Chapter 204 VS Dr. Silver Mask 2

The young girl Lu Chan actually said that the "dreamer" was Chen Long.

In my previous thinking, the only person who could regard this independent real space as a dream would be the holder of the Divine Seal Fragment, namely the Silver Masked Doctor who could restart the base at will; while Chenlong, although he may have a special status, to the point that even his death would cause turmoil in the base, is not so important as to be the "dream person" who supports this place.

Upon hearing this, even the Silver Masked Doctor fell silent for a moment before saying, "...I don't understand what you're saying, 'the dreamer'?"

“Although this independent reality space is real, it has some characteristics of a dream, especially for the person who supports it. It is very likely that this place is infinitely close to a dream,” said the girl Lu Chan. “And such an important person is either you, as the person with the highest authority, or Chen Long, as the strongest person in the stronghold. In fact, all the guards, researchers, and experimental subjects in this stronghold have died, but none of them have affected the stronghold.”

"But if you think about it carefully, you'll realize that this 'dreamer' could be anyone in the base, but it just can't be you."

"What makes you say that?" the silver-masked doctor retorted.

And I had already realized the truth, so I said, "—Because he is a 'latecomer'?"

“Not bad.” The young girl, Lu Chan, nodded.

According to a senior researcher I interrogated, this independent reality space was personally separated from the real world by Ying Lingyun. At that time, "Silver Mask" referred to Ying Lingyun himself; there was no such person as Doctor Silver Mask.

Lu Youxun's previous impression of Ying Lingyun, based on what he had heard from the eccentrics, was that of an "arrogant and pretentious" man, not the kind and gentle figure of Dr. Silver Mask. He had no objection to this. This was because the "Silver Mask" he had encountered at the secret outpost of the Humanitarian Department was none other than Ying Lingyun himself.

Is it possible that Dr. Silver Mask already existed at that time, but he wasn't the highest authority holder yet, and was merely an assistant researcher? This is also impossible, because the senior researcher said that Ying Lingyun transferred the position of the highest authority holder to Dr. Silver Mask after summoning him.

Since the formation of the independent reality space has nothing to do with Dr. Silver Mask, then he certainly cannot be the "dreamer".

"At the same time, this 'dreamer' cannot be Ying Lingyun," the girl Lu Chan continued. "He has been active in the outside world for a long time, and his mind is obviously not focused on this place. It is hard to imagine that his consciousness is supporting this place. Moreover, if the consciousness of the 'dreamer' is closely related to the life and death of the independent reality space, it is also very strange that the base was operating normally during the period when he was seriously injured and unconscious not long ago."

"On the contrary, immediately after Chenlong's death, the independent reality space began to collapse..."

"If I'm not mistaken, while it was indeed Ying Lingyun's idea to use black jade to cut reality in the past, the real executor should have been Chenlong, right?"

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

"You are the vessel of the black jade," the girl Lu Chan asserted. "As Ying Lingyun's 'possible clone,' you received enormous authority from the original body. However, the original body may trust your research abilities, but not your loyalty. Your personality is far removed from Ying Lingyun's, and you cannot accept the sins of the Humanitarian Department."

"On the contrary, Chenlong enjoys Ying Lingyun's great trust. He is your protector, your user, and your monitor at the same time—am I right?"

Her reasoning aligns with the diary entries of the Silver Mask Doctor, who even struggles to connect smoothly to the consciousness network because his personality is so different from his true self.

Even though I theoretically burned all of Ying Lingyun's "possible clones" through the consciousness network, Dr. Silver Mask seemed to have been completely unharmed, and there were no related messages or records in the stronghold, which shows how heretical he is.

However, Ying Lingyun actually trusted Chenlong to such an extent that he even entrusted him with guarding the "possible clone" that contained the fragments of the divine seal.

Perhaps it wasn't trust, but rather a deep understanding. Ying Lingyun was certain that Chenlong was an idealist who would protect the interests of the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau at all costs. Just like when Chenlong told me about his ideals, I never doubted that he was just talking. If he had even the slightest disloyalty, he would never betray the overwhelmingly powerful organization and his sworn brothers to join the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau, an underground organization that could be crushed into pieces by the wheels of time at any moment.

The reason why the young girl Lu Chan said these things at this time was probably not to reveal Chen Long's identity, but to turn around and attack the Silver Mask Doctor's mind, and at the same time, to retaliate against the Silver Mask Doctor's previous attempt to attack me.

“…There’s one thing you’re wrong about,” said the Silver Masked Doctor.

"What's wrong?" asked the young girl, Lu Chan.

“I am not unable to accept the crimes of the Humanitarian Affairs Department.”

The silver-masked doctor turned around and looked at the experimental table behind him. Lu Chan and I followed suit. On the table lay a human body, dissected beyond recognition. The blood flowing from the subject was very fresh, indicating recent death. Not only were its hands not bound by magical seals, but there was no trace of any binding material.

In other words, he's probably just an ordinary person.

"To overthrow the dark rule of Luoshan in the future, we must stop at nothing; and even if we go to that point, we only have a one in ten thousand chance. But if we don't do anything, we won't even have that one in ten thousand chance," said Dr. Silver Mask. "I'll say it again, once this base is destroyed, all the sacrifices will be in vain. Do you really want to destroy us?"

“You’re wrong, Silver Mask,” the girl Lu Chan said without wavering. “You are the ones who have destroyed your last hope.”

"What makes you say that?" Dr. Silver Mask said in a deep voice.

"Whether it's you or Chenlong, you both see morality as a burden. But morality isn't just a facade for outsiders; it's also an indispensable banner for uniting like-minded people. I wonder how many people who joined the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau have been greatly disappointed after seeing what it has done, and are no longer willing to contribute their true strength. Do you even deserve to nurture one in ten thousand hopes?" said the young girl Lu Chan.

Upon hearing this, I recalled the young researcher who spent his days idly in the laboratory, and the words of disappointment he uttered regarding the Humanitarian Affairs Department.

The Department of Humanitarian Affairs has lost its way.

“A name is the foundation of trust, and trust is the safeguard of a weapon. Only weapons and names cannot be lent to others.” The young girl Lu Chan continued, “You think you have laid down your burdens, but in reality you have abandoned your armor and weapons, giving up the strength to continue fighting.”

"Those who have the last laugh in the most perilous and desperate times for society are not the unscrupulous ones who throw their flags aside in fear upon seeing a behemoth, but the righteous ones who always shoulder the flag and fight together to the very end. This is not an optimistic prediction of the future, but a lesson from past history."

"Luoshan considers you one of the three major threats, not because of your strength, but because you best represent the potential rebellious will of the ordinary people. If you unite as one, even if you are just a group of ordinary people without any supernatural power, you are enough to become a great enemy of Luoshan. You are a major threat that makes them restless and cannot be allowed to grow unchecked, and must be eliminated as soon as possible."

“If even you treat ordinary people as victims, then you are nothing more than a festering sore, not worth worrying about.”

As she spoke, my flames were already close to piercing through the power of reboot and invading Dr. Silver Mask's side.

The silver-masked doctor looked around, smiled despairingly, and said, "—That's easy for you to say! Chenlong said you're naive, and I think he's absolutely right. Even if things really go as smoothly as you say, you yourself said that Luoshan will eradicate the Humanitarian Department that has become like that sooner or later. Wouldn't we still end up failing before we even have time to mature?"

"That's why I say this is a one in ten thousand chance, but if you're not willing to persevere, then that's true despair," said the young girl Lu Chan. "However, people may die, organizations may die, but the path will not die. Even if you are unfortunately destroyed by Luo Shan, those who want to rebel against Luo Shan's future rule will continue to emerge and walk this path one after another."

"Consider it clearing obstacles for those people; the current Humanitarian Division must also be destroyed, and then reborn from the ashes—"

"Perhaps the next one to be born will be the 'Humanity Bureau,' which could threaten Luoshan and truly practice the path of humanity."

After a moment of silence, Dr. Silver Mask said, "...Now you are more powerful, and whatever you say is right. I will not refute your naive remarks, nor will I easily agree with you."

“But…” He looked at the flames surging towards him, and finally revealed a longing, “If the Humanitarian Affairs Department could really become what you say it is, how wonderful that would be…”

Under the silent gaze of the young girl Lu Chan, the flames completely engulfed the Silver Masked Doctor, instantly evaporating him.

Only his heart—a fragment of the divine seal—remained suspended in mid-air, endlessly radiating the power of restarting, attempting to revive Dr. Silver Mask while repairing everything.

However, the power of the Divine Seal Fragment's reactivation was ultimately no match for my destructive efficiency. The flesh and blood were burned into charcoal the moment they appeared, looking as if the flames encasing the Divine Seal Fragment were conjuring countless black pebbles out of thin air.

I stepped forward and reached out my hand to the fragment of the divine seal.

The moment I touched it, I felt as if I had established some kind of connection with it. It automatically disappeared into my hand. At the same time, the number of divine seal fragments existing in my consciousness increased from one to two.

Dr. Silver Mask, dead.

The independent reality space finally plunged into the abyss of collapse.

(End of this chapter)