Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

"In short, Clovisia—Victoria's beastmaster helped us win the recognition of many beastmasters, and indirectly guaranteed the safety of Rhodes Island—" Kal'tsit coughed twice, explaining why Clovisia appeared here. She also helped Rhodes Island a lot. In addition, she was Noah's ancestor. Noah had been unknowingly marked as a core member of Rhodes Island, but this was also what Rhodes Island hoped for.

After all, although Noah has never been recorded in the list of Rhodes Island's elite operators, in fact, Noah has maintained a very friendly relationship with almost all elite operators, and is even a close friend of Amiya. Kal'tsit and the Doctor also have a very high opinion of Noah. It can be said that as long as Noah is willing, she can become one of the core members of Rhodes Island. Even many countries have already regarded Noah as a member of Rhodes Island.

If it weren't for this reason, Clovisia would not have chosen to settle in Rhodes Island.

"Anyway, we've heard a little bit about the trouble you stirred up at sea. You're truly my child, stirring up some trouble wherever you go." Clovisia's tone was quite subtle, whether she was mocking or expressing pride. Noah gave an awkward smile. "And right after returning, you've already caused a farce in Leithania about the Witch King's resurrection. And when you came to see me, you even had a halo around your head. You really never fail to surprise me."

"...I don't want to either." Noah touched the halo on her head. This thing can't be turned off. Recently, she has to wear an eye mask to fall asleep. It's quite inconvenient.

"Let's forget about that for now. We have more pressing matters to address." The doctor finally brought the conversation back to the point. "Ms. Noah, we've already sent people to confirm the coordinates you provided for the Deep Blue Tree Laboratory and the remains of the former civilization in Dripping Water Village. Agor has discovered the entrance, but it's strictly monitored and off-limits to the general public."

The doctor showed a holographic projection, and Noah focused on the coordinates of the former civilization ruins in Dripping Village, or the location of the Kirilet family tomb. It is said that it was Miss Skadi who went to look for the key and found the knight's treasure by the way - that is, she dug up Noah's ancestral grave by the way. Miss Skadi has already confessed this. Although she felt complicated, the order was given by Dr. Kal'tsit at the time. As one of the heirs of the former civilization, Dr. Kal'tsit had a legitimate reason to come to find the key. As for the knight's treasure, it was originally the treasure left behind by the last knight before he went to the sea, and it did not involve the real interior of the laboratory.

In other words, there should be no problem regarding the resting place of his grandfather and ancestors.

In fact, Rhodes Island is now heading to the border of Casimir. In order to investigate this place, it has also contacted Casimir. Due to the friendly relationship between the Linguang family and Rhodes Island, the scientific expedition project on Dishui Village was quickly approved. And since it is the family tomb of the Kirilet family, Miss Noah naturally needs to be present before the tomb is opened. Now everything is ready.

"The Kirilet family left Victoria to protect the ruins here. The patriarch of the Kirilet family held a collective vote within the family. With the majority's consent, the unicorns who chose to leave Victoria broke their horns to show that they had completely severed their ties with the Protectorate family of Victoria and migrated to Casimir. From then on, the Kirilet family became a hornless family. However, I never agreed to your withdrawal, so - in my opinion, Noah is still my cub. Who is in favor, and who is against?"

"...Ancestor, let's talk about this back home, please, not here..." For the first time, Noya felt ashamed. Her ancestor actually declared his claim to her in a meeting like this. Was this something she could talk about openly? But this was a serious ancestor, and as a descendant, she shouldn't have disobeyed his words. So, she could only whisper her suggestion. "Can we discuss this later?"

"...It's okay. Actually, she also helped us sort out the history of the Kirilet family. I believe it's not in the history books Miss Noah studied, right?" The doctor asked tentatively, suppressing a laugh. "Then, regarding the ruins of the former civilization... I've already learned about the importance of this ruin from Kal'tsit. This ruin has been guarded by the Kirilet family for hundreds of years. What exactly is inside? We need to confirm this first... Um, Miss Noah?"

"Ahem..." Noah glanced at Kal'tsit beside him. Apparently, due to some kind of restriction, Kal'tsit hadn't properly conveyed information about Priss's resurrection and the ruins of the former civilization. It was also true that the current Doctor had lost his memories of the former civilization. Even if the past Doctor knew of the ruins, it had nothing to do with the current Doctor. Noah hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "...So far, I know that the ruins are connected to the scientists of the former civilization, the leader of Garden of Eden, the [Administrator], and [Project Zero]."

"……administrator?"

For some reason, after hearing these three words, the doctor felt as if she had been hit by a heavy punch in the head. She frowned, as if some memories that had never appeared before emerged, but these memories were too scattered to form a continuous picture, just like a scratched DVD disc forced to play, not only with annoying noise, but also with freezes.

It took her a long time to come back to her senses, and before she knew it, she felt cold sweat all over her body.

Noticing the doctor's strange posture, Noah quickly left her seat and tried to support the doctor. She didn't expect that the words she said would irritate the doctor so much. Perhaps she shouldn't have said it so bluntly. She thought that the doctor would not react to these nouns. After all, according to Prisseth, the doctor's memories had been deleted.

"Doctor! Doctor, are you okay?" Noah's voice seemed to penetrate the fog and reach the doctor's heart. Although she was in pain, she could still feel the concern conveyed in Noah's words. She reluctantly opened her eyes, but what came into her sight was not Noah, but a face that he once knew very well - she subconsciously opened her mouth and called out the other person's name.

"…bystander."

Noah and Kel'tsit were both stunned. They both knew this was a language from a pre-civilized world. But no one else knew the meaning of this name. The doctor looked so terrible, so Amiya and the others immediately escorted him to the infirmary, leaving Noah stunned. She knew "Administrator" was just a code name, so what was the real name behind it?

This person who is obsessed with saving the world...what kind of person is he in essence?

【bystander】

This is the word the doctor just said. In the language of the previous civilization, this noun seems to refer to "bystander" or "outsider". This is not what the administrator meant, but another new noun, or in the doctor's memory... the name of another administrator?

This term does not seem to exist in the administrator's memory. In other words, the administrator has never called himself such a name. Only the doctor's memory retains this term, and this term was obviously blurted out after seeing Noah.

What exactly does this mean? Prissus never mentioned this name before, so this shouldn't be the doctor's special name for the administrator...

"Dr. Kal'tsit, what are you thinking about?" Noah was a little uneasy. She realized that although she had already found out her identity, she still seemed to know nothing about the Administrator. Who was the Administrator and why did the Administrator become the "savior" in the eyes of the Doctor? More importantly... except for the Doctor, except for the Doctor who knew the Administrator the earliest, no one seemed to know about this.

She wanted to convince herself that this matter was not important and there was no need to know. Maybe it was just the doctor's nonsense, and the situation just now was not necessarily about Noah... nor was it necessarily about the administrator himself.

However, she could still feel a strong sense of unease.

"I... don't remember the Doctor ever mentioning this term." Kal'tsit's eyes flickered. Obviously, there were a lot of so-called confidentiality agreements in her body that were being reviewed over and over again. But the answer was not that she couldn't say it, but that it had never been mentioned. In other words, this special term had never been retained in Kal'tsit's body. Then this information was probably only known to the Doctor before he lost his memory.

The creation of the Garden of Eden, the first meeting between the caretaker and the doctor, and even this new term...

It seems to cast a shadow on this already clear answer...

-

At night, Noah returned to her room. Precious was already well rested, lying on the bed with her legs crossed, seemingly reading a book. To facilitate her reading, she had even worn a pair of glasses. She possessed the ability to create objects with Originium particles, so these glasses were likely improvised. It was unknown how long it took to polish the lenses. However, she only raised her head to see Noah's thoughtful face, and couldn't help but ask.

"What happened? Was the meeting a failure?"

"...No, I just..." Noah shook her head. "Puresise, do you know what a [bystander] is?"

"... [bystander]? It means bystander, or outsider, right? Why are you suddenly saying that?"

"...Really? A bystander, or an outsider." Noah frowned. "Why would the doctor call me that?"

"Doctor?" Precious put the book down. "You said she called you that. Why? And it's a term from a pre-civilization. Shouldn't she have forgotten it?"

"...I'm not sure. Perhaps... in the Doctor's memories, there are still memories of me... No, perhaps some memories of the Administrator... Who knows?" Noah shook his head. "After all, the foundation of my soul is the Administrator's soul..."

Chapter 65: The Demon King

"What you're saying... to me..." Precious thought for a moment, then silently shook his head. "To be honest, I don't know when the Doctor and the Administrator met. By the time I met the Doctor, she and the Administrator were already inseparable. To be honest, Ed even asked me about this matter when we were in the Garden of Eden, but we didn't come to any conclusion at the time."

Ed, the person in charge of the Heaven's Fulcrum... Noah certainly remembered this person. It seemed that this person had a fanaticism close to religion for the administrator. According to him, the administrator showed him another possibility for the academic pursuit he was pursuing. This possibility completely convinced him, and he even agreed with many people's evaluation of the administrator, that is, the word "prophet". He had scoffed at your existence at the beginning.

Of course, in Priss's opinion, this religious fanatic was a weirdo—or rather, the entire Garden of Eden was a league of weirdos.

Not to mention Ed, the Administrator, the Doctor, Precious, and even Luo and others, most of those who can become members of the Garden of Eden can be called geniuses in some aspects, but at the same time, genius and weirdo are often synonymous.

"How did Mr. Ed ask you about this? Logically, I remember that you and Ed should not get along well, right?" Noah asked curiously. In her impression, to say that Ed and Precious did not get along was already a euphemism. The relationship between these two people was so bad that they could quarrel at any time and anywhere. It was actually quite hard to imagine that Ed would privately ask Precious about something that was almost equivalent to gossip.

"Work is work, life is life. Just because we don't get along at work doesn't mean we don't get along in private. Ed is such a man who keeps his private life separate." Precious explained, "But how do you know Ed and I don't get along? You sound like you were there at the time."

"...Just think of it as the administrator telling me." Noah didn't know how to explain that he had inherited some of the administrator's memories, so he could only evade, "Anyway, why is Ed so concerned about this matter?"

"It's easy to understand, right? You join a weird organization, and there's so much mystery between the leader and the second-in-command of the weird organization. Anyone would be curious. Not to mention him, I'm also curious about what gossip there is between you and the doctor." Prissai put his hands on his hips and said quite naturally.

"...I...wait, I'm not the administrator..." Noah was about to continue what Precious was saying, but he realized it halfway. "It's not me. Is there some special relationship between the administrator and the doctor?"

"I think it's the same thing..." Precious smiled. "You said you inherited the Administrator's soul. This is really a matter between you and the Doctor."

"...Oh, if we really have to chat like this, we can't continue this topic." Noah was helpless. Although she always knew that Precious had been testing whether she was the so-called administrator who was reborn through a shell company, she had explained it countless times, but the other party still seemed to have such an opinion. In this situation, Noah really had to find a way to solve it herself. The fact that Miss Administrator had completely disappeared must be a fact that was difficult for Precious to accept.

We can't get any information from Precious, so how can we get more information about the doctor and the administrator? The doctor is still in the ward, so we can't just ask him directly.

However, Noah soon thought of a person who was very likely to know about this matter, and that was Theresa, who was deleting the doctor's memory. Since she directly deleted most of the doctor's memory, it meant that she had seen these memories. Otherwise, she would not have been able to delete the memory of the previous civilization so accurately, and leave behind those knowledge and common sense. If it was too rough, it would not be deleting memory, it would be destroying the person with one click.

You know, memory contains common sense and knowledge. If it is deleted at will, it is not just amnesia, but a complete loss of life. Not to mention being able to command the battle as usual, I am afraid even my speech will become incoherent.

Although Theresa was confirmed dead, she left behind a true "backup" before her death, that is, the classmate Xiao Te who called himself the Demon King.

But just as Noah was thinking about going to look for Xiaote, there was a knock on her door. She was startled, thinking it couldn't be such a coincidence. She looked at Precious, who was lying on the bed with a literary look, and gestured. After receiving a nod of affirmation, she opened the door. This time, the person who appeared at the door was actually the clue she had just thought of.

"Theresa—" Noya looked at the pink-haired Demon King standing in front of her with a smile and whispered her name. "No, should I call you the Demon King now?"

"You're free to call me whatever you want, Miss Noah. I simply thought you might need my help, which is why I'm here." Regardless of Precious's reaction, the Demon Lady told Noah her purpose very directly. "I'm aware of the doctor's condition today, and I figured Miss Noah might need me to explain the doctor's situation. After all, the doctor's amnesia is closely related to Theresa... and, naturally, to me as well."

"...You can say such things so easily." Precious had been on guard from the beginning. If she were to choose the person she hated most in all of Terra, Miss Theresa would definitely be on the list, even vying for second place. "If you hadn't tampered with the doctor's memories, we wouldn't even need to question you."

"For now, I need to apologize to you, or rather, to Miss Noya, for this matter. I did erase the doctor's memory, but my apology is limited to this. I won't repent." But the Demon King's tone was quite calm, so calm that no apology could be heard. She was simply stating a fact, and she made it clear that while she apologized, she wouldn't repent. Because her actions at that time, within the context of civilization's survival, were also correct.

Both Theresa and the Demon King themselves only felt sorry for erasing the Doctor's memory, but no matter how many times they came across it, their choice would be the same.

The very existence of civilization, as the name suggests, is to preserve itself. Since erasing the Doctor's memory is conducive to its survival, why wouldn't it support it? Even Theresa's original reason for this choice might be a reminder of the importance of civilization's survival. While civilization itself is a product of a previous civilization, its core, or underlying programming, has the sole purpose of preserving the present civilization.

It doesn't matter whether this civilization is human civilization or Terra civilization.

It was really a waste of time to get angry with an intelligent AI. Precious quickly lost interest and was too lazy to participate in the following topic, so soon, only Noah and Theresa, or rather, the Demon King... were left in the room.

"Forgive me, Precious...this statement probably doesn't make any sense." Noah sighed awkwardly. "So, Miss Demon King...how can you help me? Or rather, what did Theresa leave behind for us?"

"...You're quite certain Theresa would leave something behind for you, the enemies of Terra Civilization." The Demon King was somewhat surprised. "From a standpoint, I can believe that Miss Noya has the intention to protect Terra Civilization, but why do you think Theresa would leave information for you?"

"I've never met Theresa," Noah said. "So, I can't guarantee how she'll act. However, I have met Amiya, Kel'tsit, and the Doctor. These people all have close relationships with Theresa, even close confidants. Through them, I actually do have some understanding of Theresa. Or, you could say, I don't trust Theresa, but rather I trust the Theresa these people believe in."

"...Really...an impressive speech." The Demon Lady's eyes suddenly softened. For some reason, Noah felt as if the Demon Lady before him had taken off her disguise. She blinked, and those pink eyes seemed to no longer hold their mechanical coldness, but instead were filled with warmth. They were eyes that could speak, and Noah could even sense the emotions overflowing from her body and heart...

"...You, are not the Demon King?" Noah came to the conclusion that it was impossible for an AI to produce such intensive emotions, so... the person in front of him could not be the [Demon King], he could not be just a program, that is... Theresa.

“…You are truly perceptive.” The Demon King, no, Theresa smiled. “Just as Amiya and I said, you are a sensitive and gentle person.”

"...I've also heard this from Amiya." Amiya can be said to be the most direct contact between Theresa and Noah. Amiya is the demon king educated by Theresa. Many of her will and ideas are inherited from Theresa. Just like Noah inherited the administrator's will and memory, Amiya also inherited Theresa's will.

"Of course, please keep this a secret from Kal'tsit and Amiya. My condition isn't stable yet, so it's not the right time to be honest—" Theresa raised a finger and said with a smile, "I'm here to fulfill a promise, a promise made a long time ago."

"...I'd like to hear more about it." Noah nodded. She knew that Theresa's reason for revealing the fact that she was still alive in front of her was definitely not to meet her.

"Back then, before I erased the Doctor's memory, I communicated with the real Prophet." Theresa's words startled Noa. "The Prophet, or rather, the real Doctor, told me about the Administrator and predicted your appearance, or rather, the appearance of the Administrator's successor."

"Me?" Noah blinked. "But the Doctor shouldn't know about Plan Zero, right?"

"Just because the Administrator didn't say anything doesn't mean the Doctor doesn't know. She's a true genius, and she's never ignored Miss Administrator's efforts. She knew what she was planning long ago, and she guessed most of it. She's just good at keeping silent, placing all her trust in the Administrator herself," Theresa explained. "Before she disappeared, Prophet, she told me a lot about the Administrator... including how they met."

"..." Noah fell silent. This was the real point. Theresa's ability to convey this information to herself was also the will of the original Doctor.

"The Doctor and Miss Administrator's first encounter..."

-

On the other hand, while Theresa and Noah were having a frank conversation, Precious, who had left the room, was not idle either.

In fact, she had never carefully observed the Terra civilization from the beginning. Or rather, in her mind, the existence of this civilization, which was a mixture of sub-humans and indigenous peoples, never united, and meaningless, was just a stepping stone before the return of the former civilization. This civilization, which would be destroyed sooner or later, was not worth taking seriously. So, although she was one of the few people in the former civilization who remained sober, like Kal'tsit, she still remained sober.

Yet, they are also the most unfamiliar people with Terran civilization...

But after being given a body by Noah, she truly opened her eyes for the first time and cast an inquiring look at this civilization itself.

In other words, it was because of the part of Noah that belonged to the Terra civilization that made him interested in the Terra civilization.

How could this civilization, always neglected by her, give birth to a being like Noya? You have to understand, Noya, part of the plan, didn't grow into this form because of the administrator's arrangement, but because the gems nurtured by this civilization were invaluable, treasures even in the eyes of the people of the previous civilization. Perhaps this civilization wasn't completely without merit...

This was probably the first time she had ever thought about it this way...

Maybe it's not just Noya, maybe it's Agor, maybe it's Herhunzollon, maybe it's all of these...

Although Precious still claimed that Terran civilization was meaningless, she had already truly entered it, and she was curious—curious about why the Doctor, Noah, and Ama-10 had so firmly chosen this civilization. She was even seeking an answer... perhaps even she herself was unwilling to believe.

She didn't want to believe it, nor did she want to admit it...

That is, perhaps she is the only one who wants to reshape the former civilization.

Chapter 66: There Will Always Be Someone to Come

Initially, the Administrator was not yet called the Administrator, and the Doctor was not yet called the "Prophet".

Before the Garden of Eden was founded, or in other words, before the end of the world was confirmed, the Doctor participated in a technical seminar. The participants of this seminar were considered the top scientific talents of the time. Although the Doctor had not yet really stepped onto the stage, as a rising star in scientific research, he made an exception and participated in this seminar. The reason for this seminar was that people discovered a strange [man-made object] when exploring the subspace.

Although the discovery of such special man-made objects in the subspace is not uncommon, because even the technology of the previous civilization cannot explore the depth of the subspace, the research on the subspace has been limited to its utilization so far. The existence of the subspace is like a DLC that suddenly appeared when humans were studying the physical universe. Before it was discovered, this thing only had traces in myths and legends.

However, the subspace is obviously the next research object of civilization. When the study of the physical universe can no longer proceed, it is inevitable to shift to the study of the subspace.

The subspace is the shadow of the physical universe, and the time and space inside it are chaotic. Therefore, anything that can maintain a certain appearance in the subspace is basically not simple. Therefore, this seminar is to conduct preliminary research on this man-made object after capturing it. The only thing that can be confirmed at present is that this man-made object is a container. After conducting countless tests, people determined that the physical properties of the man-made object are consistent with the real universe, and decided to open it in the physical universe.

It was the result of this special technical seminar that changed the doctor's cognition...or rather, made him realize what the real threat was.

Because that man-made object, that thing that looked like a giant walnut, was later called a Void Relic - and that was only Void Relic No. 1. Later, humans discovered more Void Relics whose origins remained a mystery.

"...Void Relics... Could it be that Miss Administrator appeared from the Void Relics?" Noah's eyes widened when he heard this. "And what exactly are Void Relics? Have there been any results?"

"I didn't find the truth about the Void Relics in the Doctor's memories. Perhaps, I mean perhaps, the Void Relics could come from another world—even another universe. Let alone us, even the previous civilization didn't have that deep of an understanding of the Warp. It's not so much that the previous civilization discovered the Warp, but rather that the Warp allowed the previous civilization to discover it. And these Void Relics... to be honest, they're like some kind of gift."

"Gift?"

"The rapid technological advancement of later civilizations stemmed from the discovery of Void Relics. Research into these relics themselves greatly accelerated scientific progress," Theresa explained. "The harvesting of these Void Relics later became a kind of 'technological blind box' for the previous civilization. Discoveries like the Gray Nail and sarcophagus technology are all closely related to Void Relics. When this so-called Void Relic No. 1 was opened, people were still unaware of its dangers... That was likely the first time the previous civilization realized that there were unspeakable... existences hidden within the Warp."

"...evil?"

"You guessed right." Theresa nodded. "During that opening, the demons first appeared in the vision of the ancient civilization. It was also the first demon invasion."

"...I didn't expect it to be like this..." Noah nodded, "No, what about the administrator? Doesn't this mean that the doctor and the administrator are meeting for the first time?"

"That's right. When the demons invaded reality, someone stood up." Theresa nodded. "That was the Administrator. She seemed to have been hiding among the crowd. When the demons appeared, she activated the stargate's reverse program and successfully expelled the demons. It was as if she had known what would happen after opening the Void Relic. Her actions saved all the scientists present, including the doctor..."

"...The administrator... knew about the existence of the demons?" Noah frowned. Did the administrator really have some supernatural power similar to prophecy? Why did she appear there? Why did she know how to exorcise the demons? And... why did she seem to have never existed before?

Of course, Noah's doubts were also the doctor's doubts at the time, but although this was their first meeting, the two did not get together because of this.

Theresa quickly began to talk about the second time they met. Several years had passed since then, and the doctor had become a well-known all-round scientist. At that time, void relics had begun to appear in large quantities. After realizing the threat of the evil demons, the former civilization quickly developed ways to fight against them. The girl who had driven out the evil demons later disappeared mysteriously, and no one knew where she went. It could even be said that she had become an urban legend.

First, the emergence of the Gray Spike freed humanity from its fear of the demonic influence. Second, a deeper understanding of the Stargate technology tree also allowed them to understand how to exorcise the demonic power. The demonic threat wasn't a significant problem for the previous civilization, but during his research into the Void Relics, the Doctor realized their inherent dangers. The Void Relics didn't seem like technology this civilization should possess, and the more he analyzed them, the more he felt this was true.

These things are like a civilization that has sealed its important scientific and technological achievements, or a certain technology, in one [Void Relic] after another. They are just like [drift bottles]. They are thrown into the subspace, and the technology wrapped in the Void Relics mostly requires the subspace as the basic technology tree to be unlocked. These Void Relics are simply technological blind boxes that were born for future generations.

And with the help of these blind boxes of technology, the former civilization gradually reached its peak.

but why?

Why would such a gift exist? Why would this civilization use a Void Relic to pass on this gift?

Many people have given explanations for such doubts, such as the super civilization theory and the civilization heritage theory. Some people even speculate whether it is the people in the future who are helping the people in the past to develop technology. In short, no matter what theory it is, it is believed that these void relics come from a more developed and greater civilization, a super civilization that the previous civilization cannot even compare with. However, the previous civilization at that time could only imagine that super civilization through one void relic after another.

But the answer... came very suddenly...

"...Administrator... Could it be..." Noah paused. She had thought of a possibility, or rather... she realized that the administrator at that time was like someone today.

"You thought of that too... right?" Theresa closed her eyes. "Kel'tsit, she's exactly like the Administrator."