Abyssal Wanderer.

"To give an example, if we compare an individual human being to a company, then self-awareness is the chairman of the board, responsible for deciding the company's business direction and resource allocation."

"In the startup phase, the interests of the chairman and the entire company are often highly aligned, so his presence can indeed benefit the company's development—provided he doesn't make any mistakes in decision-making. But when the company reaches a certain stage of development, such as when the company encounters a bottleneck or when the chairman plans to reduce his holdings and cash out, an unavoidable conflict will arise between the two."

"At this point, wouldn't it be the right thing to remove that parasite that does nothing but suck the blood of the company all day and replace it with employee stock ownership? I see you humans also enjoy watching those artistic works where employees fire company executives, so why don't you like it when it happens to you?"

Hanel continued to explain the dangers of self-consciousness, but Jim was already tired of listening.

"I think... since you're so smart, you probably aren't planning to use similar reasoning to convince me to let you leave this place so you can take over the ecological niche of humans in five hundred years, are you?"

He said directly.

Yes, Superman is indeed smarter, and human self-awareness may indeed be a parasitic burden.

But this doesn't mean that humans will obediently relinquish their position at the top of the food chain, actively seek out viruses that turn them into superhumans, and allow them to strangle their souls.

Especially given that humanity currently holds an absolute military advantage.

"Of course not."

Hanel laughed and said—her smile was exactly the same as before.

"What I said before was just to give you a theoretical foundation, Jimmy. What I'm about to say is the important part."

As she spoke, she straightened her posture.

Jim recalls that she did this whenever she was about to start a serious conversation.

"Let's assume that if you report this intelligence to the Olympian Order now, what would happen?"

She asked that question.

There is no doubt that the Great Thunder will destroy the entire Nord settlement.

I, Jiang Zhou, Wang Ying, Ji Mu, Booker, the emcee, Christie, Number One... and all eight million people in the Nord resettlement area, whether superhuman or human, will die, not one will be left.

Throughout the entire process, Jim tried his best not to imagine that scene.

He was afraid that this would cause him to waver.

In fact, if it weren't for the time he spent with Jiang Zhou, he probably would have already wavered.

"That's not all."

Hanel said:

"When Tiresias's prophecy is no longer absolute, the Jupiter Group will inevitably go mad with paranoia and begin a purge of all Supermen. Although it will not be as large as the Nord settlements, many settlements still have Supermen lurking. If we want to find and kill every single Superman, even the most conservative estimate would be that at least 500 million ordinary people would be mistakenly killed."

"Don't think it's an exaggeration; the board of directors of the Jupiter Group definitely has the courage to do so."

More than 500 million...

Previously, when suppressing the Dionysus virus infected, there were already more than two thousand people, forming a dense, dark mass.

Compared to that scene, even if Jim exhausted all his imagination, he could only think of a crowded square.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn't say anything.

"Next, assuming Jimmy, you choose to let us go, what will happen?"

Hanel continued.

Jim didn't reply, but just looked at Hanel, wondering when she had become a mindless zombie.

Hanel smiled slightly:
The answer is, nothing will happen.

"The Nord resettlement area will be renovated with funding from the Jupiter Group and the Anthropocentric Ethics Oversight Committee, and everyone will return to normal life. Eri will be admitted to a sanatorium due to excessive grief. She will wait for you to become a director of the Jupiter Group and come back to visit her. You will make a promise to meet more often afterward, but she will die shortly after this meeting from a heart rate abnormality caused by long-term depression."

"Yuyuki will continue to run the Maple Syrup Shrine in the Nord resettlement area with Ji Mu. They will become rising stars in the hacker world together and may even enter the idol industry. Wang Ying will continue to work in the Security Bureau and will be promoted to Chief Superintendent of the Security Bureau under the Icarus government in less than five years. She will completely let you go in about five to ten years and marry and have children with a mid-level member of the Icarus Liberation Front."

She spoke of her vision for the future as if it were a prophecy.

Everything was as usual, as if this crisis of human intelligence did not exist.

"What exactly do you mean? Are you mocking us?" Jim asked, his expression displeased.

“This is not a massacre, Jimmy. No one will be harmed in this evolution. Every Superman will continue along his previous life path according to his identity and relationships. There will be no shortchanging or unnecessary additions.”

"But their self-awareness..."

Jim said in a low voice.

"But to outsiders, does it make any difference? Apart from not recognizing 'me,' she will still like to eat fast curry, will still inexplicably intrude into another person's life, will still be willing to live with you in the company's low-rent housing, will hold you when you are under too much pressure... and even when faced with danger, she will be willing to give up her own chance to live and die for you."

As Hanel said this, tears welled up in his eyes.

"Philosophical zombies..."

Jim murmured.

"Whether it's a philosophical zombie, a swamp man, or a slime wife... as long as it can perfectly simulate the reactions of that person in your memory, what difference does it make to humans who can't truly empathize with others?"

At this point, tears welled up in Hanel's eyes.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t anticipate that Christie would control your behavior through the contract. Originally, you were not supposed to know any of this. Jimmy, no one knows you better than me—not even Jiang Zhou, who once had a deep connection with you—I know you’re not afraid of dying, but you can’t forgive hundreds of millions of people who died because of your choices, and you can’t accept the deaths of those around you because of your decisions.”

“You are a gentle person, so even if it’s just for yourself, deceive yourself this once… Whether you use Orpheus’s power or rely on mine, I can help you erase your previous memories. As long as you don’t remember the conversation that happened here, the whole world can continue to exist in harmony until the ‘end’ of five hundred years, and no one will notice anything unusual.”

Looking at the tearful Hanel before him, Jim considered getting up and leaving several times, or perhaps drawing his weapon to kill all these Supermen to vent his anger, but in the end he did nothing.

If it were Hanel, she would indeed make such a choice to prevent her soul from being crushed by the sheer number of hundreds of millions of wronged souls.

But did the Hanel in his memory ever really exist?
Or was she just a phantom from the very beginning?

"Was all of this part of your plan from the very beginning? Starting twenty years ago?"

Jim asked softly.

For a moment, Hanel froze at the question, then she spoke as usual:

"Yes, this has always been my plan; I have been using you all along."

However, Superman's simulation of humans is so precise that it perfectly replicates even the topological structure of his lying.

You are lying.

Jim said directly.

Hanel shook his head painfully and said:
“I’m not lying. If you find my exploitation unacceptable, then kill me. It’s what I deserve.”

"I want to hear the truth. Tell me, who really planned all of this?"

Jim asked this question.

Although Hanell did not answer the question, he still received an answer.

"Jimmy! Don't look at that memory..."

Faced with Jim's memory reading, Hanel panicked and said...

On the other hand, Jim, having received the answer, simply laughed self-deprecatingly.

Yes, what's so hard to guess about this answer...?

The plan to have Superman replace humans should naturally have been proposed by the original, perfect Superman.

"Hahaha...hahahaha...hahahahahahaha!"

Upon learning the answer, Jim burst into laughter.

He laughed so hard he was doubled over, laughing so hard he couldn't catch his breath.

"Hahahaha... So it was me from the very beginning!" (End of Chapter)