Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

Especially the directors, they basically all acknowledged Noah's existence. Director Ferdinand, who was originally the biggest troublemaker and claimed to be the big man who carried the Rhine Life on his iron shoulders, has recently been quite arrogant and often invites Noah for tea.

I have to say that Noah has become quite popular now.

Saria saw all of this—

This is not something that can be achieved simply by relying on a good look. Saria is well aware of how Noah has devoted himself to her during this period. She knows that her position is delicate, so she does not care about rumors. No one knows about her efforts and contributions, and she does not argue. She also studies hard in her spare time. Although this amount of time is unlikely to make her a great scholar, this attitude alone is quite positive.

Moreover, for those graduate students who come to Rhine Life for internship, Noah is like a savior.

It was simple. Miss Noah generally wouldn't object to having her name on a paper's correspondence. After all, a director-level correspondence author at Rhine Life Sciences is priceless. With such a name, many journals would readily approve it. If a paper were published in a top journal, it would be a meteoric rise to fame.

However, Noah also has principles. She only lists herself as the corresponding author and never as the first or second author. She doesn't like to be a person who likes academic plagiarism. She will help if she can, but will not steal other people's author names.

The graduate students naturally liked this considerate director. Although he was the director of the most mysterious department, he mingled well with the interns. Putting aside other things - in terms of being a person, Noah could be said to have maxed out his skill tree.

Now Noah can be said to be a person recognized by all Rhine Life. Some people even secretly say that Director Noah's main research direction is mind control.

These are the results that Noah has achieved in just about two months since he came to Rhine Life. It can be said to be quite amazing.

"I understand. Director Saria, you should go to bed early." Noah waved goodbye to Saria and returned to his small dormitory.

The days without Jian were harder to bear than she had imagined. Whenever Noah was alone late at night, she would feel a little lonely and unbearable.

Don't think wrongly, I'm just used to the feeling of having someone around.

She used both hands to pull herself onto the bed and sat on the edge. Suddenly, she felt the darkness in front of her eyes suddenly dissipate, but what appeared before her was not her small dormitory, but an unfamiliar room. She turned her head and saw a woman with long black hair appear at the window. She turned her head and looked at herself indifferently.

"...I've seen you before." Although Noya could no longer remember the night she first met Precious, she vaguely remembered this face. This face had indeed appeared when her teacher helped her seal that unknown consciousness. Could it be that she had escaped the teacher's suppression? Noya frowned, but did not panic. She just sat there and said, "What are you doing here?"

"Of course I came to see you, my lovely container." The other person looked at him with a smile, with a white diamond mark in her pupil. It was difficult to describe what kind of person the woman in front of him was. She looked plain, but hard to be ignored. She was like a demon who was good at seducing humans, and like an angel who gave humans wisdom. Contradictory, chaotic, and even seductive, these characteristics were integrated into her.

Her words seemed to have a magical power to upset people, and Noah tried his best to calm himself down.

"This was a dream, wasn't it?" Noya held out her hand, looking at her tender palm, her eyes etched with tears. She smiled and said, "I was so exhausted, so exhausted that you took advantage of me. It was a mistake. You hoped to shake me and allow me to escape the teacher's seal. Unfortunately, your plan failed."

At this moment, in this space, Noah's Eye of God could not be activated, and her body even regressed to the age of thirteen - she could even see her hair turning black again. According to Margaret's description, she was like an exquisite doll at that time.

By retracing his body, he tried to weaken Noah's consciousness and hypnotize a person who possessed the skill of emotional source stone. This was the other party's biggest failure.

Her mastery of hypnosis far exceeds the imagination of ordinary people. Especially in terms of hypnotizing herself——

"Being able to distinguish dreams from reality so quickly—even in my time, this ability was rare." The mysterious woman nodded approvingly. "But it's nice to dream every now and then, isn't it? I can't control your body right now, and your teacher's seal really caused me a lot of trouble. I didn't expect such a brilliant person to appear in this era. Perhaps I've underestimated the power of this land."

"No, it's just that everyone has their own strengths." Noah shook his head. "And this time, your control has decreased a lot, even allowing me to talk to you clearly."

"That's right, so since we can't threaten each other, why don't we just sit down and have a good talk?" The other party showed that mysterious smile, like a little devil who was calculating carefully before signing the contract. With a snap of his fingers, they immediately came to a familiar place. Noah suddenly recognized that this was the special containment area, that is, his workplace.

"I'd dream of coming to a place like this. I'm not that level of a workaholic," Noah said helplessly. "And putting a table in the containment area for conversation—is that something you'd enjoy? Do you like being locked up?"

"I guess so. Back then, research bases were completely closed and self-sufficient. The situation outside was dire, so we had to ensure that each institute operated independently." The other party didn't intend to refute. "In fact, being in a closed place doesn't make me feel isolated. On the contrary, I feel quite safe."

"...Is that so?" Noya showed some interest in the research institute the other party mentioned. "Are you the consciousness that emerged from the Originium? Why did you choose to appear before me in this form?"

"This image?" The other person blinked. "This is my true appearance. I've never had the habit of hiding my face. Of course, I'm not judging the correctness of this behavior—I'm just emphasizing that I don't need to hide myself."

"So... you were originally a living person?" Noah frowned. "I thought you were the will of the Originium, or some kind of giant beast, god, or something like that. Or even..."

"Even a devil—I know what you're thinking." The other party smiled, "But as you can see, I'm just an ordinary human. As for my name, you can call me—Pureses."

"Pryses..." Noah repeated the name, "Hello, my name is Noah Kyrielight, although you should already know this name well."

"That's true, but sometimes introducing yourself is just a bunch of nonsense." Precious was not in a hurry, staring at the girl in front of him, "Come on, let's make a deal."

"Do I have the right to refuse?" Noah narrowed her eyes. She had a hunch that she must not be led by the other party's words. If she really followed the other party's rhythm, she might sell herself out.

"Of course, this time I'm just a poor guy who wants to chat with you. In Originium, I haven't chatted with a normal person in a long, long time. You see, in this regard, am I not quite pitiful?"

The other party even wanted to squeeze out two tears to act, but failed. The smile in his eyes remained, and he did not look like a pitiful person.

"I guess, even though I have the right to refuse, you'll still continue speaking. Out of courtesy, I can listen to your proposal." Noah knew that she wouldn't be able to leave this place before waking up from this dream, so she had no choice but to listen to what the other party had to say. As expected, after Noah said this, Precious smiled smugly.

"I like talking to smart people, Noah Kyrielight. I know that most offers are insignificant to you. Even if I promise to restore your body, cure your mineral disease, grant you supreme power, or gain the greatest strength, or endless wealth—these things that are important to others are not that tempting to you. It's really difficult—a person who is not moved by external things, a selfless selfish person. A fraudster who does crazy things to satisfy his own desires—for you, there are very few rewards that can move your heart."

Precious first praised Noah, then, seeing that he remained unmoved, she sighed. "Seduction seems meaningless to you..."

"I'm not a saint. I don't know why you judge me like this, but I think you still think too highly of me." Noah shook his head. "I just don't care about a lot of things. I don't care about the things that many people care about. I don't care about my reputation, my family's honor, money, or being treated maliciously. I'm used to it. But even so, there are things I care about."

"Really?" Precious looked at the girl in front of him, "Then what do you care about?"

"...Are you asking me to expose my weakness?" Noah blinked. Although she was only thirteen years old in this dream, her eyes still seemed to hold that cunning look. "I'm not that stupid."

"—Excuse me." Precious smiled, propping up his chin. "So my payment isn't a one-time deal. I know you're a thoughtful person. You wouldn't make a deal on impulse. You'd consider my intentions, try to find loopholes, and then reject the deal. So to avoid that—I've decided to advance my payment."

"Advance?" Noah asked doubtfully, "Advance payment? Why?"

"This gift doesn't require you to pay any price, Noah Kyrielight," Precious responded. "I intend to give you three chances."

"Three... chances?"

"If you feel hopeless, or powerless to change anything, I will give you three chances. It's up to you when and how you use them." Precious held up three fingers. "If you truly feel hopeless, if you truly need my help, I will lend you my power—just like a god bestows divine power upon someone they love. I am your god, and I will grant you my blessing—"

"I'm afraid this isn't a blessing—it's a curse." Noah shook his head. "What about after three times?"

"I'll keep you in suspense for now. You still have three chances anyway. As long as you don't use the last one, I won't charge you anything—fair enough, right? You can even get the first two for free." Precious said with a smile, "Look, you don't have to pay anything. Isn't that great? I'm very trustworthy, right?"

Noah, who instinctively realized something, originally wanted to refuse the deal, but Precious did not intend to give her this opportunity.

At some point, three cards appeared in front of Noah, all face up, placed on the table - as if waiting for him to turn them over.

"Before the third time, you always have the right to refuse the deal." Precious looked into Noah's eyes and said sincerely, "This is a gift, not a trade."

Chapter 27: I want to tear apart this false starry sky

"Noa... Noa? Noa Kyrielight."

"...Huh?" Noah, who hadn't responded to Saria's repeated calls twice, finally came to his senses after hearing his full name. "Director Saria? What's going on?"

"Have you been too tired lately? I feel like you haven't slept well?" Saria frowned and said, "Although you promised me that you would change Rhine's life with me, this is not something that can be done overnight. If the price is your body, then I would rather wait a little longer."

"No, I just..." Noah opened his mouth, "I just had a nightmare, and I'm still scared."

You can't say that you are haunted by a female ghost. When Noah was a child, he watched a war animation with giant robots as the theme. At that time, he thought that female ghosts, naked drifting and so on were nonsense. He didn't expect to really encounter one. He was even more confused than the protagonist in the animation.

However, he was probably still frightened by the fact that the other party almost took over his body. Even if the other party was discussing a deal with him sincerely, Noah felt that the other party had evil intentions.

No... he must have evil intentions.

I have three chances, but I don’t want to use any of them.

Who knows what the price behind this is, and the other party was able to take advantage of the opportunity to sneak in, which means that the teacher's seal did not completely suppress it. Who is the other party... Even the unique Herhunzolan in ancient and modern times could not completely suppress it. This is no longer an ordinary female ghost, right?

Moreover, these three opportunities may not really be the so-called "gifts". As a businessman, Noah knows very well that free things are the most expensive.

Since the other party is willing to give you something for free, it means that the benefits brought by it far exceed normal transactions.

But no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't come up with a conclusion. Compared to that female ghost, I had so little information now. No one knew what she was planning. As long as I controlled my hands and didn't use these so-called three chances, and didn't go to the gambling table, I wouldn't lose.

The only person he could discuss this with was his teacher. Saria was completely unable to help, and even if she knew, it would be useless. So Noah could only make the excuse that the nightmare had affected his sleep quality.

"Well, if you need sleeping pills, I can get them for you." Saria nodded. This level of thoughtfulness was probably her limit. In Noah, Saria saw the same stubborn determination she'd shown Christen when they'd first met. Fortunately, unlike Christen, who had become increasingly insane, Noah wasn't one to sacrifice the interests of others.

A good person in the true sense, this is how Saria describes Noah.

They will not sacrifice the interests of others, nor will they talk empty words. They will integrate knowledge and action and do what they say.

Noah's obsession with the promise and her love for life itself all stem from her childhood experiences, which Saria heard during her investigation.

Her disability stems from an assassination attempt when she was a child. The opponent used a blade smeared with Originium dust. However, as a child, Noa showed a tenacity that was not expected of a child. She broke through the siege with the unconscious Margaret Linguang and persisted until the rescue.

It was hard for Saria to imagine, but thirteen-year-old Noah had such willpower.

If Noah had not encountered that assassination attempt, perhaps his current achievements would be even more dazzling, and it would not be impossible for him to become the best young generation in Casimir.

At least in Saria's eyes, although both Margaret Linguang and Noah Kyrielight had experienced hardships and were models of turning gold into gold, Noah Kyrielight had suffered far more than she had gained.

She is now completely different from her past self.

If you think about it carefully, Noah seems to have been teased by fate.

She was trained as a knight, but eventually embarked on the path of a businessman. She gave up everything she had worked hard for as a businessman for Margaret's career. She originally hoped to be free, but was still bound by responsibilities. Her path seemed to be a teasing of fate, and all the paths she took would lead to no end.

After carefulness and painstaking consideration, Noah Kyrielight found the best ending for the people around him, but left himself with the most exhausted body.

However, no one could pity Noa Kyrielight, and no one was qualified to pity her.

She is like a spark, burning brightly. She may not be able to compete with the scorching sun, but she can eventually set the whole field on fire.

Noah had no idea that Saria thought so highly of her, or rather, she had never considered how incredible everything she had done might seem to others. She was not one to look back on her past; she always had to look to the future, otherwise she would not be able to move forward.

The automatic door opened, and Saria pushed Noah's wheelchair into the work area of ​​the Special Containment Procedures Department, but she soon stopped because she saw someone, someone who shouldn't be here at this moment.

Although Noah couldn't see it, he realized it from Saria's reaction -

"Master General, how come you suddenly have time to come and see us?" Noah said. Apart from Ifrit and Hummer, the only person who could cause Saria to have so many emotional fluctuations was probably Christen.

"I need to talk to you about something. Can I have a moment with you?" Christen asked, looking at Noah. This meant that Saria was being asked to withdraw, but Saria didn't want to be left out like that, so she stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, but as the director's supervisor, I can't allow you to meet with Noah alone." Saria was adamant, and even Kristen couldn't change her mind. "If there's anything, please be frank and honest."

"...Sareya, do you really not trust me?" Kristen frowned and said, "I do have something serious to discuss this time."

Seeing the atmosphere starting to get awkward again, Noah quickly stopped them. "It's a waste of time if we keep arguing about it, Saria. I'll just talk to Kristen alone this time."

Noah also wanted to talk to Kristen alone. Since Saria was in charge of monitoring her, she was strictly forbidden to meet Kristen alone. She understood that this was to protect herself, but sometimes she felt that it was a bit overprotective.

I am not a doll that can be played with by anyone. It is not so easy for Christen to touch me.

No matter what wave of power or other technologies the opponent relies on, as long as they are based on Originium technology, she can counter them. In fact, Noah can be said to be Christen's complete nemesis.

At Noah's request, Saria had no choice but to trust Noah's judgment.

After all, she said she was monitoring Noah, but in fact she was still protecting Noah. If even the person being protected said so, she could only believe him for the time being.

"So, what's the matter?" Noah and Kristen came to a room alone. The layout of this room was surprisingly similar to the room Noah dreamed of last night. There was almost nothing in it, only a table in the middle. However, Kristen replaced Precious and sat opposite him. This brilliant scientist, the pinnacle of Terra technology, would have been difficult to even meet in person in the past. But now, if he wanted to meet with him alone, he needed Saria's consent.

Could it be that... I have become the legendary big shot?

"I'm going to ask you to do something," Christen said straight to the point. "Although I told you before that you couldn't leave Rhine Life, from what I've observed recently, the gray matter in your body has been very well-behaved, a level of well-being that's somewhat surprising to me. Furthermore, you've demonstrated the ability to control it. Considering the current situation, I intend to accelerate my plan and confess something to you."

"Confess?" Noah keenly sensed something from the wording. If he was planning to get her to join a plan, he obviously wouldn't use the word "confess."

In other words, Christen was hiding something, and she was already part of her plan. She frowned. Lately, she'd just been clocking in, stabilizing the containment, communicating regularly, and suppressing the necessary items. She hadn't done anything else.

I don't remember what plan I joined...

"Yes, be honest." Christen didn't hide the fact that she had dragged Noah into the plan without telling him. "Your work isn't actually simple in nature. Whether you're effective or not, if Rhine Life needs a containment area, the best option isn't to build a time bomb right under your feet, but to build it away from human habitation. That way, if a containment failure occurs, it won't cause too much damage."

"Although I have thought about this problem, I thought at the time that you did this for the convenience of researching the containment." Noah nodded. Of course she had doubts, but considering that Rhine Life has always been a company that likes to walk on a tightrope, this behavior of sitting on a bomb and playing with firecrackers did not seem to be a strange thing.

"I set up the containment area underground at Rhine Life to collect the energy from the contained object—" Christen began. "[Mind Manifestation], Rhine Life's most important singularity technology, can materialize abstract concepts or spiritual power into physical form. Since this technology was developed, we've been waiting for someone who can stabilize the contained object, or rather, stabilize the situation."

"...Wait, I'm having trouble following your train of thought." Noah raised his hand and frowned. "Converting spiritual power into a physical form...what does this mean?"

"A large number of the objects here are either natural objects brought back by Director Mariana, or some are distorted objects that you think couldn't possibly exist in nature," Christen said, giving an example, like the butterfly head that frequently fails to contain them.

"Dead Butterfly Funeral?" Indeed, Noah really couldn't understand how a containment object like the Dead Butterfly Funeral appeared, and what kind of experiment would allow such a thing to appear in reality.

But after hearing what Christen said about the effect of [Mind Materialization], she suddenly realized that these apparently unreasonable objects were probably born from the abstract consciousness of human beings.

"What I've been doing is extracting the distortion, or rather the reality-altering power, emanating from these containments. I'm storing it as energy," Christen confessed. "Right now, I've already stored close to 70 percent."

"...Then why did you tell me?" Noah asked doubtfully, "Since my work can steadily produce the power you need, there's no need for you to tell me."

"That's true in theory, but it's still too slow," Kristen replied. "Call me impatient, but I think I should speed up the plan. To do that, I plan to have you join the plan and become an insider."

"...Speed ​​up? Why are you in such a hurry?" Noah was even more confused. According to Christen, she had been waiting for someone like her who could comfort the inmates. But since she had been waiting for so long, why should she add an uncertainty to the plan?

"During this time, I've been observing you, trying to understand you. I've investigated everything about you, including your experiences and your style of doing things. Now, I probably understand you better than most people in the world. I avoided Saria because I wanted to convince you that she wouldn't accept my actions. She's always been a conservative person, but I believe you understand. You did something similar in Casimir—you've been planning this for so long, just to give Casimir a glimmer of hope. And as someone like you, there's a chance you'll agree with my plan. I'm going to take a gamble."

"...You go first." Noya frowned. If Sariah wouldn't agree, it meant the plan was radical, even life-threatening. But she emphasized her plans in Casimir. What did she value in her? Long-term planning skills, the patience to endure humiliation? She didn't think those were the so-called reasons. "What exactly is the plan?"

"I've told you before, the so-called flight limit is a physical wall that stretches across Terra's skies, blocking any attempts at observation and binding the people of Terra to Terra." Christen pointed to the sky and said, "This false sky has deceived the people of Terra for how many years? No one has ever been able to break through it."

"...I remember." Noah began to realize what Christen wanted to do, but she just thought it was ridiculous. For thousands of years, no one had been able to break through the limit of flight.

This is a wall of sighs, and no one knows what is behind the wall. Christen described the truth about the sun, moon and stars to him, but she also understood that these were all [speculations] obtained through calculations and observations.

No one knows what the outside world of Terra is.

What would happen if this wall was penetrated?

Christen didn't know... and couldn't know...

This is especially true for Noah.

"My plan, or rather, the sole purpose of my research so far," Christen pointed to the sky. "I will tear this false starry sky apart."