This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 326 I drew a lucky lot! ...Make up for it!
Consciousness sank into that familiar sea of ​​light and mist, and the figure of Administrator Number Two solidified amidst the surging fragments of subconsciousness.

He walked straight toward the vast plain lined with countless operating terminals, his gaze sweeping over the flickering lights—the manifestation of countless fragments of consciousness intertwining, fighting, merging, and annihilating within the human mind.

He wasted no time and went straight to the control panel, his finger landing on the interface.

"Query information related to the 'Reverse Tower' and the armored statue." His instructions were clear.

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding fog churned violently, sounding like the cacophony of shouts from countless people.

Countless fragments of memory—fear, anger, despair, and a faint but stubborn glimmer of hope—flickered and collided like a school of fish startled. The green light on the control terminal flashed wildly, and some areas even erupted with blinding red warnings, as if a fierce internal struggle was underway. The flow of information was chaotic and fragmented, with useful intelligence buried deep beneath various emotional noises and instinctive resistance.

Administrator Number Two watched all this silently, his voice echoing through the sea of ​​fog, calm yet heavy:

“You know you can’t keep this a secret any longer.”

"If you want, you can. Once everything is messed up and this generation of Homo sapiens has merged into you, I will fight a one-man war against those outsiders."

“You can either revoke my administrator privileges now—” he paused, feeling the unbreakable connection between himself and this sea of ​​thoughts, “—or start granting me access to information. There is no third option.”

His voice was decisive.

"You want revenge, and you want to keep matters of vital importance to our survival secret? You know it's not that easy. I need to see the information today. Right now!"

This is the first time Nie Weiyang has shown such a tough attitude towards this collective subconscious that carries countless fragments of souls.

This was not only because the situation was critical and necessitated drastic measures, but also because, after so much time, he had become completely certain that the Second Administrator's authority was permanent, bound to his soul... no, perhaps even deeper. What is bestowed upon a soul can perhaps be taken away, but what if that is the very essence of his soul?
Nie Weiyang shrugged and looked at his scarlet gloves, which were dripping with blood, as if they had witnessed the sacrifices of countless wars.

This permission cannot be revoked.

It had long since grown together with his soul.

This gave him the confidence to confront the situation, allowing him to no longer be as polite and tolerant as before towards the area of ​​light he managed.

Nie Weiyang clenched his fist, and his consciousness began to rise on its own, as if breaking free from the shackles of gravity, upward, upward, and upward again! Passing through layers of flowing light and mist, he looked down at the plain covered by operating terminals that stood like tombstones.

He broke through a certain boundary, and suddenly everything became clear.

Above was no longer a pervasive, cold mist, but a vast, boundless, eternally flowing ocean of light.

That is the very essence of the human mind, a dazzling galaxy formed from countless fragments of human consciousness, emotions, and memories. The light is not a single color, but woven from countless subtle emotional hues—gold, blue, green, red, purple… They intertwine, flow, and swirl, forming a magnificent sea of ​​light beyond description. The softly interwoven light contains an unimaginable, boundless power, as if the weight and brilliance of the entire race's soul are condensed within it.

Nie Weiyang's consciousness hovered beneath this sea of ​​light, as insignificant as dust.

But when he reached out, he could see the flowing light naturally converging on him; it was something within his control. He could see the faint lights of the terminals on the plain below, like lighthouses under a sea of ​​stars. Beyond the distant mist, an even larger outline rose and fell, like a huge circle embedded in a tall tower, standing tall amidst the flowing, polishing light and mist.

He withdrew his gaze and concentrated all his energy, as if reaching out an invisible hand to gently touch that vast sea of ​​light.

It is not about forcibly demanding, but about gently releasing one's spirit and conveying one's intentions:
“I need to know everything.” His thoughts, like a pebble thrown into a still lake, rippled across a sea of ​​light. “I need to know the pain you have endured in order to understand how to bring you peace and how to make our enemies suffer even greater pain. Isn’t that right?”

"I believe in you. I understand your courage, strength, kindness, and tolerance. But right now, we need to communicate."

It focuses on child psychology.

The human mind contains more than just beautiful emotions... no, rather, the dark side of humanity is actually more prevalent here, it's just that the two forces are always in balance.

Simply being forceful can easily lead to conflict.

The flow of the sea of ​​light seemed to freeze for a moment, the churning light mist gradually calmed down, the wildly flashing light on the terminals stabilized, and some terminals gradually went out.

A silent internal war has finally come to a conclusion, and the will to keep secrets begins to retreat in the face of the needs of survival and revenge.

Every moment, countless fragments of the subconscious dissipate within it. Each struggle and fusion between these fragments shapes the form of the mind and subtly influences the subconscious tendencies of all Homo sapiens individuals in the material world.

Now, the struggle seems to have come to a conclusion.

The light from the sea of ​​light became gentler, and a vast flow of information began to slowly and orderly open up to Nie Weiyang, its power flowing into his soul in greater and gentler ways.

Nie Weiyang finally realized that he could and had to be tough—sometimes you have to knock on the door to find out if the person inside will let you in.

[Sizzle... sizzle...]

What feels like an eternity in the mind is but a few breaths in reality. Nie Weiyang heard a sound coming from his earphones; he listened silently to it—it was a recording.

"Now please listen to the listening comprehension question."

A: "Tell me, are we actually living in a time-space shift, or are we experiencing a shared illusion called 'the universe'?"

Nie Weiyang: “?”

Are listening comprehension questions from pre-civilization eras really this philosophical?
Well, this is probably just a way of reminding him to pay attention.

[B: "Actually, we're just singing the same song. You have your melody, I have mine, we played 'The Age,' while the Ages played 'History,' and history played 'Civilization'..."] For some reason, Nie Weiyang glanced at his task list. [Glorious Melody: Guardian of Hope] was still there, and he didn't know when he would be able to complete it.

[B: "...I don't know when it will be finished. The grand symphony of our civilization—on the day it ends, we will be able to descend the Tower of Reversal..."]

Nie Weiyang was slightly taken aback.

"...Through the sea of ​​the womb, enter the realm of the dead, break free from the shackles of matter, write a final note, and let us emerge from this endless symphony..."

The sea of ​​light surged, countless rays of light rushing in, crowding into the embrace of Administrator Number Two. The light seeped into his body, and intense pain, sorrow, frenzy, resentment, despair... endless emotions surged forth.

"...From this miswritten piece of music, let us distance ourselves from 'Conflict,' 'Pain,' 'Torture,' and 'Torment,' from 'War,' and return to the peace of the past."

Nie Weiyang gritted his teeth and endured it. When facing the outside world, he could use the power of his inner sea. But when facing the impact of his inner sea, he could only rely on himself.

[A: "The bee colony has gone mad again."]

B: "I know."

Bee colony... Bee colony disorder? The cause of Earth's ecosystem collapse, and Titan followed?

[A: "It's our fault, Penevento. We failed to forge a future."]

[B: "I know, Ms. Gu Congling, I know."]

The meaning of the words settled in the mind of Administrator Number Two.

Nie Weiyang wrote down these two names.

[Gu Congling: "Before we head towards our uneasy death, we intend to launch one last project: the Pioneer. I've numbered it '20-18-1-9-12-2-12-1-26-5-18'. I will release Dawn into the distant stars to find its way forward; that is our Pioneer… And on Titan, everything we have will be left to someone in the future. Someone willing to take responsibility, capable of taking responsibility, someone who wields the blade of darkness with a heart of light—ha, a bit melodramatic."]

Penevento: "The Pioneer? 20... Oh, a simple retro game, your style. And, as I understand you, this person will also be part of the plan."

Gu Congling: "Perhaps. Besides, we've had a meeting. To prevent those golden things from spreading randomly, we'll first disconnect all the major systems from each other, and let this unlucky guy reconnect them—if he can use them. Of course, if he wants to reconnect them, he'll need to restart every shelter, every retrograde tower. He'll have to walk the paths we've walked, touch the light of our wisdom, and bear the echoes of even greater pain after we're gone... He'll at least get beaten up a few times by the Guardian Mechs."

"If we can't even get past this, then we shouldn't be pioneers. For this reason, our people are relocating the shelters, moving them away from the Reverse Tower..."

"By the way, since you understand me so well, guess how I'm feeling right now?"

Penevento: "I feel the same way."

The words were somewhat ambiguous, and the recording was blurry and noisy, making it impossible to discern any emotional details. However, Nie Weiyang's expression was solemn.

He could certainly sense the emotions from the past that were woven into those words…

Moreover, the original locations of the shelters could be adjusted, but their current locations are the result of arrangements made by the previous civilization.

Gu Congling: "Yes."

[Gu Congling: "I want to kill them, I want to perish with them. I hate them to the point of tears. Humiliation makes me afraid to raise my head. I have no face to see my compatriots. I am not worthy to speak to them. I should not be buried. I am not worthy to waste fuel to burn. I should not enter the Sea of ​​Hearts to rest. I should be thrown into the Netherworld to suffer endless torture."]

Penevento: "...After sacrificing glory and hope, we will never see the dawn again. Well, the universe is eternal night—when will we be punished?"

[Gu Congling: "There's always a chance. Ha. You know what? My teacher committed suicide last night."]

Penevento: "..."

Penevento: "Tonight, she is the only soul that has been saved."

'Om—'

A buzzing sound arose, and Nie Weiyang subconsciously looked up amidst a severe headache.

He saw the headless, colossal armored statue rising; the Return Church had reactivated it… Oh no, the Return Church was fleeing too, everyone was fleeing, screaming, howling, begging for help. The Tower of Reversal was glowing, and gold from all directions tried to spread towards it, merging with the Kaligan crystals to grow graceful figures within the light, their silken wings cascading down—

——Golden Angel.

Nie Weiyang: “…”

Nie Weiyang slowly glanced at the item description of the Caligan Crystal:
【…

• Through spiritual transformation, it can replace any gold or lower-grade materials during the casting process of ritual machinery.

...]

--Hold!

(End of this chapter)