Harlan had quite a few things to deal with, so he bid us farewell at the entrance of the research center and went to the military department to handle independent regiment affairs. In the end, it was Sandora and I who brought the Abyss Xyrin to Taville — the first stop being the research center instead of the command center was because we needed to inspect the large box brought by the Abyss Xyrin first.

This relates to a "just in case" issue, as the revealing information shared by the Abyss Xyrin left everyone a bit stunned. Still, we couldn’t be entirely swayed by her words. In the field of persuasion, I consider myself quite the expert. I may lack other talents, but I’m proud of my ability to remain unfazed when confronted with flamboyant rhetoric. Although we brought the Abyss Xyrin to Shadow City, some necessary investigations and restrictions were indispensable. These restrictions wouldn’t be light; the strictest conditions could even resemble imprisonment. However, to our relief, the Abyss Xyrin seemed to understand all of it, expressing that she could calmly accept any restrictions imposed.

Upon reflection, this seemed reasonable. The highest restriction we imposed at Shadow City was simply to prevent her communication terminal from casually contacting others. Her actual body was in the Abyss Zone, so she obviously wouldn’t mind restrictions on a mere interaction interface.

This was Taville’s (real body) private laboratory. The Abyss Xyrin was sitting obediently in the center of the room on the scanning platform, with her large box nearby. Meanwhile, the spectacled lady was analyzing the structure of the black box with great curiosity. It was a professional field where outsiders couldn’t easily interject, resulting in a relatively dull atmosphere. Sandora and I were somewhat idle, only Taville appeared enthusiastic — whether seeing the Abyss Xyrin or the box, a glint would pass over her glasses; I was convinced her glasses were her real self, and seeing a new research subject made her whole being shine.

"You’re quite cooperative," I tried to make conversation with the Abyss Xyrin amidst the boredom, "I thought the Supreme Commander of the Abyss Zone might somewhat have an air about them, at least showing some complaint when standing on the scanning platform."

"An air? I don’t understand," the Abyss Xyrin responded indifferently, "Moreover, I don’t regard ’Commander’ as a special identity. The Empire has no hierarchy, only components. I govern the Abyss Zone simply because I have this task; the nodes submit to my rule because they have their task. Now I need to cooperate with you all, for this too is my task. I know you, don’t you occasionally go to the front lines and even fight personally when necessary? You are the Emperor but perform the duties of a soldier; do you ever feel awkward about it?"

"Uh... your meticulous nature indeed..." I was at a loss for words, "Alright, you have a point. Don’t mind me, I’ve spent over twenty years growing up on Earth, and my thinking is still transitioning. Let’s not dwell on this. Let’s talk about your box. As far as I know, you can’t directly converse with me because your nodes would be purified. Did you come to connect with us this time because of this box’s help? What kind of advanced technology is this?"

The Abyss Xyrin patted her box, "Actually, it’s not that complex. Firstly, the box’s protective barrier uses some techniques and materials from the opposite side, although most techniques from the other side become ineffective on ’this side’. However, the defensive technology against the Abyss can be reverse-engineered. If interested, I can share this aspect of it with you. Secondly, inside the box, apart from the communication array, there is a virtual node generator, an easily comprehensible concept: it creates virtual nodes, and by deceptive protocol, they are temporarily inserted into the network, essentially becoming a group of non-existent Ghost Apostles. These nodes’ task is to be purified, then deleted, followed by the creation of new virtual nodes... cyclical repetition. I had to solve three technical difficulties: first is the computational speed of the virtual node generator to meet consumption demands; second is how to let the virtual nodes survive for a certain time; third is how to disguise these entities-less nodes for insertion into the network without triggering the protocol. The third point troubled me for a long time: just like you can’t lift yourself by your hair, I couldn’t undermine the protocol while adhering to it, so only during the recent network split did I resolve it: the split disrupted part of the security protocols and created many node vacancies along the fracture chain, allowing room and opportunity for my virtual nodes to embed within — thus resulting in the device you see, though it’s not durable, until it breaks, I’m secure."

"So it’s a physical firewall," I could still comprehend such matters, "You sure have been meticulous in preventing my purification... yet I can’t understand; what’s bad about being purified? I even think you’re fundamentally different from a typical Fallen Apostle; your mindset is clearly logical with well-organized plans... You don’t seem under the Abyss’s control at all... Wait a moment, that’s indeed wrong! You don’t seem tainted at all!"

It was at this moment that I suddenly realized the discord felt during previous interactions with the Abyss Xyrin originated here: her logical thought process, calm demeanor, and complete self-control — all of these characteristics collectively suggest one thing: evidently, this is the result of having been purified.

Moreover, she possesses two behavioral traits that defy explanation:

First, she consciously halted her destruction of the Order World, or from the outset, her destruction wasn’t a result of Abyss control; she stole the Heart of the World and triggered doomsday in doing so, appearing as an Abyssal act, but her fundamental goal was merely to weaken the Void Catastrophe! This indicates she had a motive aligned with order, starkly different from the behavior model of Abyss Infected: The Abyss Infected’s destruction is uncontrollable, devoid of motivation!

Second, and most importantly: she is actively eliminating the errors and madness within her network, specifically the major split occurring in the Abyss Zone—an Abyss Infected can never consciously "treat" itself, as the most prominent feature of the Abyss Infection is collapse, constant self-collapse, and the collapse of everything around them. However, the Abyss Xyrin... actually has the ability to take measures to prevent its own collapse, even to detoxify itself through suicide and reorganization!

Sandora and I both looked astonished, while Taville remained absorbed in his work beside us. I gazed into the eyes of the Abyss Xyrin, trying to discern the logic behind her actions: "So are you considered infected or not infected now?"

"I knew you would ask this..." The Abyss Xyrin frowned, "Well, let me tell you the truth: I am indeed in a polluted state, but unlike ordinary infected, I am in a balanced state, and I have the ability to maintain this balance."

Suddenly, I thought about seven thousand years ago: "Is it because of that ’neutralization’ that wasn’t completed back then?"

"Yes," the Abyss Xyrin nodded, "’Neutralization’ protected my will, allowed my mind to remain under my control, but at the same time, it changed or rather broke my behavioral rules—it’s like removing all restraints, I am unbound when executing any destructive actions, and I face the Abyss without resistance, clear-headed yet immersed... that’s how you people of the real world would understand it. But I don’t see this as bad, you must know the only way to reduce the Void Catastrophe is by bridge building, and the only bridge building plan found so far requires a huge initial sacrifice. If I hadn’t been polluted, neither the original Empire nor the Divine Race could initiate this plan, ’justice and order’ would become your obstacle, ultimately causing all civilizations of this cycle to miss the opportunity. I am grateful for this pollution, it made me a madman, allowing me to do things you couldn’t undertake. Maybe this is the arrangement of the Void... I don’t believe in the concept of ’fate’ from the real world, but I believe the evolution of the Void has its arrangements, as the catastrophe emerges, it will naturally end or weaken, and I just happen to be chosen as the one responsible for executing the out-of-line tasks."

"So, you go to great lengths to avoid Purification," I finally understood her reasoning, "because once you are purified, your ’mission’ can no longer be executed."

To reduce the Void Catastrophe, she cannot become a "good person"—it’s all because of such a ridiculous reason.

"It’s not entirely like that," the voice of the Abyss Xyrin sounded uncertain for the first time, "maybe I have concerns... this involves a very abstract question: the current ’me’ is built on all Abyss Nodes, if all nodes are purified or changed into anything, would these nodes combined still be the original ’me’? Even if I still exist, would my thoughts, logic, goals, and willpower be as they are now? Your purification first affects individual polluters, and after these polluters wake up, it acts on the network they form, and I am the collective consciousness composed in the final phase, so nobody can predict what will happen in this process, I cannot take this risk, at least before the completion of Da Ye, I cannot take any risk. I must maintain my current state until Da Ye is complete—then, if you possess the ability I recognize, it is not impossible to accept Purification, after all, the Empire has already persisted, whether I live or die makes no difference."

The Abyss Xyrin’s words made me fall into deep contemplation, then somehow I recalled a very classic philosophical question: Thesius’ Ship.

Thesius’ Ship is a vessel that has sailed for hundreds of years, each of its planks and parts can be replaced, countless planks rot and parts wear out over hundreds of years of sailing, and so its components are replaced one by one. After such a long voyage, the ship contains no component from its departure, its components have been entirely replaced, is this ship still Thesius’ Ship?

The situation of the Abyss Xyrin differs greatly from that of the ship, but there is a common point: she is a cluster consciousness pieced together by numerous "components," and these components to me are easily rewritten.

If the entire Fallen Apostle group is purified, would the upper consciousness composed of their network nodes simply be purified or would it be completely rewritten into a new existence?

"Your concerns are understandable," Sandora sighed, "but you need to understand, we will not let the Fallen Apostles continue their activities, even if your Da Ye can save the Void, your Fallen Apostle army is definitely not a stable factor, you should know your control over them is limited, a New Army has appeared now, and perhaps a second or third will appear in the future, and you won’t always have the upper hand. The Abyss has never been a stable entity: it will get out of control someday."

"I didn’t expect to maintain peace with you forever, but that’s a matter for the future," the Abyss Xyrin blinked, "Even after Da Ye is achieved, we have a lot to do. Let’s consider these things when the dust settles. I admit Polluters are prone to losing control, but their infection situation is actually... never mind, there’s always a way."

It seems that’s the best we can do for now, so I set aside this complex problem and talked about my next plan: "Next, I’ll contact the Star Domain, and may even call over the Huron Divine Race. You’d better prepare a speech or something. Your tangled theories are quite a hassle."

The Abyss Xyrin’s body flickered a few times: "It’s actually all very very very very easy to understand, it’s just that you you you you’re not very good at long long long long..."

I was suddenly taken aback: "Hey, don’t scare me like that! What’s happening?"

The Abyss Xyrin raised a hand and pointed at Taville: "Don’t don’t don’t touch that red thing, that’s my resonator generator, though it’s bigger than a usual generator, but but but..."

Taville "clicked" and pressed the resonator generator back into the box, and the Abyss Xyrin’s voice returned to normal immediately: "But it’s actually just a resonance device. This device wasn’t assembled according to standard specifications, sorry."

"Is it all sorted?" I looked up and asked Taville.

"Inspection complete, no problems," Taville nodded, "We have already installed monitoring devices within this equipment."

Then she turned to the Abyss Xyrin: "Just now we added a jamming antenna beneath your resonator generator, which will freeze your current interface activities in an emergency, I hope you understand. Also, accessing anything here without authorization from me or the Emperor will trigger an alarm, I hope you understand this as well."

"No problem, I expected something much worse. And then the physical check is done, and we’ve wasted enough words, what’s the next step? Is this Xyrin Technician responsible for the Deep Dive project?"

I nodded: "Yes, you can call her Taville, she’s my best scientist. First, hand over the pile of wreckage you brought and your models to her. During this time, I hope you don’t leave the Military Department. I’ll decide the next step after discussing with the Divine Race."

The Abyss Xyrin nodded, and just as Sandora and I were about to turn and leave, the door of the research lab suddenly slid open, and a short golden-haired girl peeked in hesitantly. My first reaction was that I didn’t recognize this person, but on a second glance, I saw a small silver-white badge on the golden-haired girl’s chest...

Well then, should I say it’s expected or unexpected... Xyrin might have sensed the Abyss Xyrin, and she came over.

I waved at the soft-spoken Xyrin who hesitated at the door, and the latter immediately ran happily over to Sandora and me, then looked curiously at the Abyss Xyrin and the big box: "I know who you are, I can tell... but why are you here?"

"To solve some problems," the Abyss Xyrin looked curiously at this "half-self" who split off 70,000 years ago, "You still seem to retain your original structure, that’s nice, I no longer know what I’ve become."

"Don’t disrupt my network, and I won’t disrupt yours," Xyrin stated straightforwardly, "It’s for your own good, the Emperor’s power permeates my nodes, reckless contact could reprogram you."

I looked at these two clusters of consciousness from the same source, feeling that fate is a wonderful thing: how should these two be defined? Sisters to each other? Shadows of each other? Or, after the "Rift" was blocked, have they become two entirely independent entities? Any explanation makes sense, and after 70,000 years of evolution and self-rewriting, the Abyss Xyrin has become such a bizarre entity, even she can’t explain what she’s become. What does she think when she sees Xyrin, who still retains her original structure?

Perhaps a single statement sums up her feelings: Nice, I no longer know what I’ve become.

"Do you two want to have a chat?" I patted Xyrin on the shoulder, then looked at the Abyss Xyrin. Without a fixed form for cluster consciousness, these two looked nothing alike, "After all, your presence in the real world is just an interactive interface, so this level of conversation won’t be restricted. Of course, direct network connection is off the table — I figure you didn’t intend to pursue that anyway."

The Abyss Xyrin exchanged a serious look with Xyrin for a moment, then weakly waved her hand: "Forget it, maybe another time when we have more time to talk. I truly don’t know what to say. We’ve been apart too long, so long we can’t understand each other’s structure anymore, not much to talk about."

"Same here," Xyrin cheerfully hopped back behind Sandora and me, "I just came to take a look, now that I have, I’m off to buy cake at Silvia’s place — Taville, I’ll bring you two pieces."

With that, Xyrin’s figure faded into a light screen, leaving Taville to mutter to herself: "...Now I never know when I’ll get to eat."

Xyrin has a peculiar attribute: zoning out. While doing one thing, her attention is easily drawn to another, and it takes her a whole day to remember what she initially intended to do. This may be related to her not being used to the "event occurrence pattern" of the real world.

Anyway, let’s hope Taville can continue to adapt to her roommate...

(The consecutive revelations feel like burning out... Filling plot holes feels great) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote at Qidian (qidian.com) for recommendation or monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)