Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

Friston revealed a sense of helplessness when talking about Priss, but he had heard about the space resident Noah he mentioned from Ed. The difference between the residents of the Earth Federation and the space residents is that although they are all human beings and are united, the space residents have very different artistic views from the Earth residents. Their ideas are often more extreme than those of the Earth residents, so there are often debates between the two factions.

"However, I'm surprised that you, Miss Administrator, are actually supportive of the Originium Project." At this point, Friston revealed the truth. "To be more precise, you acknowledged its feasibility. I was so surprised that I approached you to ask why you agreed to such a crazy plan. To me, it's no different than mass suicide to avoid being slaughtered by the lumberjacks. Becoming stone? Surviving by becoming stone? Would that still be human?"

Friston couldn't accept the radical nature of the Originium Project and tried to persuade the Administrator to terminate it, but the Administrator refused.

Because she said - the Originium Project is feasible.

Is it feasible? Why is it feasible? And on what basis is it feasible?

For the first time, Friston felt a certain quality in the administrator. There seemed to be something hidden in her cold words. It sounds funny, but Friston asked his question at that time, and it was this question that Friston still couldn't forget.

"What about the Preserver Project? Do you think it's... feasible?"

This was his biggest problem, his greatest nightmare. He had been dedicated to the Preserver Project, passionately committed to protecting as many lives as possible and ensuring the continuation of human civilization, believing they could save the world. But in reality, while the administrator had agreed to the Preserver Project, she had never expressed her opinion, or rather, had never confirmed its success.

At first, Friston thought that the administrator was just like him, but was unsure whether the reliability of hibernation technology could be guaranteed over a long period of time.

However, when faced with the Originium plan, she directly concluded that it was feasible.

In connection with the prophecy made by the administrator in the past, Friston naturally asked the question he wanted to ask most. Thinking about it now, Friston would rather not ask this question.

"—Do you want to hear the truth, or do you want me to comfort you?" The administrator looked at Friston. Although her voice was electronically processed, it still revealed...sympathy. That's right, sympathy, pity for Friston.

This answer already represents the administrator's attitude - she does not think the Preservator Plan can succeed.

She agreed to this plan, but in essence she was just collecting funds and resources to provide nourishment for the implementation of other plans. It was also because of this plan that the Garden of Eden has come this far and become the hope of mankind.

That was the answer, but not the one Friston wanted.

Friston didn't know how he left the administrator's office. He only remembered that he was in a daze for a long time. He didn't want to see anyone or do anything. He fell into a kind of nihilism. The denial of everything he had done made the middle-aged man's hope almost shattered. His trust in the administrator made him almost lose the motivation to continue working.

It was the administrator who pulled him out of this vortex of internal friction. After a month of confusion in Friston, she came to his residence and apologized to him.

"I'm sorry, Friston. I don't deny your efforts; I think they're meaningful. I just don't think the Preserver Project is a success—that's all. But I respect everyone's efforts," the administrator said. "There's no such thing as meaningless work in the world, Friston. No one can truly predict the future. Fate is unpredictable. My answer doesn't guarantee correctness; it simply represents my own opinion."

"I'm not God," she began. "My words don't mean everything."

Friston understood that playing it down was pointless. Rather, it was the Administrator's mercy that defeated him, not the Originium Project's feasibility. However, the Administrator, often considered a prophet, readily admitted that she wasn't omniscient. Friston, no longer a child, naturally knew when to change his tune. Ultimately, he returned to Eden and continued with the Preserver Project.

However, to his surprise, the plan did not stall because of his poor performance, but continued to be implemented. The administrator actually took over his job and completed everything efficiently, just like when she took over the doctor's job in the past. Although she was not optimistic about the Preserver Plan, she was more serious than anyone else. At this time, Friston truly felt the tenderness of the administrator. She unconditionally supported all those who had hope and would give help within her ability.

Her pessimism never means that you shouldn't work hard for it. You have to walk the road to understand whether it is easy or not.

Friston gathered himself and set out again. During his period of despair, Ed joined him, bringing a new plan: Project Paradise Point. Friston didn't interfere too much. His priority now wasn't to offer advice, but to focus on his own work. Until now—until the Administrator approached him once again and raised that question.

So Friston could only answer with questions.

"You say you're not God and your words don't mean everything, but the truth is, whatever you affirm will come true, and whatever you deny will fail." Friston smiled wryly. "In your eyes, the Preserver Project is bound to fail, isn't it?"

"..." Noah was silent. She did begin to sympathize with Friston. The goal she had worked hard for her whole life was denied by the person she trusted the most. This was something that no one could bear, but Friston accepted it and continued to carry it out. A person who is willing to carry out his own will is worthy of respect. And according to Noya's later observations, the administrator was right. The Preservator Plan had indeed failed. Friston also calmly accepted his failure in the end and turned to work for the Terra civilization.

Friston, a scientist at Eden and project leader of the Conservator Project, is a gentle elder and a truly kind and warm person.

She really wanted to comfort the man in front of her, but unfortunately, she was not an administrator.

"Failure means nothing," Noah said, carefully considering his words. "I never believe that hard work is worthless. Man proposes, God disposes. We can only do what we can and maximize our chances of success, but whether we succeed or not is not something we can determine. —Mr. Friston."

"Indeed, that sounds like something you would say." Friston nodded. "I don't like consequentialism either, so I don't intend to sink into despair. I will continue working to complete my plan. Even if the results are not good, I will at least put in enough effort."

Friston smiled, and it seemed that he might not need comfort. An older person naturally possesses many qualities that young people lack, such as being good at accepting his own failures, or in other words, being willing to accept his own failures.

"Ms. Administrator, you are a gentle person. You come to those who are frustrated, offering comfort and helping them move on. You are an honest person, never deceiving others and treating everyone with sincerity. You..." Friston described the administrator in his mind, word by word. "You are the core of the Garden of Eden, the savior of mankind. You are a great person, but... I don't want you to become like this."

Friston sighed, as if answering, but also as if muttering to himself.

"Your life is... too tiring."

Chapter 19: Where is she?

To be honest, Noah didn't know why she could enter the administrator's memory. There seemed to be no connection between her and the administrator. However, as she gradually got to know the administrator, she seemed to suddenly understand why Precious and others cared so much about the administrator. In a sense, the administrator was indeed similar to her. Of course, this did not mean that Noah had developed feelings for someone she had never met. This understanding was more like a younger generation's admiration for the predecessors who fought against the lumberjacks.

After saying goodbye to Friston, Noah's only remaining target is the Doctor. Of all the people, the one closest to, or perhaps the one who knows the Administrator best, is the Doctor. In the eyes of the Doctor, what kind of person is this mysterious Miss Administrator?

Human beings are multifaceted beings. In the eyes of different people, Miss Administrator seems to have different faces, just like the mask on her face. This mask not only separates the possibility of Eden members understanding the Administrator, but also allows Miss Administrator to show a different side of herself in front of everyone. People's understanding of each other is actually like a blind man touching an elephant. Most people can only understand one side of a person. If you want to truly understand a person, it is almost impossible to rely on one-sided information.

This is also one of the reasons why Noah wants to question everyone in the Garden of Eden. It is better to say that she is asking the administrator herself rather than everyone in the Garden of Eden. After all, the characters that appear here are actually shaped by the administrator's memories, not the real people. Everyone in the Garden of Eden is actually like the administrator's clones, so Noah's search for these people is essentially communicating with the administrator herself to some extent.

After all, this is a space made up of memories, just like a palace built bit by bit with memories as bricks and tiles. Only the builder knows the essence of the palace, and the administrator's palace is the Garden of Eden.

In other words, the time she spent with the members of Eden was the most important thing in her heart and her treasure.

Noah was like a thief who had strayed into a palace, quietly collecting the memories of the administrator, touching them with his own hands, and then he could recognize the difference between himself in the palace and the administrator, and free himself from this memory.

Of course, part of the reason is...

"Ms. Administrator, what kind of person is she?"

She was also extremely curious about this.

The last piece of the puzzle was naturally the Doctor. She stood in front of the Doctor's office door, hesitated for a long time, and finally used the ID card in her hand to swipe open the door. As the automatic door moved horizontally to both sides, Noah finally met the last key person in the Doctor's office, the person who knew the administrator best, the Doctor.

The Doctor is obviously the most special person to Miss Administrator. On the one hand, the entire Garden of Eden was built step by step by her and the Doctor. At the beginning, Miss Administrator obviously had no interest in establishing a new organization. According to Precious, she maintained a bystander mentality towards many things. This does not mean that she is indifferent in her heart. On the contrary, she may just be used to it.

She seemed to rarely interact with others, and every time she did, she seemed so clumsy. She always regarded herself as a "bystander", and only when someone needed help would she appear in time and lend a hand.

She seemed to live according to this logic. Before the Doctor founded the Garden of Eden, she seemed to have never taken the initiative to contact others, including recruiting Ed. In fact, she only did so after she established the Garden of Eden and had the task of recruiting others. As a result, due to her lack of negotiation skills, she even completely scared Ed and directly shattered his worldview. Fortunately, Ed himself was also a genius and completed his own adjustments - otherwise this way of negotiation that directly destroyed people's worldviews was really too scary.

Perhaps it was because after this incident, Ed realized the destructiveness of his negotiation style, so the administrator did not take the initiative to recruit others, but handed these matters over to the doctor. In the entire Garden of Eden, only Ed was afraid of the administrator because of this.

In fact, this is easy to guess. After all, the doctor was the first one to know the administrator. Since the doctor was not afraid of the administrator because of this, it is very likely that Ed really became the victim of the administrator's first active attack.

After realizing her shortcomings, she took the initiative to keep a distance from other members of the Garden of Eden in order to prevent such situations from happening again. This is also one of the reasons why Precious and Luo did not have a deep understanding of the administrator.

At least, in Noah's profile, the administrator is indeed a kind person.

Friston also said that the administrator was an honest and kind person, or rather... a child.

Many of the administrator's behaviors resembled those of a child who possessed knowledge but lacked social skills, or perhaps...social anxiety? Although different from the usual social anxiety, her social anxiety was more like a form of self-protection, or perhaps a fear of her own abilities.

The profile of the administrator herself became more and more complete, and Noah was also familiar with the way to play the role of the administrator. Under this circumstance, she came here.

Face the real final boss - Dr.

"Doctor, I want to talk to you."

The final key to whether or not one can escape from this memory fragment still lies with the Doctor. At this time, Noah already had a very deep understanding of the administrator, so she did not spend more time on other aspects, but spoke to the Doctor straight to the point.

"What kind of person am I to you?"

The Doctor, or the core of the entire Memory Palace, is also the most important person in the administrator's heart. She has the most preferences and memories of the administrator, making her like a star existing in the memory space. She is the center point of the entire Memory Palace. In other words, the treasure of the Memory Palace is the Doctor himself.

While it might seem like the Administrator founded the Garden of Eden, it was actually the Doctor who took the initiative to lead her beyond her spectator's perspective and personally engage in the struggle to save the world. He proactively broke through the Administrator's limitations, guiding her step by step, and enabling her to become the savior. These were all Noya's conjectures. The Doctor she knew was clearly different from the one she knew. The Doctor she knew was in a state of amnesia, with no memories of the Garden of Eden, let alone the Administrator.

The doctor here, in a sense, is the real doctor himself.

Facing Noah's question, the doctor in front of her was stunned at first, then suddenly realized something, and then her eyes suddenly changed -

"You... aren't an administrator?"

That's right, the disguise that had been maintained was shattered at the doctor's glance, and the mask also completely disappeared as her cognition was shattered. Noah subconsciously touched her cheek, and the familiar touch made her suddenly realize that her disguise had been exposed!

That’s right, the person in front of the doctor now is no longer the administrator, but Noah himself.

The shattering of the cognitive filter should have turned Noah into a bystander, but Noah did not completely escape from it. It was better to say that something was pressing her here.

She raised her head and saw that the doctor in front of her had transformed into a girl with short black hair and a mask. Noah knew her of course because she had just been exploring her secrets by facing her face.

And now, the owner of the memory has finally appeared.

"Miss Administrator."

"..." The administrator's gaze, even through the mask, still put a tremendous amount of pressure on Noah. No wonder Ed said that communicating with the administrator was a terrifying experience. It was as if she could see directly into your heart, completely dismantle it, and then deliver a devastating blow with simple, direct words. "Nice to meet you, Miss Noah."

"...You know me?" Noah was surprised. She didn't expect that the other party could still maintain a complete consciousness. It was probably similar to the Witch King's situation, both of which were preserved through memory under the catalysis of their own abilities.

"After all, I've been watching you." The administrator said, "From the beginning until now."

"...What do you mean?" Noah asked doubtfully, "I've been under your surveillance?"

"That's not accurate, but you can understand it this way. I'm not following you out of malice. In fact, if you weren't diving into your subconscious with other motives, you wouldn't be able to detect my existence. I exist in the dark side of your heart. Theoretically, it's impossible for you to dive that deep, after all, this is infinitely close to the core of your soul." The administrator explained, "As you can see, although I can answer your questions now, I'm essentially just a memory. I can't influence you or change your thoughts. I can only be a bystander, just like I was in the past."

"...Ms. Administrator, who are you?" Noah couldn't help but ask, "Why are you in my subconscious? What is the connection between you and me?"

"There are too many questions." She shook her head. "If I were to explain them one by one, it would take a long time, so I'll just answer your most important question."

"……Please say."

Noah sat upright. The person she was facing was the savior of the previous civilization, the founder of the Garden of Eden, and the founder of the salvation plan - the Administrator.

The name itself carries enough weight.

"I am you."

"...?"

"Noah Kyrielight, you are my [Plan Zero]."

The shock from the words made Noah seem to think of a lot of things in an instant, but she felt that she had not thought of anything. I am you, and you are my Plan Zero. She had indeed heard of Plan Zero. It was formulated by the administrator and was also the most mysterious plan in the entire Garden of Eden. She was the person in charge of Plan Zero. She hid it from almost everyone just to implement this plan.

And...I am Project Zero?

What do you mean?

What is the essence of Project Zero?

Originium, Haisi, Preserver, Heaven's Fulcrum, on par with these plans, or even surpassing them, is it me?

Noah was confused, but she still felt suspicious.

"That's impossible, Ms. Administrator! I was born by my own parents. I have family in this world. I am a Terran. I am not your creation." Noah retorted to the Administrator, "You must be mistaken. I am just Noah Kyrielight. I am not part of the plan. I am just me."

Rather than refuting, it was more like persuading herself that Noya did not want to be part of the pre-civilization plan. She hoped that she was just a simple Kuranta, a person with a tragic fate.

But the administrator shook his head slightly.

"I know you're confused, but now that I've appeared before you, it means you've already grasped this point. It's ridiculous, but I had no intention of telling you these things, yet you found yourself here." The administrator's words shattered Noah's hope. "You are indeed a Terran, and you were indeed born to your parents, but that's just your [shell]. What is the real you?"

"...The real me?" Noah repeated what the administrator had said. "What... am I?"

"You are a seed, a seed that can grow and sprout in anyone."

"……What's the meaning?"

"You can carry souls, you can repair souls. Your spirit will not die with the death of your body. You can cling to the body, but you don't need it," the administrator explained. "And this [soul] is something the lumberjacks can't affect. As long as there's life, you can [attach] to the [shell] without limit. The price is simply that the memories of your experiences are buried in your subconscious."

"……I……"

Noah was confused. She originally thought that she was just an ordinary Kuranta, but now, the person in front of her told her that she was the product of some kind of experiment.

But why did she become Noah Kyrielight?

Or in other words, where did the original Noah Kyrielight go?

My former self...

what……

Noah suddenly realized a problem. She had never really thought about it before, but as the administrator spoke, she suddenly raised her head.

She thought of Alex, or rather, she thought of the characteristics of the Blacklight virus.

If the Blacklight virus is just a failure, then what is the real product of that plan?

"Noa Kyrielight, I mean, the real Noa Kyrielight..." Noa was trembling. She looked at the administrator in front of her almost pleadingly, "Where did she go?"

Chapter 20: Determination

Noah just wanted an answer.

She felt more helpless than ever, as everything she had pursued, everything she believed in, seemed to vanish in this person's mouth. She had never considered the possibility that she wasn't Noah Kyrielight. She had pondered many possibilities, even considered whether she had been deceived by the person before her. However, all her countless thoughts ultimately boiled down to one thought.

"Where is the real Noah Kyrielight?"

Perhaps sensing Noya's near-collapse, the administrator hesitated for a moment, but as Friston said, she was an honest person.

A man who is honest to the point of being brutal.

"She's there. Haven't you seen her?"

"...I've seen her..." Noah suddenly realized that she was the little Noah he'd seen on the 108th step of the tower. No wonder she'd stopped him, thinking he was a stranger to her. "So that's it... She... has no chance of growing up?"

"..." The administrator was silent for a moment. She and Noah had some similarities, so she could understand Noah's sadness, not just for herself, but also for Noah Kyrielight, who had no chance of growing up. She felt truly sad for him, and she also roughly knew when she had taken on this role. Judging from his age, Noah Kyrielight had not actually survived the attack.

She did lead Margaret out of the encirclement, but after losing a lot of physical strength, getting injured, and being touched by a blade stained with Originium dust, the possibility of survival was still too low, even for the most outstanding child.