Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 214 - 203 VS Dr. Silver Mask 2

Chapter 214: 203 VS Dr. Silver Mask 2

The girl, Luo Mountain, actually said that Chen Long was the "dreamer."

In the thoughts I had before, the one who would see this independent reality space as a dream could only be the owner of the Divine Seal Fragment, that is, Dr. Silver Mask, who could reboot the stronghold at will; although Chen Long is very likely to hold a special status, such that even his death would cause turbulence in the stronghold, it shouldn’t be enough for him to be called the "dreamer" sustaining this place.

Hearing this, even Dr. Silver Mask couldn’t help but fall silent before saying, "...I don’t understand what you’re saying, ’the dreamer’?"

"This independent reality space, albeit real, inexplicably possesses the characteristics of a dream, especially for the person sustaining this place, it might be infinitely close to a dream," said the girl, Luo Mountain. "And a person of such importance could either be you, bearing the highest authority, or Chen Long, the strongest in the stronghold. In fact, all guards, researchers, and test subjects here have died at some point, and yet none of those deaths had any impact on the stronghold.

"And if you think about it, it’s clear that this ’dreamer’ could be anyone in the stronghold, but it definitely couldn’t be you."

"Why do you say that?" Dr. Silver Mask countered.

I had already realized the truth and said, "—Because he is the ’latecomer’?"

"Exactly," nodded the girl, Luo Mountain.

According to what I had once interrogated from a senior researcher, this independent reality space was personally severed from the real world by Ying Lingyun. At that time, "Silver Mask" referred to Ying Lingyun himself; there was no Dr. Silver Mask.

And the image of Ying Lingyun that Lu Youxun had gathered from the freaks in the past was "arrogant and pretentious," unlike the gentlemanly image of Dr. Silver Mask, who had not raised any objections to it. This was because the "Silver Mask" he encountered in the secret stronghold of the Human Bureau was indeed Ying Lingyun himself.

So, is there a possibility that Dr. Silver Mask already existed at the time, but was not yet the highest authority, merely a researcher assisting from the sidelines? This too is impossible because the senior researcher had said that after summoning Dr. Silver Mask, Ying Lingyun transferred the position of highest authority to him.

Since the formation of the independent reality space had nothing to do with Dr. Silver Mask, he naturally couldn’t be the "dreamer."

"Also, the ’dreamer’ would not be Ying Lingyun," Luo Mountain continued. "He has been active outside for a long time, and his spirit is clearly not focused on this place, making it hard to believe his consciousness is sustaining it. Moreover, if the ’dreamer’s consciousness is critically related to the life and death of the independent reality space, it’s peculiar that the stronghold ran normally even when he was gravely injured and unconscious not long ago.

"Conversely, right after Chen Long’s death, the independent reality space immediately began to collapse...

"If my guess is correct, in the past, even though it was indeed Ying Lingyun’s idea to carve reality with the black jade, the real executor should be Chen Long, right?"

Dr. Silver Mask said, "Then, according to what you’re saying... what am I?"

"You are the vessel for the black jade," Luo Mountain stated decisively. "As Ying Lingyun’s ’possibility avatar,’ you received great authority from the original, yet the original might trust your scientific ability but not your loyalty. Your personality is far from Ying Lingyun’s, unable to accept the Human Bureau’s crimes.

"On the contrary, Chen Long was greatly trusted by Ying Lingyun. He was your protector, user, and also your overseer—am I wrong?"

Her reasoning aligned with Dr. Silver Mask’s diaries and essays, which even stated he struggled to connect with the consciousness network due to his personality being so different from the original.

Even when I tried to burn all of Ying Lingyun’s "possibility avatars" through the consciousness network, Dr. Silver Mask seemed to be unscathed, and there was no related news or records within the stronghold, showing just how much of an outlier he was.

Yet, how could Ying Lingyun trust Chen Long to such an extent, even letting him be in charge of the "possibility avatar" that contained the Divine Seal Fragment?

Perhaps it wasn’t trust, but insight; Ying Lingyun was convinced that Chen Long was an idealist who would do anything to protect the interests of the Human Bureau. Just as when Chen Long expressed his ideals to me, I never doubted for a moment that he was merely talking. If he had the slightest disloyalty, he could not possibly betray an organization with overwhelming superiority and a friend with whom he shared life-and-death ties, to join an underground organization like the Human Bureau that could be crushed into dust by the wheels of the times at any moment.

The reason why Luo Mountain chose to say this at that moment was probably not to expose Chen Long’s identity, but rather to strike at Dr. Silver Mask’s heart in return, and also to retaliate against Dr. Silver Mask’s previous psychological attack on me.

"...There’s one thing you got wrong," said Dr. Silver Mask.

"What’s wrong?" asked Luo Mountain.

"I do not find it impossible to accept the crimes of the Human Bureau."

Dr. Silver Mask turned around and looked at the dissection table behind him. Lu Chan and I followed his gaze. On that table lay a dissected body, gruesome beyond words. The blood flowing from this experimental subject was very fresh, indicating the subject had only recently died, and unlike other subjects, its hands weren’t bound by a Magic Seal Lock, nor was there any sign they had ever been restrained.

In other words, this was probably an ordinary person.

"In order to subvert the dark reign of Luo Mountain in the future, we must resort to any means necessary; and even then, we only have a one in ten thousand chance. But without doing this, not even that slim hope exists," said Dr. Silver Mask. "Let me repeat, once this stronghold is destroyed, all the sacrifices will have been in vain. Do you really wish to destroy us?"

"You’re wrong, Silver Mask," said Lu Chan, unshakably, "It’s you who have buried your last hope."

"On what grounds do you say that?" Dr. Silver Mask demanded in a deep voice.

"Both you and Chen Long treat morality as a burden, but morality is not just a facade for the outside world, it’s also a crucial banner for uniting like-minded people. Who knows how many who joined the Human Bureau fell into deep disappointment after seeing its actions and no longer wished to contribute their true power. With such behavior, do you think you deserve to nurture even that one in ten thousand hope?" Lu Chan countered.

At those words, I remembered the young researcher in the laboratory who aimlessly passed his days, and his words of disappointment in the Human Bureau.

The Human Bureau had truly lost its way.

"Reputation establishes trust, and trust maintains the vessel of our endeavors. Vessels and reputation cannot be lent to others," continued Lu Chan, "You think you have relieved yourselves of a heavy burden when in fact you have abandoned your armor, surrendering the strength to continue fighting."

"Those who will laugh last during the gravest and most desperate moments of society are definitely not those who throw their banners aside at the sight of a behemoth, taking whatever means necessary. Instead, it’s the righteous who always carry the banner, unifying and fighting to the end. This isn’t an optimistic prediction for the future; it’s a lesson from history."

"Luo Mountain regards you as one of the three major threats, not because of your strength, but because you best represent the potential rebellious spirit of the ordinary masses. If you were united, even a group of mere mortals with no extraordinary powers could become a formidable enemy to Luo Mountain. One that disrupts their peace and cannot be left unchecked, a threat that needs to be eradicated as soon as possible."

"And if you also view the ordinary masses as sacrificial pawns, then you are nothing more than a nuisance, hardly a threat."

As she spoke, my flames were close to penetrating the power of restart, encroaching upon Dr. Silver Mask’s vicinity.

Dr. Silver Mask looked around, laughed in despair, and then said, "—Easy for you to say! Chen Long said you were naive, and he wasn’t wrong. Even if things were as simple as you say, and as you yourself mentioned, Luo Mountain would want to eradicate the Human Bureau before it could become what you envision. Wouldn’t we still end up failing before we could fully mature?"

"That’s why it’s called a one in ten thousand chance. But without the willingness to uphold it, that’s true despair," Lu Chan replied. "People die, organizations die, but the path does not perish. Even if you unfortunately fall to Luo Mountain, those who wish to resist Luo Mountain’s future rule will continue to emerge, following in your footsteps on this path."

"As if to clear the way for those people, the current Human Bureau must also be destroyed, to then be reborn from the ashes—

"Perhaps the next incarnation will be a ’Human Bureau’ that truly threatens Luo Mountain and genuinely practices the path of humanity."

After a moment of silence, Dr. Silver Mask responded, "...Now you are stronger, and whatever you say is right. I won’t refute your naive assertions, nor will I easily agree with you."

"But..." he looked at the flames surging towards him, eventually revealing a longing expression, "if the Human Bureau could really become as you say, how wonderful that would be..."

Under Lu Chan’s silent gaze, the flames completely engulfed Dr. Silver Mask, instantly vaporizing him.

Only his heart—a Divine Seal Fragment—remained suspended in mid-air, endlessly emitting the power of restart, attempting to resurrect Dr. Silver Mask while repairing everything around.

However, the power of the Divine Seal Fragment was eventually no match for the efficiency of my destruction. Flesh that appeared in an instant was burnt to ash, looking like dark grains of sand embracing the Divine Seal Fragment amidst flames that rose out of thin air.

I stepped forward and reached out to the Divine Seal Fragment.

The moment I touched it, I felt as if I had established some connection. It vanished into my hand. At the same time, the number of Divine Seal Fragments in my consciousness increased from one to two.

Dr. Silver Mask, dead.

The independent reality space finally plunged into the depths of complete collapse.

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