Chapter 75 (Catching Bugs)
In the morning, at 11:10, Wuyan Tower blocked the punishment area.
The overly bright shadowless lights, the empty white, the smooth racks, the rows of one-way glass windows where no one could be seen, and the silent stillness.
But only one room's door was open.
The leader sat there very comfortably, not like a prisoner at all - at least the subordinates of Wuyan Tower who came in and out to deliver documents were as obedient and respectful to him as usual.
After Shen Jian left, the leader once again took over the command of Wuyan Tower.
His long hair spread on the ground, he changed back to his original outfit, holding a glazed porcelain lily teacup. A book was spread on his knees, and his long red cape hung from the white leather chair. He lowered his eyes, as if he had some kind of resonance with the naked plot between the lines, and laughed playfully.
I don't know who was laughing, but it was obvious that the only two people in this space twitched their fingertips slightly.
Now, the leader who had just been deprived of power did not ask about the most urgent matter, but slowly turned a page of the book, his inky irises reflecting the handwritten words on the paper.
Three minutes later, the leader, who thought he had left everyone alone, finally spoke abruptly in the silence.
"You mean, my three thousand times of recollection are ultimately due to your Tower of Invisibility... Well, the consciousness that was born independently by your Tower of Invisibility?"
“…”
Shen Jian, who was sitting opposite the leader, pinched his eyebrows and said, “Yes.”
After a pause, Shen Jian said, "Three thousand times?"
"Not worth mentioning." The leader said calmly, as if the experience that had caused him to be questioned about his character earlier was just a story in a book.
"On the contrary, you really surprise me." The leader closed the book and put it on the small table next to him, his eyes fixed on Shen Jian who had just walked out of the time-space converter.
Twelve hours ago, Shen Jian appeared in the Wuyan Tower, and he should have rushed to see the leader as soon as possible.
However, the young leader who had grown up a little brought back a subordinate who looked almost exactly like Shen An, causing all the source world's Annihilation Towers that sensed the vibrations of the space-time converter to fall silent for a moment.
Yes, dead silence.
Shen Jian wasn't sure how to describe that moment, but the leader's slight ridicule made him want to refute, so he spoke, "I remember that Xu Yinmo wasn't so...stiff at that time."
Even now, this matter has just begun, as if he has to wait until he returns before this war, for which he has no idea what kind of war may begin, is being prepared.
He seemed to really think he had just brought back a new subordinate.
The leader stared at Shen Jian, who seemed to be still confused about the situation, for a while, then turned his head and sneered.
"?" Shen Jian asked in confusion.
The leader who had no intention of saving him coldly changed the subject, "Well, first talk about your guilt that is about to overflow."
The leader glanced at the clothes on Shen Jian, “Also, please don’t bring other people’s external information to me.”
Shen Jian’s eyelids twitched, and his eyes rolled around the leader.
The leader had obviously been doing well during this period. He was much better than him and looked much better. Of course, this might be because the glaring light that was deliberately set up in the cell was replaced with an ordinary shadowless light.
The cold and hard expression he had when they first met returned to him, and his back straightened again, but he had removed the dark black curtain that draped the leader's room, and there was something bright and lively again.
At least, the possessive desire that Shen Jian and his friends all had, which was not to be exposed on the surface, finally showed up in him.
Shen Jian knew what the leader was referring to. He moved the corners of his lips, and after a moment he said helplessly, “How come your territorial awareness is stronger than his.”
The young leader did not explain who "he" was, and the leader did not ask, but his expression just looked even colder.
The young leader pulled out a piece of paper from his suit jacket, then fumbled around in it, and pulled out another piece of paper from another place, and then a third.
After confirming that there was no fourth document, Shen Jian took off the coat that seemed too big on him and threw it outside the punishment area where the leader was.
“Is that all?” Shen Jian spread out his hands to indicate that he only had one shirt left, then unfolded three documents, arranged them in order, smoothed them out, and handed them to the leader.
The leader looked away, raised his chin, but did not extend his hand.
Shen Jian maintained the posture of handing over the document and slowly typed a question mark, a little impatient, and asked coldly, "Will you accept it? We only have one hour. I'm not sure if I can see the whole body of my new subordinate after this time."
The leader raised his hand modestly and stroked the book, then said slowly, "This can also parse out irrelevant information. You can read it to me."
“…” Shen Jian was silent for a long time, and finally withdrew his hand, lowered his eyes expressionlessly and looked at the document, and really began to read it dryly.
Neither Shen Jian nor the leader seemed to think that this was a big deal worth talking about, but it was obvious that the subordinates hiding behind the surveillance cameras and watching the real-time broadcast had completely fallen into a state of frustrated and incompetent rage.
Shen Pingyan spoke first, he pinched his eyes, his tone slightly quickened, "Sir, have you read it?"
"He never indulges us - at least he never indulges me in such petty thoughts." Shen Pingyan seemed to be very calm while talking nonsense, "...Although that person is the peer of the gentleman, he should not..."
He paused, swallowed his future speculation, and took a breath silently.
No one spoke. The subordinates sitting scattered around the room were all in almost the same posture, with their hands on their folded knees and their eyes fixed on the huge surveillance camera in front of them. The atmosphere had changed from stagnant to anxious.
"I have read it." Shen'an, who was leaning against the wall, responded calmly. He really didn't seem to think that the cold violence against him could kill someone.
Shen An, who had been silent at the front, paused for a moment, then slowly turned his head to look at Shen An.
Two identical faces were reflected on the same retina. The two looked at each other in sync for a while, then looked away at the same time.
Shen An gripped the armrest tightly.
The cold bomb fell silently in the air.
The room fell silent, and Shen Pingyan dragged Shen Xiuzhu who was leaning forward and took a step back, leaving the battlefield to the same person with two different names.
Shen An said calmly, "Sir, you are wearing the clothes of the leader of the Wuyan Tower in my world. I guess the leader of this world is feeling uncomfortable?"
The chestnut-haired boy, who was slightly younger than Shen An, lowered his hood, and his hair stood up randomly, making him look more like a wet puppy than Shen An. The young puppy continued to add, "After all, every gentleman is good at finding too much information and clues from dead things."
In the eyes of the leader, the clothes on Shen Jian that belonged to [Shen Jian] should be like a headache that exudes hundreds of information sources. After all, the leader of the organization carries much more information than normal dead objects.
Shen An didn't say anything, staring at Shen An, and after a moment, he asked in a low voice, "What's your name?"
Without waiting for Shen An to answer, he immediately gestured and turned his head slightly, "Forget it. It should be the gentleman's job to introduce you."
He stopped looking at Chen An and just smiled gently, then turned to look at his colleagues who were sitting scattered around the room.
He knew very well what was really worrying everyone present. In fact, he did not appear to be so calm, but he still had to say something - Shen Tu never cared about what was on the surface. Except for Shen Jian, he was the only one who could do such things as calming people's hearts.
Even though he was the original victim, yes, the victim!
Chen An calmly glanced around the room, "Everyone, even if you have an isomorph who is really caught by the gentleman to do the work, that will be in the future, and I haven't said anything yet, so please be quiet."
"He is the person brought back by the gentleman." Shen An added lightly at last.
"I'll pass on the news in a moment, you know what to say." Shen An glanced at the clearly divided civilian and militant factions, and paid special attention to the person in the corner who couldn't help but light a cigarette.
The man quickly met Shen An's gaze, clicked his tongue, and stomped his military boots on the projection table, rubbing them unhappily, "Okay, okay, okay."
Shen An stared at him.
Colleague who was lighting a cigarette: “…”
Three seconds later, the cigarette was fiercely extinguished, and Shen An slowly withdrew his gaze and looked back at the big screen.
From beginning to end, he never looked at Chen An again.
Shen An stared at Shen Jian's outstanding profile in the picture for a while.
Sir, he also has dignity, let him retain some dignity.
Shen An gave a slight wry smile and looked at his leader in sorrow and silence.
When Shen An walked out from behind Shen Jian, at that moment, Shen An was stunned.
He stared at Shen An almost blankly for a few seconds. Completely different from Shen Jian’s simple idea of “just a new subordinate”, Shen An—and the entire Wu Yan Tower, almost wanted to break this matter into pieces and think about it over and over again.
[…I brought back my counterpart from the old world. Are you going to replace me?]
For a moment, Shen An truly felt the panic of falling infinitely.
He looked at the other person's face, which was much younger than his own, and his tendons twitched uncontrollably.
He didn't know what to say to the leader who had just returned. He stammered twice, and the words of greeting were stuck in his throat.
The man who was known as the greatest researcher in the world had his mind go blank and was in a real state of shutdown for the first time.
[“Sir, you brought back Chen An’s counterpart! Why? ……… Will you bring back my counterpart next time?”]
Chen An's mind once again replayed the expressions of everyone at that time, and he relived the pain of the instant shattering.
He pursed his lips and lowered his eyes slightly in embarrassment, like a puppy who had done something wrong.
Until Shen Jian went to see the leader, Shen An didn't ask anything. He was really afraid that Shen Jian would say words like "replacement", not even a little bit.
To be honest, Chen An actually thought seriously about whether he would not have to face the next...
never mind.
Shen An closed his eyes and clumsily touched his heart valve.
Wait a minute, Shen An, he said to himself.
Even if I am going to die, I still need your approval.
His counterpart leaned against the wall, looked at him calmly, and then looked away.
Shen An knew what the other person was thinking without even thinking about it, but he didn't intend to say a word of comfort.
In short, at first, Shen Jian approached Shen An with guilt for his [later fate].
In other words, in the final analysis, no matter how painful Shen An is now, in fact, Shen An is the substitute for both Mo Yi and Shen An.
Shen An moved, pulled his crooked cloak, and then looked at the surveillance camera very calmly.
He didn't speak, and Shen An didn't speak either.
.
Shen Jian threw the document he had read aside, leaned back, and said tiredly, "Is it clear?"
"Um."
So Shen Jian raised his hand, and the leader lifted the cup on the saucer in his hand, knocked it on the corner of the table, and broke off a sharp piece.
The person on the surveillance camera instantly tensed up and stared at the broken porcelain.
As if he could sense it, Shen Jian glanced at the photographic equipment, and the next moment, he took the fragment from the leader's hand and accurately hit the small photographic ball.
The surveillance screen fell into darkness.
Shen Jian retracted his hand, “Okay, tell me.”
After a pause, he added casually, "Sorry."
Normally, it would be understandable for a subordinate to watch a private meeting between two leaders, but the territorial awareness of the one in front of him was extremely strong.
In case he made further taunts, Shen Jian simply cut off the opportunity.
The leader was choked, but he didn't show any anger. He just put the teacup on the saucer and stared at Shen Jian with cold eyes.
"You agreed." He stated straightforwardly, using a declarative sentence.
"You agreed to a settlement that was, well, destructive to your character," he concluded calmly. "Do you know what you're doing?"
The leader looked directly at Chen Jian, "I have never built the Wuyan Tower, so I can choose to wander; I can invade other people's consciousness, but from beginning to end I have never given up the so-called little bit of personality."
Shen Jian fluttered his eyelashes, but his head did not lower even a centimeter, and he also stared at the leader.
The younger leader seemed to have completely convinced himself and continued smoothly, "Didn't we give up our lives a long time ago?"
The leader asked calmly, "But isn't the Wuyan Tower more important than your life?"
Shen Jian stopped talking.
The leader asked again, "Are you willing?"
"No." Shen Jian said quickly. The next second, he stood up, pulled the complicated and tight collar open a little, then walked to the leader, knelt down and curled up on the leader's lap as if he had met him for the first time.
The leader did not move, but sat in the chair expressionlessly, his hands on the armrests, looking at him with his eyes slightly lowered.
The young leader's semi-long hair obscured his expression.
“…Chen Jian.” Chen Jian was silent for a while and said softly.
The leader hummed.
"I can die." Shen Jian whispered, "My Wuyan Tower can't die easily. There is no other way."
He shifted slightly, allowing more hair to fall and obscure his expression.
The leader reached out and pushed his other self's hair behind his ear, taking away the fruits of his efforts.
He lowered his eyes and looked at Shen Jian, who was forced to show his face, for a while, and then he said, "You are lying."
Shen Jian stiffened for a moment.
The leader’s hands, which were thickly calloused with swords and guns, clamped down on Shen Jian’s neck, forcing him to raise his head.
"Tell me what it is." The leader looked at Shen Jian, "It seems that the 'Shen Jian' in another world did not realize that you were lying."
Otherwise, Shen Jian would not have lost control of his emotions until now.
"I really can't understand, what could be worse than destroying the Wuyan Tower, which is the most important thing in your heart? What, is it something you dare not do?" The leader's voice became lower and lower.
Shen Jian shook his head. This time he lowered his eyes and put one hand on the leader's wrist that was pinching his neck, but he didn't seem to dare to use real force.
He sensed that the leader was a little angry.
Shen Jian said, “Don’t be angry.”
The leader straightened up and looked down at him, ignoring him, "Speak."
Shen Jian still didn't speak, staring silently and calmly at the wreckage of the photographic equipment not far away.
"Okay." The leader waited for a moment and said casually, "Then let me guess."
"Is this a difficult task, Shen Jian?" the leader asked coldly, releasing his hand.
Shen Jian shook his head silently and meekly.
So the leader stared at him expressionlessly, and locked on an answer without hesitation, "It's related to us, right?"
"Let me guess," the leader said, "either you and your Wu Yan Tower are destroyed together, or - all 'Chen Jian' in all parallel world lines are destroyed. There are two possibilities, right?"
Shen Jian smiled.
He nodded, and finally said, "Yes."
“I told Shen Jian from another world that the solution given by Yun was the first one.”
The leader added with a hint of sarcasm, "He actually gave you the second option?"
Chen Jian ignored the sarcasm that was about to drip out of the leader's words, "Actually, it was the disappearance of all 'Chen Jian' except me. The first one was forced out by me later."
He said calmly, "The Tower of Invisibility is mine, but you are not, so I chose the first option."
The veins on the leader's forehead were throbbing.
He let go of her hand, almost laughing out of anger.
The leader thought of a thousand reasons why Shen Jian would not sacrifice his parallel world counterpart, including the most tenable one, "more people were sacrificed in comparison of numbers", but he really didn't expect Shen Jian to come up with this reason.
He decided that he would give Shen Jian a gift in advance.
Shen Jian raised his eyes, “What are you laughing at.”
The leader glanced at him, laughed twice to himself, and then turned expressionless in an instant, "Oh, you think you have nothing to do with the other Shen Jian."
“Do you know what the ring I gave you is?” The leader glanced at Shen Jian with a half-smile.
A sense of horror crept up Shen Jian's back. He considered for a moment, then asked, "...what?"
"Jörmungandr, Shen Jian."
The leader lifted up Shen Jian's right hand, took off the ring and placed it in the palm of his hand. The scarlet gem inlaid on the eye position of the snake-shaped ring was gleaming.
"I have taken him through countless worlds. The original artificial consciousness loaded in this ring is just a by-product. In fact, it is a tool to connect all parallel worlds."
The leader handed the ring to Shen Jian, whose pupils dilated, and added very calmly, “Since you awakened the artificial intelligence in the ring, the link function of this ring has been activated. Let me think about it.”
The leader casually said, "It's like everything about you is being broadcast live to all your parallel worlds, right?"
Shen Jian stood up suddenly.
His fingertips began to tremble, and he looked at the ring in his hand tremblingly.
Facing the long-haired leader's fake smile, Shen Jian's eyes went dark.
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