[Hunter] How to kill a zombie

The so-called thing gives self-affirmation.In fact, it seems to me that you and Lucas should have stood by my side.I'm sorry about him, it's a stupid decision made by those scum without authorization. "

Celidonish went on to say that most people in the world only divide useful garbage from useless garbage, but they are different, they are "awakened" people.Zooey thought indifferently, what kind of "awakened" garbage is it?Non-recyclable trash?

"Then why do you want to see me?" Zooey asked, "Isn't it just to chat with me?"

But Celidonish did not answer her question, but looked at her with an inquiring look, as if studying some strange phenomenon.Although the fourth prince spoke like a fanatical elite supremacist, his tone was gentle.But at this moment, there was no expression on his face, it was blank.

"I take back what I said just now." He said suddenly, "Lucas is not important, what matters is you."

Zooey didn’t know if she frowned.

Celidonish's eyes flickered, and the surroundings became dark.I don't know why Zooey suddenly felt that the man in front of her gave her a creepy feeling.

"Didn't you find out? Something went wrong in this world."

"what?"

"It's hidden in an inconspicuous place...it's not right, it's hidden under your noses."

"what……?"

The light around Celidonish seemed to fluctuate slightly.

"Haven't you found it yet?" He suddenly smiled, "Why do you think I'm looking for you?"

Zooey was silent for a moment.

"Because I'm a zombie?" Because you're a pervert?

"No." Celidonish's voice was cold, like the friction noise of some kind of machine, dissolving in the air. "It's because of you. No, it's not you, Zoe. But it's you in a way. But I'm talking about—you, the person reading this story on the other side of the screen. You and the— The so-called—the illusion of freedom. The illusion of choice."

"Varied……"

"But if that's the case, isn't it okay for me to make such a choice?"

Chelidonish suddenly showed a crazy laugh, light and heat came faster than anything else, faster than sound.That loud noise followed, it must have been loud, but she couldn't hear it, she only saw endless light.

Light enveloped everything.

It was a blast.

Repeat

"Miss Zoe, Your Highness is waiting for you in the garden."

The speaker was wearing a neat black suit with a meticulous expression. He was one of Celidonish's personal guards.Zooey froze for a moment, feeling that something very urgent had happened just a second ago, and now she was sitting in this rather gorgeous morning room.The guard urged her again, and she got up and followed behind him in a daze, feeling like a ghost floating aimlessly in the corridors.

She was introduced to the fourth prince Celidonish by Pallstone, but none of the things she imagined happened.Celidonish did not make things difficult for her, and even treated her like a distinguished guest.In the huge palace, she can basically go wherever she wants, except for a few specific areas where she can't set foot, places like the library, tea room, and entertainment hall can be entered and exited at will.Most of the time, the place was empty, and I didn't meet a single person after walking for a long time. The only thing I could see were the guards and housekeepers guarding the door.

What would it be like to live in such a place?Zooey reflected for a while, and felt that she didn’t seem to have any special feelings either.Of course it could also be because she is essentially dead.It made her even forget why she came here in the first place, was it just to experience the life of the royal family?It always feels like something is wrong.

But before she could think about these things, she arrived at the so-called "garden".

The place is not so much a "garden" as a collection of Celidonish.This is a hidden room. The walls are decorated with various "collections" collected by the four princes of Kajin Kingdom with complicated and gorgeous picture frames. It is densely packed, just like a museum before the fifteenth century.Of course, a considerable part of these collections are made by himself.

Celidonish liked to admire his work here, but Zoe didn't like this room.Besides the obvious reason, it was because looking at these things always made her think of herself—especially the transformed version of herself.In a sense, she is a walking specimen, just without the gorgeous appearance and packaging.

It's interesting to think about it that way.It's funny mixed with disgust and weirdness.

There are many members of the royal family who are curious in history. They collect various deformed human and animal specimens, and they will proudly display them to visiting guests.Such royal family members, later generations often say that they are "fanatic" or even "crazy" when evaluating them.But it is difficult for you to use such words to describe Celidonish.He is not an acting personality in the conventional sense, on the contrary, he almost never indulges in something, and is so calm that he is almost cold.Maybe that's why he's so "dangerous" - he's conscious of what he's doing.

Whenever she stepped into this room, Zooey felt as if she had stepped into a weird and dark nightmare, with a strong sense of unreality.

Chelidonish is standing in front of one of the paintings, the dim light shining on his robes, seemingly lost in thought.Zoe followed his gaze and found that it was not one of the many curiosities in the collection, but an oil painting depicting heaven, hell and the world at the same time.If I remember correctly, the author seems to be Hieronymus Bosch, and the painting Celidonish is looking at is called Paradise on Earth.

"Looks like the Met exhibit is a fake," she commented softly.

Celidonish turned his head to the side and gave her a strange look as if he had just discovered her arrival.He seemed to want to say something, opened his mouth, but finally gave up.His eyes returned to the oil painting.

"People always look for reality in illusion, but conversely, real things can only be found in illusion." There was a kind of calm confusion in his expression, and he murmured, "Maybe..."

Zoe listened silently to Celidonish, but to be honest, she didn't know what the man was talking about.In retrospect, it seemed that there was indeed another guy beside her who spoke so evasively that people couldn't understand.I don't know how his elimination is going.

She couldn't help wondering, what would happen if Kuroro and Celidonish were locked in the same room?Will their conversation be intelligible to humans?She imagined herself as a biologist studying human behavior, sitting on the other side of a one-way lens, using a form to record the conversation of two people, and then deciphering the content of their conversation like a cryptographer.In the end, it might be possible to produce a modern Voynich manuscript.

"...haha." The moment Zoe was distracted, Celidonish laughed.There's something very disturbing in his laugh, "What do you think?"

"What?" Zooey didn't know how to answer this question because she wasn't listening to him at all.

"What do you think of my proposal just now?"

"Ah... um." But at this moment, it seems a little too late to admit that he didn't listen carefully. What's more, the dangerous atmosphere around him for some reason made Zooey feel that he was really angry at the moment .

"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Can you go into more detail?"

The other party stared at her expressionlessly, as if it took a long time before he spoke: "You didn't listen."

"Well." Zooey felt that it would be pointless to deny it at this time.

There was a long silence.

"I've always had a feeling," he said finally, before turning back to the painting in front of him, "that something is wrong, don't you think?"

Something is wrong.Yes, Zoe felt the same way, like——

"It's like forgetting something important." Celidonish said what she thought in her heart, "I heard that you have the ability to manipulate memory, so I asked you if you can help me restore my memory." He paused, and glanced at her seemingly inadvertently, "Of course, unless you tampered with my memory."

Zooey shook her head: "It's not me." She thought for a while, and then said, "I can try it if you don't mind, but I have never tried to restore other people's memories. But I guess it is probably useless, because……"

She couldn't go on, because a sea of ​​fire suddenly flashed in her mind, and the figure smiling in the sea of ​​fire was none other than Celidonish.

"You and that—so-called—the illusion of freedom. The illusion called choice."

what is this……?

She saw Celidonish looking at her suddenly with a serious face, the image of the world began to distort, and something warm dripped onto the expensive carpet.

is blood.

her blood?

But why is there temperature?

But...it seems like something like this happened...in the nursing home...

puff.puff.

It seemed to be the sound of a heartbeat.

The sound was deafening.

Soon, everything is a blur of background noise.

Dismantling

dissected body.

Belly lacerated, ribs splintered, and... piercing pain.

But the pain is only a momentary illusion.It was a natural reaction of people after they found themselves lying on the dissecting table, and she realized that this conditioned reflex is so deep-rooted that it has nothing to do with your self-awareness.