69 Processing
◎Before one general is accomplished, thousands of bones have withered◎
The experimental class list had a full three hundred people. Yirong was on it, but she wasn't.
It's not surprising, she's probably not on the payroll. Yan Xunzhi thought, if her name was on the list, she might not have received the message.
But then something felt wrong.
Jinyou is not here.
She had never had a very good memory since she was a child, and couldn't confirm that this was wrong. She carefully read the list again several times... and slid down from the chair dejectedly.
After the class division, they only stayed there for half a year, and they were still switching back and forth between the two classes. Yan Xunzhi had long forgotten what their names were. He was dazzled by the names and could not recognize many of them.
He stood up silently for two seconds, then stood up from the chair.
Even though she didn't want to contact Kong Wei, now she could only ask Kong Wei.
She didn't prepare herself mentally and called her on impulse, then threw the communicator on the table and waited. After a long wait, Kong Wei didn't answer.
She hesitated for a moment, feeling that half of her anger had already subsided, and broadcast it to Ning Yue.
"...Hello? Comrade Xiaoyan, why did you suddenly think of looking for me?" Ning Yue continued, "By the way, I haven't congratulated you on your promotion to officer yet. Congratulations! You're now on the same rank as Sang Wanyin!"
How did Ning Yue know she'd been promoted to officer? It was just a normal promotion, only posted in the East District. How did she know?
Is Kong Wei still paying attention to her movements?
"Where's Kong Wei?"
"On the ground." Ning Yue said, "Do you have something to talk to her about? I'm afraid she won't be back until tonight."
Yan Xunzhi weighed the pros and cons for two seconds before going straight to the point, "...What's going on with that announcement?"
Ning Yue exclaimed, "News about the recall of the experiment? I don't know. You should ask Kong Wei. I told you that I have a bad brain and can't remember things."
Then, before she could even react, there was a beep in her ear and the call was quickly hung up.
Yan Xunzhi stared at him for a while, then laughed out of anger at how fast the call was (the total duration was less than twenty seconds).
Is this a guilty conscience? It must be!
The call couldn't be answered anymore. Yan Xunzhi rolled his eyes in frustration at the communication and really wanted to throw this eye roll at Ning Yue through the screen.
Something went wrong with the experiment. Someone inside didn't want it to proceed. She felt the two most likely explanations were this, and she just wanted to ask two questions to confirm: was it necessary to avoid her like the plague?
Yan Xunzhi took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and looked at Ning Yue, then turned around to compare the list again.
After much thought, he picked out two unfamiliar names and spent a while to find the list of students who had enrolled at the school. The names matched.
But...but...
The data trend is too high. Although it did start to rise after the experiment, even if it was a Grade A experiment, even if it was successful, should it have increased across the board like this? Even if it was injected separately, the drugs were different, and the experimental direction shouldn't have been so different. She only saw a significant increase in her mental strength and speed.
And Jinyou is not there, not even on the list of Canxing students.
An idea slowly melted away in his head. The moment it completely melted away, Yan Xunzhi picked up the communicator and called Yi Rong.
Yi Rong answered quickly, "Hey, Yan Xunzhi... you should call me Officer Yan now. I heard you got a promotion. Congratulations!"
Yan Xunzhi was embarrassed to mention her joyful congratulations and could only smile bitterly, "How come you all know I got a promotion?"
It would be fine if Ning Yue and the others knew about it, but how did Yi Rong know about it?
"Kong Wei told me." Yi Rong smiled, "You are so heartless. You forgot your friends when you saw power. You didn't even tell us about your promotion."
Yan Xunzhi was stunned. "Kong Wei? Are you in contact with her?"
"Yes." Yi Rong said, "I saw him a few days ago."
"Did she say anything to you?"
There was silence on the other end of the line. Yi Rong pursed his lips, his eyes curved as if smiling, "...What do you want us to talk about?"
I see. Yan Xunzhi suddenly didn't know how to start, and instinctively wanted to avoid touching the truth.
"If... I mean if..."
She couldn't ask any more questions.
Yi Rong waited for a few seconds, but she didn't continue. There was a hint of laughter in his voice, "Yan Xunzhi."
"Um?"
"Is it against the rules for you to call me today?"
"...No." Yan Xunzhi said with difficulty, "The federal government only said an emergency recall, but didn't say what was going to happen. They probably didn't want too many people to know. I can say that I'm notifying you alone. In this case, it's not considered a violation."
Yi Rong smiled over there, "That's good."
He pointed out her thoughts directly, "Don't blame Kong Wei. She came to me to ask if I wanted to change my file so that someone could replace my identity. I refused."
"..." Yan Xunzhi asked, "Have you decided? I can still..."
You can also ask Kong Wei for help and change it.
Yi Rong smiled and said, "Forget about this favor. I've made the decision in the White Tower."
"Everyone in the White Tower who knows about this experiment knows that it represents evolution, returning to the surface and becoming the pioneer of humanity."
"But I was thinking—not that Canxing is so bad, but the reality is that the Edge White Tower has been eliminating people from the beginning, and we've been outmatched since birth. How could such an important mission fall on a group of us, who are inherently deficient?"
Who would use the students of the White Tower on the Edge to conduct experiments that affect the fate of mankind?
She said calmly, "That night, as I lay in bed, I suddenly figured it out. We were pawns used to cover for her. The Central White Tower didn't want this experiment to succeed, at least not so quickly. They transferred her to the Peripheral White Tower in the hope that the experiment would stagnate."
“…”
She only realized the flaws belatedly. What about the missing data, what about the observation period? She had never seen any other experimenters besides Sang Wanyin.
Even if Kong Wei knew that she would differentiate into S-level, could she get out of the dungeon alone?
Yan Xunzhi thought Kong Wei was defenseless against her because she let her read the experimental records at will, and because her preference for her in her previous life was so obvious.
She never doubted it.
It turned out that she always had two sets of experiments in hand.
What she saw was unimportant—or rather, only she was important. Sang Wanyin was her reassurance, allowing her to be certain that Kong Wei's experiment was complete and never doubt it.
However, her success actually led to Yi Rong's death.
What if she hadn't succeeded? Would the higher-ups have not decided to purge her, and would Yi Rong not have died?
She was complacently waving the drumstick of promotion in the East District, but thousands of miles away, she was ringing the bell of Yi Rong's death.
Yi Rong seemed to see what she was thinking, "Everyone guessed it. So you see, the rankings were so chaotic back then. Some people really wanted to go, some didn't want to die... I was the one who wanted to go."
"Although the dungeon... is just like that. But since I was born in this world, born in a dungeon, I always want to do something." She lowered her head, her voice fading, as if mocking herself, "But what can I do?"
"I'm just an A-rank sentinel from the White Tower on the edge. I'd be quite capable of climbing to the third-rank officer in the future. Kill a few more alien creatures, teach a few more students, explore a few more areas? That's all my life is about. But underground... is what I'm doing really useful?"
When entering the tower, the students read out: Even if the sun never rises, even if the dawn never comes, I am still willing to put the collective above everything else, with the ultimate goal of rebuilding my homeland, and dedicate my life to serving mankind.
That was the oath people made when they first came underground and struggled painfully.
There was no collective at that time, and it was impossible to protect individuals.
It's almost two hundred years. As times change and the underground world gradually improves, will those who have taken root underground, those who have passed on their heritage in primitive ways for generations, and lived a stable life in the central white tower, still want to return to the overturned surface?
The federation has been divided into two major factions. Are the collective goals still unified?
Her ambitions have become the ambitions of the ground faction. Is her effort still meaningful?
They are just the lubricating oil and one of the countless screws. They cannot see the direction in which the machine is running, and they are powerless to adjust its operation.
"I just want to have a share in that kind of success that transcends time, to leave a small mark on humanity's upward journey. And that's what I can do... the most important thing."
As a substitute, it becomes the step towards success.
If she could really return to the ground, countless human beings would be supported by her in the future.
Yi Rong paused and continued, "Actually, you want to... otherwise you wouldn't have been conducting Kong Wei's experiments and obeying her every word."
Yan Xunzhi was shocked.
Yeah?
She had a bit of a heroic complex, but reality was pulling her down. She never thought deeply and just followed the crowd.
Why did she participate in Kong Wei's experiment in the first place? It seemed that it was just to get some extra training, so as not to be eliminated from the second round of assessment and end up doing odd jobs underground for the rest of her life.
"I'm just unlucky. My experiment didn't succeed, so I'm not worth saving. Saving me is just killing someone more useful."
Finally, she said softly, "Don't be afraid, and don't overthink it. I'm very happy to have been chosen for the experiment, and I feel very fulfilled to have been able to accomplish this."
Don't be afraid, don't worry, and don't bother yourself.
This is my choice.
I saw the light and came here of my own accord.
Kong Wei called back in the evening. Yan Xunzhi had a lot of questions in his mind, but after talking to Yi Rong and everyone else had left, he didn't want to answer the call.
But the ringing continued for a long time and with perseverance. She couldn't stand it anymore and answered the call.
Kong Wei called out, "Are you looking for me?"
"It's all right now." Yan Xunzhi mumbled, determined to break Ning Yue's twenty-second record, "I'm dead."
"The list wasn't mine, so the number of people has to match." Kong Wei quickly interrupted, getting to the point before she hung up. "But if you want to change it, I have a way to do it."
Yan Xunzhi almost blurted out, "Then change your clothes..."
But the reality is so real. From the few data that were replaced, we can see that the other part of the experiment must be full of elites.
Yirong couldn't compare to them. Even if they were all failures, their value was still greater than Yirong's.
Yan Xunzhi wiped his face. There was so much water. They were so insignificant that even struggling required thought. "I know. No need. I respect her."
Kong Wei said yes, and then asked, "Are you going to see her off?"
Yan Xunzhi was silent for a long time, "...It's against the rules."
Kong Wei said it was okay, and she was quite relaxed. "It's just a loophole. The Federation didn't explain it clearly. I just failed to kill you twice recently and it caused a commotion. It should be peaceful for a while..."
"You're the one who's breaking the rules, aren't you?" Yan Xunzhi interrupted her. Having been an officer for a while, she had a better grasp of the pros and cons involved. "I think I'll influence you."
Since the email had been sent to her, it was necessary to see her reaction, even though Yan Xunzhi didn't know what the people above wanted to see.
Do less and make fewer mistakes. You will never go wrong if you follow the rules.
Kong Wei paused, "Fortunately, you can be Yi Rong's friend this time."
Yan Xunzhi closed her eyes, her eyes were sore, and she remained silent for a longer time.
"I'm not going," she said. "Yi Rong has already decided to die, and I can't hold her back."
Kong Wei said, "I'm afraid you'll regret it."
Yan Xunzhi smiled, "Regret will only take a moment. It will take so long, and many people will surely die..."
The more you die, the less you feel.
If she didn't look, she wouldn't know that Yi Rong was just a lost friend who disappeared silently in her world.
She would only collapse if she really watched her die.
I flipped through the article and discovered that there were indeed four outposts in the East District that Canxing had transferred to. Yan Xunzhi reported them as required. The next day, an officer came to pick them up. They were put in a car, and when they opened their computers, the emails had been deleted, and even the data in the database was gone.
Yan Xunzhi originally wanted to grieve for a while, and then think about the intention of the Federation in sending her an email...
There was no time at all. The ground turned upside down.
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