I created a foundation

A full twenty years.

It started from the moment O'Hara's flames devoured everything, from the moment those hideous faces and cold muzzles of guns were pointed at her.

The word "safety" was completely stripped from her life and turned into a dream that was too luxurious to even think about.

She was like a frightened lone wolf, licking her wounds alone in the dark jungle, always alert, always on guard, always on the run.

Trust is poison and warmth is a trap.

Every short stop may mean a more cruel betrayal.

She learned to disguise herself with a smile, with knowledge, and with a calm demeanor to cover up the fear and fatigue that had already been riddled with holes deep in her heart.

But now, this man in front of her, this man with bottomless power, told her in an unquestionable tone—

You are safe.

The string called "strength", the string that she had forced herself to keep taut for more than seven thousand days and nights, groaned as it could not bear the weight.

Tiny cracks spread from the center of the string.

Click.

It was as if something had completely shattered deep within her soul.

Robin's body swayed, as if he had lost all support.

Her slender white fingers curled unconsciously, tightly grasping the corner of her clothes, and her knuckles turned white from the force.

A drop of hot liquid rolled down from her deep eye sockets without warning, streaking across her pale cheek, leaving a wet trail.

very hot.

It's like magma that has been accumulating for twenty years.

Then, the second drop, the third drop...

Tears flowed out like pearls from a broken string, blurring her vision.

The world before her eyes turned into a swaying water light.

She could no longer maintain that facade of elegance and composure.

The face that always had a distant and mysterious smile was now distorted by extreme emotional fluctuations.

"Woo..."

A suppressed sob escaped from the depths of her throat, trembling with a heartbreaking sound.

She suddenly squatted down, wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face in them.

It seems that only in this way can I isolate myself from the world and curl up in the small, dark corner that belongs only to me.

"Woo...Woo..."

The suppressed crying gradually turned into uncontrollable sobbing.

Her shoulders were shaking violently and her frail body was trembling slightly, like the last leaf that stubbornly refused to wither in the cold wind of late autumn, finally exhausting all its strength on the night of frost.

Twenty years of wandering.

Twenty years of anxiety.

The flames of O'Hara rising to the sky, the resolute figure of his mother, the gentle protection of the giant vice admiral, and those cold chains, greedy eyes, repeated betrayals, and endless pursuits...

Those fragments buried deep in the bottom of her memory, the pain that she thought she had become numb to and forgotten, now surged out like a flood that broke through a dam, ready to devour her completely.

She cried like a baby.

A child who had been lost for too long finally saw a glimmer of light at the end of despair.

She is no longer the calm and composed "Devil's Child" Nico Robin.

She is just a lonely and tired soul who has lost her home, all her loved ones, and is being chased by the whole world.

Lin Qing didn't move.

He just stood there quietly, his eyes looking across the room, as if studying the monotonous patterns on the wall.

He didn't say anything to comfort her, nor did he go forward to help her.

He knew that Robin at this moment did not need any words of pity or any unnecessary gestures.

All she needed was an absolutely safe space, a space where she could let down all her defenses and vent completely and unreservedly the pain and grievances that had accumulated over the past twenty years.

And he gave her this space.

His existence itself is an invisible barrier that isolates him from all possible prying and disturbance from the outside world.

Time flows slowly amid the suppressed and sad cries.

From the initial heart-wrenching howling, to the gradually exhausted whimpering, and finally to the intermittent sobbing.

Robin's cries grew quieter, and the trembling in his body gradually subsided.

She seemed to have cried out all her tears and released all her emotions.

for a long time.

It lasted so long that the air in the room seemed to freeze.

Robin slowly raised his head.

Her eyes were red and swollen, with crystal tears hanging on her long eyelashes. Her delicate face was covered with tear marks, and a few strands of sweaty black hair were messily stuck to her forehead and cheeks.

Embarrassed.

But it also has a kind of clarity after the rain.

She took a deep breath with a heavy nasal sound, her chest still rising and falling slightly from her previous intense crying.

She subconsciously tried to tidy up her messy appearance, but found that her hands were still shaking slightly uncontrollably.

At this moment, a bony hand handed her a cup of warm water that was still steaming.

Robin was slightly startled and looked up at Lin Qing.

His expression remained calm, his eyes deep, yet with an indescribable gentleness.

"Thank you."

She took the cup of water, her voice was very hoarse and contained a hint of confusion as if she had just woken up.

The warm touch from her fingertips warmed her cold body a little.

She took small sips of water, trying to calm her still somewhat disordered breathing.

Lin Qing waited until she drank a few sips of water and her emotions calmed down a little before he spoke slowly.

His voice was still in that flat tone, but it carried a convincing power.

"Nico Robin."

He called her full name.

"On behalf of the Foundation, I formally invite you to join us."

Robin paused slightly as he held the water glass, then looked up at him. A complex light flashed in his eyes, showing surprise, inquiry, and a subtle... expectation.

Lin Qing's eyes were frank and sincere.

"Your knowledge is not considered a sin here, but the most precious treasure."

These words, like the most precise arrow, hit the softest and most recognized part of Robin's heart.

sin.

Because she can interpret the original text of history, she is slandered by the World Government as the "son of the devil", and her existence itself seems to be a sin.

But now, someone told her that her knowledge is wealth.

Lin Qing continued, "We have countless anomalies from different worlds, waiting for scholars like you to study and interpret them. Here, you can explore the truth you desire without any worries."

Seek the truth.

This is her only obsession to survive and the only motivation that has supported her through twenty years of darkness.

Robin looked at Lin Qing, looking at his eyes that seemed to see through everything.

She saw neither greed nor exploitation in those eyes, only a calm invitation and a kind of... equal respect.

This made her feel strange, yet extremely eager.

She was silent for a moment, as if digesting every word Lin Qing said.

Then, she slowly put down the water cup in her hand, and her red and swollen eyes slowly, slowly, began to light up again.

It is a kind of relief after surviving a disaster, a kind of peace of mind of finding a home, and a kind of hope for the future.

She sniffed slightly, her voice still a little hoarse, but extremely firm.

"I……"

She paused, as if using up all her strength, and uttered the word that was of great weight to her.

"……willing."

The moment she finished speaking, a new teardrop slid down from the corner of her eye.

Chapter 106: The Era of Everyone’s Domination! I’m Curious!

The moment Nico Robin officially swore in to join the Foundation and was granted Class B personnel authority, the system's prompt sounded in Lin Qing's mind without any warning, yet as if it was natural.

An indescribable resonance spread in the depths of consciousness, like the gentle striking of ancient bells.

[Naming…SCP-011-Drifter from Another World (Nicole Robin).]

The cold mechanical sound now carried a hint of imperceptible solemnity.

[It has been detected that the host has successfully contained and transformed an intelligent life form from a high-energy world that has a significant impact on the course of history.]

【Containment method: Perfect.】

【Rating: S-level.】