Ark Chess Player.

Group 4 ⑧8 7④97⑨9

Anna asked curiously, "Doctor, what is Persona?"

"Do you really want to know?"

Lin Lu stared directly at the girl, his expression unusually serious.

"...I want to know."

"Then come over."

Lin Lu patted the seat of the Noah motorcycle, gesturing for the girl to come closer.

Anna hesitated for a moment, but the red-covered book in her hand gave her boundless courage, allowing her to walk over and lean against Noah's motorcycle.

The two sat back to back, one looking up at the night sky, the other looking down at a book.

Rather than an ambiguous atmosphere between men and women, it was more like a teacher and a student with a good relationship standing side by side in the library, separated by a bookshelf.

Lin Lu closed his eyes and recovered his depleted mental energy. He originally thought that Sonia was in the worst condition among the bear cubs, but he didn't expect that the unconscious Natalia was the worst.

The moment Lin Lu's spiritual power merged with Natalia's, he was sucked into the girl's embrace and couldn't extricate himself. Even now, bloody and dark images keep appearing before Lin Lu's eyes.

Lin Lu's guess was slightly off, but his reasoning was generally correct...

All of Natalia's former companions, without exception, were corrupted into monsters by Mephisto's magic.

Some of the monsters who still retained their humanity tried to protect Natalia, but many more, unable to resist their craving for flesh, attacked the girl. Monsters fought each other, all for the same person, for two completely different ideas.

Natalia saw everything from beginning to end, but she couldn't do anything about it; there was nothing she could do.

What destroyed the girl was her despairing sense of powerlessness and self-blame.

This is why Sonia found Natalia in the pile of monster corpses.

"Persona... is just a pseudonym, a disguise, an illusion, a mask."

Lin Lu said softly that when he pronounced Persona, he vaguely felt something about to break free from his body, but it was locked up by dark chains.

“Everyone has two sides, good and evil. Someone has planted the seeds of evil in you, and when the scales of good and evil are completely tipped, you will become monsters.” Lin Lu said softly. Perhaps it was a bit too much to say such things to a girl, but Anna was clearly not the kind of flower that was sheltered in a greenhouse.

After all, the flowers in the greenhouse have turned into man-eating plants.

"...Do I also have this seed inside me?"

Anna asked calmly, without any emotional fluctuation.

Lin Lu admitted frankly, "Yes."

There's no need to hide it; a crude lie is just the most foolish deception for a girl.

Anna was much smarter and had a broader perspective than the other girls. She had also considered why the students had turned into monsters, but no matter how much she thought about it, it was useless. Just surviving required all she could do, not to mention…

"I should have been one of the monsters too."

Anna muttered to herself as she took a teddy bear from her bag. The teddy bear's name was Vika, and it was her good friend.

“I made an irreparable mistake. I did something wrong.” Anna’s voice became somber as she hugged her teddy bear tightly, as if trying to bury it inside her body. “How can I still live as a human being in this state?”

"..."

Lin Lu's answer was to press his back against the girl's back.

The abrupt action startled the girl, but she was quickly captivated by the warm heat on her back.

These past few days, every night as she fell asleep, she would snuggle together with Sonia and Rada, giving each other a sense of security.

“Compared to you, I’ve probably made more than one mistake.” Lin Lu slowly opened his eyes, secretly glanced at the Q-version anemone sitting on the hood of the car, and said softly, “As a senior who has made mistakes all the time in my life, I can give you some advice.”

Before Anna could even ask, Lin Lu said, "Don't force yourself to forget. The more you try to forget something, the clearer it becomes when you remember it."

“…But what if I still feel pain when I think about it?” Anna murmured, her voice so hoarse that she could barely hear herself.

"It's already a good thing that you can remember it."

"what?"

Anna didn't quite understand what Lin Lu was trying to say.

"Sometimes, what's more terrifying than memories is amnesia."

Lin Lu took the melted sugar substitute out of his pocket, dipped his index finger in it, and put it in his mouth.

A subtle blend of sweet and sour flavors and the taste of blood floods the nasal cavity, and the overworked brain craves a sugar boost, even the most bitter alternative to natural sugar.

"I've lost my memory. I don't know who I used to be, or what I did in the past. But I know that I must have done something wrong in the past," Lin Lu murmured to himself. He wouldn't tell anyone else, not even Amiya, Kal'tsit, or anyone on Rhodes Island.

He was afraid that his image in their eyes would decline, and he was afraid that one day Amiya would leave him disappointed.

Lin Lu also has a vulnerable side, but he hides it so well that everyone thinks he is omnipotent and that everything can be solved as long as he is around.

"If I was really that powerful before, why was I sealed in a stone coffin and awakened in a state of complete ignorance? I must have done a lot of wrong things, so many wrong things. That's why I felt so heartbroken and lost in front of Theresa's room, and I didn't even dare to go in and see any trace of her."

"I must have made some mistake in the past to be unable to see her now."

Lin Lu unconsciously pressed his back closer to the girl, so close that he could almost hear her heartbeat gradually quickening.

“Sometimes remembering things clearly isn’t a bad thing. At least when you face the same situation again in the future, you’ll still have the opportunity to make another choice.” Lin Lu put all the blood-melted sugar substitute into his mouth, the bitter sweetness sending a slight stinging sensation through his tongue. “I hope that next time, your decision won’t cause you pain.”

"……Um."

Anna listened intently, looking down at the teddy bear, her lake-blue eyes shimmering like water.

Vika, I have never forgotten anything about you.

Between Sonia and you, I chose Sonia and didn't reach out to you...

I watched you fall, fall.

If I forget about you, will you blame me? You will, won't you?

You say you won't? That sounds like something you would say... I know, I know you're lying to me, Vika, you can't possibly talk to me.

Can I be as strong as a PhD student in facing the mistakes I've made?

Vika, can I get your forgiveness?

...But not now, not yet.

I'm not that strong yet; I can't do it right now...

Anna pressed her forehead against the teddy bear's head, her body trembling slightly, and her soft sobs were incredibly loud in the quiet night.

The teddy bear's head gradually got wet, and glistening tears streamed down its face, dripping onto the red cover of the book.

Chapter 122 I Believe (Third Update)

"Are you ready, Anna?"

"Yes, Doctor, I'm ready."

Anna took a deep breath; her voice was still a little hoarse, but after venting her emotions, she felt much better.

The two stood face to face, Lin Lu's left hand affectionately stroking the girl's hair. Because it hadn't been washed in a long time, some of the girl's hair was tangled. So Lin Lu subconsciously used his fingers to untangle it, and a comfortable warmth continuously flowed to Anna's head, causing a blush to appear on her fair face.

Her initial hostility towards the Doctor vanished without her realizing it, which explains why Sonia had that expression.

The doctor is truly an incredible person, able to draw her, a woman with a wounded heart, to each other and open her heart.

Perhaps... the Doctor also has a scar deep in his heart.

"extraction."

Lin Lu closed his eyes. The seed of evil that had taken root in the girl's body had already sprouted. Fortunately, the branches and leaves were still small and had not yet borne rotten fruit or turned into a demon.

The quieter a girl is, the more she thinks. The more she thinks alone, the more likely she is to slip up.

So, what about girls who are more outgoing?

The anemone quietly glanced at the two of them, its silvery-white horns unknowingly tinged with a faint black.

Although this extraction was not easy, Lin Lu had recovered a lot after a short rest and was well prepared.

Anna bit her lip, her eyes wide open, her lake-blue eyes tinged with a faint red from her earlier crying.

She was trying the method the doctor had suggested: there was no need to choose to forget, but to face it. As the one whose Originium Arts were being extracted, she felt no harm whatsoever. No pain, no discomfort, but the doctor in front of her gradually showed an expression of pain, his brows furrowing tightly.

Some pain does exist, but some people are silently bearing it for you.

Anna's first impression of Lin Lu was that of a mysterious man dressed entirely in black—a black trench coat, black trousers, and a black vest. But his hair was strikingly white, like the only mark of time on him, a stark contrast to his clothes. His smile always carried a hint of weariness, and even when he joked, a faint bitterness lingered at the corners of his mouth.

Now, the girl thinks Lin Lu's most attractive feature is his eyes.

His cobalt blue eyes were so deep they seemed to see through everything, yet they gave her a faint sense of peace.

She felt that the doctor was someone she could rely on and trust.

A black void was gradually pulled out from above Anna's head; it was a very dark black, and it was also Anna's sin.

Anna smiled slightly, trying to relax as she watched her evil thoughts being controlled by the doctor.

Lin Lu clenched his left hand, and the seed of evil completely dissipated, turning into illusory particles that drifted away with the wind.

"Thank you, Doctor."

Anna sincerely thanked Lin Lu, for in every way, the doctor was a guiding light in her life.

Lin Lu smiled wearily, shook his head, and indicated that there was no need to be polite.

His gaze shifted to the front of the Noah motorcycle, but the anemone that should have been sitting on it was nowhere to be seen, its whereabouts unknown.

I guess I was just tired.

"Doctor, may I ask you a question?"

Anna was observing Lin Lu closely as he decompressed the Fulton recovery device for the girl.

"You say it."

"Why did you come here? You're not a local. Your mobile device... the base of this vehicle is covered in a lot of mud and ash, the kind of dust unique to the wasteland. This dust is fresh, as if it was recently applied and hasn't solidified yet. Your clothes are new; there shouldn't be such brand-new clothes in this city overrun by the infected. They look like they were just sewn. Your equipment suggests you're on a secret mission, but your actions are as if you want the whole world to know you."

Anna asked softly, her gaze lingering on Lin Lu's face, anticipating his expression.

Lin Lu smiled, a smile of great satisfaction.

"That's amazing. How about you become a detective? After I retire, we can open a detective agency. With your intelligence and my human cheat code, making history in the detective world won't be difficult. Before that, I'll prepare the W Driver. I'll use the body memory, and you can use the soul memory..."

"Doctor, I'm not joking."

The girl thought he was just teasing her, but little did she know that Lin Lu was serious.

“…You’re right, I’m not a local. This dress was just made tonight.” Lin Lu perfectly attached the Fulton recovery device to the girl’s body, confirming that there were no errors in the suspension device. He almost patted the girl’s chest, but fortunately he stopped himself in time, otherwise his image would have been ruined instantly.

"If I said... I received a distress signal from an unknown source, and out of curiosity, I couldn't sleep and decided to go out for a walk in this conquered city... would you believe me?" Lin Lu said calmly, his smile slowly fading, his cobalt blue eyes as calm as a still pond.

"I believe."

Anna smiled back, meeting his eyes without fear.

"A person who asks for nothing in return, who endures pain to save us... Whatever you plan to do next, I believe you will succeed."

Anna knew perfectly well that they were of no value to the Doctor; they were just a group of high school students. Only Natalia among them was a noblewoman… but what use were noblewomen? There were plenty of noble students at Peterheim High School, and even Ursus had abandoned them, so who would be willing to lend a helping hand to commoners like them?

It was precisely this person who appeared out of nowhere when they were at their most desperate and helpless, telling them that everything was alright.

The suffering they had endured these days had finally come to an end.

"Doctor, I wish you great success and victory in every battle."

Anna held the red book and the teddy bear in her left hand, and snapped her fingers playfully with her right.

This girl also has an innocent side, but it is obscured by the war instigated by the Reunion Movement.

"I will."

Lin Lu smiled faintly and snapped his fingers as well.

The Fulton recovery balloon, ready to go, accelerated into the air, and the girl's figure rose into the sky, heading towards the Bad Guy in the night sky.

Lin Lu looked up at the night sky, leaning against the side of the Noah Heavy Machinery, his heart unable to calm down for a long time.

With the girls rescued, Lin Lu also found some relief and a vague answer to his doubts.

Those who are used to the darkness should not get used to it, but rather look forward to the light that will come when the darkness ends.