After putting down Element Zero, Gu Xinghe still didn't hear any comments from the live stream.
It seems his live stream is still closed.
So he took a good look at the laboratory again.
Although there are many materials and equipment in the laboratory, it does not appear cluttered, but rather neat and orderly.
On one side of the large laboratory table is a bookshelf filled with all kinds of books and notes.
There was no dust on the book covers.
Judging from their worn condition, each book appears to have been read carefully and repeatedly.
On the middle shelf, a statue was placed abruptly at the very edge.
That's why it's described as abrupt.
This is because this underground laboratory is inherently different from the luxurious and glamorous impression that Rose Manor gives people.
It's cold, mechanical, and gives off a sense of rationality.
The laboratory has almost no unnecessary decorations.
At that moment, a statue with a completely different style from the laboratory appeared here.
The statue depicts a woman whose body is covered in thorns.
She remained curled up like a baby.
It seemed as if the pain in their bodies forced them to do so, or as if they were lambs willingly sacrificing themselves.
Her face was not clearly visible due to her movements.
An indescribable feeling emanated from the statue.
Gu Xinghe felt that the woman in the statue before him had an increasingly sacred quality.
"This is... a rare object?"
He tried to pick up the statue to examine it closely, but found that it seemed to be fixed to the bookshelf and could not be picked up.
Upon closer inspection, there are faint signs of wear on both sides of the statue.
Compared to the rest, it's like—
So Gu Xinghe tried to rotate the statue.
Click-click-click-click-
The soft sound of gears turning filled the room.
Although the sound was faint, it was still certain—
Hidden within this underground laboratory is a secret space unknown to most.
As the gears continued to turn, a soft sound came from inside the room.
It seemed that every gear was already in place, and the whole device began to operate.
Gu Xinghe watched as the entire bookshelf gradually moved slowly to the left and right.
Behind them, a pitch-black passage leading to an unknown destination was revealed—
The passage is not very long.
Soon, a new space appeared before him.
Compared to the entire vast estate, this corner of the land in front of us is pitifully small.
Gu Xinghe looked up, his pupils involuntarily dilating.
At that moment, he witnessed a shocking scene that he would never forget in his life—
He was nailed to the cross, just as Jesus suffered.
That was Chris, whom he hadn't seen for many days.
Long, thorny vines entwined around her.
The sharp spikes on it pierced deep into her flesh, leaving her unable to find relief.
Those thorns were nothing like the soft vines of ordinary plants.
It was a cold, sticky whip that slithered across my body like a snake.
It is a sharp blade that makes people feel dangerous and tremble.
Chris was wearing the same gorgeous dress she wore on the first day she met Gu Xinghe.
Unlike when we first met, when the rose-like dress gave off a gorgeous and glamorous feeling.
At this moment, she was like a red rose that had been cruelly broken when it was in full bloom.
Gu Xinghe recalled the red rose he had seen in the botanical garden, which was about to wither and depended on the white rose for support.
What is most shocking is the long spear that is stuck in her heart and pierces through her entire body.
The spear still had thorn patterns wrapped around it.
But not a single drop of blood seeped from her body despite the enormous, penetrating wound.
Chris lowered her head and closed her eyes tightly.
The cross on his back, the thorns wrapped around his body, and the spear in his heart.
It made her look like a suffering deity.
Cruel, yet sacred.
Right next to her, a being with the same appearance as Chris sat on the ground.
"Chris?"
It's like a dormant program being awakened by a keyword.
Upon hearing Gu Xinghe's call, the being sitting on the ground slowly began to move.
Her long eyelashes trembled as she slowly opened her eyes, which were like the clearest rubies.
She is an alchemical doll without a heartbeat, and also the Chris that Gu Xinghe usually sees.
Gu Xinghe held her in his arms.
He could clearly sense that the body in his arms was different from the other servants in the manor.
Although they are all alchemical creations.
But the fact that he can hear Chris's thoughts shows...
The other servants were alchemical dolls that had not developed self-awareness.
Chris's body was trapped in this underground chamber, but her consciousness was attached to the [doll's] body.
What's going on?
Gu Xinghe stroked the soft, long hair of the person in his arms.
Chris did not answer his question directly, but instead slowly told him a short story.
"On the continent lies an empire renowned as the most powerful—the Enlightened Empire."
It is said that this is the place where the gods first displayed their miracles.
And its name, the place where miracles and light begin—Qiming (启明), comes from this.
The goddess they worshipped was the thorn goddess, a symbol of suffering.
From that moment on, the Thorn Cult was born.
Chris's expression was calm, as if she were not telling her own story.
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