The entire process was very short, less than ten seconds. Wen Xishu nodded at Horn:
"Horn, I've finished it; this really is some heavy-duty information."
The man and woman thought they were going to be tortured, but unexpectedly, they were let go.
Horn naturally trusted Wen Xishu:
"Let's go. We need to get out of here."
Wen Xishu began to lead Horn out.
This time, the two of them openly began to evacuate from the elevator.
"First, we need to find a safe location. During the process of finding this place, I will tell you a loophole about this world..."
"Speaking of which, it's also about an old friend of mine."
Horn showed curiosity.
Wen Xishu said:
"I didn't realize everything was connected."
Horn said:
"I hope you're like me and skip the suspense part; just get straight to the point."
Pushing the wheelchair, Wen Xishu spoke softly:
"On the Ark, there are many Ability Users, and the time they boarded the Ark happened after an old friend of mine left..."
"Hmm, let me think about how to organize my words."
Horn marveled at the complexity of Wen Xishu's social connections but was also curious about what had happened.
"Let's talk about this place first. Someone once came here, but that person is already dead."
"There used to be a banned book here, written by an outsider like us. This person's book described someone who didn't follow order, acted solely according to their own desires. In this city of order, if someone doesn't follow the rules, they must be very strong to survive well."
"The protagonist of this banned book predicted several incidents, and those incidents all happened in reality."
"This book promotes thoughts that are extremely rebellious to this city."
"That is... do what you want to do, don't believe in the behavior code handbook, don't believe in the supreme system."
"I have to talk about the marriage system. The protagonist predicted four things."
"The fourth one hasn't come true yet, but the first three have."
"The first thing is, for convenience in management, partners here are all assigned by the system."
"From birth, it's decided who you will form a family with, and who you will have children with."
"But one day, the protagonist removed an implant from a woman's arm, which was the behavior code handbook. He forced the woman to say something that all women... no, all men in these forced marriages dared to think but not to say —"
"I want to cheat; I don't love my partner."
Horn remained silent.
Wen Xishu smiled and said:
"This scenario also happened in reality. That writer really did the same thing as in his novel. He fell in love with a woman."
"Then the woman said something similar to what was in the novel, expressing her desire to choose her love freely; she didn't love her current husband and child."
"This incident created a huge sensation, but the Law Enforcer couldn't find that writer and the cheating woman."
Horn said:
"What about the second thing?"
Wen Xishu said:
"The second thing is related to children."
"In District 11's school, a child was designated to become a computer operator. But the child didn't like this life, and at the rebellious age of fifteen, he met the protagonist."
"Under the protagonist's persuasion, he removed the implant that initially gave him immense pleasure and numbed his will."
"Without the behavior code handbook, the child said he wanted to become a painter."
"So the protagonist began to help the child pursue his dream."
Horn said:
"So this also happened in reality?"
Wen Xishu nodded:
"This was the most severe loss-of-control incident in the city. That child said in front of the camera: I want to choose my dream according to my own will."
According to your own will, choose your partner.
According to your own will, choose your dream.
The answer was already very obvious.
Horn and Wen Xishu exchanged a glance, as if they both realized the concept.
But neither of them spoke that sentence.
"What's the third thing?" Horn asked.
Wen Xishu said:
"It's about mourning."
Horn frowned slightly:
"What does that mean?"
Wen Xishu explained:
"In this city, everyone must smile, and humans are not allowed to easily feel sadness, anger, or fear."
"You've seen it too; even when facing robbers like us with knives to their throats, they are scared, but once it exceeds a certain level... they fall into a coma."
"People are only allowed to feel happiness. The massive implants of joy have almost deprived them of their true happiness."
"Once unplugged from that immense joy source, can they truly feel happy anymore?"
"Here, after people die, they are mourned. But to maintain orderly management for smooth city operation, even the expressions on their faces during mourning, how many times they kowtow, and the timing for mourning... all are strictly regulated."
"The protagonist took a boy to mourn his grandfather. At first, the boy was scared, but after the protagonist removed his behavior code handbook... under the protagonist's persuasion, the boy began to slowly recall bits and pieces about his grandfather."
"He was unwilling to accept that his grandfather, who was so good, lived such a poor life all his life. Because in this city, you are assigned everything from birth. All your rebellious thoughts, the joy implant will make you give up resisting."
"But once that thing is removed, the boy finally had the right to grieve freely."
"He also said on camera: I want to mourn the past according to my own will."
Horn said:
"This protagonist... if created, would indeed be considered a great villain."
Wen Xishu said:
"Yes, the novel's author is actually an Ability User. I'm not sure of his exact abilities, but I do know him."
Horn thought for a moment; he didn't know such a person on the Ark.
But it was understandable since there were many Ability Users on the Ark, and it was impossible for him to know everyone, nor were all of them converted by the Captain.
Wen Xishu continued:
"This incident did happen in reality. Honestly, I didn't expect he could go to such lengths."
Horn said:
"Then what is the fourth thing?"
Wen Xishu shook his head:
"The fourth thing, the fourth prophecy, failed."
"After the first three prophecies came true, many people started to anticipate what the fourth thing would be. What the fourth prophecy would entail."
"But shortly after, the author was killed by the Law Enforcer."
"To be precise, the Sea Beast started to appear."
Horn understood:
"So, at this time, the Captain started to intervene?"
Wen Xishu nodded:
"I'm not sure of the specific events, but I suspect that Sirius was likely... already in a state of captivity from the start. Or to put it this way, Sirius was actually very weak and was imprisoned by the Captain from the beginning."
"But back then, the Captain couldn't control Sirius, and the Captain had always been attacking Sirius's inner world."
"To save itself, Sirius contacted this author, and had him leave the four prophecies in the crucial spiritual world, which is this city..."
"But unfortunately, he was killed after only fulfilling the third prophecy."
"The fourth prophecy was only revealed but not realized."
Horn said:
"To love according to your own will, to decide your future according to your own will, to mourn the past according to your own will."
"It seems that if the fourth prophecy is realized... a certain shackle will be broken?"
Wen Xishu nodded:
"Yes."
Horn said:
"It's like a ritual. When the fourth one is fulfilled, the ritual is complete, and it can lift the block on people's hearts."
"That's what I think. So, in this situation without any clue, we might try to realize this fourth prophecy," Wen Xishu said.
Horn showed interest:
"What is your friend's name?"
Wen Xishu said:
"His pen name is 'Banana Armor.' His real name is Yin Junchi. I once saved him; I didn't expect he chose to leave the city and head for the Ark. I didn't expect he'd have such an extraordinary experience."
Horn said:
"You have a lot of experiences."
Wen Xishu said:
"If you have the chance to go where I'm from, you'd have a lot of experiences too."
Horn smiled and didn't follow up on that; he desired to stay on the Ark:
"Come on, let's talk about what the fourth prophecy is. Let's make it happen!"