Because Wen Xishu couldn't help but wonder... inside the Ark, is there some observer peeking?
Could there be an observer watching everything?
What state is his own body in now? If the observer knew he had the Ghost Groom persona, would they forcibly destroy his body?
But these questions did not affect Wen Xishu's actions.
The two of them raced against the clock, constantly running towards the upper floors of the building.
Here, there were devices capable of controlling many electronic billboards in the city center.
At this moment, Horn operated the joystick with one hand and gently patted Judy's face with the other.
"Judy, wake up!"
Judy should wake up. Although Mia's voice could continuously spread that bug-like information,
she couldn't supplement the details.
Horn guessed, however, that Judy might be able to add details about the woman.
...
...
Inside the Ark.
Location area.
A middle-aged man with blond hair slicked back and wearing a suit, exuding a smile of someone who could conquer anything. Calling him a middle-aged man was perhaps inaccurate, as he was just over thirty.
The man looked at the person inside the cage — under the confinement of eight pillars, the beast-like mysterious presence inside the cage had fallen into a deep sleep.
This mysterious room could only be entered by the captain and his confidants.
This middle-aged man was the ruler of this Ark.
He was one of the earliest awakeners among many talented individuals, his ability's sequence number was very forward, but he didn't possess any combat power.
However, because he had special rules of power, he quickly gained a transcendent status, even among many talented individuals, he was the supreme emperor.
Beside the captain was his confidant, a former female Marine Corps officer from the Land of Freedom. The scar on the female officer's face made her appear cold-blooded and ruthless.
"Captain, old men, children, women... the things he craves, they are gradually disappearing. As long as this process goes smoothly, in the next step, we can completely control him?"
The captain shook his head:
"Often, the inner world of a person has multiple layers of defenses. People are very complex."
"He always yearns for the past, and he is the one capable of causing temporal vibrations. His past harbors some entities far more terrifying than all of us combined."
"Fortunately, we've erased the concept of old men, ensuring that during the islanding process, those terrifying things won't appear again."
Recalling the existence that emerged once in a certain sinful sea...
The captain still had lingering fears.
He had seen an archer. When the Ark's ability users entered that mental ocean, the archer targeted them, and the captain felt that one shot could penetrate the Ark.
The most terrifying was the person with the lion emblem, who turned half of the Ark's ability users against them.
The captain himself almost fell prey. Just seeing that person made him feel like kneeling.
Yet he escaped.
He realized that he had to bypass the prisoner's memories and find more hidden imagery to slowly eliminate them.
Finally, he found a new path to the island.
"Eliminating the old men means the past no longer exists."
"Eliminating the children means he lost his belief in the future."
Seeing the captain suddenly pause, the female officer asked cooperatively:
"Then... what about the women?"
The captain replied with satisfaction:
"Women, they represent his love. In his memory, there was once a lover named Lyra. Losing this concept means he no longer has any related memories."
"Although I thought of hunting him after hunting Lyra, if Lyra remains in his memory, hunting him would be difficult."
The female officer responded:
"Now his situation is actually only a matter of time for you. But he absolutely can't escape anymore, right?"
The captain pondered for a while:
"Yes. Absolutely impossible. The next 'island' is the most important image. As long as that island falls... he will be my puppet."
"That island is my ideal island. I hope the Ark becomes just like that island."
The female officer knew how to flatter:
"Congratulations in advance on mastering such god-like power."
The captain, however, shook his head and took on a nostalgic expression:
"God-like? Ha, a bit late, I still envy Mr. Jin from Longxia. He must be alive, like me."
"I once invited him to the Ark, but he firmly believed that the Ark was not the path to redemption. This made me regret it. After all, I always thought... he was the man who truly mastered god-like power. I've always wanted to take away what he had."
The female officer didn't know who Mr. Jin was, but she believed that outside the Ark, there shouldn't be any living humans; only various monsters should exist on the land.
"Captain, the transformation has already reached the most critical stage... is there a chance of problems arising?"
The captain still shook his head:
"Even if problems arise, we can't go investigate. After all - entering that place, we also bear the risk of losing concepts. I don't want to lose any concepts."
"Each concept is linked to many images. I hope to remain a complete self."
"I'm also unwilling to let you all go, so we can only test on those who wake up successfully."
The officer understood.
That's how it was tested before. If the concept of old men was lost—then even coming to the Ark, or more precisely, even if consciousness returned to the Ark, the concept of old men would be completely lost.