I said you are all war criminals

"Have you forgotten, Hongxia?"

Liang interrupted Hongxia and said softly, "I also started learning to cook ten years ago."

"boom!"

A bolt of lightning struck from the vacuum surface of the moon, broke through the glass window of the monitoring room, and hit Hong Xia's back.

The windows were broken, and the air inside the base rushed out of the windows frantically, sucking everything in the monitoring room into it - tables, chairs, instruments, documents, and even equipment fixed to the ground were uprooted.

Hong Xia felt a sharp pain in her back, as if struck by a massive hammer. The force of the lightning was far greater than she had imagined. The powerful current caused her prosthetic to emit a piercing alarm, temporarily disrupting its function. Her vision blurred, and she stumbled a few steps. Before she could react, a powerful suction pulled her toward the shattered window.

"Goodbye, Hongxia."

Liang's calm voice echoed. Hongxia barely moved her head and saw Liang standing outside the door, pressing a red button. The emergency partition door slowly dropped, isolating the monitoring room from the rest of the base.

Liang watched the partition door completely close without a trace of emotion on her face. She knew that this door couldn't hold Hong Xia in place at all. With the performance of Hong Xia's prosthetic body, it was only a matter of time before she broke through this door.

But she didn't intend to really stop Hong Xia, she just needed some time.

"My pitiful brother... let me fulfill that wish that is too heavy for you."

Liang muttered to herself, turning and heading deeper into the base. She wanted to go to the core control room, where the Pupil's body was located, to stop Hong Xia from destroying the Pupil directly.

83

Chapter 83: Hongxia’s endgame part 3.

Yamada Ryo walked along the winding passage.

She soon arrived at the control room... not of this base, but of the "Pupil" control room.

The core control room was bathed in a faint blue light, the air thick with the low hum of machinery. Liang walked briskly to the central control console, his slender fingers dancing across the cold metal panel like a complex piano piece. Complex codes and data streams danced across the screen, cascading down like a waterfall, dazzling the eyes.

The operating status of the "pupil" was clear at a glance. Its energy output was limited to an extremely low level, like a beast bound by chains, unable to unleash its true power. If it continued operating at this rate, it would take at least twenty-four hours to fully guide the evolution of all humanity. Liang bit her lower lip, a flicker of anxiety in her eyes. She had to lift this restriction quickly, otherwise all her efforts would be in vain.

"Damn security protocols..."

Ryo cursed under her breath and began trying to crack the Pupil's control system. Ten years ago, when she and Hakuno were researching the Pupil, they had envisioned every possible scenario and instituted corresponding safety measures, even taking precautions themselves. Now, those safety measures had become her biggest obstacle.

Liang took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She closed her eyes, and the scene of working with Bai Ye ten years ago surfaced in her mind. The dimly lit laboratory, the mountain of documents, and Bai Ye's frivolous yet serious gaze... Those fragments of memory about the design concept and operation of the "pupil" gradually pieced together in her mind like scattered puzzle pieces.

"Hakuno, you're such a genius, but also such a jerk..."

Liang muttered to herself, a wry smile on her lips. She seemed to see Hakuno again, standing beside her, discussing the future of half-demons with her.

Hakuno is a lonely and fragile person.

Although he acted like he didn't care about anything, Ryo knew that it wasn't because he regarded everything in the world as equally insignificant, but it was the complete opposite - Hakuno regarded everything in the world as equally important.

Bai Ye likes comics, novels, music, talking to people, helping others, laughing at others, and the world.

Liang, watching from the side, knew that Hakuno valued the future of the Earth, the future of humanity, and the future of the half-demon more than anyone else. For these important matters, Hakuno saw them more clearly than anyone else, and thought about them more seriously than anyone else.

However, Bai Ye did not have the courage to shoulder that future.

and so.

Hakuno would watch Xiangzi start a war.

and so.

Hakuno would have built the "Pupil" but never activated it.

and so.

Hakuno would choose to commit suicide after deciding to activate the "Pupil".

…Forget it, let's not talk about those boring things. Let's talk about the funny things—for example, although Hakuno and Ryo are cousins, only Hakuno is a half-demon, and Ryo is not. At first, Ryo thought this was because Hakuno's demon bloodline was inherited from his father. However, after a detailed investigation, Ryo discovered that half-demons can only manifest when the demon blood concentration in their bloodline exceeds 20%.

The concentration of Liang's demon blood is only one in ten thousand.

Ryo still remembered how Hakuno laughed when he saw the result.

"Liang, it seems like you haven't kept up with the latest version. Have you considered opening a new account?"

...Haha, so funny.

He continued to operate with a cold face.

Green codes danced across the screen, cascading down like a waterfall, eventually converging into a simple message: "First layer of encryption removed." Liang exhaled softly, the chill on his fingertips undiminished. Successfully cracking the first layer of encryption was only the first step in a long journey; the real challenge lay ahead.

After removing fifteen encryptions in a row, Liang placed his slender fingers on the keyboard, ready to enter more complex commands. However, this time, instead of the expected system interface, a bright red warning appeared on the screen: "Higher security protocol detected, please enter the key."

Liang was stunned. A more advanced security protocol? She tried hard to recall, but her mind was blank. Any details about this security protocol seemed to have been completely erased by an eraser.

"what happened……"

Ryo muttered to herself, a sense of unease rising within her. She clearly remembered that when she'd designed the "Pupil," she'd indeed implemented multiple layers of encryption, the final layer entirely independently, with even Hakuno unaware of the details. But the specific details... the specific content... No, Ryo couldn't recall it at all.

Could it be that……

Liang suddenly realized that perhaps the purpose of setting up this layer of encryption was to prevent the "pupil" from falling into her hands and causing irreparable disaster. In order to avoid becoming a bad person, she deliberately erased her memory of this layer of encryption.

That's terrible, it's me.

Liang licked her lips, choosing not to recall the details of the encryption. She was sure she had forgotten everything because she was the kind of person who would do everything thoroughly, even if it was an encryption to protect herself, she would never leave any loopholes.

Liang tapped the table impatiently, her slender fingers tapping out an impatient rhythm. Damn it, she was actually blocked out by the encryption system she designed.

Conventional methods seemed ineffective. Ryo leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and crossed her fingers on her stomach, recalling the design concept of "Pupil" and trying to figure out what to do... Oh, right, "Pupil" was a system designed by Hakuno, and it simulated the workings of the human brain. Since it simulated the human brain, there should be an area similar to the "subconscious," storing forgotten and repressed information. Just like her subconscious desire to rub Hakuno's annoying face against the ground.

She immediately got to work. Liang pulled up the underlying architecture diagram for the "pupil." The densely packed circuits were as complex as a maze, making her scalp tingle. She narrowed her eyes, her finger swiping rapidly across the screen, searching for the module related to memory storage.

"found it."

A smile appeared on Liang's lips.

As expected of me, I can break through even a situation that seems hopeless at first glance.

Liang quickly entered the secret key, preparing to adjust the output of the "pupil" to the maximum——

"call out--"

The sharp blade pierced Liang's body from behind.

Liang didn't look back, nor did he seem surprised. He just said with a somewhat regretful voice, "Is it still too slow..."

"Liang, I won't allow you to play with the world like this."

As expected, it was Hong Xia who pierced Liang's chest.

At the same time that Liang cracked the "pupil" system, Hongxia also cracked all the defenses inside the "pupil", and then stabbed Liang from behind... cleanly and neatly.

Hong Xia drew back her mantis blade, pushed Liang aside, and once again pulled out the connecting cable from her wrist, ready to plug it into the computer—

"Hongxia... cough cough..."

Liang, with a pierced chest, fell to the ground, coughing up blood.

she asked in a low voice.

"Are you serious... that when I lie... I blink my left eye..."

Hongxia turned her back to Liang and answered in a low voice.

"I lied to you...but, I guess you lied to me too, right?"

A smile curled up the corners of Liang's mouth.

Twenty-four hours of continuous exposure is indeed a lie.

"I lost to you... There's really no... way..."

Liang's pupils gradually lost focus.

Hongxia didn't look back.

She still had the world to save and no time to... mourn for her friend.

84

Chapter 84: Morning in Hakuno.

[You have achieved the Gold Level Achievement: Savior. You are recognized by at least one billion people as a hero who saved the world.]

Bai Ye, who was calculating: "?"

What the hell?

Looking at the achievements given by the simulator, Bai Ye was completely bewildered... No, I didn't do anything. It's better to say that I took the blame for Xiangzi's actions. How could anyone think I was a savior?

Is there something wrong with this simulator?

There is no problem with the simulator.

Quite tough-talking.

Hakuno yawned.

Because this time the simulation wasn't done while sleeping, Hakuno was a little tired after the simulation...

He decided to take a nap first.

the next day.

The glaring sunlight shone through the gaps in the curtains onto Bai Ye's face. He turned over irritably and buried his face in the pillow.

He planned to take another nap.

For a man who has lived two lives, the purpose of waking up in the morning is to go back to sleep. If possible, he hopes that his life will be filled with only sleeping and taking naps.

Alas, all good things have their limits.

After sleeping until ten o'clock, Bai Ye got up reluctantly.

Then, after washing up, an idea suddenly came to him.

"Let's go see the Takamatsu Lantern."

Last night, he gave the extra memory from the simulation to Takamatsu Deng, primarily out of the concern that even if Takamatsu Deng told everyone about it, others would just think he was crazy. He could have just not given Deng the memory, or rather, not given anyone the memory. However, Hakuno always felt like he was missing out if he didn't use something given for free.

However, Hakuno couldn't quite remember which school Takamatsu Touma attended... Was it Hanaoka? Or Tsuki-no-Mori? Anyway, it seemed to be an all-girls school. After all, Hakuno was a law-abiding citizen, and he wouldn't do something like kidnapping a girl from an all-girls school.

Go to Ring.

Hakuno happily decided this, and after eating instant noodles for lunch, he went straight to Ring.

Ring is the second CiRCLE store built in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, to cater to the development of the era of big girl bands and the demand brought about by the rapid growth in the number of girl bands.

It occupies the entire building, almost forming a commercial complex mainly engaged in music business, which can be said to be very luxurious.

Ring was even more lively than Shiro had imagined, resembling an anime theme park. Giant posters of various girl bands covered the walls, and blinding lights illuminated a dazzling array of merchandise. Shiro wandered aimlessly, feeling like an antique who had strayed into the anime world. He overheard a few girls excitedly discussing the band "RAS," saying things like, "Layer's bass solo is amazing," and "Pareo's keyboard is so cool." Shiro was bewildered, wondering if he was still in Japan, or if these people were speaking in katakana.

After the commotion, he wandered over to Ring's café, intending to take a break and observe if there were any girls worth flirting with. The café was quite crowded, but there were also plenty of empty seats. Hakuno immediately spotted a brown-haired girl sitting alone in a corner. Her long hair draped over her shoulders, her head lowered, as if preoccupied, her slender fingers fiddling with the ends of her hair.

Bai Ye looked around and confirmed that there were enough seats. He sighed and walked straight to the front desk to order a cup of black coffee. With the coffee in hand, he sat down across from the brown-haired girl and said shamelessly, "Hello, do you mind sharing a table?"

The girl was visibly startled. She looked up, a flicker of panic in her brown eyes. She subconsciously clicked her index finger, and then, as if something had activated, a perfectly formulaic smile appeared on her face. "Sorry, I'm waiting for someone."

"Waiting for someone? Waiting for someone will take a while, right? I'll just have a cup of coffee and leave. I won't disturb you for too long."

Bai Ye said shamelessly, showing no intention of leaving. He looked at the girl in front of him and found that although she was wearing light makeup, her delicate features and fair skin were still visible, giving people the feeling of a divorced wealthy woman.

"No thanks, really."

The girl's tone was still polite, but her eyes revealed a hint of resistance.

"Don't be so formal. We're all here at Ring, so maybe we share the same interests."

Bai Ye said, placing the coffee cup on the table, "My name is Bai Ye, what's yours?"

The girl hesitated for a moment, then finally said softly, "My name is... Nagasaki."

"Nagasaki... this name is really rare."

Hakuno took a sip of his bitter black coffee, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Which band are you a fan of? Come to Ring to see it live?"

Nagasaki's eyes flickered, as if she was hesitating whether to answer. She glanced at the time on her phone again and said in a perfunctory tone, "Ah... well, I guess so."

"Which band? RAS? Roselia? Or..."

Bai Ye tried hard to recall the name of the band he had just heard, trying to show that he was not completely ignorant of band culture.