“0-02”… Klein repeated the number in his mind, feeling that the problem might be more troublesome than he expected.
Although it cannot be said that "0-02" is definitely more terrifying than "0-05", after all, the essence of the "Wishing Lamp" is a sealed Outer God, which is more powerful than all the current true gods. If it were not restricted by the outer shell, it could definitely destroy the world and even the galaxy. But the higher number basically means that "0-02" is more dangerous and more difficult to seal than "0-05" in most cases.
At the end of the Fourth Epoch, when the Seven Gods Church compiled the serial numbers for the batch of "0" level seals at that time, it was ranked second, second only to "0-01". The horror of "0-02" can be fully imagined... However, the "God of War" did not seem to use this seal in the war of gods... Is it because its type is not suitable for direct combat, or is it too dangerous, to both the enemy and us? Klein's mind flashed one thought after another.
His expression gradually became serious:
"Ma'am, what do you know about '0-02'?"
Arianna shook her head slowly and said:
"When the major churches notify each other of '0' and '1' level sealed objects, they only give them numbers."
Yes, even within the major churches, the information about "0" level sealed objects is strictly confidential. As high-level officials, they can only access relevant information when they are responsible for a certain "0" level sealed object, and there is a high probability that the corresponding memory will be erased afterwards... On the one hand, this is to prevent important information from being leaked, and on the other hand, for many "0" level sealed objects, just knowing about them can be dangerous or make the seal ineffective... Klein said thoughtfully:
"Haven't you already taken over the Church of the God of War?"
Then you can get all the documents of "0-02".
Arianna looked at Roy and others not far away and said:
"Larion destroyed all the data on Level 0 Sealed Artifacts before he fled."
Awesome... This extremely cautious guy is really annoying... Klein thought about it and said:
"What does the goddess think of '0-02'?"
In his opinion, the "Goddess of Night" and the "God of War" belong to the same period and are in charge of "secrets". The goddess probably has a certain understanding of the latter's situation.
In addition, seals of the "0-02" level would not have left no traces in history, and they might have caused many disasters. They should not be unfamiliar to the high-ranking people of that era.
Arianna seemed to have thought about this a long time ago, and said without any hesitation:
"In a certain oracle in the past, the goddess called '0-02' the 'rule book'."
"Rule book"... This is even more terrifying... Klein's eyes narrowed slightly after hearing this, and he thought of many things.
He was also a game enthusiast in his previous life, and he dabbled in a wide range of games, but he was not so obsessed with them. He was not unfamiliar with the term "rule book".
At this time, Arianna added:
"The fact that you happened to come to Beldan City may also reveal some of the characteristics of '0-02'."
Yes, it was quite normal for Ms. Arianna to come to Beldan and encounter this incident when she followed the Patriarch Larion. But it was a bit too coincidental that I happened to be here... In mysticism, too much coincidence often means there is a problem...
Is someone arranging me, or is it the effect of the law of aggregation of extraordinary characteristics? From the current situation, the arrangement lacks sufficient purpose to be confirmed, and I am already the owner of "Source Castle", so I can more or less detect some abnormalities... If it is the law of aggregation of extraordinary characteristics, excluding the exiled Mr. "Gate" and the ancestors of the Antigonus family who were sealed in the misty town, the only ones who can have such an impact on me are Zaratul and Amon...
However, I have been deliberately avoiding Zaratul, and Amon's real body is being chased by the "True Creator". If it is just a clone, it is impossible to produce such a strong aggregation effect... Well, there is another possibility, the aggregation law between source substances... "0-02" attracted the "Source Castle", causing me to come to Beldan today?
If this is true, even if "0-02" itself is not the source material, it must have a certain connection with the source material... Klein, who had long had doubts, thought of a lot of things at once and had a preliminary and vague grasp of "0-02".
He thought for a moment and said:
"From the development of the matter, the rules are becoming increasingly strict and diverse. The yellow paper is the evidence. Does this mean that the activation or awakening of '0-02' is gradually deepening?"
Arianna nodded calmly and said:
“Yes, we must find it and find a way to seal it before certain situations arise.
"So, it's best to act separately, expand the search area, and save as much time as possible."
Klein had no objection to this and thought for a moment.
"Ma'am, you told me so much, isn't that considered a leak?"
"No." Arianna gave a very clear answer, "Leaking secrets means that the changes in Beldan cannot be transmitted to the outside world in any way."
This cuts off our actual connection with the outside world... This is good. At least we don't have to worry about problems with our daily conversations. In short, just don't swear... Klein breathed a sigh of relief and asked,
"Will the 'Nighthawks' and 'Mandated Punishers' here also abide by the rules in the notice?"
"Yes." Arianna answered affirmatively, and then her figure faded and disappeared from the spot.
After watching the headmaster of the Night Monastery leave, Klein quickly sorted out the information he had just obtained in his mind and had some understanding of the possible developments that might follow:
The battle will not be the focus. The key to the problem is whether we can find "0-02" in time and find a way to seal it.
In this process, these outsiders will be greeted by increasingly complex and difficult-to-comply rules and citizens who are forced to be controlled.
Thinking of this, Klein cast his gaze towards Roy and the others not far away and asked with a smile:
"What do you think of what you just heard?"
Roy and Pasha looked at each other and said:
“We don’t know what a ‘0’-level sealed object is, but we can guess that ‘0-02’ is a very terrifying object that can make rules and rewrite reality to some extent. Moreover, such anomalies seem to change further over time.
"Also, the Patriarch of the Church of the God of War should be a very powerful Beyonder."
Klein clapped his hands lightly and said with a smile:
"That's about it. If we don't make any effort and want to stay away from danger by hiding and avoiding it, then we will have to pay attention to more and more behaviors, and we will commit crimes if we are not careful. Haha, maybe in the end, we will be executed on the spot because we take our left foot first when we go out."
These words made Pasha, Byers and others panic and unable to control themselves.
That possible development does sound funny at first, but when you think about it carefully, you can detect the extreme horror hidden within it!
After several seconds, Pasha said solemnly:
"Moreover, citizens can use all means against us, but we cannot fight back effectively because murder and intentional injury are both very serious crimes..."
"We can try to deceive their senses, but this can't be used too many times," Klein said casually. "What we need to do now is to quickly summarize the rules followed by 0-02 itself, so as to help us find it and seal it before it activates or awakens to have true intelligence. What do you think?"
Phil the Thief thought for a moment and said tentatively:
"It seems that it cannot attack us directly. It can only wait for us to break the rules and commit crimes before imposing corresponding punishments."
Klein snapped his fingers and said:
"Yes, I can first summarize this rule: 0-02 cannot punish those who have not committed a crime."
Biles blurted out:
"But it allows citizens to hunt down outsiders, and outsiders are not the same as criminals."
"This is indeed somewhat contradictory to the rule I mentioned earlier," Klein responded with a smile. "However, throughout history, many cities have introduced laws to discriminate against and expel outsiders at different stages. Have you deduced some deeper rules from this incident?"
The four extraordinary people frowned one after another, not quite sure what the powerful "magician" opposite wanted to express.
After a brief silence, Pasha hesitated and said, thinking of the other party's question about whether a certain behavior was considered fraud:
"The rules promulgated by '0-02' must be in line with public perception and have been recognized to a certain extent?"
"That's a good idea," Klein praised. "This is my guess based on the law about arresting outsiders, and it has been preliminarily confirmed by your previous feedback. It can be used as the second rule for now. It can help us determine which behaviors are crimes and which are not."
Seeing that Pasha received praise from the powerful "magician" twice, Roy hurriedly added:
"It will continue to add laws and decrees to a complicated and cumbersome level, thus restricting us and making us be punished no matter what we do. Well, on top of arresting outsiders, they can add regulations on trespassing and prohibiting public defecation. This way, as time goes by, it will become increasingly difficult for us."
Klein just nodded his head to show his agreement when he suddenly felt inspired.
He instinctively raised his head and looked at the notice board, and found that a piece of parchment had appeared on it at some point:
"Curfew order..."
"This..." Pasha and the others also noticed this change and their pupils dilated.
It was already night, and if they stayed outside for a while, they would violate the curfew and suffer a certain degree of punishment, which would become more severe each time until they were sentenced to death.
"Let's go. We don't have much time left." Klein raised his hand and pressed down his tall hat. He smiled and said, "Our target is most likely a book. It may still be on the patriarch, or it may have been hidden somewhere. My intuition tells me that it is more likely to be the latter, because the item is too dangerous for anyone, and it will become more and more dangerous. Of course, the premise is that the patriarch is not crazy, and is simply using '0-02' to create an opportunity for himself to get rid of the pursuer.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you that the Patriarch is an angel walking on earth."
Angel... The steps that Roy, Pasha and the others had just taken froze again.