Shrouded Seascape

"I also dislike those foolish false believers. Once I'm out, we should work together and replace them," A2 added.

Charles chuckled coldly to himself. Was she trying to create another organization that believed in God Fhtagn? It seemed that Fhtagn's followers hated heretics more than the nonbelievers. The Foundation was still standing, but A2 was already brainstorming ways to sabotage the Covenant.

"I don't want to talk about that right now. Let's talk about it once the Foundation has actually collapsed."

A2 nodded knowingly and replied, "Sure. I'll come and find you when the time comes, then. And I hope you won't forget this one fact—God Fhtagn will always have believers so long as He exists."

"Those guys have a blood feud with you, but I don't have anything against you. If we're going to talk about vested interests, then you'll profit more by supporting me in establishing the 'true' Fhtagn Covenant," A2 said.

Then, she closed her eyes and got ready to leave.

"Wait!" Charles exclaimed.

A2 opened her eyes again and stared at Charles.

"Since you're a member of the GK Council, then you should know a lot about 001, right? If 003 is God Fhtagn slumbering in the deep sea and 002 is the monster above the surface world. How about 001? Just what is it?"

This burning question had been burning a hole in Charles' heart for quite some time now. What exactly was 001? Was it an existence even more powerful than 002 and 003?

Charles then added that he had already read two documents talking about two 001s. Upon hearing that, A2's mouth fluttered open as she calmly talked about another 001—the third 001.

Project ID: 001

Project Name: A Terrible Conjecture

Project Containment Procedure: 001 cannot be contained. There is absolutely only one Project 001.

Description: 001 is not a physical entity. It is a conjecture that the central computer formed after nonstop simulations of over a hundred years. It is a terrible conjecture.

Statement: We, humans, are the sole overlords of Earth, and we are opportunistic omnivores.

We have shown outstanding ingenuity in extraction, production, processing, and food preservation. We are also the only species capable of making fire and manipulating it. Other animals absolutely cannot do something like this.

But do you really think that's a coincidence? No, there aren't that many coincidences in the world. The vast difference between us and other animals didn't appear naturally.

The inferences I've drawn from my research told me that there's a ninety-five percent chance that the gods gave birth to humanity as mere toys to have fun with.

Our birth may have just been a casual creation of one of them. Perhaps They are next to us, silently observing us. They observe our rise and fall, savoring the ups and downs of human civilization, just like a painter looking at their own work.

And I have discovered evidence that whenever humanity is stuck in a bottleneck, They will come out to push us forward before disappearing at once. This is definitely not a coincidence. They truly exist!

Humans are nothing before Them; we are merely Their toys. Let's hope that we are fun enough for Them to keep, as the day They get bored of watching us play is our doomsday.

I know that this is a depressing truth, but we simply cannot do anything about it.

Moreover, it's a despair-inducing truth that we must hide at all costs. If the god who created us for fun notices our existence, then there is a high chance that They might no longer want to watch us play and might throw us away.

Remarks: 001 requires the highest clearance available to peruse. Unauthorized access to this information is punishable by summary execution.

Charles's expression was gloomy as he listened to A2's words. His brows then furrowed tightly as he stared at A2, who was staring calmly at him.

"So this is the real 001? The previous ones were all fake?" Charles asked. He was suddenly reminded of his daughter's miniature toy, which was like a miniature world. He was also reminded of 005, who'd come and go as she pleased without exuding an oppressive aura like the other gods.

"Which 001 do you think is real? No, which 001 do you hope is real?" A2 asked calmly.

"Don't play riddles with me. I don't want to make any guesses. I just want to know which one is the truth among them," Charles said, sounding solemn.

However, A2 wasn't intimidated at all. She spoke slowly and steadily as she replied, "In addition to these three, there are fourteen other 001s, each requiring different clearance levels to peruse. However, none of them are 001—no, it could be said that they're all 001.

"The real 001 is described in a highly classified document that has to be hidden at all costs. No one is allowed to see it, but it exists among the numerous 001s. The files depicting the other 001s are fragments of the real 001.

"If you want to know the real 001, then you'll have to peruse every single 001 file and piece together clues from them. Otherwise, you'll never know which among them is the real 001. In fact, even the GK Council can't answer that question.

Charles pondered over A2's words for a long time. Finally, he nodded and turned around to leave.

"You don't want to ask about the other 001s? I can tell you more," A2 said.

However, Charles didn't stop as he replied, "I'm too lazy to guess. I also don't want to make any guesses. Why would I let myself be led by the nose by the Foundation in exchange for something that has nothing to do with me?

"If you want to speak in riddles, then go ahead and look for someone else to talk with. I guess you can use that as a smokescreen to confuse other people."

With that, Charles finally left, and the entire dreamscape collapsed.

Once the preparations were ready, Tobba's grave was finally ready as well. Charles watched as Tobba took a commemorative photo of himself in front of his tomb with a shovel in his hand.

Charles walked over and grabbed Tobba's finger. As soon as he tugged at the finger, the world around him spun. When he came to his senses, he found a young-looking Tobba riding a paper rabbit next to him.

Tobba's handsome face looked a bit impatient as he said, "What were you dilly-dallying for? Why are you so slow? You could have sent some people to help me build the tomb."

Charles pushed off the ground with one hand and somersaulted in the air before landing directly behind Tobba. Then, he looked up and swept his gaze across the bizarre surroundings.

They were in a world covered in a white mist. The white mist was so thick that he couldn't see the ground and the sky. The white mist was also clearly different from ordinary mist, as it was churning at breakneck speeds.

Tobba's paper rabbit was as large as a horse, and it hopped a few times to bring them out of the mist. Once they broke out of the mist, Charles finally saw the white mist's true identity.

It was a whale—a shapeless whale made out of mist. Its tail fin swayed gently as it traversed this world of mist.

"Charles, when will Sparkle teleport me to SITE 2? I'm really short on time," Tobba said, glancing at the watch that he had drawn on his right hand.

"She's going to teleport you soon. I told her to teleport you there exactly one minute after I become a lunatic," Charles said. He looked down to stare at the abyss down below.

Charles seemed to fall into contemplation at the baffling sight. Eventually, he looked up and wasn't surprised to find that the ocean was actually above them.

Exactly one minute after Charles arrived in this perspective, Sparkle made a move, whisking them away. The two felt as if they were being forcefully pulled away to somewhere as the scenery before them peeled away.

Before they knew it, they found themselves standing before a giant well.

It was a unique well, as rather than bricks, the walls of the well seemed to depict a cityscape. It looked like an entire city had been flattened, rolled into a cylinder, and then thrust into the ground. The walls of the well were packed with buildings tilted at a ninety-degree angle.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Charles reached into his clothes and pulled out the paper rabbit that Tobba had given him earlier. The rabbit grew bigger, and Charles eventually hopped onto his own paper rabbit.

"Let's go! To the bottom of the well! The central computer is extremely heavy! I can feel its tugging even though we're here!" Tobba exclaimed.

Charles lightly kicked with both feet, and the paper rabbit took to the air, jumping into the well.

Meanwhile, in Hope Island's cemetery, Anna and Sparkle stared at Charles jumping around in circles before them. Charles had become a lunatic. He was riding a paper rabbit the size of half a palm and was hopping in circles with it.

Click, click, click!

Anna looked pleased as she snapped pictures of Charles' unseemly actions.

With her hands wrapped around Anna's neck, Sparkle craned her neck to watch as well. She then landed on the ground, wanting to walk over to take a look out of curiosity, but Anna pushed her away, saying, "We're not playing around here, so just get moving. You're our entire transport team. Without you, our remaining weapons won't get to the Sea of Mist."

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