Abyssal Wanderer.

"The agreement remains in effect."

The beautiful woman in the Roman robe said:
"The door to Hera's Pan-Human Intelligence Distributed Contract Integration Architecture is always open for you, even if the financial factors that are withdrawn in advance for this purpose destroy half of the Western Hemisphere's economic system, cause millions of people to go bankrupt, and tens of thousands to become homeless..."

"Honestly, do you guys really care about this?"

Faced with the woman's lament, the young man wiping his sword merely sneered.

In his view, the other party was not so much expressing their own difficulties as using those people to threaten him.

"I will mourn their fate."

The woman who once caused the silent deaths of over 500 million people worldwide overnight said sadly:
"But if this is the price we have to pay to obtain the Dionysian framework, then we have no choice but to do it, even if it hurts."

"Just like when you implanted apoptosis programs into every brain-computer interface back then?"

The young man wiping his sword asked in a mocking tone.

“We didn’t enjoy it; it was all just the optimal choice after precisely weighing the weights on both sides of the scale… Of course, it was also an incredibly bitter choice.”

The chairman of Juno Financial sighed.

But seeing that the other party was about to continue mocking, He quickly continued to offer conditions:

"All you need to do is participate in the battle. After you win, you can choose between the Dionysian structure or the Dionysian structure... or if you still intend to continue pursuing the echo of the Third Will, we will do our best to help you."

Upon hearing this, the young man lowered his sword.

"Wasn't it said that becoming the ultimate victor would inevitably lead to merging with the Dionysian framework? What, do I even have a choice?"

He asked.

Upon hearing this question, the adjuster of Hera's Path Depth 9 smiled for the first time.

"The others have no choice. Of course, they are already blessed to have obtained the Dionysian framework, and they dare not hope to be able to pick and choose. But you are different. You don't need any extra help, nor do you need to follow those boring game rules... You just need to defeat the other contestants one by one head-on."

"And after your victory, the Dionysian framework will be governed by our ideology."

The young man shook his head at this.

You're wrong about one thing.

The woman frowned upon hearing this.

"Where...did I say something wrong?"

She finally couldn't hold back and asked with an impatient expression.

“I don’t need to defeat them one by one… If possible, I would like them to unite and challenge me together.”

A smile appeared on the young man's face.

"That way it will end faster and be more fun."

"You've agreed to participate?"

The woman immediately confirmed it.

"I will participate."

The Hercules path depth 7 adjuster rose and sheathed his sword.

"But I don't promise you victory... I will witness each participant firsthand, understand the ideals they represent, and measure their will and strength. If among them there is no one who interests me, and no ideal worth realizing; then..."

At this point, his gaze shifted from the sword to the chairman.

"At that time, I will bring you back the crown of Dionysus."

…………

Anne Rachel, smelling strongly of fresh grass, tiptoed into the house through the back door.

Before she could even step into the living room, a rough, large hand suddenly appeared and grabbed her ear.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch... Mom, stop pulling! If you keep pulling, you'll turn into a rabbit!"

Anne couldn't help but shout.

“Where have you been running around like a madman again? You just changed your clothes this morning and they’re covered in mud. When your dad comes back and sees you, he’ll give you a good beating.”

Anne's mother, wearing an apron, grabbed her ear and scolded her.

Then she noticed that Anne had one hand always behind her back, awkwardly trying to hide something.

What's hidden in their hands behind their backs?

Anne's mother immediately asked sternly.

"What's behind?"

Anne pretended to be stupid.

"Stop pretending! Take out what's hidden in your left hand!"

Anne's mother continued.

"There's nothing on my left hand... Mom, stop pulling, stop pulling, or your ear will fall off."

Even though Annie was in so much pain she felt like jumping up, she still insisted on not revealing what she was holding behind her back.

"Don't be dishonest, show it to me! If it's alive, I'll give you a chance to release it back into the wild if you hand it over now. Otherwise, if I have to use force, it will become tonight's extra meal."

As Anne's mother spoke, her tone became increasingly serious.

"I'll count to three, one... two..."

Before her mother could even utter the word "three," her younger sister Bella, who had appeared behind her without her noticing, silently took the bouquet of freshly picked baby's breath from her sister's hand.

"Today is Mom's birthday, and my sister is planning a surprise for you."

Bella said in a flat tone.

Time stood still at this moment.

It's not a metaphor, but a literal freeze-frame of this moment.

The clock on the wall, the clouds outside the window, and the mother's expression... everything was frozen in this moment.

It was the height of summer, and the golden sunlight bathed the room, encasing this still moment in time like amber.

Within this amber of time, the only two things that can move are the sisters Anne and Ambella.

Why did you come out?

Anne frowned.

At this moment, her expression was no longer as innocent as before.

"Let's get back to reality, sister. We need you."

"My sister Bella said calmly."

“To be clear, is it you... or Minerva?”

"It's us."

Bella answered without hesitation.

"I, my mother, my father, and my brother all need you. We need to borrow your power to transform from fantasy into reality."

"The Dionysian structure...has it surfaced now?"

Anne instantly understood what she meant.

"Yes."

Bella nodded and said:
“Sister, you don’t need to keep wallowing in this maze, repeating the past over and over again… You can use your own power to recreate that past in the future.” Upon hearing this, Annie’s face showed no joy or excitement, but rather utter exhaustion.

"But...does it make sense to do this?"

After a moment of silence, Annie spoke.

For the first time, Bella's face showed a change in emotion.

"What do you mean? To resurrect your deceased family members? Isn't that your sister's lifelong dream?"

She spoke incredibly authentically.

Anne looked around, then said thoughtfully:
"But how different are the memetic entities created through the Dionysian framework from you in the labyrinth...?"

"But sister, meme entities allow us to exist in reality..."

Bella wanted to say something more, but Annie continued on her own:

"Besides, within the labyrinth, you belong only to me, but if we use the Dionysian framework, my family members will all be open source, so..."

Having said that, Bella gave up trying to persuade her.

"...I'm already very happy here. There's no need for me to fight to the death for such a vague possibility. If it were just me who died, that would be fine, but my death also means the collapse of the labyrinth. You are not just digital life forms, but different archetypes attached to my personality. My death is equivalent to your death, so even for your sake..."

Before Anne could finish speaking, she heard a series of hurried footsteps.

She turned around.

A cold glint flashed, and she felt a petite figure knock her to the ground.

My abdomen felt cold at first, followed by a burning pain that spread outwards.

"Bella?"

Faced with the sudden attack, Anne said in disbelief.

How could you be so selfish?!

Bella, who was riding on top of her, shouted as she pulled the meat cleaver out of her sister's abdomen and then plunged it into her sister's chest.

"That's so selfish!"

"That's so selfish!"

"That's so selfish!"

……

With each shout, Bella would stab downwards.

Anne's screams were cut into powerless groans with each stroke of the knife.

After being stabbed more than ten times, blood was splattered all over Bella's pale face.

At this moment, her hands were numb and her mouth was full of the taste of rust.

She wasn't even given a chance to explain or beg for mercy; the light of life gradually faded from Anne's eyes.

Finally, Bella shakily got up from her sister's lap, walked shakily to the living room, and picked up her phone from the sofa.

With trembling hands, she unlocked the phone and dialed the number "Minerva" in her contacts.

“Hello…it’s me. No, not Anne, it’s Bella…My sister has already gone to sleep. I will be taking over Ariadne’s body to participate in the battle for the Dionysian framework.”

"Don't worry, it's all the same... No, as the 'Shadow,' I'm even stronger than my sister. Isn't that why you chose us to fight? In other wars, Ariadne's weak fighting power shouldn't even be on the battlefield, but only in the battle for the Dionysian framework are we the strongest, and the others are the challengers."

"You should know that what we have summoned is the most powerful 'prototype'."

As Bella spoke, she turned to look at the calendar beside her.

The date on the calendar is December 30, 2069.

That was five days after the Christmas incident.

…………

Headquarters of the Human Intelligence Ethics Oversight Committee.

"Has the Sibyl issued any new prophecies regarding the upcoming war in Uruguay's Theba?"

The projections of the twelve standing committee members sat around a round table in the meeting space, and one of them, an elderly man with white hair, asked a question.

"The cat box is still quiet... The last time there was any movement was during the Category II crisis in the Nord resettlement area."

A dignified-looking middle-aged woman said this.

"This isn't right. Sybil rarely stays silent for more than two weeks. Should we send someone to check on her?"

Among the twelve, one of the few young people raised his hand and made the suggestion.

His words plunged the entire room into an awkward silence. After a long while, the silver-haired, blue-eyed young woman sitting next to him whispered a reminder:
“Observing the cat box will cause Sybil’s diffuse state to collapse, resulting in most of the prophecies being trivial and worthless daily events… Usually we only wait for her to make prophecies on her own initiative, which are generally the important ones.”

After listening to what the other party said, the newly appointed standing committee member realized that he had just made a foolish mistake. So he first thanked the silver-haired young woman, then lowered his head and remained silent.

"Could we interpret it this way: since the Sibyl made no prophecies regarding the Dionysian framework, it means that this struggle will not bring any terrible consequences?"

One of the committee members, who had a plump appearance, couldn't help but speak up.

His words resonated with most of the people present.

After all, if there were real danger, the Jupiter Group would definitely be more anxious than they were, and would probably contact them directly through the Delphi Prophecy Bureau.

"But even assuming that Sibyl did not foresee the destruction of humanity, we still have to do something about this war... Our duty is not only to ensure the survival of humanity, but also to safeguard the smooth operation of the human intellectual and ethical order."

The old man who started it continued.

The old man's sharp, hawk-like gaze swept over everyone present, and then he spoke:

"In other words, we should perhaps also send participants to ensure that this war does not get out of control."

Upon hearing this, almost everyone's gaze turned to the silver-haired, blue-eyed young woman.

Eloise Haenel… or rather, the reflection of Haenel revealed a subtle expression.

"What's going on? Why is everyone staring at me...?"

The reflection that recently named itself "Zhou Jiang" said this.

The elderly man at the head of the group coughed lightly and then said:
"Now that you've been promoted to a standing committee member through exceptional means, it's only right that you make the necessary contributions to the committee, isn't it?"

"Hey hey hey... So this was all planned from the beginning! I was wondering why you promoted a Depth 4 Coordinator to the Standing Committee so quickly. You were planning to use me as a martyr?"

"No, it's because we believe in your abilities... Not long ago, your main body, together with the professional team of the Olympus Order, successfully resolved the second-class crisis in Nord. We believe that you wouldn't be much worse off."

"That was the dignified woman from before," she said.

"How can this be the same thing? What kind of monsters and freaks are participating in the Dionysus Architecture Competition? You want me, a Depth 4, to participate in this kind of game? If you want me to die, just say so."

At this moment, "Zhou Jiang" had a look of utter despair on her face.

But when she looked around, apart from the young man who had looked at her with a pained expression, everyone else was staring at her indifferently.

"no……"

"Zhou Jiang" said in despair:
"Do you guys really think a Depth 4 Adjuster can win?"

In response to her question, the Chairman spoke up:

"First, in order to narrow the gap in strength between the participants, the Bacchus Order will use its structure to strengthen everyone's abilities... In a sense, if you can survive, this can be considered a benefit for the participants. I will explain the specific rules to you in detail later."

"Secondly, we don't need you to win; we just need to ensure that the winner is the one designated by the Jupiter Group; or even just ensure that the victory doesn't fall into the hands of dangerous people, and that will count as you successfully completing the mission."

Finally, after repeated pleading and persuasion from the entire committee, "Zhou Jiang" reluctantly agreed, seemingly in despair. (End of Chapter)