Endless Debt

There were no drinks, no popcorn, no comfortable seats, not even a place to shelter from the wind and rain. The cold wind was howling, but this did not affect Boluogo much. He watched the movie quietly until the story ended.

Interestingly enough, the movie shown in the parking lot movie theater was exactly the one Palmer had mentioned to himself before, and the poster of Detective and Dog was on the wall.

This movie is called "The Ninth-rate Detective and His Invincible Hound". The protagonist is a down and out detective. Although he is a detective, he is not smart and has no detective skills. He is more like a gangster than a detective. .

After being drunk on the street one day, when the detective woke up, he found that there was a hound next to him, and the hound seemed to recognize him as its owner and followed him home.

Once home, the interesting part of the story begins.

The hound actually spoke.

It scared the detective half to death. After calming down, he learned that the hound was the experimental product of a mad scientist. He made animals gain the same intelligence as humans and can communicate with humans.

Now this mad scientist wants to capture more people to advance the experiment, which is why there have been frequent disappearances recently.

After the down-and-out detective learned about it, in order to make himself famous and become a real detective, he decided to join forces with Cido to defeat the evil.

As for who is Xiduo? This is the name of a hunting dog.

The name it gives itself.

This is an interesting comedy movie. Cido is much smarter than the detective, but the detective is still the fool. Sometimes their identities should be reversed. Cido is the detective and the detective is the hound.

Palmer was right, the movie was so funny that even Bologger was amused.

The detective and Sido had a dispute. The detective, a clumsy guy, obviously couldn't quarrel with Sido. In anger, he actually wanted to take Sido to be sterilized.

Sometimes Sido would ask to use the toilet like a human, but the detective told him to go to the dog park for convenience, which made Sido so angry that he chased and bit the detective.

While laughing endlessly, the story also continued to advance, and the two became more and more understanding. The detective completely gave up thinking and became Sido's thug. Sido also became a real decision-maker, seeing through the enemy's plots one after another. .

After going through ups and downs, one person and one dog formed a true friendship and destroyed the mad scientist's conspiracy.

The detective had all the attention, and wherever he went, he was followed by a hound.

End of story.

Boluogo felt like he was laughing to the point of tears. After calming down, for some reason, he felt a touch of sadness in his heart.

"Then what?" Aimu asked.

"What then?"

"What happened to the detective and Cido after that?"

"Nothing, the story is over, that's the end of it." Bologo said.

"Then the lives of the detective and Cido should continue where we can't see them, right?"

Aimu has some difficulty understanding things like movie endings. She feels that even if the story ends, the lives of the people in the story will continue.

"Probably, it must be a life of chaos again." Speaking of this, Boluogo smiled. The interaction between man and dog was really interesting.

After he finished laughing, he found that the active Aimu had fallen silent, and the sadness in his heart became more and more intense.

"What's wrong? Aimu."

"Sido is just a dog. He shouldn't live long, right?" Aimu said sadly.

Boluogo didn't know what to say for a moment. He said dryly, "No way, Sido is not a human, but a dog."

"But what's the difference between it and humans? It's even smarter than the detective. The detective is the one who looks like a dog, right?" Aimu protested.

In the movie, if the detective was more reliable, there would be no need for Cido to turn the tide, which would eliminate at least half an hour of the plot.

"I think Xiduo is a human being, but...it just doesn't have a human body."

she whispered.

Boluogo didn't know what to say. Aimu's words were like a child's protest, but when he really thought about it, Boluogo couldn't help but laugh.

"Sido wanted to live like a human being. After all, it was as smart as a human being, but the detective just laughed at it and said, 'Can you use the toilet?'

In the eyes of this idiot detective, Xiduo is still just a dog, at most a smart and talking dog. "

Aimu's voice became lower and lower, and finally disappeared.

Boluogo had nothing to say. He thought it was just a comedy and there was no need to be so serious. But in Aimu's eyes, it was completely different. She didn't even understand why the detective threatened Sido with sterilization. This was very interesting. Is it funny?

"I have seen such a story in a book before, a somewhat cruel and humorous story."

Aimu looked at the subtitles at the end of the film, and the names in black and white kept flashing by.

“Similar to this story, it’s also a group of scientists doing experiments.

They gave the ape wisdom and then told it its inevitable fate.

Then the story ends, and the story of the apes is left to the readers to guess. "

Aimu's voice stopped, and Boluogo fell into deep thought. He was a smart man, and the story after the story was not difficult to guess.

Apes do not possess wisdom. They live carefree lives and leave everything to their instincts. But one day they gain wisdom and know their fate of death...

panic? fear? Powerless or angry?

Their carefree life was shattered, and they lived in fear every day. They had intelligence similar to humans, but they were locked in a cage and observed and experimented by another group of apes.

From a conscious point of view, they are the same kind, but their bodies are so different.

What do the apes in the cage think about? They are unable to change the reality and sink deeper and deeper into the whirlpool of despair... Maybe they should long to lose their wisdom. As long as they turn back to the carefree apes, they don't have to think about all this pain.

"Do you want to become a human? Aimu." Boluogo asked.

The girl is still too young, and she doesn't know how to hide her thoughts. Maybe today is a good time, and she is willing to reveal her true heart.

Aimu is Sido and an ape. She is better and smarter than most people in the world, but she is an alchemy doll. She can only rely on Boluogo's body to further perceive everything in the world. .

"Me? No, humans are too cowardly. Who wants to be a human?"

Aimu gave an unexpected answer.

She was hidden in Bologg's body, and Bologg couldn't judge her emotions through the changes in her aura.

"If nothing happens, I can keep running. In other words, I am more or less half-immortal, and what about humans? All humans will be dead after a hundred years, and some people will not survive a hundred years.

Lifespan is so short, and a lot of time is wasted on sleeping, not to mention that humans will still be injured and plagued by diseases..."

Aimu was talking to himself, trying his best to prove that he was better than humans.

"The reason why Xiduo and the apes suffer is that they are inferior to humans, but I am different. I will become stronger than humans. Sooner or later, I will do it."

Boluogo was frightened when he heard these words. Should he be said to be a student of TEDA? Go crazy and look like TEDA.

"Steel is the future, Bolog."

Aimu did not forget to sum it up in one sentence.

"Okay, okay, I'm looking forward to that day. I'm an immortal anyway."

Boluogo praised her again and again. He never expected that Aimu's mental state was better than he expected. He thought she would say that she was trapped in a steel body and could not become a human being.

But in fact, Aimu didn't care about the human body at all, after all, the flesh and blood body was too weak.

"Then don't you feel lonely?" Boluogo asked again.

"I'm so unique, so what's wrong with being lonely?" Aimu said confidently, "Have you ever seen an alchemy doll like me?"

"No, to be precise, you are the first alchemy doll I have ever seen."

"That's not the end of it, and isn't there you? You are also an undead, and we are all quite similar." Aimu said again.

It can be felt from the previous dialogue that Aimu cares about life and death... mainly about death. She is particularly resistant to death, so she wants to constantly optimize herself and survive.

Boluogo didn't understand why Aimu thought so, but survival itself is the instinct of every consciousness, and this kind of thing does not need a reason.

"If one day comes, I will introduce you to a group of friends."

"who?"

"You'll know when the time comes." Boluogo said mysteriously.

After the movie ended, the road became darker and more lonely.

Boluoge's mood became much more stable. There was a turmoil in the small alchemy workshop. Teda paranoidly fantasized about Alice's resurrection. This was enough to give people a headache. Fortunately, Aimu was very honest and she didn't do that. Lots of delusions.

but……

What did Boluogo think of? Aimu's mood when he tasted the cake for the first time in the alchemy workshop.

If you don't care about being human so much, why do you feel so uncontrollably happy about all this?

The ecstasy of something new?

Boluogo couldn't understand and didn't ask. The two of them had already understood each other deeply tonight. Everyone had some little secrets, so there was no need to explore too much.

But what Boluogo didn't notice at all was that the golden halo in his eyes stopped all the agitation at some point, and became dull and numb in his pupils. A deep sense of emptiness.

Like the walking dead.

…

"Are we going home?"

"I don't know, maybe I'm just hanging out."

"what's on your mind?"

"Well...about the next promotion ceremony."

Boluogo and Aimu were asking and answering questions, but Boluogo felt more like he was talking to himself.

"I'm going to conduct a soul test to see if the soul has stabilized, and then the trial of the three-fold law..."

Boluogo planned what to do next.

He is an immortal, and the promotion ceremony does not pose any danger to Boluogo. At most, it only requires a few more attempts.

For this reason, Boluogo suggested to TEDA a few days ago that he should speed up the pace and start the trial of the three-fold law first, and then complete the promotion of the believers through the strengthening of the three elements of salt, sulfur, and mercury.

Teda pondered for a moment and advised Boluogo not to be too impatient. Although he is an immortal and can ignore the risks of soul fragmentation and rituals, his soul is already broken. No one knows what will happen if he messes around like this. What unusual consequences.

Because it carried the power of Overlord Xilin, TEDA unexpectedly took care of Boluogo, fearing that Boluogo would destroy him and he would have no samples to study.

After several discussions, TEDA decided to test Boluogo's soul first to see if it had returned to stability, and the rest would be discussed later.

Compared with the promotion ceremony, the previous trials of the three-fold law were not difficult for the condensers, but they only required a lot of alchemical materials.

The first thing Bologo has to face is the trial of salt, which corresponds to the soul of desire and Bologo's body.

The physical body of the Sublime One who passes this trial will be significantly strengthened. Some alchemists have studied this. They concluded that as the Sublime One advances, the body itself is constantly getting closer to the ether. It was even assimilated by the ether, causing changes in the body... or sublimation.

This is also why many Ninghua people have no chance of getting sick in their lives. The body protected by the ether will no longer be troubled by diseases.

"You are said to be an immortal, which means that as long as you keep going, you will become a Glorious One sooner or later, right?" Aimu asked.

"It should be, but I don't know how long it will take." Boluogo confirmed.

What's slightly strange is that Bologo sometimes has a sense of... mission.

He could understand why Nathaniel was so wary of him before, but after accepting himself, he became very concerned about himself.

In the not-too-distant future, he will one day become a Glorious One, and by then short-lived humans like Nathaniel should have died long ago.

In a sense, he can be regarded as the legacy left to the future by the current Nethanil, the watchman of the Bureau of Order.

"Maybe one day you will be able to come into contact with the essence of the 'Secret Source'," Aimu sighed, "I really want to know what the 'Secret Source' is."

"I hope so."

Bologger nodded in agreement.

From the influence of ether on the condenser, the alchemists came to another conclusion. The higher the rank of the condenser, the closer it is to the ether, and even the body, mind, and soul are completely etherized.

Correspondingly, the closer the connection with the ether is, the closer the condenser is to the "secret source".

The highest level in the world today are the Glory Ones. In theory, they are also the closest existence to the "Secret Source". However, these Glory Ones are mysterious and rarely appear in front of the world. As for this unknown information, Boluo Ge There is no way to verify the authenticity.

Boluogo walked farther and farther, and he didn't feel tired. Aimu didn't ask him where he was going. In the end, the hazy mist slowly spread in front of the two of them.

Here is a high cliff, and under the cliff is the surging mist. The gorgeous light overflows from the cracks, and after being blurred by the mist, it turns into a large halo.

A heavy rumbling sound came from the distance. The light rail passed under the Abyss Bridge like a snake, passing through the light and mist. The buildings further away were looming in the mist, like a false illusion.

Even with a constant motion core, Aimu's ether is not endless. Instead, he can draw ether from the surrounding environment to alleviate his own ether consumption.

After a night of releasing the secret energy, she still found it difficult to support such continuous loss, and finally released the secret energy and left Boluogo's body.

Boluogo sat on the cliff, looking expressionlessly at the large chasm below and the city in the distance. Aimu changed his clothes, walked over, and sat down next to him, with his feet dangling in the air.

"I discovered this place during one of my missions," Bologo said lightly. "At that time, I was chasing a bastard. He was not a devil, but a serial murderer. I was too lazy to hand him over to the sheriff, so I just Just push him out of here."

"There is nothing special here during the day, but at night, the scenery here is pretty good. Sometimes I come here and be in a daze."

Boluogo did not continue talking. This place was very close to the Great Rift. After finishing his daze, he could directly devote himself to work, hacking and killing with a good attitude.

Thinking of this, Boluogo smiled unconsciously on his face.

Aimu obviously didn't know Bologg well enough. She really thought that Bologg was just enjoying the scenery, but she also understood that this place was very close to the Great Rift, and tonight's carnival would end here.

"You are really interesting, Boluogo." Aimu said.

"Do you regard me as a human being as a whole?" Boluogo shook his head, "Human beings are very complex, and I am just a small individual among them. Don't use the wrong term."

"No, at least among the few humans I have come into contact with, you are the first to take me out to play." Aimu looked at the hazy light and mist. "The teacher refused to take me out, and Bailey did not want me to stay any longer... …Why would you want to take me out?”

"Because you came up with it, and today is your birthday, everyone should have a birthday gift," Bologo thought for a while and added, "Even if you are not a human being, in the movie, the detective will prepare a gift for Cido , isn’t it?”

Aimu laughed. After laughing, Aimu fell silent and said soon after.

"Actually, I really didn't expect that you would risk taking me out. I always thought that you were... hmm? A very strange person."

Aimu thought about it, but couldn't think of a suitable metaphor to describe Boluogo.

Hearing Amu's evaluation of himself, Boluogo felt better. He said, "Do you think I wouldn't have brought you out?"

"Pretty much, you should be a very rational person."

Boluogo thought for a moment, turned his head and asked Aimu.

"Aimu, do you think...I am a good person?"

Aimu said directly without thinking too much.

"Yeah, a good guy."

"Because I brought you out? That makes me a good person?"

Boluogo couldn't help laughing, but after laughing twice, he fell silent again, and then said.

"Human beings are complex and multi-faceted. You saw me bring you out, so you think I am a good person, but you have not seen how cruel and cruel I am to those people..."

Boluogo felt that this was a good opportunity and the atmosphere was good. He rarely expressed his feelings.

“I was greatly influenced by a friend who was a devout believer, but I was not religious, but she influenced me, and those influences shaped the way I acted.

The general idea is that evil will be punished, and if no one punishes those people, I will punish them instead of fate. "

"Sounds pretty good, like a dark hero?" Aimu thought of the novels she had read.

"No, actually I am also a villain, but I have greater power, so I can decide the fate of other villains," Bologo said. "Of course, I am not troubled by good or evil. On the contrary, I feel It’s cool and cool.”

"But one day, my friend said to me, God not only sends down fire to sinners, He also sends down salvation to good people."

Boluogo seemed hesitant in his words.

"I'm not good at helping others. I'm better at punishing evil people, but sometimes I also think, maybe I can try some...good deeds?"

"So tonight, this is just because you want to try some good deeds, right?" Aimu said.

"Yes, do you think this is hypocritical?"

"No, no matter what you think, at least you take action, and I'm happy too, that's enough."

When talking about this, Aimu was as thoughtful as a real human being, and Boluogo was confused in a trance.

"But, why me? Boluogo, you can try good deeds on many people, why did you choose me in the end?" Aimu asked curiously.

"Why didn't you reject me?"

She also turned her head and looked at Bologg. The light was dim and Bologg couldn't see her face clearly. Even if he could see Amu clearly, he still had no expression.

But the blue halo in her pupils was clearly visible, and there was no longer the panic as before, and the halo rotated back and forth quietly.

"Maybe I can feel the same way..." Boluogo whispered.

"Feel the same?"

"Don't look at me now, but I am actually almost ninety years old. My former friends, family, world...everything has long since become strange and turned into dust.

Remember what you said about memory anchors? I can remember everything in the past clearly, as if it was yesterday, but I can no longer find their existence, and even the traces have disappeared, as if my past life was just a dream, and everything will disappear after waking up from the dream. .

I am like a ghost that has traveled through time. In fact, I have indeed lived like a ghost until now. I don’t know whether this is the sentimentality of old age, or whether my emotions inevitably become more sensitive during this festival... "

The battlefield he once fought for has turned into the Oath City, Opos. Familiar old friends have been buried in the cemetery. Boluogo once thought about taking a look at his hometown, but the familiar green town has also turned into a dark place. Smoky industrial towns.

He was like a stranger, facing a familiar but unfamiliar world.

"I think we are quite similar, the undead who has lost his past, and the ignorant alchemy doll who has just been born. I think we should have a common language.

That’s it, any questions? "

"there is none left."

The two sat in silence on the cliff, with the cold evening wind blowing. Before the clock struck midnight, Aimu said.

"Happy Vow Day, Bologo."