Cthulhu America, I can see the kill line.

During the easy and simple process of "building Gundam", Kong Jiu realized that perhaps a constant consciousness is not a perfect thing.

Through the lens of perception, the remains of the deceased are transformed into parts resembling toy models, scattered before one's eyes.

However, this distortion stemming from perception did not distort the skillful technique employed by Kong Jiu.

Whether it was concealing fatal gunshot wounds or removing frostbitten ulcers, even though in his eyes these corpses were nothing more than "Gundam models."

The handling methods remain as familiar as ever.

On the contrary, in Kong Jiu's view, after his series of almost nonsensical operations of "repairing the water outlet", "removing the mold line", and "filling the soil", he took off the jade pendant to confirm that the body was actually handled quite well and met the standard of being ready for delivery.

As a result, by saving the time spent dealing with the mental exhaustion and moral pressure of facing corpses, the overall efficiency has increased dramatically, almost doubling.

The body, which was originally expected to take two or three days of continuous overtime to process, was delivered in the early hours of the same day after nearly twenty hours of non-stop work from dawn to midnight.

Kong Jiu was somewhat surprised, his fingertips gently stroking the jade pendant on his chest, thinking to himself:

Does this stuff also have an energizing effect?

Late at night, on my way home, the streets of midtown Hills were completely silent.

Kong Jiu, as if possessed, reached out and took off the jade pendant.

Exhaustion washed over him like a tidal wave, but a faint smile of satisfaction appeared on his lips.

A restful day after a busy day is the best reward for being human.

The fear brought on by the warnings from the future has faded considerably, and it seems that they will not haunt me forever.

But after removing the jade pendant, his sanity instantly dropped to 31 points.

It seems that even in a stable state, a small amount of rationality will still be lost, but it just won't show up.

In the pitch-black night, the feeling of being subtly watched from the shadows, coupled with the heavy emotional depression brought on by his low sanity, made Kong Jiu's breathing slightly labored.

He didn't feel good, but he felt that perhaps only in this state could he be more like a living, breathing person.

Wearing the jade pendant makes him look more like a machine that has lost its heartbeat.

In Kong Jiu's view, that change in cognitive adaptation to the corpse, coupled with a consistently cheerful mood, was almost an indifference and neglect of the deceased.

He didn't want to live in a world where respect for the dead was seen as a weakness.

Silently putting the jade pendant into his pouch, temporarily setting aside the forced pleasure, he took a deep breath of the cold night air, feeling the clear and lonely chill that belonged to the living.

The snow-covered Carnation Community gradually came into his weary view.

The entire community was shrouded in darkness, with only the soft light shining from the window of the security booth, gently melting the surrounding snow.

Old Chad sat in the guard booth and immediately noticed the figure slowly approaching, leading a bicycle and looking tired.

He hurriedly pushed open the door of the security booth and came out to greet them.

A moment later, the old man and the young man squeezed into the small but warm security booth again.

Old Richard knew the nature of Congo's work well, and therefore understood just how appalling the conditions in the lower city were when he had to work overtime late into the night.

Kong Jiu was already so sleepy that his eyelids were heavy, but he was still happy to chat with old Richard about everything he had seen and heard recently.

From refugees displaced by the Prophet's Church, to a young girl who was deceived by a cult and brainwashed overnight for seven years, to how he collected dozens of remains simply by picking up the bodies of people who had frozen to death on the roadside...

Kong Jiu held the hot drink that old Chad handed him, but didn't drink a drop. He just kept muttering to himself with his eyes downcast, like an old woman.

But once the words were out, the heaviness in my chest seemed to ease a little, and my rationality quietly returned.

Talking to someone is indeed one of the best ways to relieve stress.

As he spoke, he pulled out the Beretta that old Chad had given him from his pocket.

"I fired four shots yesterday, but I'm short five bullets. Do you know why?"

Old Chad shook his head, his gaze gentle as he gestured for him to continue.

Kong Jiu sighed, his voice hoarse as he slowly recounted how he had gambled his life on the fact that the cult girl still possessed a sliver of conscience.

"The Purple Light Cult is utterly inhuman and must be destroyed."

Kong Jiu lowered his head, clutching his head in anguish, his fingers digging deep into his hair, yet his tone remained unusually resolute.

Old Chad stared at Kong Jiu, a hint of indescribable melancholy in his eyes.

He knew that Kong Jiu was a kind and helpful young man from the East.

Moreover, he himself had a four-year-old grandson, who was also Kong Jiu's godchild, and the two had always doted on children.

Therefore, old Chad deeply understood the torment and pain that Kong Jiu felt after ruthlessly killing the contaminated flower bud.

Hoffman Chad, the iron-willed man who had once dominated the battlefield, also sighed heavily after listening to Kong Jiu's account.

"Jiujiu, have you considered stopping?"

Old Chad, his eyes filled with helpless weariness, asked softly, "Things have long since gone beyond what ordinary people like us can salvage."

Kong Jiu lowered his head and nodded.

"Yes, things were far beyond my ability to salvage the situation, and I should have stopped long ago."

But then he raised his head, shook it, and his tired eyes held a hint of determination: "But this is the general trend."

"I cannot abandon my ideals and principles because of the prevailing trend."

"Protecting refugees from the Prophet's Church from being poisoned is the goal we set from the beginning, and I will not give up on it, as always."

Looking into those eyes, old Chad suddenly saw himself from many years ago.

He didn't try to persuade him any further, but silently took the Beretta from Kong Jiu's hand, skillfully removed the old magazine, and replaced it with a new one.

A soft "click" sounded.

Now, Kong Jiu has fifteen more rounds of ammunition.

"Today, those lads I used to lead in the Navy SEALs... came to see me."

Old Chad kept talking as he carefully examined Beretta's gun.

"My God, it's unbelievable... that they can become so strong, so young, and so energetic after being exposed to military enhancement agents again."

"Just like twenty years ago when I had the modification surgery, I don't need to pay for the maintenance and enhancement of my organs, and I don't have any post-war psychological trauma..."

A self-deprecating, bitter smile appeared on old Chad's face, his wrinkles appearing even deeper under the light.

"These brats are still so respectful to me. When they see me wasting my time in the guard booth, they don't laugh at me at all. Instead, they respectfully salute me."

As he spoke, he gently placed Beretta on the table and took out a light blue vial from behind his back.

The blue reagent, contained in a pure white, round needle-free syringe, gleamed with a cold, futuristic luster, like something out of a science fiction novel.

Even if old Chad hadn't said it, Congo could have guessed what it was.

Military-grade fortifier!

A truly powerful enhancer that is non-addictive and has no side effects!

Old Chad stared at the blue potion, his gaze lingering for a long time.

"But my once passionate and loyal subordinates... these steel-willed soldiers who were willing to leap from a hundred meters in the air and fight Somali pirates for Amerigo's ideal of freedom, how come they've all become gangsters in the downtown area!"

He suddenly looked up from the enhancer at Kong Jiu, a complex emotion surging in his eyes:

"Do you know what they said? — 'Sergeant Chad, even if you don't want to come down to the city and join us, please accept this enhancement drug that will temporarily make you young again!'"

Old Chad shook his head.

It is true that military-grade enhancers have no side effects, and they can indeed reactivate the dormant enhanced organs in veterans' bodies, making them feel young again.

But power is the most terrifying addiction!

"To return to youth... what a beautiful phrase. But if I were to experience it, I would surely degenerate into someone like them, becoming a slave to the enhancer."

Old Chad sighed for the second time tonight, and finally slowly handed the syringe with its eerie blue luster to Kong Jiu.

"Dove, dove,"

His voice was deep and solemn.

"You need this more than I do."