Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

"But this is my first time digging a grave—it's understandable to be a little nervous, isn't it?" Muirseth complained. However, their conversation made Diana, sitting in the back seat of the car, seriously consider whether she had trusted the wrong person. The purpose of this trip was to open a coffin and perform an autopsy, not to rob a tomb!

Although they were not serious, after they arrived at the cemetery and completed the formalities, it was finally time to reveal the truth.

Muirseth bowed earnestly in front of the grave. After all, she felt somewhat guilty for disturbing someone's peace. However, for the sake of the truth and to protect Noah, she had to do this.

As the tomb was broken open, the urn inside was exposed, waiting there quietly - after taking the urn out, Diana actually remembered its weight.

Maybe I will never forget it in this lifetime.

She thought—

"I promise to find out the truth." Muirseth knew Diana was in a complicated mood, but that was all she could promise. Diana was just a little dazed. She still remembered the reason for coming here. After placing the urn in Muirseth's hands, she took a deep breath and said, "I hope you won't let me down."

After taking the urn from Diana's hand, Muirseth's expression became solemn.

This is a heavy trust.

Without further ado, after taking out the urn, Muirseth quickly returned to the laboratory for comparison. The ashes themselves had lost the DNA characteristics, but Muirseth could use Alex's records before his death to infer whether the bones matched Alex. Based on the shape of the pelvis that had not been burned and deformed, Muirseth came to a conclusion.

—Judging from the shape of the bones, they are indeed female, and the size and weight are also normal...

Although he couldn't confirm it, Muirseth had to come to the conclusion... These ashes were most likely Alex's...

To be honest, Muirseth was even more worried about this result.

If Alex was just faking her death, then she wouldn't have to worry about Noah's safety, and Diana would be able to find her sister... But if Alex really died five years ago, then... who was the Alex she met?

In fact, the answer was already obvious. The Alex Mercer he had met was not the real Alex...

"I think I calculated it wrong..." Muirses shook her head and laughed at herself, but the truth was already in front of her. After resealing the ashes, Muirses stroked the urn, but her heart was as turbulent as the tide.

What should I do next?

How should she tell Diana?

Alex, Diana, Noah, Kristen...

The people corresponding to these names flashed through her memory one by one. She turned around and deleted all the experimental records one by one.

She still had to tell Diana the truth, but she had to confirm once again who Alex Mercer was.

In other words, she had to dive into the underground area for the second time.

She had to confirm Alex's true identity, not only for Diana, but also for Alex himself.

Once he made up his mind, Muirseth always acted very quickly.

She knew that only Noah, Saria and the General had the authority to reach the underground area, but in addition to these three, there was another person who could go underground.

"Nasti!" She walked into the door of the engineering department, startling Nasti and Mel inside. Mel was originally explaining why she suddenly asked for leave, but Muirses' sudden intrusion made both of them confused.

"Muerses? What brings you here?" Nasti's relationship with Muerses wasn't bad; it was rare for someone to have such a bad relationship with an elf. Throughout Rhine's life, Muerses had no problem calling himself a social butterfly. Nasti had been working tirelessly for the past few days, and she finally got a break. Muerses had just finished a sip of hot coffee when she was approached by Muerses.

The tired Miss Banshee put down the coffee cup in her hand, waved her hand and told Mel to get lost, then turned around in her office chair and looked at Muirseth.

"I want to go to the underground area!" Muerses didn't bother to beat around the bush anymore. He opened the door and said simply, "Nasti, you should have the permission to go to the underground area, right? Take me down."

"No—" Nasti hadn't expected the other party to come to her just for the underground area, but she decisively refused. "The underground area isn't open to just anyone. You need to at least write a petition to the commander-in-chief. Even though I have the authority, I can't take you down there. It's against the rules."

"I have to go down because I have something I must confirm." Muirses knew that the other party would never take her down for ordinary reasons, so she had planned to tell Nasti everything. After telling Nasti the results of her investigation, Nasti remained calm as a banshee, or as someone who was originally from the funeral industry in Sarkaz. She thought for a while before speaking.

"so what?"

"what?"

"Even if it's just as you said, and you saw someone who looked incredibly similar to a deceased person, or even had the memories of a deceased person, appear in the underground area," Nasti said, "so what? Rhine life has always surpassed the limits of human cognition. In Rhine life, any miracle is natural."

"..." Only then did Muerses realize that Nasti was actually basically on the General's side. It was precisely because of this that his relationship with Nasti became so good.

"Also, if you really want to enter the underground area... why don't you go find Noya? Isn't she your best friend?" Nasti was even more puzzled by this. "Coming to me means you understand that Noya won't help you, and neither will Saria. The Commander... well, it's difficult for you to even see her. And the fact that you come to me is enough to prove that you have no confidence at all, right?"

Muirseth was speechless on the spot. Indeed, the main reason why she did not go to find Noah or Saria was because of this reason.

These two people would most likely not agree with me messing around...

"...Alright, I can pretend I didn't hear about this. And I can also pretend your unauthorized entry into the underground area never happened." Nasti waved her hand. "Put the ashes back. If you really want to participate, you need to write a petition directly to the commander-in-chief."

"Nasti..." Muerses looked into Nasti's eyes, "But I have promised Diana that I will find out the truth, just like Saria did in the beginning -"

"Back then, Saria left Rhine Life for Ifrit, and now it's you? We at Rhine Life are so prone to betrayal..." Nasti complained. "Although Alex was originally a member of your department, there's absolutely no need for you to go to this extent for her."

"...What if I say I'm not doing this for Alex?" Muerses said, looking at Nastie. "I've always been worried about Xiaoya. She's been doing something dangerous. I can feel it. Saria has also changed... Now she's like she's always watching Xiaoya."

"Sareya?" Nasti shook her head. "That's impossible."

"But this is the fact. Now, Saria has never left Xiaoya's side. This is no longer protection - this is naked surveillance! Moreover, the Special Containment Measures Department, this department was obviously established not long ago, and it is too strange that there are so many members who were not originally listed!" Muirseth's words were indeed correct. If you don't know the truth, the emergence of the Special Containment Measures Department is indeed very abrupt.

"The Commander has her own plans, and there's no need for you to get involved—if she wanted you involved, she would have let you come." Nasti didn't care about the Commander's plans. After all, they were strictly partners, not emotionally attached. She came to Rhine Life to build her dream flying city. "As for your thoughts, Muerseth, why don't you just speak directly to Noah? If they were truly friends, there's no reason for her to hide it from you, right?"

"...I...I..." Muirseth gritted his teeth, "...What if that's not Noah anymore?"

"..." Nasti seemed to have figured something out. "Are you worried that... Noah was replaced without anyone noticing?"

"Since I can create an almost indistinguishable Alex, creating a realistic Noah shouldn't be that difficult, right?" Muirseth replied. "If, I mean if, Xiaoya is replaced... what should I do then?"

"..."

"In other words—if the person you care about, Nastie, is replaced..." Muirseth began, "what would you do?"

"..." Nasti did not answer, but she also understood why Muirses was so anxious. What she said at the beginning about Alex was just an excuse. What she really cared about was Noah Kyrielight's safety.

Because of this matter, she had gone through so much trouble to seek help from me—

There was no reason for Nasti to get involved. After all, no matter what happened, she didn't think it had anything to do with her.

But Muir Seth's words just now made her somewhat hesitant.

"I won't help you—"

"..."

"But if you followed me into the underground area without my knowledge, then it wouldn't have much to do with me, right?" But then Nasti raised her head and said, "Remember, this matter has nothing to do with me. I didn't help you, nor did I take you into the underground area. Everything was your own decision. Understand?"

"I understand!" Muerses suddenly understood that Nasti was helping him in a subtle way. Since he had a way to follow Saria and the others into the underground area, he would naturally have a way to follow her in using the same method.

"It's just right. I seem to have a set of blueprints that I didn't bring back. Excuse me first." Nastie stood up and left without looking back. After understanding Nastie's plan, Muirses immediately separated a water clone and quietly followed Nastie.

Although Nasti knew what Muerses would do, she pretended not to know and entered the elevator very naturally. Muerses took the opportunity to turn into a ball of water and stayed above the elevator as before. As the elevator continued to descend, the two soon reached the underground area. Nasti's arrival did not attract the attention of the Ouroboros members.

It has become a common occurrence for this contractor to come here recently, and some people even greeted Nasti.

After Nastie drew the Ouroboros's attention, Muirses transformed into a small, transparent slime, leaped and rolled, and silently entered the corridor. Her sense of direction was quite good, and she quickly found the place where she had met Alex. To her surprise, this time, not only was Alex in the room, but there was also a girl in a wheelchair.

Muirseth subconsciously hid himself and looked at the two people from afar, Alex and... Noah?

Why is Noah here?

No, is this Noah?

Two questions flashed through Muirseth's mind instantly. The only thing she was sure of was that Alex was not her real self, and that she had turned into ashes and was sleeping underground. But what about Noah?

"Thank you for your hard work this time, Miss Alex."

"It's not hard. It's my honor to help Director Noah." Alex, who still thinks of himself as a researcher in the department, responded respectfully. After all, Noah is the director, and she is just a researcher at best. If she sees him outside, she will have to bow to him.

Director - The directors of Rhine Life are all leaders in their respective fields, and not everyone can take the position.

Miss Noah must be a top talent in a certain field. It is actually a blessing to be able to work under her.

And more importantly, Alex also understood that if it weren't for Director Noah's immense trust in him, he would probably be rotting in that depressing white ward.

Being able to walk around like this was a comfort to her.

She was very grateful to Noah, especially after learning from him that her family was doing well.

To describe it with a phrase from the Ouroboros members—

I am Director Noah's loyal dog!!

Chapter 22: Confidant

Although she did have such thoughts in her heart, she certainly couldn't say it in front of Miss Noya. Alex knew her limits. No matter what she did in private, she would always address people by their titles when working.

Besides, although Miss Noah was a kind person, she had also told Alex that as the director, she couldn't grant all his requests. For example, she couldn't grant a request for family visits. Alex understood, but deep down, he still longed to see his family. However, Miss Noah didn't say it was impossible, only that Alex couldn't see his family at this stage.

It’s not possible at this stage - maybe wait until there is a breakthrough in treatment, or there is a more suitable isolation method. Although it is a long way off, Alex still has hope.

Rather, what else can we do if we don’t have hope?

I was now a patient, and to prevent the infection from spreading to others, I had no choice but to isolate myself. This was a reasonable and correct move—at least that's what my memory told me.

Speaking of memory… Actually, the embarrassing thing for Alex is that even her memory is starting to become blurry.

Ever since the day she reopened her eyes after the experiment, she realized that some of her memories had become unclear due to the accident. Although she still remembered the names of her sister and family members, she could not remember their faces.

The longer the time went on, the more she felt her memory becoming blurred. However, the commander-in-chief said at the time that this was normal and was a self-protection mechanism caused by the sequelae of the experiment, and it would gradually get better in the future.

Naturally, she believed what the commander-in-chief said.

But now, her memory has become increasingly blurred. Even if she tries hard, she cannot remember the faces of her family members - is this really a sequelae?

She was actually a little uneasy. If Director Noah hadn't been constantly finding time to comfort her, Alex would have gone crazy long ago. Every time she talked to Director Noah, she could feel her original anxiety and uneasiness, as if it were being eaten away. When she was with Director Noah, any negative emotions would disappear. Although they were just chatting casually, she felt an unprecedented sense of peace.

Peace of mind…peace of mind is important.

Therefore, Alex was willing to serve as Director Noah's sharp sword, whether it was beating other disobedient inmates or doing other things for Miss Noah - she was happy to do it.

She trusted Director Noah because she understood her, reassured her, and made her feel her wait was meaningful. As long as she kept persevering, she would definitely see her family again. By then, she would become a good sister. She didn't plan to continue working as a researcher at Rhine Life Sciences. She would resign, return home, find a job that would allow her to go home every day, and live happily with her sister and family.

At that time, we will also invite Director Noah to join us, and Director Noah will definitely be happy to accept.

Then, we can go out for a barbecue, watch the stars, and visit the amusement park together——

There are still many things in my life that I haven’t experienced yet. How can I stop here?

With expectations for the future, Alex remains hopeful.

——However, perhaps even she didn't realize that even the sense of security Noah gave her was fake——

Noah used his ability to devour Alex's negative emotions and stabilize her emotions. You know, the reason why Alex, as the prototype of the virus, can maintain such a stable situation is mainly because he regards himself as Alex himself, and suppresses his instinct to spread as the prototype of the virus through the so-called [memory] and [reason]. In order to make Alex's situation more stable, Noah can be said to have put a lot of thought into it.

But... to be honest, Noah also felt that this situation would not last too long, and she would always realize the difference between herself and Alex.

The real Alex is dead. If she remembers these memories one day... it will be difficult for Noah to comfort her. After all, these are not things that ordinary people can accept.

Although Noah was aware that she had deceived Alex, she was also mentally prepared that she would be hated once she was exposed.

No matter what the reason is, deception is deception, and being hated is understandable, but compared to being entangled in hatred, which has become commonplace, what Noah wants to see is that Alex can live more as a "human".

That's why she would never tire of communicating with Alex and absorbing her negative emotions, just to make the lie last longer. Compared to the unacceptable truth, if she could be happy just by deceiving others, she wouldn't mind being a big liar.

When Casimir was wanted for me, he called me the biggest fraudster in Casimir. Now I am doing something similar.

Sure enough, there are only wrong names, but no wrong nicknames.

She couldn't help but laugh at herself, but she didn't show it. When communicating with Alex, she always remained calm and responded appropriately, thanks to the skills she learned in her past business days of speaking differently to different people. It was very easy to deceive Alex, who was probably only in his twenties.

She was like a tailor, carefully maintaining Alex's personality, patching up the damaged parts one by one, maintaining the illusion of Alex's personality.

"Director Noah, you come to see me every day. You are obviously very busy... Why do you care about me so much?" Staying in his own containment area, Alex finally couldn't hold back his curiosity about Noah and asked.

It's not that she thinks Director Noah is special. She is just really curious. She is just an ordinary researcher who was infected with the virus. As the director, it is obviously unreasonable for Director Noah to look for a small employee every day. Even if Noah claims to have antibodies and can contact her freely, Director Noah should not do it so personally, right?

So she wanted to know why Director Noah came here——

This curiosity made her ask this question.

Noah paused, seemingly pondering her response, but the cunning girl smiled and spoke. "Because, Alex, you're a very special person and have helped me so much. As a newly appointed director, I naturally need to cultivate some confidants—and Alex, you're my first confidant."

"Confidant?" Alex blinked. "Am I Director Noah's confidant?"

"Of course, you are very powerful. You defeated an old butterfly that was trying to break out of containment with your bare hands." Noah said with a smile, talking about Alex's most famous record before, in which he gave a physical warning to a containment subject who liked to escape from the containment area and run around - a strange guy with a butterfly head, wearing a suit, and carrying a coffin on his back.

After all, Alex is the prototype of the virus, and her physical abilities are so strong that she is almost inhuman. Even Saria admits that if we only talk about strength, she is not as good as Alex.

As Director Noah's sharp sword, Alex has an excellent record.

The thing in her body, called the Blacklight Virus, has a power that is beyond common sense. In the entire containment area, probably only the gray matter in Noah's body and a limited number of contained objects can withstand the erosion of the Blacklight Virus.

In any case, Brother Die is definitely not a good choice - although he likes to run away, because his strength is very poor, he is often chased and beaten by the Ouroboros troops.

Not to mention Alex.

"...I thought..." Alex was a little disappointed. It turned out to be just a confidant. She had thought she and Director Noah must have established a closer relationship. However, this disappointment was fleeting. Being Director Noah's confidant was not bad. At least it proved that she had a good relationship with Director Noah, so good that she could be tacitly considered a member of her faction. "No, confidant is also good!"

"That's good. I thought you were unhappy." Noah nodded. "Well, it's almost time, Miss Alex. I'll be leaving for now. Have a good morning, afternoon, and evening." Noah said the standard closing words to Alex. "I'll come see you next time."