Abyssal Wanderer.

The Valkyries inside the spacecraft exchanged bewildered glances at Theta's words.

They exchanged glances, wondering if it was a joke.

"How is this possible..."

Finally, the captain of the Valkyrie squad spoke after careful consideration.

But she only got started like that, and then she didn't know what to follow up with.

After all, if they are in the same room with someone who is probably the best mind reader in the world, do they still need to express their thoughts by speaking?
Should we solemnly explain to them that they simply don't have the ability? Or should we say, "Can't you see what we're thinking?"
But on the other side, seeing the confused and nervous expressions on these people's faces, Sita said with some helplessness:
"Why were you all so reserved the whole way, not saying a word... This is supposed to be an escort, but you're making it feel like you're taking me to my execution. What's wrong? Is it a company rule that you can't talk the whole way?"

As she spoke, she patted the wings of the Valkyrie closest to her with a touch of江湖气气 (a kind of chivalrous,江湖-like, and unconventional) spirit.

"Please, you both look like you want to say something but are holding back. Just say what you want to say, otherwise I'll be bored the whole way here."

As she said this, she withdrew her hand from the other's wing, whispering in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "It actually feels soft to the touch," which made all the Valkyries suppress their laughter.

Just like that, the previously oppressive atmosphere was instantly dispelled. The Valkyrie whose wings had been touched by Theta earlier asked somewhat nervously:
"I'm a little curious, Ms. Sita, do you, who have the ability to see through other people's thoughts, still have a need to talk to others? I mean... you should be able to know what I'm going to ask before I even ask this question, so this kind of conversation must be quite boring for you, right?"

Sita sighed, then said:

"So in your imagination, my conversations with others should be like a stand-up comedy routine, with only me talking nonstop. And the other person is just standing there like a mute—because every time before they open their mouth, I can say what they want to say first."

She touched her forehead as she said this.

"No wonder you've all been silent the whole way; you were all waiting for me to say what you wanted to say, weren't you?"

The Valkyries, each with wings of a different color, exchanged somewhat awkward glances.

"Of course, I must admit that predictions like 'Your next sentence is...' are indeed very useful at times, and can often fool quite a few people..."

"But rather than saying that I can read the other person's thoughts, it's more like that I'm performing a trick after guiding their thoughts. You have to understand that 'thought' doesn't just reside in our brains, it also resides in language."

The Valkyrie looked somewhat bewildered.

"This...I don't quite understand,"

She said, puzzled.

"Language is not only a product of thought, but also a part of thought."

Sita explained very patiently:

"Once a sentence is uttered, it will stimulate your brain and, to some extent, change or even reshape your thinking. Even if it is somewhat incoherent, you will start to reconstruct new goals, narratives, and plans based on what you have said... convincing yourself that it is your true intention, what you want to do."

"Do you understand? If I were to say what you want to say, you could 'take it back' and think that it might not be what you wanted to say. But language stimulation itself constitutes the thought process—reading, dialogue, talking to yourself, and even inner monologue are all part of human thought, and an indispensable part at that."

That's why, even though I have the ability to read your minds, I still need to communicate through dialogue.

Sita concluded.

Of course, what she didn't fully explain was that the "mind control" ability she unlocked at Depth 7 was essentially about creating the effect of "voice of the mind" in other people's minds, making them believe that certain thoughts or ideas actually came from her.

It is said that this was merely an experiment created by Janus, the creator of the Orpheus path, to fulfill his own last wish.

"I understand."

The Valkyrie nodded.

But she didn't really understand.

Theta observed the other party's topological representation and thought to himself.

But the moment the other person said "I understand," her mind began to construct a conceptual framework that could convince her. At least for the time being, she wouldn't be bothered by this topic anymore.

Having understood this, Sita nodded.

Then she turned to look at another Valkyrie and said:
So, what do you want to ask?

Upon hearing this, the Valkyrie quickly waved her hand and said:
"No, no, I don't want to ask anything."

Sita smiled gently at this.

"Stop it, I can tell you're curious. Don't worry, don't feel bad. After all, I hate being misunderstood more than being asked about my private matters, especially when some of your guesses are completely wrong."

Her words did not soothe the Valkyrie, who had already imagined many things. But faced with the Orpheus High Coordinator who could see right through her, the Valkyrie finally gave up trying to hide her true feelings.

"You mean... your 'husband' Curtis, isn't he...?"

She hesitated awkwardly, trying to figure out what to say—after all, they had all seen Sita throw herself into the arms of the puppet cult leader like a girl in love.

"He is my husband."

Xita said quite frankly.

The Valkyries exchanged glances, and then their captain cautiously said:
"But if our company's records are correct, your beloved Curtis died in Uruguay during the Second Cyber ​​War, which is now the headquarters of the Bacchus Order's Southern Hemisphere 'Paradise'."

And yet, not a single bone was found...

Although the captain didn't say the second half of his sentence, Sita still understood what he meant.

"Similar things do happen."

Sita murmured, then sighed:

"So the man I am now is the husband I created based on my memories. His body is cloned from the DNA he left behind, while his consciousness is set up by me based on my own memories... In other words, at least in my eyes, he is still Curtis from my memories."

The Valkyrie's captain asked with some confusion:
"Although it's a bit...excuse me to say this, but in your opinion, does this combination of technological methods really qualify as Mr. Curtis?"

From a technical standpoint, neither cloning nor using the Orpheus pathway to make the other party mimic the reactions of the living is particularly difficult.

But what these technical means can ultimately achieve is merely a puppet held by the operator's strings—all of the other party's reactions are essentially manifestations of the Orpheus Path Adjuster's manual control.

In some ways, this is even worse than a chatbot that is fed with the words spoken by the deceased during their lifetime.

Furthermore, judging from their previous interactions, "Curtis" seems to only see Theta as his wife, a cover for his identity, rather than a comrade-in-arms he's fought alongside for so many years. If his goal is to resurrect his past lover, why would he alter her memories here?

“It’s not that I’m altering his memories, but rather that the version of him I know would never accept being resurrected like this. So, I usually have to modify my own perception to make myself feel that I was the one who died in Uruguay, and that he was the one who survived… If you hadn’t suddenly come knocking on my door, I wouldn’t have switched back to this perception cluster that is more in line with the actual historical record.”

Having seen through their doubts, Sita explained it this way.

She continued:
"To put it bluntly, he is the Curtis from my memories. The key here is not him, but me. In other words, he is an extension of 'me,' a part of my consciousness—do you really think of your arm as a puppet controlled by yourself?"

Sita explained it this way.

The Valkyries tried to understand the logic behind it, but ultimately failed.

Thus, they came to the most standard conclusion: this is a typical case of abnormal cognition at the limit of human intelligence, and their minds, which are closer to those of primitive humans, cannot imagine such cognition.

Seeing that they had already arranged things this way, Sita didn't intend to continue explaining the topic—indeed, it was impossible to expect them to understand the parallel thinking mode of multiple subjects, just as she herself couldn't understand what it felt like to have only one self-awareness in a mental matrix.

But there's one thing she needs to clarify.

"No matter how you interpret it, there is no doubt that my love for him is real."

The Valkyrie whose wings she had touched earlier mustered her courage and asked:

"Even if he is just a replica created based on your memories?"

But Xita smiled and nodded, saying:
"Especially now, he is a replica created based on memories... After all, isn't this the kind of existence that every human being truly falls in love with?"

Some of the Valkyries present seemed to want to ask more questions, but at that moment, a warning sound came from the navigation device in the cockpit of the Nick supersonic aircraft.

[We are currently passing through an area with a high density of autonomous drones. Passengers in the cabin are advised to be aware of the turbulence caused by the upcoming drone patrols.]

"Avoiding autonomous drone patrols?"

Sita asked with some confusion:

"Wasn't this route supposed to completely avoid the ocean currents of autonomous drones? What's wrong with this navigation system? It can't even predict this simple route properly?"

Several Valkyries frowned upon hearing this.

Outside of human settlements, runaway malicious programs are effectively controlling various self-regulating entities.

In terms of scale, those drones, ground structures, and autonomous torpedo swarms are like natural disasters, spreading like wildfire. It is precisely because of these self-replicating AI disasters that humanity is now divided into relatively independent clusters.

Neptune Traffic, with its unique algorithm, is the only force in the world capable of predicting the behavior patterns of various artificial intelligence clusters with a high success rate. Typically, while maintaining a large global market presence, Neptune Traffic's navigation system achieves an accuracy rate of over 97%.

For an urgent mission like this, jointly commissioned by the Olympian Order, with more resources invested in prediction, the accuracy rate should theoretically be at least 99.9%.

When Sita boarded the aircraft earlier, she made a point of checking the navigation system in the cockpit. She was only relieved to confirm that the navigation was being handled entirely by the Atlantis headquarters.

Now, just as we're about to arrive, the navigation system suddenly activates an emergency avoidance system?

For such an important and urgent mission, how could the navigation system choose a highly dangerous route?

“Don’t worry, Ms. Theta.”

The Valkyrie squad stood up as they spoke—their armor began to transform and enter combat mode, and the energy wings on their backs lit up one by one.

"It's probably some technical error. The Nickel aircraft is very maneuverable, and ordinary drones can't even get a whiff of its exhaust... Even if a drone gets close to the aircraft, we will be responsible for shooting them all down."

The captain of the Valkyrie squad spoke calmly.

But before she could finish speaking, the navigation system rang again.

[Aerospace carrier platform and a large swarm of Predator drones detected ahead]

[Number Level: Obscuring the Sun]

To ensure the safety of passengers on board, the aircraft is slowing down to avoid the obstacle.

After hearing these words, Sita shrugged.

"So what do we say now?"

The captain did not answer Sita's joking question. Instead, she reported the current situation directly to her superiors and asked the navigation system to set a new safe route for them, even if it would delay their arrival at the Nord resettlement area.

[A new route is being planned for you... The new route will be 500 kilometers longer, and the estimated arrival time is 5:20 AM UTC.]

The moment the announcement ended, the entire aircraft began to dive sharply—if it weren't for the fact that everyone in the cabin was skilled, an ordinary person would probably have had their brains shaken to pieces by now.

"I have a feeling that if we keep flying like this, something bad is going to happen... Has Neptune Traffic ever had such a big problem before?"

The new route flew at a low altitude of about 500 meters above the ground, which indeed helped it avoid the swarms of drones patrolling the stratosphere.

But after flying steadily at low altitude for about ten minutes, Sita said somewhat uneasily.

Generally speaking, navigation systems don't recommend low-altitude flight if you're traveling by air. While you might avoid floating islands or aircraft carriers at low altitudes, many ground-based AI permanent servers are equipped with numerous defense systems—a pulse cannon might suddenly fire from some hidden corner, or your aircraft might crash into an invisible energy defense device.

In response, the Valkyrie captain, who had just received a reply from her superiors, said:

"Don't worry, I've already reported it to my superiors. Now, senior business personnel from Neptune Transportation are in charge of our navigation... They've marked all the permanent servers and computing matrices along the route."

Sita didn't reply immediately, but stared at the mountain in front of her for a long time before speaking:

"To be honest, I'm starting to doubt Neptune's traffic navigation... For example, I remember that we shouldn't have seen any mountains over 1,000 meters high along the way until we reached the Balkan Mountains."

As she spoke, she raised her hand and pointed to a large "mountain" in the distance that she estimated to be over 1,500 meters above sea level.

"So, what is that?"

As if in response to her words, the "mountain" slowly opened its mouth.

Or rather, in human perception, it is a structure similar to the mouth.

Thus, this colossal Titan revealed its rugged mechanical structure beneath its disguise. (End of Chapter)