For a civilization with technology advanced enough to directly manufacture adults from raw materials, it's hard to believe they couldn't count the death toll after a disaster, and as soon as they come once, they would discover the secrets hidden beneath the surface.

"The council thought they escaped unscathed, but in reality, from the moment they hid underground, they were already under the surveillance of the Holy City. At least, that makes much more sense to me."

"Understood."

"Lindong" showed no sign of discomfort at having her lies exposed. Instead, she carefully recorded Ethan's feedback, which were insightful truths, so she could improve her storytelling skills in the future.

"Anything else?"

"Also, Lindong's character setting in the story doesn't match her real identity at all."

Upon hearing this, Lindong's eyes lit up. Her fingers lightly swept across, and starlight formed a pale blue projection in front of her. She eagerly asked, "Elaborate."

"In the story, the council members in the underground shelter see her as a traitor skilled at deception, two-faced."

But the Lindong he knows is straightforward, never one to keep things bottled up.

In Ethan's view, once she gained power, she was unlikely to pretend to meet the expectations of the shelter's people, patiently playing the god they envisioned. Instead, she would blow up the bio-laboratory as soon as she absorbed the "Black Lotus" energy.

There was no laughing away of grudges; the Lindong he knew always sought revenge, even if it couldn't be done immediately. She would sneak into her enemies' homes under the cover of night two or three years later to take them out.

Ethan had personally seen Lindong's assassination list.

Two years after the failure of the Violet Commune movement, she joined Dream Eclispe through twists and turns and set off her revenge the first instance she healed up — the betrayers of the commune, Julius's cronies, all had their names appear on Lindong's "death note." No one could escape.

"That doesn't count. While your conclusion is spot on, only someone who truly understands me can know those things."

"Lindong" shook her head, "Others can't see it."

"It's my turn."

Ethan's expression turned serious.

He didn't feel joy from having his deductions confirmed; instead, he felt a profound unease. As he had discussed with Leon, Grave, and others before, each answer brought forth ten new questions.

"What is your relationship with her exactly?"

Ethan took a deep breath, ultimately voicing the doubt that had been circling deep within his heart.

If the Lindong before him wasn't from the future, or another time and space of his, given the technology at hand, unsettling conjectures could only be drawn.

For example, whether his girlfriend, familiar and seen every day, truly existed?

She could be a synthetic being, a clone, or just an electronic signal generated by some technology.

For the master of the Holy City, this was a trivial matter. The technology they wielded far exceeded human imagination, akin to how people of this world could never know that the True Gods they had worshiped for six epochs were super signal receivers created by the master to approximate the Old Gods.

Even all their familiar history was an experiment initiated by the God of Truth following the master's will.

To more intuitively observe changes in humanity and other life forms under the influence of the Old Gods.

"Dear, the opportunity to ask questions is precious."

"Lindong" held Ethan's right hand, pressing it against her chest, "What you truly wish to ask is whether 'I' truly exist, right?"

Then a long silence followed.

Ethan felt the warmth of the other's body, felt that beating heart, as well as...

An object in the shape of a syringe placed into his palm. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"This is the Omega Blocker."

Before Ethan could ask, "Lindong" proactively explained, "With just one injection, you can block all unnecessary memories and immerse yourself wholeheartedly in another world. Isn't that cool? It's practically the first choice for 'crossing,' it saves you a lot of unnecessary trouble. Like if you unfortunately lose in an alternate world and fall into the hands of the Life Divine Teachings, it ensures they can't retrieve your spaceship memory through Holy Word Art. Of course, it also helps when you don't want them to know every detail of your research when reporting to the corporate board."

At this point, "Lindong" paused briefly, "Of course, the blocker has its shortcomings, like amnesia possibly leading the user to encounter dangers during the 'crossing,' where even some random cats and dogs might walk over you."

Ethan knew that the "random cats and dogs" referred to none other than Julius.

The amnesic Lindong perhaps out of instinct, threw herself into the Violet Commune movement, and nearly fell into the hands of the Church Court.

In this respect, Mr. Julius's life had value; he couldn't have imagined he had once triumphed over such a terrifying being.

"Thus, this is the necessity of my existence, please call me Super Little Lindong."

"Lindong" held her head high, full of pride, "When the course of research deviates from expectations, someone is needed to bring it back on track. You could think of it as an information loophole even the master doesn't know about. Worth mentioning, the last time I appeared, it was because the development of your relationship didn't meet expectations."