Abyssal Wanderer.

Following the sound, Jiang Zhou pushed open the door and walked into the coffee shop.

The wind chimes hanging on the door tinkled as the door opened and closed.

For some reason, the coffee shop, which looked completely dark from the outside, was brightly lit once Jiang Zhou stepped inside.

The shop is decorated in a very retro style, with old-fashioned newspapers covering the walls; several LED bulbs shaped like incandescent lamps hang from the ceiling, emitting a warm glow.

A girl who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a wolf tail and mullet hairstyle, sat at a dining table.

She was wearing a gray turtleneck sweater with a diamond pattern and was stirring her coffee with a straw.

The gurgling sound of ice cubes hitting the glass was crisp and pleasant to hear.

The girl nodded slightly in acknowledgment as she looked at Jiang Zhou who had just walked in.

She was the only one in the entire coffee shop at that moment, so she must have been the one who called out the name "Jiang Zhou" earlier.

Jiang Zhou took a deep breath and strode over to sit down opposite the girl.

But just before he could open his mouth to ask something, a very polite voice came from the side.

"Sir, what would you like to order?"

Jiang Zhou turned his head and saw a man wearing a kitchen apron standing in front of the table, holding a ballpoint pen and a shorthand notebook in a very nostalgic manner.

Where did you come from?

Jiang Zhou was puzzled, but he still spoke in a normal tone:
"I'd like one of this lady's."

Anyway, enough strange things have happened tonight, so one more won't make a difference.

After the initial shock, Jiang Zhou's mindset had rapidly shifted from "there's always a way out" and "since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it" to "a dead pig isn't afraid of boiling water," and "death isn't scary, death is like a cool summer night."

Fortunately, the clerk who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere didn't do anything unusual. A little while later, he brought Jiang Zhou the same iced Americano.

"So, who are you?"

After the shop assistant had walked away, Jiang Zhou finally asked the question.

At that moment, the girl was resting her chin on her hand, looking at him with the same gaze she would give to some rare animal.

"you guess."

The girl smiled and said, her expression making Jiang Zhou wonder if he had something stuck to his face.

"Nyx?"

Jiang Zhou tentatively asked.

This is the most likely answer—not to mention that the other party knew his true identity, the EMP from the nuclear explosion caused a power outage on the entire seventh basement level of the resettlement area, so there's no reason why this coffee shop could still be open, and that the employee who suddenly appeared was acting as if nothing had happened and continuing to run the shop as usual.

If the other party is that super artificial intelligence, or something left behind by Him, then everything can be explained.

The girl suppressed a laugh and slowly shook her head.

"Guess again. Here's a hint: I'm actually someone you know."

She said so.

If it's not Nyx, and it's someone you know, then they might have that ability...

"Then...Ms. Hecate, is that you?"

Although their personalities are worlds apart, it seems that only the goddess of the underworld could have this ability.

But the girl still shook her head.

"It couldn't possibly be Christie, could it? I really didn't know you had that kind of ability..."

As Jiang Zhou said this, he was also thinking to himself: if it really was the boss of Yuyuan Studio, could he get leniency by immediately kneeling down and apologizing?

The girl carefully observed Jiang Zhou's expression, her face full of mockery. After building up curiosity for a while, she finally spoke, suppressing a laugh:

"Sorry, I remembered wrong, you don't know me yet."

Who am I now?

The moment those words reached Jiang Zhou's ears, a series of science fiction works about time travel, such as *The Terminator*, *The Butterfly Effect*, and *Predestination*, flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern. Without hesitation, he blurted out:

"Are you from the future?"

The girl nodded, and before Jiang Zhou could ask anything, she spoke first:

"But the specifics are very complicated and quite different from what you imagine about going back in time... so please don't ask questions like the 'grandfather paradox.' Of course, don't ask me about the future either; I won't tell you."

These words extinguished most of Jiang Zhou's earlier enthusiasm, and he sighed, saying:

"At least tell me your name, right?"

Upon hearing this, the girl put down her straw, straightened her back slightly, and then said in a serious tone:
"Although I can't reveal my real name yet, you can call me—"

"Sibir".

Sibyl...

Jiang Zhou immediately thought of the prophet from the Human Intelligence Ethics Oversight Committee who had predicted this Category II crisis.

"Yes, I am that person."

Seemingly seeing through Jiang Zhou's thoughts, Sybil nodded.

A high-ranking member of the Human Intelligence Oversight Committee, and a regulator of Depth 7.

One of the three prophets adjusts their path; their thoughts diffuse along the timeline like a wave function. They usually only inform witches who are certain to make prophecies in a form similar to divine pronouncements.

But why is she here?
"I know you have many questions you want to ask, but believe me, you will get the answers to these questions in the future."

Once again, Sybil said this before Jiang Zhou could speak.

Then she smiled and continued:
"And there are some questions that I think you, with your intelligence, can figure out... For example, why do I know your name."

Jiang Zhou pondered for a moment and then nodded.

"In the future, I've connected you as a controllable element of myself, right?"

He said this.

Since she comes from the future, knows herself, and knows her real name, this is the most likely explanation.

Seeing Sybil nod in approval, Jiang Zhou couldn't help but wonder what he would do if he didn't choose her as a controllable factor in the future.

Will the future—that is, the history she experienced—be changed as a result?

"Then say whatever you can."

Jiang Zhou spoke:

"For example, why won't you let me go to the geothermal power plant?"

But Sybil shook her head once again.

"I'm sorry, but I still can't tell you why..."

Damn, it's the riddle master again, isn't it!
Jiang Zhou barely suppressed the urge to slam his fist on the table and leave, while Sybil continued speaking, finishing the second half of her sentence:
"But He will tell you why himself."

"Who?"

Jiang Zhou asked in confusion.

Sibyl smiled slightly.

Janus.

This answer left Jiang Zhou completely stunned.

"Who?"

He unconsciously repeated the question again.

"To be more precise, it was Janus a hundred years ago."

Sibyl continued.

This time, Jiang Zhou didn't reply, but just stared straight at the girl in front of him.

"Disconnect from Jim Ritter. New controllable elements should now be visible in the Janus program."

"That is, me."

Sybil said:

“Through me, your consciousness can temporarily return to a hundred years ago and speak with Janus. At that time, He will explain everything about the Second Will to you.”

"but……"

Through the previous "contract incident," Jiang Zhou and Jim have uncovered a deeper conspiracy. Now, it's time for the final showdown.

I can't abandon Jim at this time.

No... let me face all of this alone.

Jim's inner voice made this firm decision.

Moreover... for those superhumans, the Janus program is an even more terrifying weapon of propagation.

It doesn't even need memes as a medium; the connection between hearts alone is enough to silently influence more people. Jiang Zhou closed his eyes and returned to the "City of Sages," immediately activating the Janus program.

There, next to Jim Ritter's name, he saw the option to "disconnect".

He took a deep breath and finally clicked "Confirm".

The moment he was alone again, the Janus program displayed a list of available models.

[Calculate the current adjustment depth; recommended number of controllable features to connect: 1/2]

[Currently selectable and controllable object elements: 263284 (263283)]

How many?

Jiang Zhou clearly remembered that there were 36 before, how did it become more than 200,000 after refreshing?

Suddenly remembering something, Jiang Zhou typed "Duanmu Youxue" into the search bar.

As he expected, the name was indeed among them.

He then searched for "Hayahara Eri" and got the same result.

After trying several names, Jiang Zhou basically determined that the more than 260,000 controllable elemental bodies were all previously infected with the Superman virus.

What does this mean...?

With this question in mind, Jiang Zhou typed in "Sibir".

Although this is clearly not her real name, the list supports fuzzy searching.

Just as Jiang Zhou had expected, he saw the image of the girl with the wolf tail and mullet hairstyle—she was sitting right in front of him.

He took a deep breath and clicked the link.

This time, however, with the connection to controllable elements, Jiang Zhou no longer felt the dizziness of being overwhelmed by a flood of memories.

More precisely, none of the information, memories, thoughts, or personality of Sibyl appeared with the activation of the Janus program.

He is still himself, and he is still all alone.

It's as if that guy named Sybil never existed.

This is the first time such a situation has occurred.

Jiang Zhou opened his eyes, utterly confused.

"I've connected with you, but..."

His words came to an abrupt end.

Because when he opened his eyes, he was no longer in that retro-styled coffee shop.

Jiang Zhou reappeared in a place he was very familiar with.

Because this place is clearly...

"Olympus Group's data center."

A voice came from behind Jiang Zhou, and the tone sounded exactly like it came from his own throat.

Jiang Zhou slowly turned around, and a projection made entirely of mosaic blocks was standing behind him—it was the image of Janus when he first appeared.

"It's been a long time, my creator."

That's what the blocky man said.

"You...I...I've traveled back a hundred years?"

All of this happened so suddenly that Jiang Zhou spoke with some difficulty.

"If I had to put it in a nutshell, this is just your 'self-awareness structure' temporarily overwriting this body, and the memory information generated during this period will be slowly delivered to your future body through a 'time capsule'. As for whether it counts as true time travel, that's a matter of opinion."

Janus said this.

As he spoke, the cube-shaped projection appeared directly above the server room.

"But no matter what, today is a memorable day. It is an even greater blessing to have you here to witness it."

Janus looked down into the tunnel.

So what day is it today?

Jiang Zhou couldn't help but ask.

"The days when I merged with Nyx's information matrix."

Janus described it simply and naturally.

With His declaration, the entire data matrix was simultaneously activated.

"At the same time, it is also the day that will determine where humanity's ascension will lead in a hundred years—that is, in your time."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhou felt a chill run down his spine.

"Those Supermen are completely..."

He said directly.

"I know."

Janus was very calm.

Then, He looked at Jiang Zhou and said:
“Nyx believes she can win, while I believe you can win. Of course, if you ultimately lose, I will send you back to your current era and destroy the ‘time capsule,’ letting you live out your life in blissful ignorance… In fact, this ending might not be so bad, after all, Nyx’s approach is a universal solution for many intelligent beings in the universe.”

Otherwise, I wouldn't have given her this opportunity to decide the direction of human evolution.

Janus said this.

Hearing this, Jiang Zhou simply found a high platform to sit down, and then said:

"Please explain in more detail."

Janus nodded slightly.

"So, let's start with a parasite..."

…………

Even though he had only been away from home for a few days, Jim felt as if he had been in another world.

The police seal was still hanging at the entrance, and the gate, which had been damaged by the riot control task force, had not been repaired.

There were still traces of his own blood on the floor of the room, but there were signs for evidence collection on those bloodstains.

The door to the secret room was open, while the painting "Thracian Girl with the Head of Orpheus" was covered with a black tarpaulin.

Even though it wasn't necessary, Jim still wiped the dust off the sofa before letting everyone sit down.

"If it weren't for that mandala instruction, we wouldn't have actually intended for you to know the truth."

Hanel said so.

Jim shook his head.

"That's your biggest weakness, but not the whole story. True to my nature, I will continue to investigate thoroughly after this is over."

At this point, he looked at Hanel and said:

"For example, that multi-function printer on the tenth floor. Besides the members of the professional team, you were the only one who had access to it... The encryption measures brought by the emcee were cracked so quickly, you were the one who tampered with them, right?"

Hanel nodded, but did not elaborate further.

"You do not understand."

At this moment, Duanmu Youxue was standing to the side:
"Give us time to prepare—not too long—and all the flaws will be perfectly concealed. In fact, the patch for the public mandala matrix went live five minutes ago. Even if we have to deal with this previous unexpected situation again, we won't be exposed at all."

"There is an insurmountable gap in intelligence between you and us."

Jim chuckled coldly, then said:
"You talk a big game, but aren't you still being chased around by the Olympian Order?"

Hanel shook his head and said:

"You're wrong. From beginning to end, we only had two goals. First, to decipher the mandala code and complete the last piece of the puzzle disguised as a parasite."

She sighed softly as she spoke.

"This is no easy feat, after all, the Mandala is an encryption algorithm left behind by the super artificial intelligence Janus. To crack it head-on, we would need to control at least five percent of the computing power resources of the Dark Web below the Abyss Layer."

"Fortunately, He had an agreement with Nyx, leaving the Orpheus Path as the key to deciphering it, and this key can only be opened by someone similar to John Otto."

That is, you.

Hanel said so.

Jim, who had seen John's dying words, naturally knew this, and so he pressed on with the question:
"So what's the second goal?"

Hanel replied:

"The second objective, I think you can probably guess some of it—to deceive the Delphi Prophecy Bureau and make the Olympian Order believe that humanity will continue to exist five hundred years from now."

"In the future, we will disguise ourselves as humans and secretly expand our population. This process will last for five hundred years, until the day after we cross the 'end' of observation, when we will redefine humanity."

"At that time, humanity will completely eradicate the parasite 'self-awareness'." (End of Chapter)