“Ants in⁠⁠‌‌​⁠‌​‍​⁠‌⁠​‍‍‍‍​​⁠​⁠‌ the abyss gnaw without knowing its depths.

Interwoven with whispers of pain and silent clamor

He dreamt of being toyed with by the lowly, an absurd humiliation.”

Qin Zhilu put down the painting in his hand as his fingers lightly rubbed the bottom edge. Eye had transcribed the prophecy before giving the unfinished painting to An Yu.

“This poem does indeed reflect the awakening methods of your four abilities…” He turned back from the window and looked at An Yu by the door, “Did you go see him again?”

An Yu hummed, “The cathedral isn’t open anymore, but he’s still living there.”

“The cathedral is his home since childhood. How is he?”

An Yu paused, “He was binge drinking.”

Before returning to the Spire, An Yu had gone to the cathedral again.

Eye lay sideways in the single armchair, his two paralyzed legs resting limply on the armrest. One of his hands was extended in the air, finger-tracing the cathedral’s sharp spire, while his other hand gripped a liquor bottle, pouring the strong alcohol down his throat in large gulps.

Railings had been nailed over the floor-to-ceiling window, and he no longer gazed at the firmament. As heavy curtains were drawn, the entire cathedral was plunged into gloom.

An Yu greeted him, confessed the means he had used, and apologized to him, but he didn’t say a word.

Qin Zhilu sighed silently. “His suicide attempt ended in paralysis, and his prophecies weren’t trusted. It’s inevitable he’d be depressed.”

But An Yu shook his head. “Commander, he wasn’t depressed.”

His collar was messy, but his clothes were elegant and clean. His hair was disheveled but not dirty. The poetry books that had been taken away before his suicide attempt were back on the shelf. Even the drifting dust in the air was permeated with incense.

“He painted a new painting. Eyes, one after another, closed, open, and about to open. If you look for a few seconds, you’d get the illusion they are blinking.” An Yu pursed his lips. “Commander, the eyes he painted reminded me of the data I saw at Brain.”

Qin Zhilu hesitated. “Zhan Xue’s aberrant form?”

An Yu nodded lightly. “In the image data, Zhan Xue’s back had been covered in giant eye sacs after her aberration. Although it isn’t exactly like the Poet’s painting, I think of Zhan Xue the moment I see it. I remember the secret execution record stated—”

Qin Zhilu interjected, “After Zhan Xue died, some of the sacs automatically atrophied, and the eyeballs disappeared.”

An Yu pursed his lips and nodded. He thought for a moment, then added in a low voice, “After Zhan Xue died, humans thought the embryo had disappeared and naturally lost with the mother’s death. The truth was, I survived. Similarly, humans thought some eye sacs had automatically atrophied. Could it be that…”

Qin Zhilu didn’t say anything. He turned his head to look out the window. The just-revived human Main City glittered under the night sky. In an era ravaged by disaster, this place guarded the last dignity of human civilization.

An Yu slowly approached him, hugging a small box. “Are you very concerned about the Poet?”

Qin Zhilu snapped back to his senses and shook his head. “Not him. Someone else.”

An Yu was stunned. In an instant, he suddenly realized something. “Codex?”

Qin Zhilu had told him that out of fear of the first Super-Aberrant, Black Tower had been constantly searching for relics left by Zhan Xue. The most difficult to find were her teaching plans or notes, which were scattered around the world. And Codex had only aberrated a few months ago, the source being his accidental discovery of that mysterious old manuscript in a library.

An Yu’s heart skipped a beat. He opened his mouth but made no sound.

Qin Zhilu chuckled. “No need to hide it. I know Codex also has predictive abilities. Perhaps, abilities even more profound than Eye’s?”

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He didn’t give An Yu a chance to stay stunned. His gaze fell on the small box An Yu was hugging, and he held out his hand. “If I didn’t take the initiative, were you not planning on giving it to me?”

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An Yu was baffled. “Why?”

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A few minutes later.

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Qin Zhilu hesitated several times, then finally picked up a fishtail cookie. “It’s very creative, and it smells nice, but… did you really need to make it this detailed?”

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—On the side of the fishtail, near the end, there was a unique little hole. It looked inconspicuous and could easily be mistaken for an air hole left from baking. But in fact, Mrs. Maddie’s craftsmanship was exquisite; she locked the air holes inside the body of every cookie, never letting them be exposed on the surface.

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“That’s enough.” Qin Zhilu’s face was terrifyingly dark.

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An Yu was baffled. “I meant myself.”

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The Commander’s expression was serious; he hadn’t seen such a look on the Commander’s face in a long time.

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An Yu braced himself for the Commander’s reprimand over the next cookie, but it never came. Qin Zhilu sat at the desk, slowly and elegantly picking up the cookies one by one and putting them in his mouth, just as he always ate. Soon, he had reached the bottom of the box.

When only one of each flavor remained, he closed the box and casually placed it on the bookshelf.

The handwritten description card remained in his palm, and he stroked it lightly.

He read the small line of text aloud: “‘Does it look very ominous?’—So, are you retorting to the Poet? Are you indignant on my behalf?”

An Yu’s heart skipped a beat.

This person in front of him was truly terrifying. He was omniscient. Even a thought An Yu himself hadn’t dwelt on was instantly seen through.

Qin Zhilu rubbed the line of messy scrawl over and over. After a long time, he said, “But had you ever thought that, up to this point, every single thing the Poet predicted has come true? The red light he saw, Codex must have seen it too. Although Codex isn’t pessimistic for the time being, he hasn’t denied what the Poet said, did he?”

An Yu nodded. “Yes. I’ve never doubted the Poet’s predictive ability.”

Qin Zhilu walked over and stood still in front of him.

The dim room made the Main City lights outside the glass window seem even more brilliant.

Qin Zhilu stood with his back to that splendor. “In that case, by silencing him to cover for me, don’t you feel you are letting humanity down?”

An Yu’s gaze was tranquil. “Why should I have to answer to humanity? Commander, I’ve never made any promises to humanity. From the beginning to the end, I’ve only ever pledged myself to you.”

Those dark eyes gazing down at him wavered for an instant. Qin Zhilu opened his mouth. From the shape of his lips, An Yu thought he looked as if he was about to say, “You shouldn’t be like this,” but in the end, he didn’t say anything. He just raised his hand, pulled off his glove in mid-air, and gently pressed his palm onto An Yu’s head.

“His fur has grown in, and his teeth has sharpened.”

His palm rubbed An Yu’s head, starting very gently, then adding a bit of force, until he had messed up all his white hair.

An Yu lowered his eyes to look at Qin Zhilu’s legs. “Commander, your palm’s warm. You shouldn’t wear gloves in the future.”

“Why?” Qin Zhilu asked.

An Yu pursed his lips. “Xu Shuangshuang said this leather material is very expensive. But I feel like you go through several pairs of gloves on every mission. That’s too wasteful.”

Qin Zhilu raised an eyebrow. “Just for that?”

“Mhm.” An Yu lightly licked his slightly chapped lips, then murmured softly, “You can give me the money you save. In exchange, I’ll give you a box of cookies every day, or the small breads you like.”

The room was quiet for a moment. The hand on his head suddenly retracted, only to lift his chin.

That pair of black eyes was exceptionally deep. Qin Zhilu’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He whispered, “How do you know I like small breads?”

“It was last time, you yourself…” An Yu stopped mid-sentence.

Suddenly, he felt the surrounding atmosphere was somewhat unusual. The Commander was gripping his chin, forcing him to look up. His neck was gradually starting to ache, and he had the illusion that the Commander was about to press down on him in the next second.

But at this moment, the Commander retracted all his oppressiveness. Even though the hand gripping his chin was not very gentle, his gaze was very soft.

Like a deep sea with surging undercurrents.

An Yu actually became lost in those eyes. After a long time, he came back to his senses. His heartbeat was slow and heavy, as if he had returned to the seabed.

“This large-scale aberrant tide is over.” He heard himself say in a low, uncontrolled voice, “Your future missions… I’ll accompany you on those too, whether or not there is a time-space disordered zone.”

“Mhm.” Qin Zhilu took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and finally released An Yu’s chin. He gently rubbed the scar behind his ear. “It seems the little beast is fully grown now.”