Endless Debt

"Did you eat her? Or did she eat you?"

"Overlap? What overlap do you mean, the overlap between the physical body and the energy body?"

"Wow, that's interesting. I don't have anything like that in my database."

"Can I touch it?"

"Can you let me try overlapping it?"

"Can it be done? Can it be done?"

Boluogo sighed helplessly... He couldn't remember how many times this was his sigh. The Freyas surrounded him with water, looking around, and their little hands touched here and there dishonestly.

They didn't mean any harm, they were just too curious. If the situation wasn't restricted, Freya might have suggested dismantling themselves. After all, they were undead, so missing arms and legs wouldn't be a big problem.

"Is this a commonality among scholars?" Boluogo couldn't help but murmured in his heart.

"I guess so."

This time, Boluogo's complaints were no longer to himself. Aimu's response came to her mind. She also couldn't stand the enthusiasm of Freya, but fortunately, Boluogo took it for her.

"It is said that many scholars will lose their humanity to a certain extent by the end of their research."

Aimu's voice had a somewhat mysterious flavor, as if he was telling a scary ghost story.

"I can understand."

Boluogo strode forward under the guidance of Freya and others. On the surface, he looked extremely serious and solemn, but only he and Aimu knew that they were having a happy chat in their minds.

“Scholars often need to invest a lot of time and energy in research, which to a large extent causes them to ignore personal emotions and needs,” Bologo said of his own opinion. “Indulging in it, they neglect socializing with others. , and even communication with one’s own soul, resulting in a weakening of the connection with humanity.”

"Withdrawal, disconnection from society, and reduced ability to express relationships and emotions."

Aimu responded to Boluogo's words. She felt like she was awakened by Boluogo. She also saw many similar situations in the sublimation furnace core.

The path of a scholar seems to distort human nature little by little, turning them into one freak after another.

"It's more than that."

Burlogo continued to explain, his points clear and his words carefully chosen, like a scholar.

“In the process of researching and seeking truth, the requirements for rigor and objectivity will cause scholars to be too calm and rational, ignoring emotions and subjective experiences. They focus too much on data, facts and theories, while ignoring human emotions, values ​​and emotions. needs, which renders their research emotionally impersonal and divorced from the complexity and diversity of human nature.”

"Wow." Aimu was surprised.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just feel that this is not something you can say," Aimu thought for a while, "You are a field employee, not a psychiatrist."

“It just took some time to learn about it,” Burlogo said.

"Why?"

"Probably because there are too many examples around me, I feel confused," Bologo continued, "Discover problems, recognize problems, and solve problems."

Aimu commented, "It sounds really in line with your practicality."

Boluogo paused and then said, "Teda, Mamo, and the Freya I met not long ago. I mean the real Freya. They are all scholars, and because of their own research, Caught in some kind of morbid mania, I wanted to understand them in order to find a solution.”

"Haven't you already solved these problems?" Aimu asked.

"That's not the solution I want," Bologo thought for a while and added, "It's just a victory of swords and a victory of violence. What I want is to solve this problem from their psychological point of view. .”

"Wow, you actually care about their mental state," Aimu said dryly, not knowing what to say for a moment, "That's so considerate, Boluogo."

"You can be considered half a scholar... it may be more complicated. You don't want me to solve the problem with a sword when you lose control, right?" Boluogo said abruptly.

"ah?"

Boluogo ignored Amu's reaction. He glanced at the Freyas beside him and continued.

"It is easy to say that it is just a lack of individual emotion. In the process of pursuing research results and academic status, many scholars will ignore ethical and moral considerations. In order to achieve their own goals, they may sacrifice the rights and interests of others or use unscrupulous means."

Boluogo's voice became stern, "Human nature and moral bottom line have been completely destroyed."

Aimu fell silent. After hesitating for a while, she whispered, "But sometimes, this is necessary."

Boluogo did not refute her, but his voice became a little weak, "Yes, sometimes abandoning humanity is for greater good."

"Does this confuse you?"

“A little bit,” Bologeau said, “so I’ve been reading some philosophy books lately.”

"Anything gained?"

"Hardware? I've been sleeping pretty well lately."

"Ha ha."

Compared to before, Boluogo has indeed become more humorous, and serious topics become more relaxed.

"I saw such a discussion in the book," Boluogo said slowly after laughing. "According to the book, those fanatical scholars did not abandon human nature, but they no longer love others."

"No longer...loving?"

"Yes, they no longer love people, no longer love a small individual, but love all mankind in a macro sense," Bologo said. "For the progress of all mankind, individual suffering can be sacrificed. For this reason, they would rather sacrifice themselves... They themselves are also small individuals.

It's like a fanatical sacrifice, using yourself as firewood to fill and burn the fire called humanity. "

"They fell in love with abstract people, not living ones." Aimu said softly.

"For all mankind."

Boluogo repeated what he had said before, and when he mentioned it again, he felt particularly heavy.

“When I learned this, I could suddenly understand the thoughts of these madmen,” Bologo laughed at himself. “I always thought that I might be fighting for all mankind, but to be honest, I only know a few people. Human beings are too grand and ethereal to me. What really drives me is the individuals around me.

But I can understand them and their fanatical and almost crazy behaviors. "

Aimu organized his words and said in a joking tone, "It sounds like the greatest scholar will also be the guy who loves all mankind the most, right? There is no personal relationship, no single individual, not even a single person." He doesn’t care about himself either, with an almost savior-like devotion, looking only at all mankind.”

Not loving people, but loving all mankind.

Aimu suddenly thought of the next actions she and Boluogo would take, and the ruins they were about to arrive at. She couldn't help but whisper, "What about King Solomon? Is he such a person?"

Boluoge was stunned by her question. According to the descriptions of the two men, King Solomon undoubtedly fit this description.

"Who knows?" Without waiting for Boluogo to answer, Aimu said mischievously, "Anyway, he is already dead. After so many years of death, even the ruins of the sacred city will disappear completely."

When mentioning these, Aimu became a little sad. Back in the abandoned land, she also glimpsed the ruins of the sacred city from a distance.

It was a charming ruin.

It's a pity that even this broken beauty will disappear.

"King Solomon..."

Bologo thought, remembering the purpose of his trip, to recover as much of King Solomon's legacy as possible, and then he remembered the existing technologies that had been utilized.

The public.

Boluogo's heart suddenly became cold, and this reaction was also linked to Aimu's senses. She clearly sensed that something was wrong with Boluogo's situation.

"Maybe... maybe King Solomon is really such a person. He loves all mankind and ignores all individuals, including himself."

Boluogo spoke of King Solomon in a firm tone, as if he had known him before.

The crowd is a huge cluster of consciousness that gathers everyone's will and kneads it. Isn't this a crazy act for all mankind?

In this united will, there is no longer an individual or not, but only parts one by one, and computing units that are put together one by one.

Gather the power of everyone.

Boluogo felt an inexplicable dizziness. He had never seen King Solomon before, but for a moment it was as if he had an in-depth understanding of him across time and space.

"Why are you so sure?" Aimu asked.

"Just like Irwin said, works are a reflection of the author's personality, so the scholar's creations should also reflect part of the scholar's thoughts." Bologna took Amu as an example, "Just like you, your existence is TEDA's Reflection, the reflection of his twisted love.”

Boluogo's pace quickened a bit. He couldn't wait to go deep into the holy city, and wanted to find clues about King Solomon from the dusty ruins.

For this person who existed in the past and had a major impact on changes in the entire world line, Boluogo was eager to piece together his true appearance from the broken fragments.

Aimu didn't say much anymore. She was also troubled by a question, which was what Boluogo proposed, love for others and love for all mankind.

In Boluogo's perception, the two are like two ends of a scale, either one is high or the other is low. They seem to be contradictory. When you love all mankind, you will inevitably ignore the existence of individuals, and When you are obsessed with individuals, you often become indifferent to the survival of all mankind.

Aimu feels that the two should not be contradictory, but complementary.

She felt that she might be a greedy guy and that both the individual and all of humanity should be saved.

It’s just that Aimu didn’t know how to tell this to Boluogo, and even the person who asked the questions couldn’t figure out some of the questions.

One day we will figure it out.

"Are you whispering?"

Suddenly, a thunderous voice cut in from the outside, and Boluogo and Aimu were forcefully interrupted. It was only then that they woke up from each other's dialogue and thinking.

I saw Freya surrounding them, each of them had a strange expression on their face, and their eyes were full of disgust.

"Were you listening to me just now?" Freya asked again.

"Did you say something just now?" Boluogo asked blankly.

Freya was stunned for a moment, and like a chain reaction, other Freya also had the same reaction, and then everyone kicked Boluo Ge's calf in unison.

"Work will start soon, please be serious!"

"Okay, okay!"

Boluogo grimaced in pain, focused his attention in front of his eyes, and followed the rows of Freyas, crossing the boundary of the gate and arriving in the ruins area.

After Freya and the others took charge of the ruined area again, with the help of the Bureau of Order, the ruined area, which was originally prone to chaos and disorder, is returning to normalcy little by little.

This is a huge project that may not be completed within a few years, but due to priority requirements, Freya has taken the lead in clearing a road to the containment area.

Being in the ruins area, Boluogo found that there was still a certain distortion in the visible space. Neat and smooth cubes were randomly arranged. Debris such as bookshelves, tables and chairs were suspended in mid-air, and the stairs spiraled up. But in the At the end is a dead end... Similar distortions can be seen everywhere, but at least this time there are no longer those faceless staff, replaced by busy Freyas.

Countless Freyas are busy here. They are like hard-working worker ants, repairing the ruined area. The method of repair is also very simple in Boluogo's opinion. Just like the decoration workers, they smash out the deformed places and And cement, lime and so on.

"Ha ha!"

There was a burst of laughter in his mind, and Boluogo responded without changing his face, "Did you hear that?"

"What do you think?"

Boluogo pursed his lips helplessly, and then Aimu said again, "You'd better not let them find out."

"I know I know."

Boluogo said it was simple, but Freya's work is much more complicated than this.

"The safe zone is now being expanded little by little," Freya explained along the way, like a tour guide. "After a while, the Forge Volcano should be able to be brought back under control."

"Safe area? In other words, are there any unsafe areas?" Bologo asked.

"how to say……"

Freya was silent for a moment. The previous common experience in the ruins area made her clearly realize that from a scholar's level of knowledge, Boluogo was illiterate.

So Freya needed a way that Boluo Ge could understand to explain all this to him.

"The will to control the ruined area has not changed from the beginning to the end. It is all controlled by 'Foliya'."

Freya spoke carefully, and it seemed that she had really worked hard to make Bologg understand. "With your help, I became the will here, but the relationship between me and her It’s not that one party kills the other, but optimization and replacement.”

Old Freya passed away and little Freya took office, and Bologo probably understood what she meant.

"The old Freya from before, she was caught in a self-conflict, and due to her obsession, she created a lot of redundancy, which even affected her calculations and control. As a backup, you became her in an emergency. The next iteration,” Bologo said.

"Absolutely," Freya said, "but it takes time to copy the consciousness, let the consciousness completely replace all authority, and it also takes time to completely recover the lost ground."

"Are there still many consciousnesses from the previous generation that are still resisting?" Bologo asked.

"It's not a conscious body, it's just a distorted product of the degradation of the conscious body. After the containment area fell, many troublesome things escaped," Freya continued, "After testing, the influence of the extraordinary disaster and the upside-down world has disappeared. Yeah, that’s a good thing.”

"There must be bad news, right?" Bologg guessed.

"There are many living objects in the containment area. Some of them died in accidents after the ruins fell, and some survived tenaciously. According to my tests, some of them are hiding in dangerous areas, but don't worry, I Suspicious areas have been gradually sealed off, and it is only a matter of time before they are contained again."

"What about the other part?"

"That's the problem. I speculate that the other part of the living body container arrived in the Holy City along the secret passage to avoid danger."

Freya's words shocked Bologg, followed by suspicion, "Are you sure?"

"It's just a guess, but it's not impossible," Freya said. "We successfully advanced to the secret passage in the containment area a few days ago, but the door there has been damaged. It seems that it has self-propelled in the long-term space distortion. It's cracked... Probably the scholars who designed it didn't expect that this place would one day fall."

Freya did not avoid elaborating on this slightly sad topic, "There were many traces left in front of the damaged gate. After identification by Crow's Nest, they speculated that a living body had entered and exited the gate."

"Good news, the Holy City...or in other words, the danger of Raymond Gaiton is far greater than that of the ruins area. Those living bodies may have been burned to ashes by the light." Freya tried to comfort Boluogo.

"But the bad news is, if they gain a foothold in it, it adds another element of risk to your trip."

Freya observed Boluogo's expression as she spoke. Boluogo let out a long sigh. Although he frowned, judging from his expression and reaction, all this was within the acceptable range.

"I'm not worried about the living bodies," Bologo said. "I'm worried about the legacy within Raymond Gaydon, the legacy of King Solomon. In one of their inadvertent actions, they may have destroyed a monument that could change the world." Great technology.”

Thinking of this, Boluogo felt even more irritated, "What does the decision-making room think about those living bodies?"

When it comes to the decision-making room, Bologo's mood becomes more complicated.

There was some kind of deal between the first-generation director Albert and Leviathan, and he might be a part of their deal, and this is not the worst thing. The worst thing is that in a sense Albert did not die.

From a physiological point of view, Albert's body has long since rotted into dust, but a copy of his consciousness still exists among everyone, controlling everyone behind the scenes.

“Love people and love humanity.”

Boluogo couldn't help repeating this sentence in his heart. From this point of view, Albert must have loved all mankind very much, so much that he didn't care about his own existence at all, and only moved forward for some unknown purpose.

"What the decision-making room means is that recovering heritage is the highest priority, and under this priority, you can deal with them however you want."

Freya did not elaborate. In her opinion, the meaning of the decision-making room was very clear - execution on the spot.

"Is there a list?" Borlog asked.

Different from some weird contracted objects and taboo alchemical weapons, in the Bureau of Order's classification, living contained objects mostly refer to out-of-control alchemical creatures.

They have extremely terrifying and uncontrollable power, but because of the preciousness of their samples, they are not suitable for being held in a dark prison or treated harmlessly, so they are included in the containment area.

"No, too many things happened in the middle, and a lot of important information was lost." Freya shook her head.

"ok, I get it."

Passing through one slightly twisted area after another, under strict protection, Bologo arrived at the starting point of this operation.

A gate stands at the end of the field of vision, heavy and simple, as if it is a solemn guardian.

"Gate to the Old World."

Boluogo sighed. This was the name given by the Bureau of Order to this gate. It isolated the holy city of Raymond, and also brought an end to the great era created by King Solomon.

The Gate of the Old World was built after countless castings and forgings of molten iron. Its various values ​​are extremely astonishing. It is as thick as a solid city wall. The iron surface is mottled and hard, with a hint of chill, which makes people feel a sense of chill. A heavy sense of oppression.

However, the ravages of time have seriously damaged the integrity of the Old World Gate. The surface of the gate is covered with cracks and gaps, like a fragile piece of paper that may be broken at any time by the wind and sun.

The cracks are intertwined, like faults in the earth's crust. Through these cracks, you can see the deep darkness inside. Among the cracks and gaps, some places have collapsed, forming uneven gaps, and sharp iron thorns remain on the broken edges. , as if it had suffered a huge impact.

The door was surrounded by "No Passage" warning signs, placed haphazardly and in a mess. The color of the warning signs has long faded, the text is blurred, and they have lost their original deterrence. Some warning signs were hit by unknown force, tilted, bent or even broken, like a group of helpless birds, forced to pile up. The door was feebly protesting against its existence.

Behind the door was a turbid darkness. Bologg was not afraid of it, but felt very familiar. That was exactly what he saw after opening the winding path.

After checking his equipment one last time and making sure there was nothing wrong with it, Boluogo asked in his heart.

"Are you ready?"

Aimu did not respond to Boluogo, but Boluogo could feel a steady flow of abundant ether blessing him, his blue eyes glowed slightly, and a golden ring rose next to his pupils.

The ether soars, and the alchemical matrix burns with it.

Freya on the side noticed this, and she stared blankly at those magnificent eyes, as if gems were set in Boluogo's eyes.

"Time is urgent, I must get ahead of the enemy."

Boluogo said seriously that this operation was not like the time in the ruins area where he could wander aimlessly.

"Come on," Freya gave a thumbs up to Bologo, "Do your best. As for the enemy, there is a decision-making room to deal with it."

"good."

Boluogo stopped talking nonsense and took a deep breath. The glow of the alchemical matrix spread across his body. The next moment he jumped out like a meteor and plunged into the darkness of the Gate of the Old World without causing any ripples.

In the twisting and changing sense of detachment, Boluogo felt as if he was sinking into the sea, and was being carried and swept by an ocean current.

Boluogo didn't feel panic. Anyway, he felt excited about returning to his homeland. After all, a long time ago, Boluogo's fate turned around under that high wall.

After countless experiences, Boluogo finally crossed the high wall.