Cyberpunk, but urban

Day 48, end...

Chapter 8. Arrogant People

A walked forward in the endless white light until the scene in front of him distorted again, then he stopped.

The construction department's lounge appeared in front of him again, but compared to yesterday, this lounge had become so distorted that it was incomprehensible to ordinary people.

Many photos that are similar to but not exactly the same as the image of Sephirah in the cognitive filter are scattered throughout this lounge, and many twisted containers containing twisted brains are inserted in the walls and floor of the room.

On a mechanical cabinet covered with tumors and colored in a decayed blue color, there was a picture that seemed to be Carmen. This picture attracted A's attention, and he stepped over the decaying fluid and debris on the ground and walked towards the picture.

However, just as he was about to reach the photo, a young man with long white hair and a confident and proud smile on his face blocked his way.

The man was wearing a pure white robe, and his left arm, which was covered with tattoos, was exposed outside his clothes. The young man stared at A with his yellow eyes, and finally uttered a greeting:

"Welcome. I have been waiting for you for a long time."

"Hmph, extremely boring."

"You also know that the world has no interest for those who know the Supreme Good."

"Think carefully about this miserable world. The Singularity makes everything around you change. The Wing controls the whole world. No one can survive without the control of the Wing. Mortals know how cruel the Wing is, but they can only choose to remain silent. Those who refuse to obey the Wing are destined to become losers and get out of this world alone. And this is your current situation."

This young man, whose body was almost completely white, spoke eloquently in front of A. His tone was arrogant yet mixed with pity for A. However, in A's opinion, his words were meaningless except for being childish.

“Can this also be part of my personality?”

At this moment, A couldn't help but wonder if the young man in front of him was some kind of prank, or even if it was Angela or a Sephirah who pretended to be the young man after finishing work last night.

Of course he knew that Angela would not do such a thing, and that the Sephirahs were all box spirits and had no way of pretending to be someone else, but it was still too difficult for A to admit that this young man was himself.

"What was I in the past? What should I do now? Where will I go in the future? The questions that drive human growth have long been timid. Mortals are dying and living in misery. I watch the degeneration that I have long foreseen, and the boredom in my heart is beyond words."

A looked at the young man in front of him with a tense face, and the uncontrollable shame made him curse in his heart. However, he could only face this personality and suffer from this shame.

At this moment he even began to miss the display screen he used to direct his work. Even if he had to deal with the situation where all Sephirah melted at the same time, it would be better than communicating with this middle-aged personality.

But unfortunately, he could only continue to listen...

"That's why I discovered it - the 'light' in the hearts of mortals. Unfortunately, most people can never catch a glimpse of that light in their entire lives. Those who abandon reality and pursue falsehood are bound to be pathetic. Mortals begin to seal the light deep in their hearts."

"And Carmen was determined to bring out that light."

Just as A began to suffer from the torture of his own secondary personality, Ye Lan also woke up from his sleep.

As usual, I went into the bathroom to tidy up my appearance, and the communicator disguised as an ornament received new messages again.

Central's face appeared in the light curtain and told Ye Lan new bad news. To sum it up simply, he was going to be abandoned. The organization's actions on the ruins had extremely adverse consequences. Some strange monsters hanging high in the sky lowered their gazes towards the ruins because of their actions. All the creatures they stared at were distorted and assimilated into part of the ruins.

"It's hard to stretch."

Ye Lan made the above comment after hearing the news. But think about it in a positive way, now the organization has given up on him, to some extent, this is not much different from being fired, as compensation for being given up, the organization will not ask about his life or death according to regulations.

Although in most cases abandoned agents will die at the hands of hostile forces during the mission, this will not happen to Ye Lan. His mission is to lurk and steal technology. Until now, except for Angela, who really cannot hide it, no one knows that he is an agent.

"Now I can only go with Angela to be a librarian~"

He thought to himself, left his dormitory room, and took the elevator to the staff cafeteria. For some reason, all the Sephirahs showed up in the cafeteria today. The heads of various departments gathered at a table, talking noisily about something. Of course, it was mainly the four Sephirahs at the top who were talking, and most of the others were just listening.

Ye Lan ordered a bowl of Kung Pao Chicken with Rice at the window, then took the plate and squeezed in between Hod and Malkuth to sit down.

While stuffing his mouth with rice, Ye Lan asked them, "What are you talking about?"

As for why there was this kind of Chinese rice with toppings at the company window and why it was served during breakfast time, no one had ever thought about it.

"Xiao Ye, don't talk while eating."

Hokma, the head of the company's records department, gave Ye Lan a lecture, and then continued to listen quietly to Malkuth telling everyone what was written on the clipboard in her hand.

"In summary, I discovered one thing from the records I found. Bai Ye, who moved to the Welfare Department today, is very likely an Abnormality salvaged based on Ayin."

Tiphereth stared at the rice bowl on Ye Lan's plate for a long time, but unfortunately, as a box spirit, she couldn't share some rice bowls with Ye Lan. After a while, she said to Malkuth: "Hey, is that guy such a middle school kid?"

"Everyone has a young time, and the mistakes we make when we are young and the dark history we leave behind will become knives that stab us when we grow up."

After finishing his rice bowl, Ye Lan put down his spoon, said something meaningful to them, then stood up, threw the plate into the recycling area, and walked towards the locker room.

He knew in his heart that as long as he completed today's work, the future of the Seed of Light Project would be smooth.

A smooth road ahead, really?

As Ye Lan walked into the locker room, he turned his back to Sephirah and gave a suspicious smile.

Chapter 9. Adam

“Then I was able to see the truth.”

"Abnormalities are not illusory. The essence of abnormalities is the light drawn from the closed heart. They are the truest form of human beings."

"Abnormalities are the purest shells shed by mortals. They are the real humans of this era. Mortals fear them and try to control them."

"You don't need to blame those ignorant rats. It's normal for humans to be ashamed to see naked bodies."

"No matter what, you and I have already understood that Carmen will become the forbidden fruit for the creation of new humans. Now call out my name loudly!"

"I am Adam - the first new human!"

A took a deep breath. He really didn't want to see the middle school student in front of him anymore. If he couldn't leave the Lobotomy Corporation, he would have been ready to launch himself to another planet by now.

“I will sow new seeds in this vast forest and wait for them to blossom and bear fruit. The forbidden fruit that can enlighten mankind has long been growing in everyone’s heart, but has long been forgotten.”

"All a mortal needs to do is take a bite, and they will be granted infinite wisdom and open their eyes from confusion. Humanity will be redeemed from the sin of self-forgetfulness. Only then will they feel ashamed."

"Once I can draw water from everyone's 'well', then mortals no longer need to close themselves off. Imagine all that is repressed will burst forth in all forms."

“That kind of scene is really thrilling!”

"Mortals often ask. Why do we exist?"

"They can't give the answer, but I can! Join me, and I will show you--"

The more inflammatory the words Adam said, the more A couldn't hold back his anger. Every word spoken by this crazy, arrogant, self-proclaimed god seemed so contemptible to A.

A looked at Adam's stupid face, sneered and said to him:

"No, I refuse."

What Binah once said kept swirling in A's mind. If he wanted to break the cycle of the company, if he wanted to break the cycle of the city, he must not bow to Adam. Only by facing these fears could he hold on to the most important thing.

"Jerry, do you feel like everything is happening faster today?"

An employee from the security department asked his colleague, saying that the work, which is usually considered busy, seemed particularly stressful today.

Even their department head Netzach lost the opportunity to slack off today and had to work hard under the chase of time to ensure that the regeneration reactors and mental pollution neutralization gas releasers of the entire company could operate normally.

"This is Angela, reporting to the entire company. We have confirmed that there is a problem with the TT2 protocol. The flow of time today is abnormal. Please be vigilant, heads of all departments."

Listening to Angela's warning to the whole company on the radio, Ye Lan swung the Thin Dark Greatsword in his hand and chopped down the blue finisher that had refreshed in the corridor of his construction department. This test derivative that appeared due to the Pale Dawn test first attacked an employee wearing the Nova Voice suit in the central headquarters, and then teleported to the corridor of the construction department through his briefcase.

Although in Ye Lan's impression there shouldn't be a blue finisher in the Dawn Trial, this is reality after all, not a game, and any changes are normal.

After dealing with this finisher, today's Anti-Kabbalah Energy Melt Destruction Level reached Level 3. When Bai Ye moved out, he exchanged the bird's containment room for the Construction Department. In addition to this bird that often went out for a walk, there were two other new abnormalities entering the Construction Department today.

One of them is... uh, another Happy Teddy Bear. Ye Lan had heard before that the game version of "Lobotomy Corporation" did have this bug, and the code of the Construction Department would cause it to generate duplicate Abnormalities, but he didn't expect to actually see such a random situation in the real Construction Department.

However, copying Happy Teddy is a good thing. After all, Teddy will not escape. In today's world where the speed of time is gradually increasing, as if the whole company has been hit by Father Pucci's heaven-made creation, it can be said that being able to take care of two less containment rooms is quite crucial.

As for the other new abnormality, it was O-01-55 Son of the Galaxy. This extremely jealous little guy required that the staff who entered its containment room could only do one job for it, so Ye Lan, who had not yet entered the containment room of Dissolving Love, called an employee from the Records Department to take care of this Son of the Galaxy who could not tolerate a third party.

As time passed by at an accelerated rate, they soon received a fourth-level anti-Kabbalah energy meltdown alert, and the most difficult moment of the day began.

In the R&D lounge, a fake Binah appeared out of thin air and immediately attacked the surrounding employees.

"Do you really think you can see the essence of things? Even if what you see is just the tip of the iceberg?"

"What are you afraid of?"

While Ye Lan was providing support to the R&D department, A and Adam started talking again.

"If you think it is a sin to deprive mortals of the ability to face their fears, then listen carefully."

"If you can do hundreds of good deeds, then a little sin is nothing. Do you know how noble it is to peel off the shell of every person?!"

"The future of mortals needs people like you and me to guide it! Think carefully about the wave of salvation that will follow!!!"

Adam invited A again. This time, he painted a big pie in the sky, trying to lure A with the future he talked about and make A become his.

However, the Hokma Core Suppression War taught A one last crucial thing. Only by embracing the past and facing all his sins can he create a new future, instead of transforming everyone into Abnormalities and remaining in a daze forever as Adam said.

Can people who have lost their free will still be considered human beings? A did not dare to make an accurate judgment, but he clearly told himself in his heart that he would never let the people in the city become creatures without free will. So he said:

"I reject!"

“…You dare to reject my invitation and face another unpredictable future?! If you accept my invitation, your future will be full of miracles!!! Every minute and every second you spend here is filled with pain! You can’t even be sure if you are on the right path!”

Adam lost his arrogant expression after being repeatedly humiliated. Anger appeared on his face...

Chapter 10. The Tuner of the World (Part 1)

"The secrets I know should not be wasted like this! Time is running out. If you are not ready, I will take the lead..."

"Could it be...you..."

"Humph, it seems that you don't intend to stop here. Instead, you want to stop me?"

Adam laughed in anger, looking at A with an extremely crazy smile. His body turned into stars of light and disappeared in front of A, leaving only his last words in the air:

"Let me and you see who will win!"

After saying goodbye to this middle school syndrome, the display screen that A had missed for a long time finally appeared in front of him. Through the cognitive filter, A could clearly see the scene of Ye Lan ending the fake Binah.

However, the button for ending work was still gray, as if something had changed that even Ye Lan, who had watched the plot, was not aware of, and it slowly appeared in the company's headquarters facilities.

While A was still searching for the incident, a figure gradually appeared in the main lounge of the Construction Department. However, no matter how hard A searched, the location of the incident could not be seen on his monitoring screen.

"Angela, what on earth is going on inside the facility? I can't finish my work for the day now."

"Director, it has been confirmed that a new false Binah has appeared in the Construction Department. No, it has been confirmed that a false 'Tuner' has been generated."

"What?! I know."

The supervisor unloaded all the bullets from the special firearm in his hand, and then loaded a flare into the magazine. Then, while turning on the communication, he fired the flare towards the lounge of the construction department.

"I'm A, informing all staff of the headquarters that an abnormal test derivative has appeared in the Construction Department - a fake 'Tuner'. All employees are warned to unite as one. Only by doing our best can we have a chance to defeat her."

Hearing this warning, Ye Lan almost blacked out and slid off the body of the fake Binah he had just killed. Unlike Hong Jie, or Geburah, Suo Ma, or Binah, is better at long-range attacks.

At the same time, as a member of the city's "headquarters", she is able to use a variety of means to influence the management of the shelter. Ye Lan was able to defeat the fake her almost entirely because her colleagues in the company tried their best to remove the various special abilities she released.

The backlash caused to Binah when these abilities were released exposed her weakness, which allowed Ye Lan, who was wearing a thin mask, to find the weakness to defeat her.

However, these weaknesses and coping methods can only be used against Binah after he has been transformed into a box spirit.

The one who appeared in the Construction Department at this time was the "Tuner of the World" named Garion.

That is, when Binah was alive, she still had the authority of a "leader" and was able to use the singularity technology of multiple companies.

A voice suddenly joined the channel between A and the heads of various departments: "What!? She... is not a real 'Tuner'... right? If she is genuine, you'd better realize how serious the breach of contract is..."

Myuu, the captain of the Rabbit Team, was sent by R Company to the Lobotomy Corporation headquarters to participate in security work as a contract with the Lobotomy Corporation. She looked at the enemy in front of her in horror.

Although rabbits are never afraid of death, when facing a "tuneer" who is a "leader", death is not the end of everything.

They attacked the Tuner with the shooting weapons provided by Lobotomy Corporation in vain, but the bullets fired by these special ego guns only made ripples on the barrier in front of the Tuner.

Afterwards, half of them were torn into pieces by countless "demons" that were like thin lines of light.

Taking the remaining rabbits of the Rabbit Team and hiding in the elevator on the side, Myuu immediately questioned A: "Damn... Is this why you said she's not a real 'Tuner'? She can even use singularity technology!"

"She's definitely not real. Have your rabbits hold the line. My staff is coming here for support."

This "Tuner" was not unfamiliar to A. After all, the research team back then was almost wiped out by Galion alone.

At that time, Geburah used the Tuner to release the chaos caused by the abnormalities in the laboratory, and seized the flaw revealed by Galion due to her arrogance, and then severely injured her at the cost of her life, allowing the Lobotomy Corporation to continue to survive.

However, Geburah now does not have the power he had back then, and A cannot possibly release all of his abnormalities. He has no idea whether he can defeat this fake "Tuner" that he fished out of the well.

However, A said that all employees were sent to the Construction Department for support, but in fact there was still one employee who had not taken any action yet.

Ye Lan, who was in the R&D department with Binah, shouted to Angela, "Angela, I need your help!"

"I am here……"

"I need to talk to Netzach about something."