"The way to leave the Ark is to take the elevator inside the Ark and enter the teleportation gate."
"But that's just an illusion, there's no teleportation gate at all! It's just a consciousness connection device!"
"We... are inside the consciousness of the imprisoned person!"
"The eight of us are sacrificial pawns in a game!"
Horn clapped and said:
"Excellent, yes, the eight of us are sacrificial pawns in a game, it's like a... super complex hypnosis."
"We assume the captain is trying to control the strongest ability user."
"By the way, did he mention his name?"
Wen Xishu hesitated for a second, then decided to tell Horn:
"The imprisoned ability user is called Sirius."
Horn was slightly surprised:
"What a strange name, well, acceptable, all part of the game setting. Hmm... the captain is playing a game with Sirius to control him."
"The so-called game is Sirius attempting to rescue himself through a spiritual attack, represented by the Sea Beast attacking the Ark."
"The captain, through spiritual attacks, attempts to control Sirius."
"And landing on the island actually means entering the consciousness world of Sirius!"
Horn continued:
"The captain may have mastered some ritual or method, allowing eight people to enter the consciousness world of Sirius."
"In this world, by making the eight people lose certain concepts... Sirius also accepts the non-existence of these concepts."
"But among the eight people, as long as someone realizes what the lost concept is... they can preserve Sirius's concept."
"Of course, this possibility is very low. If it weren't for you, Wen Xishu, I wouldn't be able to keep this concept. I have to thank you."
Wen Xishu recalled that before landing on the island, many people had lost some concepts, some had no elderly in their concepts, others had no children.
He couldn't help but ask:
"If... losing the women means losing the harmony of yin and yang, then what does losing the elderly mean?"
Horn shook his head:
"Maybe it means... conservatism, respect, things only the elderly can provide."
"Many people say, when you have no elders around, you will undergo a significant change. You might become cold-blooded or perhaps liberated."
Wen Xishu said:
"What about children then?"
Horn said:
"Hope, change. I'm not sure, just like men and women may not always represent yin and yang. I'm just expressing that elderly, children, women... these may be surface representations, possibly hinting at certain imagery."
"But it can be confirmed that the more images or concepts lost, the more Sirius deviates from himself, becoming more like a puppet."
By the disappearance of various people at different stages... influencing Sirius's inner world?
Wen Xishu felt a chill. Ordinary people trying to find some way to turn a Demigod into a puppet?
This truly is a bold yet logical idea.
Horn said:
"So... when we return to the Ark, what we face is the Sea Beast as Sirius's desire for self-rescue."
"But when we enter the consciousness world, the Sea Beast we face is some tactic of the captain."
"The two Sea Beasts look the same to disorient us, but their essence is different."
Wen Xishu added:
"The fact that they look the same... might also mean that after the previous 'landing,' the captain has gradually mastered some abilities of Sirius."
Horn nodded:
"In short, elderly, children, women... seem to be certain images. If these images are lost, would Sirius gradually become indifferent and numb, or give up on his own redemption?"
Wen Xishu agreed with this view.
He and Horn deduced that even though it seemed absurd, it made sense.
They never left the Ark, never landed on the island, always been inside Sirius's mental world.
No doubt, they helped Sirius safeguard the concept of "woman."
But they also didn't know if everything was as they speculated, then after returning to the Ark... would they encounter trouble.
This journey of the Deceit Tower, the island was a checkpoint, the Ark was also a checkpoint.
One more thing, Wen Xishu was very concerned about—
Evil Land, chaotic sea, are these names really just terminology?
If they are concealing the truth, why not use different names? Why insist on calling it chaotic sea, and not scarlet sea area, or chaotic island pieces instead of Evil Land fragments?
The Evil Land world he mentioned to the elderly tea vendor, do they really have no connection?
Horn looked towards the sky:
"Clouds are gathering again... looks like the next wave of attack is coming. Even though Mia is already unconscious, we seem unable to escape the chase of the Sea Beast."
Horn originally planned to rely on Wen Xishu's controller to manipulate Wen Xishu to defeat the Sea Beast again.
But thinking about how the Sea Beast might be stronger than before, and defeating the Sea Beast wouldn't solve the root problem...
Horn suddenly asked:
"Endless battles don't seem like the right solution. Wen Xishu, do you think someone like me, if not for your help, could pass through alone?"
Wen Xishu caught the implication:
"You mean, can an ordinary person find the lost concept... without triggering the correction system, not be discovered by the Sea Beast?"
Horn sighed:
"I wish we had known each other earlier."
Wen Xishu thought about it:
"In this world without women, those of us who know of the existence of women would be erased by the world."
Horn responded:
"It's like we're viruses, to be cleaned by antivirus software. But before meeting Mia, we hadn't really unlocked the word 'woman.'
"What if we make the entire world become a virus?"
Wen Xishu said:
"I think I understand why you never wanted to abandon Mia and Judy."
The sky kept turning darker, Wen Xishu noticed that the arrival of the Sea Beast indeed was on a schedule.
There's enough time to do many things.
Horn nodded:
"We must join forces to defeat the Sea Beast once more, this time might be tricky, but after this, we won't need to escape meaninglessly, and do something crazy enough."
Wen Xishu smiled and tossed the controller to Horn:
"Horn, I truly hope one day you can leave the Ark."