Everyone else had left, but Sandora and I remained in the room. Abyss Xyrin glanced at us curiously and couldn’t help but ask, "Do you still have any questions? I believe I’ve explained everything."

"Uh, it’s not about the bridge-building," I glanced at Sandora, feeling the atmosphere was a bit strange, but some things still needed to be said, "It’s about you—I’ve told my family about our, uh... theoretically father-daughter relationship, Sandora is quite curious and wanted to come see."

As expected, Abyss Xyrin immediately frowned, "Weird, is this really important? Why do you value it so much?"

"I told you this guy’s worldview is problematic," I nudged Sandora’s arm, "You see her attitude."

"You don’t think it’s important at all?" Sandora was also surprised. Although Her Majesty the Queen has seen a lot, a worldview like Abyss Xyrin’s, straying from the usual path, can’t be seen elsewhere, "Even if not from a ’practical’ perspective, your powers and even part of your soul were shaped by Ah Jun, and you admit he is your logical father, but you think this matter has no meaning beyond an inheritance relationship?"

Abyss Xyrin sat back down, "Oh, from the perspective of creator and created, it does have significant meaning, because without a father, there would be no ’Abyss Xyrin’ as an individual, so I have special attention on the father, but beyond that, I do not understand what other ’meaning’ is expected. The process of creation and inheritance has ended, you should know how a program operates—each process is meaningful because it is called, but once the process ends, it should release the program to save system resources."

"...Typical of your thought process," Sandora’s mouth twitched slightly, "When Ah Jun relayed your words to me earlier, I found it incredible. Ahaha, actually, there’s nothing much, I just heard from Ah Jun suddenly there was an extra daughter and I was curious to confirm it with you, originally thought I had many questions to ask, but now... I feel communication is impossible, talking to you is truly taxing."

"Hmm, talking to you is taxing too," Abyss Xyrin nodded honestly, then looked over at me and pondered slightly, "But I have to admit, after talking with Father a few days ago, I sorted out my thought process, checking if there were changes in my behavior after the ’Father’ concept appeared. Later, I found that indeed I am somewhat different from a mere program... the difference is not obvious, but my attention to ’Father’ is higher, my response speed is faster, and perhaps due to Father’s power still permeating the network, in the absence of other influences, I am more inclined to believe or accept what he says—though it might be the influence of the Void Creature’s disturbance power; the experiments there haven’t concluded, and I must continue researching. In the current simulation tests, under conditions with no interference whatsoever, if Father and others tell me equivalent but different information, I would prefer to believe Father’s words, even without any evidence... This is an abnormal phenomenon, potentially harmful, but I cannot find the reason, which is vexing."

The way Abyss Xyrin talked was still so peculiar, always carrying an overly calm indifference, even Sandora couldn’t help but frown, "It feels like you’re talking about someone else. These are your own thought processes."

"I can run virtual machines and sandbox environments in my own Spirit World, so I am accustomed to analyzing myself from such a detached viewpoint. Trust me, it’s a good approach," Abyss Xyrin methodically explained to Sandora, "You see, he has no objections."

This one pointed over immediately, and I could only wave awkwardly, "Well, I haven’t fully grasped it yet..."

However, I understood what Abyss Xyrin was saying, as in she logically believes the "father-daughter relationship" is meaningless, yet she is indeed influenced by it?

She continually tries to use her "scientific method" to analyze what exactly this influence is, even planning to calculate the Void Creature’s information disturbance power, but I feel all these efforts are in vain, she is destined to remain confused—unless she decides to alter her worldview, she might remain puzzled for life.

Simultaneously, I realized my influence on her was limited to a particular extent: not large, and with almost no actual effect. Only when it doesn’t affect the overall situation and when "other conditions are zero" would she incline towards her father, the most direct example being the wars over the past few years: during the continuous conflict between Abyss Zone and the New Empire she completely excluded the influence of the "father-daughter relationship", she was ruthless in war those years, and now the war has ended, all pressing conditions lifted, she simply approached me and acknowledged this earth-shattering relationship, what kind of worldview is this?

This is a worldview where "feelings" are precisely calculated beyond the decimal point two hundred places!

I think I won’t ever be able to have a proper conversation with this guy, theoretically considered my child, but whose worldview is completely on a different line; you see even someone as knowledgeable as Sandora finds it exhausting to talk to Abyss Xyrin.

"Let’s leave it at that," after a few more exchanges, Sandora and Abyss Xyrin, upon sensing the grave difficulty in comprehending each other, decisively chose to give up, "You have your way of thinking, and currently, it seems harmless. I have no reason to restrain you. Moreover, if you are willing to continue as ’normal people’ with your Abyss Apostles in the future, the New Empire has no reason to oppose you, let’s hope we can get along in the future."

"You can rest assured, the majority in Abyss Zone are not madmen, only the Tearers are completely mad, we are not," Abyss Xyrin smiled, "The previous events... were just because I had no other choice. Now, the Star Domain Father God has given a proclamation, father’s power grows stronger by the day, I will weigh the pros and cons and will no longer harm the Order World. To be honest... it’s good that Father becomes powerful enough, I can stop doing those thankless tasks and seek my father’s help."

I didn’t quite catch it immediately, after a few seconds, I could only spread my hands in a mix of amusement and helplessness, "How can you say this so righteously... you said our inheritance relationship wasn’t that significant?"

"It’s indeed not important, but a father has to help his daughter solve difficulties, and as a daughter, I will sincerely follow your instructions when possible, this is decided by the ’attributes’ of the two entities, it’s each of our tasks. If you have time, I can explain this pure logical way of thinking, it’s actually quite effective... hey why are you guys leaving?"

I didn’t dare listen any longer, dragging Sandora along as we ran out of sight, finally teleporting to the streets of Shadow City, exchanging glances, Sandora had a dry smile on her lips, "Uh... hehe, I feel continuing to listen might ruin my worldview."

For someone who specializes in destroying worldviews like the "Soul Taker" to say such words, Abyss Xyrin is formidable in every sense.

"So, you saw it with your own eyes, any thoughts on this matter?" I strolled with Sandora on the streets of Shadow City, casually gazing at the familiar cityscape around us while asking nonchalantly.

Sandora was silent for a few seconds, ultimately still uncertain in tone, "A lot of thoughts, but none on target, Abyss Xyrin, in the end, is a very sensitive existence, her peculiar life form and thinking style make people feel... unfathomable. Although now it’s confirmed to be harmless, I still find it hard to understand her."

"I can understand a bit," I exhaled, "I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but occasionally I can find resonance with this person whose worldview is abnormal."

"Is this a father’s talent?" Sandora glanced at me with a mischievous smile.

"Don’t, I still don’t know how to accept this fact, having a daughter fall from the sky is something I’ve experienced, but having a daughter with such ’high components’ is a first," I chuckled helplessly, "Speaking of which... Xiao Xue’s title as the King of the Naughty Kids might need to step down and make way, can you find someone more dangerous than Abyss Xyrin throughout the Void?"

"Her? She’s more than just a naughty kid," Sandora smirked, "and I’m also thinking... how does Xyrin count? She’s of the same origin as Abyss Xyrin, but obviously, her birth had nothing to do with you, try to sort this relationship and see if you can sort it out."

I suddenly felt a chill, then crouched and scratched out formulas on the ground for a long time, my forehead eventually breaking into a cold sweat: "Sandora, let’s not discuss this anymore; if we continue, it will escalate to an ethical level..."

Just as I finished speaking, Lin Xue’s voice chimed in beside me adding to the confusion: "Abyss Xyrin and Xyrin should be considered half-sisters, right? But it’s hard to define—they don’t have a mom, Xyrin doesn’t even have a dad. No wonder the Emperor’s family is the most chaotic. Ordinary wealthy circles at most have triangular or quadrilateral relationships. No matter how chaotic, they can always take an integer. Only our family can round to a decimal point..."

I nearly choked in surprise, looking up to see Lin Xue standing in front of me. Miss Lin was wearing a youthful goose-yellow dress today, with a large sun hat, and beside her was a nine-tailed fox about the size of Auto: is this considered taking a pet for a walk?

"Why do you appear everywhere?" I muttered as I stood up and raised my hand to greet the Fox Fairy Lord. She immediately bowed her head, rubbing her nose against my face, but considering her current original form, her nose felt just like being hit by a giant lead ball — really has both size and momentum, "Why did the fox turn into its original form? Doesn’t she prefer human form when out?"

"This silly fox went off to fight Cerberus again, accidentally bit him, and drank half a mouthful of Holy Beast Blood, turning into this — Cerberus is a divine creature made by Dingdang, but she cultivated into a Big Demon Beast, seems their attributes kind of conflict," Lin Xue said while kicking the Fox Fairy Lord’s paw, causing her to squeal pitifully. "I’m taking her out for exercise to quickly expel the divine power clashing inside her body. Do you think this fox has a hole in her brain? This is the umpteenth time!"

Cerberus was created by Dingdang after watching TV, inspired by legendary stories and now serves as the watchdog in Avalon Temple District. Everyone should remember the related information — anyhow, that poor big dog has somehow formed a vendetta with the Fox Fairy Lord, or maybe she’s just bullying him. Anyway, they’ve tangled countless times; I’ve tried intervening, but with little effect: the Fox Fairy Lord seems to have turned this into her usual pastime when bored. Every time she gets scolded, she acts deeply remorseful, as if enlightened, yet within three days, she’ll surely run off to get beaten by the big dog again, endlessly repeating the cycle. Now no one at home bothers to intervene.

I stepped forward and stroked the Fox Fairy Lord’s long fur, reckoning it’s about time for her sunbathing lay-down, clearly seeing boredom and lethargy in her eyes. It was evident Lin Xue had forcibly dragged her out from home. Lin Xue, meanwhile, squinted and pretended to calculate with her fingers: "Oh, your mood seems quite heavy, encountered bad news?"

"It’s not good news indeed; Abyss Xyrin mentioned there might be hiccups with the bridge-building," I said while walking forward. "Let’s find a place to settle down and talk slowly; the fox is about to sleep standing."

Being in the commercial area here, it’s easy to find places to rest. We quickly found a café that seemed relatively quiet — judging by the sign, it appeared to be run by those magical Feiyali people again. However, upon entering, we encountered a problem: the Fox Fairy Lord was too large to fit inside, plus the shop had rules prohibiting pets.

Looking around, I finally discovered the perfect place to settle the giant fox: right beside us was a small parking lot, with various things that looked like vehicles and some that didn’t parked in two rows. With the Fox Fairy Lord’s current size, she could occupy a parking spot perfectly.

"Go lie over there; it’s just the time for sunbathing." I pointed toward the parking lot, to which the Fox Fairy Lord joyfully ran over, gleefully pressing her nose onto the button at the entrance to claim a temporary parking card. She really knows self-positioning!

The three of us watched the antics of the fox from outside. She first ran to two ordinary vehicles, frowned while shaking her head, and left — apparently despising their grade. Then she cautiously navigated around two hovercars — afraid she couldn’t afford the damages if she bumped them. Finally, she found a sunny spot on a vacant plot, jumping in directly and lying on the ground. Instantly, the entire parking lot filled with cheerful alarm sounds. Watching a parking lot attendant come out, they saw a Big Demon Beast causing a ruckus, which seemed to put them in a bad mood.

But the attendant had no choice as the fox had her parking card between her teeth, and she hadn’t exceeded the parking space size; thus, they couldn’t kick her out. Such rules are unique to Shadow City: the mingling is highly diverse here, with people from different worlds bringing strange cultures, and naturally strange vehicles too. Near the Servant Army’s residence it’s more standardized, while civilian areas are practically museum-level exhibitions. Hence, these parking lots must remain open to all vehicles, including those claiming to be vehicles. Not to mention, there are rows of metal racks west of the parking lot — those are for hanging flying carpets by Mages, and broom hooks for witches...

The city management center really has it tough.

After confirming that the silly fox could peacefully sunbathe all afternoon without causing trouble, we ordered a private room in the café. Then Sandora explained in detail to Lin Xue the troublesome situation with the Startup Terminal and Peace Core.

To be fair, Lin Xue is definitely not an expert in this area; her professional knowledge is roughly the same as mine, which is akin to the sunbathing fox — meaning completely clueless. But Lin Xue has one advantage others lack; even if she doesn’t understand, she can still suggest to experts: her Prediction Ability allows her to skip processes and directly see results. Envy, jealousy, and hatred won’t help; she’s just unreasonable like that.

That’s why they say the Prophet profession is met with resentment.

Lin Xue entered silent contemplation after listening, subtly closing her eyes as if pretending to nap, but in fact searching for the future direction. Neither Sandora nor I disturbed her, we just waited expectantly.

A few minutes later, Lin Xue opened her eyes, smiling a reassuring smile: "No hurry, shall we have something to eat first?"

Sandora and I didn’t react at all, causing Lin Xue immediate surprise: "Hey, how come you’re not teasing me? Especially you, Wood. In situations like this, don’t you usually give me a karate chop?"

"Having been around you for five years, I already know what you’ll say," I glanced at her, "stick to business."

"Pfft, no coordination, we lack rapport." Lin Xue pouted, then pointed towards a direction outside the window, which seemed to be the location of the research institute, "The solution lies within the research institute, though I don’t understand why it’s right under our noses, but you better advise Taville not to get hung up on the Startup Terminal, have her distribute her attention, and fiddle with her warehouse."

Sandora and I exchanged a confused look: "Warehouse? Are you saying the key to fixing the Startup Terminal... is in one of the research institute’s warehouses?"

"Why not?" Lin Xue said meaningfully, "Sometimes what appears unsolvable is simply because we’re too focused on the problem itself. If those experts continue to concentrate too much on ’having to fix the Startup Terminal,’ they’ll never succeed. The Startup Terminal is something beyond our current understanding, even those on the opposite shore, with complete inheritance don’t know its principle. Do you reckon our experts could figure out how to fix it before the catastrophe arrives?"

Sandora nodded thoughtfully.

"The world is wonderful outside the dead end," Lin Xue stood up with a giggle, "By the way, it seems like that fox has caused trouble..."

I: "...Even for this short while, she needs to be in some situation?!"

(Tangshan was hit by heavy rain and I was nearly trapped outside... not much to say really, saying more would just be tears. Fortunately, I managed to come back to update.) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)