Chapter 155 Reset

Beep, beep, beep...different instruments are connected together, extracting key data at the fastest speed.

The girl on the hospital bed was pale, her hands spread out fragilely. Her left hand was plugged with a heavy hose, while her right hand was gently held by a pair of pale hands that were almost colorless.

Ling was lying on the edge of the bed, his long silver hair flowing down the quilt, like a dying swan.

Click.

The door opened, but Zero didn't react at all, as the visitor's name and purpose were already floating on his iris.

[No. 0, please cooperate with Bishop Milo.]

It doesn't say what to cooperate with, of course it means to cooperate with all actions.

The moment the apostles became apostles, they ceased to be living human beings. Since they were no longer living human beings, they naturally did not have to enjoy all the rights of living human beings.

They are merely tools, tools to save the world, the cornerstones of a grand plan. Those who do not accept this cannot become an apostle.

The former Zero didn't care about this, after all, all the apostles were told all the details in advance.

All the actions of the apostles will be linked to the mission of saving mankind. They are stripped of all emotions, including future doubts and resistance.

The power of the abyss, centered in the star's core, repels humanity. If the world has a will, its "favor" should also be gradually eroding. Therefore, for the continuation of human civilization, any price is worth paying.

This idea was deeply rooted in their bones. She was the support they relied on to survive.

What if - the price is Xiao'er?

Zero slowly raised her head, her face even paler than the patient.

Anyone who has a little understanding of psychology can interpret a strong emotion just by looking at this face.

【Regret】She regretted it.

Ta-da, ta-da.

Miroku stood still not far away, and the scene at that moment was like a poignant decorative painting. The penitence on Zero's beautiful face imbued the picture with a religious atmosphere.

Not only was she worried about the wounds Chen Xiao'er sustained after the fall, she also felt deeply desperate about the future of her loved one lying on the hospital bed.

The professor felt reluctant to continue this, but driven by a sense of duty, she spoke. "Zero, come with me to reset."

“…”

Ling's fingers kept trembling, but every joint was trying hard to hold on, unwilling to let go, and even more unwilling to hurt Xiao'er's hand.

She asked in a trembling voice, "...Can it be later? I want to wait for Xiao'er to wake up and explain everything to her."

"She knew that of all knives, deception is the sharpest."

The devil sang in his heart, and Milo envied this guy's heartlessness. Because he had no conscience, he could immediately devote himself to what he loved and enjoy it sincerely.

"Then~ let me out? Just a few minutes, no, just a dozen seconds."

Milo brushed aside the devil's whispers and pushed his glasses up helplessly. "No, you have to complete the reset before Chen Xiao'er wakes up. And... how are you going to explain this to her?"

Ling looked her in the eyes and said seriously, "I know Xiao'ai may not fully understand, but I will try my best to explain it to her. I think she has the right to know the current situation, including the church's expectations of her. I believe Xiao'ai is also willing to save humanity and she will not betray it."

"How naive."

Miroku did not refute the devil's words. Zero's innocence was similar to Xiao'er's.

This kind of innocence is like a beautiful seed that takes root and sprouts in the clean soil of the laboratory. It is a piece of white paper painted with transparent strokes, which is pure white even when facing the light.

“What the church needs is not a Chen Xiao’ai who understands everything and chooses not to betray, but a Chen Xiao’ai who cannot choose to betray.”

Yes. Because of Zero Reset, Chen Xiao'er's memories cannot be erased or distorted. Perhaps? But that would also require a certain level of power.

Moreover, what Chen Xiao'er perceives is not completely controllable, and even experts cannot guarantee that she will not misunderstand.

The professor looked at Zero's nervous face and gave a wry smile: What couples lack the least of is misunderstanding.

Even though Ling was a master of the art of language, she worried that she would speak without thinking out of guilt and worry. Moreover, Ling and Chen Xiao'er were both pure, and the purer the heart, the more likely it was that stubborn words would cause trouble.

Without the need for prophecy or devil's power, she could easily imagine the misunderstanding between Ling and Chen Xiao'er.

Judging from the archival records, Chen Xiao'er was unable to receive any strange messages.

So no matter how Zero explained it, the only information he could convey was, "I pushed you down the stairs on orders from the school. I'm sorry, and I might do it again in the future."

The result will only be worse.

Miroku hardened his heart and placed a hand on Zero's shoulder: "Come with me, the order cannot be changed."

"But,"

"Or..." Miroku sighed softly, "Do you want No. 1 or No. 2 to [replace] you to carry out this mission?"

Her eyes were slightly compassionate, but they firmly conveyed a message: only Chen Xiao'er was irreplaceable. As for the apostle who completed "another mission", there were 999 alternatives, weren't there?

Ling no longer refuted. She slowly stood up, still holding Chen Xiao'er's right hand with both hands.

The pale light shone on their faces, making even their eyelashes transparent.

Ling suddenly leaned back on the edge of the bed, his long silver hair falling down along his neck, lingering around his lover's ears.

Her light pink lips rubbed up along Xiao'er's cheek, hesitated for a moment on her forehead, and finally slid down to embellish the corners of the girl's slightly open mouth.

"Let's go, Bishop."

When he stood up again, the apostle regained his original calm expression, and a sense of detachment from everything lingered around him.

Miroku opened the door and couldn't help but look back after Zero walked out of the room: the girl was lying weakly on her back on the hospital bed, the strange objects around her were working quietly, and even the glow shining on her was so soft.

In this strange yet harmonious picture, the only inconsistent thing is the bandage on Chen Xiao'er's head.

"Unnatural."

The devil's complaint is very accurate. The sleeping girl is very beautiful. The lighting, furnishings and any associations she can evoke are all natural and beautiful.

So, for the star core-the power of the abyss, are humans the unnatural bandage?

Miroku closed the door silently.

…

Buzz.

The bubble-like diaphragm in the core area slowly sank, and Milo led Zero through hundreds of dormant apostles and headed straight for the central incubation pool.

After seeing the azure liquid in the incubation pool, Zero's heart sank.

Even though she was far away from Xiao'er, the remaining emotions still drove her to ask, "For a normal reset, there's no need to come here, right?"

There are three types of resets.

The first is simply a tidying up of redundant memories.

Each Apostle will reset regularly over a long period of time, organizing unnecessary memories into deeper areas or simply uploading them to the main memory pool.

These memories have no defenses, and each of the 1,000 apostles can load them and read them alternately like watching a movie.

The second type of reset temporarily erases specific memories within a certain range.

This part of the memory will be locked in a specific memory pool, and if you want to reload it, you must apply to the church.

The third type of reset requires the apostle to immerse himself in the gestation pool again, using the soul pool and the surging energy to completely wash away all memories of a period of time.

Miroku pressed the button and nodded slightly in the surging pool water: "Yes."

[No. 0, please enter the incubation pool.]

Ling's lips trembled slightly, but her legs moved steadily. First her left leg, then her right leg, she firmly and slowly sank her waist into the water.

I will forget...

Many fragments floated in my mind, and almost every fragment was related to Xiao'er.

Xiao'er's smile, anger, shyness, tears... and the moment when she raised her hand to poke her face.

[“————”] The girl in her memory lifted her hair, blushed and said something in her ear, but she couldn’t remember it clearly.

This isn't the first reset; this certainly isn't the first reset.

My heart ached slightly, and from the deepest part of my consciousness, waves of emotion surged: How many more times will I forget? I...

Sizzle, sizzle.

When the water reached his chest, Zero vaguely saw his own face. The apostles' memories had no "self." They wouldn't look in the mirror, nor would they spend time daydreaming about "their own affairs."

However, at this moment, "Zero" coldly swung down a spear of light.

The invisible edge cut through her body, bringing a strong shudder: No, I don’t want this, I absolutely don’t want to - hurt Xiao’ai.

The girl's figure reappeared, her hands covering her face, and she slowly raised her head towards her.

[“————”] Ling still couldn’t hear the girl’s voice, but he could see tears welling up in Xiao’ai’s eyes.

I know, I've always known it.

Xiao'er will never be able to come into contact with the real world. I... I must have sworn to protect her, whether it was an order or my heart.

But those vows could only be lies, and any promise I made to her would become a lie.

Of course the church has to completely reset me, because this won’t be the first time. There will be a next time, and the next time... I will use different methods and hurt Xiao'er at different times.

Even if all past memories were reset, Zero still remembered recent events.

Facing the anomaly at the beginning of the birth of power - the master, Xiao Ai walked out from the crowd and put everything she had on the chessboard.

Even if she knows nothing, it doesn't stop her from working hard for everyone's survival.

How could I do this, all that hurt for no reason.

She is so kind, she must be very confused and scared, not knowing what she did wrong.

She will cry.

Crash, crash.

The non-existent sound of water roared in his ears. Ling suddenly stretched out his hand and raised it with all his strength towards the void.

Her desperate cries echoed in the oval space: "Don't, I don't want to forget, she will be scared--"

She would rather tell Xiao'er everything, even if she was misunderstood and hated!

I don’t want to forget, I don’t want to hurt her again, and I don’t want to accidentally kill Xiao’ai.

Crash, crash.

Milo couldn't help but take a step towards the gestation pool, but then reluctantly stopped.

She stood at the edge and raised her voice toward the center of the pool. "Don't... don't worry. After you reset, I'll guide you on how to explain this to Chen Xiao'ai, and I'll also do my best to convince the other bishops. The conclusions from this experiment are quite optimistic. They also know that Chen Xiao'ai's mental endurance is limited, and it's unlikely she'll be able to repeat the test in such a short period of time."

【"hehe."】

The devil sneered, and the next second, the professor stretched out his hand towards the pool.

There was still some distance between the two of them, but the professor supported himself on the edge, leaned forward neatly, and caught the apostle's wrist with a rather graceful movement.

"Zero." Her golden eyes shone brightly, a beautiful scarlet. "Do you need my help?"

“!”

The apostle squinted her eyes in the intense light, and the ice-blue data turned into a torrent, allowing her to sense a hint of inexplicable malice in her endlessly extended perception.

Even though her soul was floating in the pool and her heart and brain were filled with Xiao'er's face, she still felt a strong sense of alertness at this moment.

"Who are you."

The professor stared into the apostle's eyes and gradually revealed a satisfied smile: Love is such a powerful emotion, it makes humans leap and angels sink.

There is more than one kind of cuteness. Can your love for Chen Xiao'er surpass your love for humans?

The answer is probably no, so is it possible to beat one second?

I am very curious.

【Reset Start】

The professor loosened his grip and gave a gentle push.

The water instantly covered Ling's head, completely enveloping her. Endless azure water surged, stirring with a powerful breath of life.

Da da da.

Milo took three steps back, biting his lips tightly, and roared angrily in his heart.

"What did you do?!"

"Don't worry, she didn't agree."

"Don't answer irrelevant questions. I'm asking you, what did you do?! I didn't give you permission to use my body!"

“Alright, alright~”

The devil chuckled softly, coaxing a child. "Rather than worrying about all that, let's think about what's next, huh? How should we handle this?"

Crash.

A silver-white figure penetrated the water, with long hair flying up, like a nimble mermaid.

She stepped easily onto the edge and said calmly, "Reset complete. Please issue the next phase of instructions."

“…”

Miroku was speechless for a moment. She raised her head and could not see any intense emotion in Zero's eyes, as if the child struggling in the water just now was just an illusion.

Did the devil do nothing? No, that's better.

As Milo turned around, he said casually, "Let's go back and visit Chen Xiao'er first and explain to her what happened when we fell down the stairs." For some reason, his teeth and tongue put emphasis on the three words "Chen Xiao'er".

"Okay." The apostle agreed calmly, his tone flat.

"What a perfect puppet."

There was no smile in the devil's voice. ["That's why I hate this kind of thing."]