I write obituaries for the gods

Just a few months ago, they were colleagues, and they would have meals and chat together.

So much has happened without us even realizing it.

Belatedly, Lin Chen felt a sharp pain in his forehead.

The strain of this period was too great, so great that even if he were an iron man, he couldn't hold on any longer.

Lin Chen took out a syringe, injected himself in the neck, then turned around and walked towards the stairwell.

......

With the raid over, the battle was drawing to a close, and the cleanup began.

Lin Chen did not personally participate in this process, partly because he was already very tired, and partly because he hated seeing his colleagues turn against each other.

In the command and operations center, he simply found a chair and watched from afar as those familiar faces were escorted in by the First Armed Division and stood in front of Hua Molan.

Lin Chen listened silently as Hua Molan questioned his once loyal subordinates one by one, watching them gradually become fearful, lose their composure, and begin to beg for mercy.

Months of living as local tyrants had completely changed them; they had become obese and their undercover identities were no longer secure.

"Send them to prison, and never let me see them again."

Hua Molan watched the departing figures and sighed softly.

"Disappointed?" Jiang Zhengge asked, looking at her from the side.

“I thought the Investigation Bureau was the hardest agency to find a mole, after all, our screening mechanism is strict enough,” Hua Molan said in a low voice, “but I didn’t expect that just this little bit of power would be enough to turn them into this.”

“That’s just how people are,” Jiang Zhengge shook his head. “It’s my turn to advise you to get used to it.”

He could tell that this incident had been quite a blow to Hua Molan.

This bureau chief has always been exceptionally strict with himself and has managed the investigation bureau very well over the years, with such incidents rarely occurring.

Who would have thought that she would lose to Louis, that young upstart.

"It seems I still have a lot to learn," Hua Molan sighed softly.

“Learning has no end,” Jiang Zhengge said.

"How are you? Are you alright?" Hua Molan glanced at Jiang Zhengge.

"Me? I'm completely familiar with the environment of this ideal world, what could possibly go wrong?"

"You understand that's not what I meant."

Jiang Zhengge turned his head and saw Hua Molan staring straight at him.

He avoided Hua Molan's gaze and said:

"It seems you know everything."

“Zhanyi provided me with a very complete operation report,” Hua Molan said. “Regarding Xileina, I think you should understand what’s going to happen next.”

"Of course I know."

Jiang Zhengge pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his coat. It was the same pack Wang Pan had just given him; it was a good brand.

He lit a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and looked up at the ceiling.

"Do you think I wouldn't be able to do it?" Jiang Zhengge said softly.

“After all, Xileina is so close to you. Judging from her actions, her purpose can be considered righteous, but she chose very extreme means to achieve her goal.”

Hua Molan pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Jiang Zhengge:

“My suggestion is that you avoid suspicion. Since killing Xileina is already a done deal, you don’t need to do it yourself.”

Jiang Zhengge didn't look at Hua Molan; he was lost in thought until his cigarette burned out.

He threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stomped on it twice, and shook his head.

"No, she wants me to do it myself."

“Her wishes don’t matter; what matters is what you want to do,” Hua Molan said. “No one should have to endure the torment of killing their lover.”

Upon hearing the word "lover," Jiang Zhengge's fingers visibly trembled slightly.

He pulled out the PM pistol with silver patterns from inside his coat, placed it in his palm, and gently rubbed it with his hand.

During his days of exile in the ideal world, he would take out the gun every day and clean it carefully.

"no way."

Jiang Zhengge chuckled softly.

"Who would want me but to fall for her?"

Seeing the smile on Jiang Zhengge's lips, Hua Molan felt a mix of emotions.

“I respect your choice,” she said. “Let me know if you need help.”

"Thanks, Bone Flower."

"..."

On the other side, Lin Chen and Li Zhanyi sat together, gazing at the bustling combat command center.

"I never imagined it would end like this," Li Zhanyi said. "Louis is dead just like that..."

Lin Chen turned his head and noticed a trace of pain on the girl's face.

He reached out and gently stroked Li Zhanyi's hair, saying:

"It's not your fault."

“I don’t want to kill him,” Li Zhanyi closed his eyes and shook his head. “Capturing him alive is a higher priority, and besides, he used to be so good to us… but…”

She turned her head, her large, dark eyes gazing at Lin Chen.

“But he pointed that thing at you,” Li Zhanyi said softly, “I…I panicked, so I just pulled the trigger.”

"It's not your fault," Lin Chen said.

“But I still killed him,” Li Zhanyi said, averting his gaze. “My God… he’s become so terrifying, why… he wasn’t like this before, he wasn’t like this before…”

Li Zhanyi leaned on Lin Chen's shoulder, and Lin Chen gently put his arm around the girl and patted her shoulder.

"..."

At that moment, the door to the combat command center opened, and Tang Xiaoren strode in with a carefree gait, holding a bottle of Baileys in his hand.

"Damn, this is all the liquor we have left," Tang Xiaoren complained as he walked. "How am I supposed to work without liquor..."

"Tang Xiaoren, you can't drink alcohol while working." Hua Molan frowned sternly.

"My lord, please spare me! I'm going to die if I don't have some water. I haven't had a drink in months on the Orca..."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen's attention was immediately drawn to it.

"The Orca?" he asked Tang Xiaoren.

“Yeah, after we fell into the subspace, we were rescued by the Orca,” Tang Xiaoren shrugged. “Otherwise, why do you think we were able to safely hide in some ruins?”

"So, you've made contact with Chief Bruce?" Jiang Zhengge frowned.

Chief Bruceco, Lin Chen had only seen him once in the Watery City since the chaos in Rain City began.

Of course, strictly speaking, that wasn't Bruce's length.

“The Orca left port on the night of the chaos in Rain City,” Hua Molan said, looking at the data on her notebook. “Louis also sent pursuers, but none of them were able to return.”

“Playing hide-and-seek with the Deep Dive Division in subspace, Louis must be crazy,” Jiang Zhengge shook his head.

"Can you get in touch with them?" Lin Chen asked Tang Xiaoren.

“Of course, he told me he made a major discovery, but I couldn’t understand a word he said,” Tang Xiaoren scratched his head. “I’ll give you the frequency band and coordinates, you can figure it out yourselves.”

"You report it." Hua Molan said, holding her notebook.

Tang Xiaoren informed Hua Molan of the frequency band and coordinates, which Hua Molan entered into her notebook. She then used a high-power subspace transmitter to contact the Deep Dive Division.

However, just a few dozen seconds later, the response came:

"Thank God... thank goodness, they finally got in touch with me..." Bruce's voice came through intermittently.

“Bruce, we have taken back the Bureau of Investigation. Report your depth,” Hua Molan said.

Another ten seconds or so passed before Bruce's response came:

"twenty three..."

The moment this number was announced, everyone's expression changed.

The world record for deep-sea diving is D-5.16, while the theoretical deep-sea diving limit of a subspace tunnel boring machine is only D-6!

And now, Bruce is in D-5.72!

"What are you doing at this depth!" Hua Molan shouted. "Return immediately! You're in danger!"

A dozen seconds later, Bruce replied:

"Don't...hurry, I'm not...hurry...why are you in such a hurry..."

The signal was interrupted.

After a long while, the follow-up information finally arrived:

"I...found...this place...is...safe...no...people...chasing me!"

"Isn't that obvious! Who would go to that depth to chase you!" Hua Molan shouted.

Lin Chen had long known that Bruce was a genius, but he never expected him to be this amazing.

To run to such depths to escape pursuers is as incredible as jumping into volcanic lava to escape a primitive tribe.

He tried to swim in the lava.

"I found... a fragment... deep within... warp space..."

"A fragment? What fragment?" Hua Molan asked.

"Fragments of history..."

Bruce's voice gradually became clearer, indicating that they were slowly ascending.

"...It's amazing...here...I see sapphire...they used sapphire...stone to guide the beam of a space-based weapon...and destroyed New Washington..."

"Explain it more clearly," Hua Molan said.

"...New Washington is located in...subspace, and theoretically...should not be locked onto by space-based weapons...its coordinates are not stable enough..."

"...But...a sapphire was given to...Rockefeller's mistress...she wore the sapphire into...the White House...thus anchoring...the coordinates..."

"..."

Lin Chen and Jiang Zhengge exchanged a glance, both recalling their previous speculations about the Black Star space-based weapon.

The W weapon has very poor tearing accuracy; so far, there have only been two cases of precise hits.

The first time, it was Jürgen who guided the tearing beam using the "ruins" within his own body.

The second time, Xileina calculated the parameters within the subspace and guided the beam of light to fall.

“My previous guess was that Xileina was under control, which is why she was able to guide the beam of light toward New Washington,” Jiang Zhengge said softly. “If Bruce’s information is accurate, then this can be overturned.”

“tide Lena is still resisting,” Lin Chen said softly, “and there is another way to guide the beam of the space-based weapon.”

“Sapphire… an extract of deep blue?” Li Zhanyi guessed.

“It’s not that simple,” Hua Molan shook her head. “The time Euclid was guided by the ruins inside his body, so this so-called ‘sapphire’ should also be a similar composition.”

"They extracted the rubble and turned it into sapphire, thus guiding the space-based weapon to fall?" Jiang Zhengge frowned.

This is not good news.

If this technology truly exists, it means that the Foundation could use any location in the world as a landing point for space-based weapons, should they so choose.

"Sizzle... sizzle..."

A burst of static came through the communication channel, drawing everyone's attention.

“Bruce?” Hua Molan asked.

"...No...newly discovered..."

A loud popping sound rang out, and Bruce probably gasped for breath.