aged man.

"Does this also include the adjusters of the Narcissus path?"

Knowing what the other person was nervous about, Jim took over the conversation and asked softly.

Hanel paused for a moment as he used tweezers to remove fragments of foreign objects from his wound.

"Bai Rao said she is you, although the way you are now is more like the Hanel in my memory. But I think... if the Hanel in my memory had gone through decades like me, she would probably have become closer to Bai Rao's personality."

Seeing that the other party did not reply, Jim continued.

Hanel first grunted in response, and then, whether out of nervousness or deliberate revenge, she ripped a piece of metal from his wound, causing Jim to gasp in pain.

"Bai Rao was the first 'reflection' I created after the Human Intelligence Ethics Oversight Committee found me. The following year, she chose to give up the identity of 'Elois Hanell' and take the name Bai Rao... Over the years, she has been active in the committee."

As she said this, Hanel looked up at Jim with a somewhat aggrieved expression, then lowered her eyes and continued to treat the fragments in his wound.

"The one who died on the plane back then..."

When Jim finally couldn't help but ask the question, he tried his best to calm the trembling in his voice.

"Before that final, certain-death mission, the committee secretly transferred me from the Eden settlement—without even asking my consent—and I only found out after I woke up that they had replaced me with my second reflection to participate in that operation with you."

"And she... probably believed until her death that she was the original me..."

Hanel lowered his head as much as possible so that Jim wouldn't see his expression.

Upon hearing this information, Jim reacted with a calmness that even he himself found repulsive, ruthlessly analyzing the possible clues and intelligence as if examining a stranger's story.

Human Intelligence Ethics Oversight Committee...

They found Hanel in advance, collaborated with her, and elevated her to Depth 4... It's just unknown how they managed to keep it from Apollo Creatures.

But what is the purpose of the committee?

To investigate the remnants of Apollo's second will? To investigate the technology of the research zombies?
In any case, from the perspective of planting intelligence agents, the Narcissus Path Adjuster is indeed a good breakthrough point - as long as the reflection exists, the committee can easily synchronize an identical copy with intelligence every once in a while, thus deceiving everyone.

Just as Jim was pondering this, he suddenly felt some warm liquid dripping onto his wound.

He looked up and was surprised to find that Hanel, who was tending to his wounds, was sobbing silently.

For a moment, Jim's mind went blank—he had long forgotten whether his first reaction in the past would have been to offer comfort or to ask questions.

He simply opened his mouth slightly, unsure of what to say.

After a long silence between them, Hanel, who had finally calmed down, choked out:
"Actually, over the years... whenever I'm lucid... I can't help but think about it..."

"If I had been on that plane that day, would I have made the same choice as her...?" (End of Chapter)