Karen's Funeral!

Karen let out a long breath of relief, a smile touching his face. Because Mr. Aisen wasn't dead, "Awaken" was ineffective. Mr. Aisen asked, "Karen, um, you're still alive, right?" "Of course, Uncle. I'm not an illusion spawned by the pollution, nor am I a nightmare like Mother was." "Good, that's good, wonderful. Heh, wonderful." Mr. Aisen believed whatever Karen said without the slightest doubt. He had heard the outcome he longed to hear, and anything other than this was something he simply couldn't accept. Even if this before him was a dream, he would bury his head and keep dreaming it; no one could wake him. Besides, his nephew standing right in front of him was stark naked. Neither an illusion nor an incubus would produce such an out-of-place scene. Something this contrary to common sense felt all the more real. Karen also realized he wasn't wearing any clothes. Having just crawled out of that pool of thick pollution, even his body had just been "woven" anew. How could he possibly have clothes? Earlier, all his attention had been focused on his uncle, so he hadn't noticed. Still, there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Back on missions, Fannie and Peg had often walked around naked in front of him. In extreme circumstances, who cared about minor scruples that wouldn't even graze the skin? Karen stood up and walked over to the corpse of a researcher not far away. The body stood upright, still swaying slightly, and Karen could see tiny, insect-like crawlers weaving across it. Were they viral strains? However, these crawlers seemed extremely languid right now. In truth, because Mr. Luther had previously drawn most of the surrounding pollution into his own body, the concentration of pollution inside this laboratory had dropped to rock bottom, and all the viral strains had fallen into a state akin to hibernation. This was also why Mr. Aisen had been able to hold out down here for so long. "Praise Order." After murmuring the words, Karen stripped the clerical robes off the corpse and put them on himself. A self-purifying array was embedded in the robes, ensuring their cleanliness. As for the tiny crawlers clinging to the fabric, the moment Karen pulled the robes on, they scrambled away in panic. Once dressed, Karen walked back to where he had "crawled" out and gathered the belongings he had dropped on the floor, then returned to Mr. Aisen. Though Mr. Aisen was still alive, he appeared exceedingly frail. Karen had no way to use spellcraft to examine him right now, but taking a lesson from before, he asked directly, "Uncle, how does your body feel right now?" Mr. Aisen's lips twitched. Looking somewhat embarrassed, he shifted his gaze slightly aside and answered, "I'm... hungry." Having been tormented by the hunger addiction for so long and having just engaged in a fierce battle against it not long ago, hearing this answer naturally left Karen's mind momentarily dazed. It took him a good while to realize that his uncle's stomach was genuinely empty. So, Mr. Aisen's current weakness was simply because he hadn't eaten? "Karen, the food in my pack is gone. The little bit that was left, I rationed it for a long time, but it's completely gone now." When the volunteer team came down, everyone carried a pack mostly filled with tools and materials. There was food, but not much. The reason was simple: who would linger to enjoy the scenery and camp out down here? Either you succeeded and came straight back out, or you failed and died inside. Reality wasn't a heroic novel. Miracles were called miracles precisely because you never factored the possibility into your daily planning. Karen was that exception. And to a degree, because the concentration of pollution had plummeted to absolute zero, Mr. Aisen surviving until now was also an accident. Still, out of food... weren't there plenty of corpses here? Karen glanced at the bodies of the fallen volunteers on the floor, as well as the hundreds of researcher corpses still swaying upright. Setting aside the pollution, it wasn't as if they were inedible. Put another way, if you were on the verge of starving to death, why would you care about pollution? At most, you could mind your manners before digging in, just as he had "borrowed clothes" earlier, chanting "Praise Order" instead of "bon appétit." The dead priests wouldn't blame you anyway. They were all believers of Order. Of course, you could also choose to sample the flavor of the Principle. Partner churches never stood on ceremony. Hadn't Neo eaten Philias beneath the sea just to survive? Though looking back now, Mr. Philias was far more polluting than these tainted remains. Then again, Mr. Aisen was Mr. Aisen after all. Even if he often participated in Whip of Order squad activities under the identity of "Memphis," at his core he remained an array master who leaned heavily toward research. Things that veteran members of the Whip of Order took for granted were completely foreign concepts to him. Karen didn't lecture Mr. Aisen on survival skills. Instead, his gaze swept across the area until he walked up to a door. Pulling the bolt back, he pulled the door open. Inside was a storage room packed with food supplies. With hundreds of people in the laboratory, how could there not be a pantry? Karen grabbed some sausages, bread, and two bottles of red wine. The price of this wine was several times higher than that of the "Veteran Actor" in the mini-fridge of his second-hand black Ponce. "These researchers were treated ridiculously well." Seeing Karen return carrying food and drinks, Mr. Aisen's eyes instantly widened. His lips began to tremble, and his frosted, pale, bloodless face flushed with a crimson hue of deep shame. He felt unimaginably stupid—he had nearly starved to death right next to a granary! "Th-that... ah, there, there's so much food in there... I, I never thought of that. You really are amazing, Karen." "It's completely normal. The environment here is unique, after all." Karen broke off pieces of food and fed them to Mr. Aisen bit by bit, letting him take a sip of wine every two bites to wash it down. In the past, Karen would not have hesitated to cast healing spells on Mr. Aisen to forcibly stabilize his condition, then carry him out of here as fast as possible. But right now, he temporarily couldn't use spellcraft. Karen worried that the breath Mr. Aisen had desperately clung to just to wait for him would disperse the moment he saw Karen emerge safely, and that sudden relief might cause him to kick the bucket on the spot. After feeding Mr. Aisen, Karen ate a little himself. The taste of the wine was overly harsh and pungent. Because alcohol was harmful to the human body, the initial taste produced a strong rejection response, essentially the body's warning that the substance was dangerous. Regular drinking was merely overcoming that bodily warning. So, could he experience the dizzying rush of smoking a cigarette again, just like when he had first awakened on Mink Street? Karen recalled that back then, it was Aunt Mary who had given him a cigarette. After smoking it, he had slipped into Ms. Molly's "nightmare" and passed out, frightening his aunt half to death. "What are you thinking about?" asked Mr. Aisen, who had regained some color. "I miss home." "Then we'll go home right away." Mr. Aisen had misunderstood. Karen pressed a hand against Mr. Aisen's chest and said, "Uncle, rest a while longer. Your health comes first." "But it's dangerous here. I think we..." "It's fine. It's not dangerous anymore." Although he couldn't use spiritual power right now, the pollution looked to him like an insect enthusiast's collection. Creepy crawlers that appeared terrifying to outsiders were now nothing more than "little cuties" in his eyes. Moreover, they didn't dare approach. They all kept their distance, as if tacitly acknowledging the "boss's" exclusive territory. "All right, I'll listen to you." "Yeah." "By the way, I had a dream, Karen. It was so, so long. I dreamed I saw you dangling over a cliff." "And then?" "I happened to have a red hemp rope in my hand, so I threw it to you. Seeing you catch it, I pulled you up with all my might. I pulled for so long. I didn't dare let go, terrified you'd fall if I did, and I was so scared you would let go too." "Thank you, Uncle." "What are you thanking me for? It was just a dream. You getting out alive has nothing to do with me." "It does." "You're too polite." Karen knew that in the final moment, escaping the restraints and crawling out alive had truly depended on Mr. Aisen. The golden Chains of Order had resonated with the Arte bloodline in his body, drawing upon the power of the God of Eternal. Under that juncture, the Arte relative nearby had served as an anchor. If his uncle hadn't stayed behind to wait for him, if he hadn't been here, Karen would have found it exceedingly difficult to crawl out once he lost that anchor. According to legend, the most terrifying aspect of the God of Eternal was that whatever he laid eyes upon could become eternal. Of course, that undoubtedly involved exaggeration, or perhaps... an expression on a different plane. Here, eternal could also be understood as indestructible. The reason the hunger addiction statue had failed to bite down and swallow him whole in the end was that his state had undergone a peculiar transformation at that moment. He just didn't know whether it would work next time, not to mention... the hunger addiction was very likely to continue evolving. After a while, Mr. Aisen said, "Karen, I think I can walk now." "All right, Uncle, I'll help you up." Karen helped Mr. Aisen to his feet. With great effort, Mr. Aisen raised his hand, a rune appearing in his palm. As the rune activated, the stone door opened a crack, just wide enough for the two of them to pass through. Stepping past the stone door, the two began making their way out along the tunnel. "Karen, are you heavily injured?" Aisen asked. "No, something happened to my body. My spiritual power is gone, and this is a new body now." "A new body?" Aisen nodded. "I see." Mr. Aisen believed whatever his nephew said unconditionally. Even if Karen claimed to be the God of Order, he would probably believe it. "Um, does that mean you're very weak right now?" "Not really. For an ordinary person, I think I'm quite healthy." Karen glanced at the walls of the tunnel, which were crawling with all sorts of tiny insects. "As long as you're alive. As for your power..." "My power won't take long to recover either." "Yes, of course. For you, that's hardly an issue." They were approaching the cave exit when Karen suddenly halted. Looking around in bewilderment, Mr. Aisen asked, "What's wrong?" "Uncle, how long have we been down here?" "How long?" Mr. Aisen lifted his wrist, but the calendar watch had stopped ticking long ago. Many things broke down in this place. Fortunately, Mr. Aisen could estimate based on how hungry he had gotten. He replied, "I don't know the exact time, but it's been at least ten days." At least ten days... "What is it, Karen?" "Uncle, it's probably not a good idea for us to go out right now." "Why?" "If you were outside maintaining the sealing array, and the first batch of volunteers had already returned with the two divine artifacts, what would your reaction be if, after at least ten days, you saw two people walking out of there?" Mr. Aisen replied, "I'd think I was seeing ghosts." Sometimes, one could perform miracles—like surviving on a battlefield, or carrying out a special mission where the main force was wiped out but you survived. When everyone assumed you were dead, your sudden appearance would indeed bring joy and pleasant surprise. However, this was the source of divine pollution. After so many days, not only were you not dead, but you walked out as if nothing had happened. That would only bring pure fright. When that time came, you could look forward to being sliced up and studied by the higher-ups. Karen did an internal check. He seemed thoroughly clean right now, so they probably wouldn't find any flaws. But the problem was that being excessively clean was the biggest flaw of all. The head of a regional Whip of Order Law Enforcement Department, a man with a "glorious track record," coming back from an inspection without even being a servant? "Karen, do you want to keep your secret identity hidden?" "Yes." Karen nodded. "It cannot be exposed." "Then what do we do?" "Uncle, can we leave through another way? For example, a transmission array?" "A transmission array?" Mr. Aisen pursed his lips. "There's a sealing array outside. A temporary transmission array couldn't possibly pierce the seal." "There should be a permanent transmission array in the laboratory." "Yes, there should be. If we repair and activate it, it should be able to pass through the seal. But the Throne of Order is hovering above, locking down the surrounding space. A transmission array can't be opened at all. If we force it, we'll immediately face the strangling power of the Throne of Order." The Throne of Order... "Let's try it first. I can attempt to deal with the Throne of Order's strangling power." "But you don't have any power right now, Karen..." "Uncle, what is the greatest ability of the Throne of Order?" "To return everything to Order." "Right now, I am probably in the cleanest state of Order possible." Within his soul, only the hunger addiction of Order remained, and that hunger addiction was an inherently pure manifestation of Order. "But you're gambling with your life, Karen." "Please trust me, Uncle." "All right." Aisen nodded. "However, this method can only be used once. Because of the Throne of Order, I'm confident they wouldn't have set up an additional space-locking array, so our only chance of success is on the first attempt. There won't be a second chance. Naturally, under normal circumstances, facing the strangulation of the Throne of Order, there's rarely a second chance anyway." "Let's proceed with that then, Uncle. We're heading back." "Okay." Karen supported Aisen as they turned back. Halfway there, Mr. Aisen suddenly thought of something and asked, "I'll be fine. If I die, it just means Memphis died, and I can continue living under my original identity. "But Karen, if you don't walk out openly, doesn't that mean your identity is completely gone? People outside must have already declared you dead." "Probably so." The outside world definitely considered him dead. The original Whip of Order Head Karen was now just a black-and-white portrait. The official Order identity he had worked so hard to build had essentially been revoked. Karen couldn't help feeling a pang of loss. Still, to protect his secrets, he had no choice. Besides, his greatest consolation was that he had obtained his most vital trump card: the continuously rechargeable golden chain. As long as he returned, his core subordinates would still be his people, and he could even "awaken" helpers. In truth, he had still come out ahead. As for Rasma... Heh. He really wanted to see the look on Rasma's face when the man left Mink Street, came back intending to kill him, and discovered that Karen had already become a martyr. Even so, though he could comfort himself, Karen's mood remained somewhat subdued. Returning to the laboratory, Mr. Aisen located the internal transmission platform. "Karen, thank goodness, this place isn't damaged at all. When the accident happened, they probably only had time to activate the lockdown array and couldn't do anything else. I only need to make some specific adjustments." "Where exactly are we transmitting to?" "A long-distance transmission array isn't suitable. It takes too long to prepare, carries high difficulty and great risk, and could easily alert those outside to intervene beforehand. So we can only choose a short-distance transmission. "I know the coordinates of a Yorktown transmission array. It belongs to a special sector of the Formation Department used for regional black ops. Someone will actively receive us upon receiving a summon, and no records are kept. We can transmit there." The bishop of the Yorktown Region Formation Department was Karen's maternal grandfather, Mr. Aisen's father, so having such backdoor access was completely natural. "Then handle things here first, Uncle. I'll go take a look outside." "Sure, no problem. I do need a little time. I can cut out unnecessary safety protocols to speed up the transmission as much as possible. Also, do we need to set up a failsafe to destroy it once we're through? "Assuming we leave successfully, of course." "The Throne of Order is right above us, Uncle." "You want to preserve this channel?" Aisen immediately understood Karen's intention. "If this channel can only be used by me alone, why shouldn't we keep it?" "Understood." Karen swept a warning gaze across the array room, and the tiny insects clinging to the walls immediately vanished into hiding. Only then did Karen step out of the room and walk to the spot where he had previously "crawled" out. A small puddle of sludge still remained here, squirming and gleaming with a greasy sheen. If it hadn't been obvious when he first woke up, now that he had fed his uncle and returned, Karen clearly sensed the changes taking place. The viral strains that had been in "hibernation"—those insects—showed distinct signs of resurgence. The concentration of divine pollution had dropped here, but it was reconvening. After all, the true source of divine pollution was the fury of the purple-haired people. As long as that fury persisted and faith continued pouring in, the pollution here would perpetually linger, continuously undergoing new mutations. No wonder the God of Light had needed to sign a contract regarding the God-Burial Grounds; no wonder the God of Order, after trampling the God-Burial Grounds flat, had still required Raniedal to exile them; and in the history of the previous era, deities specifically dedicated to hauling and disposing of divine corpses had even emerged. The pollution left behind after a god's death was simply too difficult to clean up. And the lingering issues from a deity who suffered an unnatural death were bound to be even more troublesome. *If the pollution here is going to regroup, does that mean the red-necked boy is destined to be reborn after some time?* The red-necked boy was the embodiment of the purple-haired people's fury and brutality; he was not an isolated living organism. Karen bit his lip. He felt he had to do something. If the pollution wasn't brought under genuine control after he came and left, what had been the point of his descent? When the red-necked boy condensed anew, wouldn't he still be able to descend with pollution through the channels of faith? It was impossible for the Church of Order to slaughter every purple-haired person in Wien just to avert this threat, wasn't it? Though... Karen felt that if this issue were submitted to higher authorities, the Church of Order might actually do just that. That was simply the Church of Order's style: accustomed to coldly obliterating all external influences that shouldn't exist. Karen reached out toward the puddle of sludge below. "Order... Awaken." The chains appeared once more. But this time, they weren't golden, but white. Based on his experience "awakening" Luoya last time, white chains were effective at reconvening consciousness—provided, of course, that there was separated consciousness available to gather, rather than fabricating it out of thin air. And here, not to mention the puddle on the floor, the splatters across the walls were practically all Mr. Luther. The white chain sank into the sludge, taking effect. The sludge on the ground began to scatter, bleached clean in midair, gradually coalescing into a phantom figure—Mr. Luther. Only the Mr. Luther before him looked overly young, almost tender. "Everyone, I have a dream, which is... ah!" Seeing Karen, Mr. Luther let out a shout in his ghostly state. To Karen, everything had been a long, tortuous struggle, but to Mr. Luther, his emotions had plummeted directly to this point after seeing the colossal statue. "Mr. Karen... this..." "I awakened you," Karen explained. "I hope you can remain stationed here, Mr. Luther, to suppress and control the pollution, preventing it from overflowing and causing harm." "So, I must continue existing?" "Yes. I'm sorry." Karen knew that Mr. Luther had originally sought release. "No, you don't need to apologize." Mr. Luther looked down at himself. "I feel much better than before." With that, Mr. Luther bent down and scooped an infant from the little sludge that remained. The infant had a red neck and purple hair, but was tiny right now, sleeping peacefully in Mr. Luther's embrace. As Mr. Luther came into contact with the infant, blackness reappeared at his feet. Clearly, rot had returned, beginning to corrode him once again. The good news was that at this rate, Mr. Luther could hold out for a long time. Yet he could have chosen not to touch it, living in this underground cavern like an artifact spirit. Seeming to sense Karen's confusion, Mr. Luther explained, "This is my duty. The greatest honor and fortune of my life was having so many supporters willing to follow me and heed my teachings. How could I ever abandon them? I could never abandon them. They are my reason for existing." "Yet that wasn't what you said when you handed the responsibility to me earlier." "Earlier, it was because I knew I didn't have much time left. Now it's different. There's a group of people in this world who, no matter how exhausting life gets or how much they complain, will grit their teeth and persevere. Only when life is nearing its end do they truly let go and make peace with themselves. "I belong to that group of people." "In any case, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Luther." "No. Though I don't know the specifics of what transpired, I can sense that the one who truly bore the hardship was you, Mr. Karen. You orchestrated all of this." "It wasn't me. It was Order." "Very well. I witnessed Order, and I was deeply shaken." "It is indeed awe-inspiring." "You misunderstand me, Mr. Karen, but it doesn't matter. Oh, right, are you planning to leave through that transmission platform?" "Yes, that's right." "I don't think that route is viable. The chair above can..." Mr. Luther seemed to suddenly realize something, and he shrugged. "Oh, it seems I was worrying for nothing. I will withdraw all the pollution from that area now to give you and your friend a better environment to prepare." "Thank you." "Don't mention it." "If there's an opportunity in the future, I will come visit you. I believe by then, we'll have a solution to the problem here." "As long as it doesn't involve slaughtering every purple-haired person, I will support it." Karen smiled. Mr. Luther smiled as well. "Originally, I couldn't see through you, but now, you are far too clean. So clean that I caught sight of it with a casual glance. My apologies for the offense." "It's fine." "I will await your return here, Lord Order." Karen turned and walked back to the array room. "Karen, I'm ready." "Then let's begin. I want to return early. Even if I can't return under my own identity, at least I can put an early end to the grief of those who worry about me—like Grandmother." Aisen reminded him, "And Grandfather." "Oh, yes, Grandfather too." Karen stepped onto the array platform. Before activating the array, Aisen asked, "Karen, why don't you undergo purification right here? I can prepare some holy water for you so you'll have a bit more confidence facing the Throne of Order." Purification allowed one to become a servant. Karen asked in return, "Uncle, before the Throne of Order, do you think a servant has any more confidence than an ordinary person?" "Ah." Mr. Aisen froze for a moment. "Right, that makes a lot of sense." Becoming a servant through purification was a simple affair. Most people only needed the aid of some holy water materials. But Karen didn't want to start over like that. Last time, he had used Purr's finger of Light to complete his purification. From that moment on, his foundational reserves had far surpassed those of anyone at the same stage. This time would be no different. Moreover, his preparations could be even more thorough now, his state was noticeably superior, and he could undergo a purification of a far higher order! *Order, come out and face me.* *Fine. Perhaps this time, I truly will get to meet you.* Not just purification, but God's Revelation, God's Shepherd... he would complete every step more thoroughly than the first time, gaining even more. His grandfather could unleash a forbidden curse with a wave of his hand at the level of an Inquisitor—what terrifying foundation that was. Now, it was his turn. This time, he would tread a path so rock-solid that it would drive others to despair. "It's starting!" Mr. Aisen activated the transmission array. The instant it flared to life, a black vortex materialized above, unleashing a beam of black light. Sensing the fluctuations here, the power of the Throne of Order had begun to intervene. Karen raised his hand, and the golden Chains of Order surged forward, instantly ensnaring the beam of light. A powerful force of Order flowed through the chains into Karen's body, piercing through his soul. Karen stood motionless. If he had already purified himself into a servant possessing the power of Light, he might have suffered agony. But right now, he could guarantee he was cleaner than any so-called "Child of God." Sure enough, the power of Order entered Karen's body and cycled back out, as if undergoing some kind of circulation. Standing beside him, Mr. Aisen's eyes went wide. It was the first time he had ever seen anyone stand completely unscathed before the power of the Throne of Order. He couldn't help marveling inwardly: *Just how loyal to the Church of Order must my nephew be to achieve something like this?* With the throne's interference intercepted by Karen, the transmission array officially ignited. *Buzz!* A flash of white light enveloped them, and both vanished. Outside the cave, along the perimeter of the sealing array, a group of array masters stared at each other in shock. One of them immediately cursed, "What the hell? I think I just felt a transmission array fluctuation!" ... Everything went precisely as Mr. Aisen had anticipated. Someone received them, but no records were made, and Mr. Aisen even remembered to deliberately sabotage the receiving array. Even if an investigation followed, tracing them would be impossible. With that done, the two didn't delay. Karen activated his silver ring and put on a mask, while Mr. Aisen took his mask off and hailed an internal church carriage. Initially, Mr. Aisen wanted to take Karen home first to see his parents, but the address Karen gave the coachman was the Whip of Order headquarters building. Hearing the destination, the coachman immediately said, "Ah, gentlemen, you're here to attend that department head's memorial service, aren't you?" Mr. Aisen looked at Karen at once. Could it really be such a coincidence? Karen leaned back against the seat with a touch of resignation. Heh, he was actually catching his own memorial service. "That department head was truly heroic. He was a devout believer of Order." The coachman sighed emotionally, crossing his hands. "Praise the great God of Order." Karen and Mr. Aisen had no choice but to follow suit. "Praise the great God of Order." Then Karen urged, "Sir, please hurry. I'm afraid we won't make it in time." "Don't worry. The memorial service should have just begun; you'll definitely make it." The carriage activated its concealing array and sped along the road. Arriving outside the Whip of Order headquarters, Karen and Aisen stepped down. As Mr. Aisen moved to pull out point coupons, the coachman waved his hand. "I'll cover the fare for you two gentlemen, consider it my way of paying respects to that department head." With that, the coachman turned the carriage around and drove away. Mr. Aisen tucked the point coupons back into his pocket and asked, "Are you touched, even just a little?" "Actually, a little, yeah." The scale of the memorial service was massive, with flower baskets lining the path from the main gate all the way inside. However, Karen chose not to go inside to watch his own funeral just yet. Instead, he led Mr. Aisen toward the dormitory building; he needed to let Purr and the others know he was safe first. At the foot of the dormitory building, Karen spotted Richard, clad in clerical robes, pushing a wheelchair out. Seated in the wheelchair was an injured man completely wrapped from head to toe in white bandages. "Dad, what are you doing here?" Richard called out. "I... I came to take a look." "Did you bring condolence money?" "Huh?" Aisen froze for a moment before quickly replying, "Yes, yes, I brought some." "No one knows where you ran off to these past days either. Grandpa and Grandma will be here shortly. Why don't you wait here for a bit?" "Is that so? Oh, all right then." Mr. Aisen nodded. Just then, the bandaged man in the wheelchair raised a hand, gesturing for Richard to attend to his family. "Are you really fine?" Richard asked with concern. The bandaged man shook his head. "All right then." Richard walked over. "Dad, I'll wait with you for Grandpa and Grandma." The bandaged man pointed at Karen. Karen walked over on his own initiative. Richard asked curiously, "Who is this uncle?" "Oh, a friend of mine." Hearing this answer, Richard immediately reached out and felt his father's forehead. "Dad, you don't have a fever, do you?" "What do you mean by that?" "You actually have friends now. Heh." "How can you still smile?" "Smiling is a sign of respect for him, because we know he wouldn't want to see us cry." "Sigh, true enough." "Today isn't just for him; other people's memorial services are being held at the same time. One of my good companions, my former deputy office director, Memphis." "Yeah? Did he sacrifice himself too?" "Yes. He was an idiot." "Don't speak about others like that." "There was something wrong with his head. Seriously, Dad, I swear his brain wasn't right. I told him to leave, but he refused. Sigh, at least he's dead." At this point, Richard choked up slightly. Aisen consoled him, "His sacrifice was worth it." "Yes, of course his sacrifice was worth it." Richard sniffled, forcing another smile. "At least he died without having children. Otherwise, I really think his brain problems would've been passed down to his son. This way, future generations are spared." Aisen: "Are you coming home today?" "Yeah, I'll head back later with Grandpa and Grandma. What about you, Dad? Didn't you come from home?" "After the memorial service, I'll go back with you." ... Karen walked behind the wheelchair. The bandaged man pointed forward, and Karen pushed him ahead. After walking some distance away, the bandaged man snapped his fingers, casting an isolation barrier. "Damn it, I knew you wouldn't die!" It was Neo's voice. "Heh." Karen laughed. "The moment I saw the guy standing next to Aisen, I knew it was you! Hahahaha!" Memphis had died in the cave, yet "Memphis" had appeared again. So who else could the stranger beside Memphis possibly be? "Let's head up first. I'll tell you and the dog what happened down in the cave later." "Oh, sharing an audience with Lord Dog? What an absolute honor." Karen turned the wheelchair around. Neo raised a hand to stop him. "Wait. Before hearing your story, take a look at the gift I prepared for you." "A gift?" "I'm sure you'll love this gift. It'll definitely surprise you." "What gift?" Neo reached up and unraveled the bandages over his face, looking up at Karen, who was pushing the wheelchair behind him. What met Karen's eyes was a bloody, skinless face. "Were you polluted? Richard looked fine to me." "When I came out of the cave, I took off my mask and revealed my true face. You know I'm faceless to begin with. "Along the way, I tore off every inch of skin on my body; "Then I deliberately rubbed a bit of pollution onto myself so that my whole body festered with pus. You wouldn't believe how fucking tragic it looked." Puzzled, Karen asked, "Was it worth it? Just to earn some extra brownie points?" "Hehehe." Neo chuckled, then made a shushing gesture: "Hush, listen." Just then, the amplification array throughout the headquarters building began broadcasting: "Guests and attendees, please proceed to the grand auditorium on the lower ground floor. The memorial service is about to commence. "Today, "Let us join in deeply mourning the one who valiantly laid down his life for Order... "Head Neo."