Clerk 44 Is Smiling

The Gear Car traveled along the tracks, slowly and steadily approaching the towering pagoda.

Jie La Er sat in the corner seat just like yesterday. No one wanted to get close to him because he reeked of engine oil, but he could still hear the enthusiastic conversations of the people in the carriage.

"Oh, you got another new prosthetic leg?"

"Yes, it was just launched three days ago."

"What exactly is it used for?"

"Look, just like this, as long as you press this button... bang, a Spring Grappling Hook can fly out from inside."

"Oh, that startled me... Is that all?"

"What do you mean 'that's all'? Don't you think it's super cool? That reason is enough, right? Besides, it's the latest model. Don't you want to consider getting one?"

"Hmm... it is indeed very cool, but it's also a bit too big. If I were to install it, I would need to cut off part of my arm, which doesn't seem worth it."

Jie La Er glanced at the two people talking. Judging from their age, they should still be considered children. One of them was enthusiastically showing off her Spring Grappling Hook to the other, while a hint of hesitation flashed in the other's eyes.

"Times have changed." Bai Wei's slow voice echoed in Jie La Er's mind. "Initially, only warriors who lost their bodies in the fight against pollution would be fitted with metal bodies or prosthetics to ensure their basic living. Later, all warriors would get them fitted to enhance their combat power. And now... it seems to have become a national trend."

Jie La Er was silent for a moment, then said, "You know Lyra very well."

"I know a little bit," Bai Wei said. "This world is actually quite interesting. Each sect has a very unique way of survival, and Lyra is the most unique of them all. Your use of divine power in this way would be considered blasphemy in the Rhine."

Jie La Er didn't speak; he simply turned his head and continued looking at the Tower of Babel.

Last night, he still reached a deal with Bai Wei.

The deal was simple: he would use Bai Wei's eyes to "see" the city again, but he would have to pay the price for those eyes himself. Bai Wei would continue to recover inside his body until everything was resolved, at which point he would be responsible for finding a new host for Bai Wei.

However, there are several prerequisites for this transaction.

First, Bai Wei will not allow any further intervention of power in Lyra.

Second, Bai Wei will not allow anyone or anything to be harmed by Lyra.

On the surface, the deal was not fair; Bai Wei was like an old man who asked for nothing in return, yet he still had to accept various restrictions.

But Jie La Er and Bai Wei both knew exactly what the other wanted.

Jie La Er called the deal a "transaction," while Bai Wei referred to it as the "first deal."

Once there's a first time, there will be a second and a third. Right now, Jie La Er only wants the vision of that eye, not the real power, which is why the conditions are so favorable.

What if he wants more?

Bai Wei seemed very certain that he would want more, so sooner or later there would be a second and third deal.

With this in mind, Jie La Er made up his mind.

No matter what happens, you must never ask him for anything more.

... Absolutely not!

The Gear Car slowly came to a stop, the door opened, and the towering pagoda was right in front of us.

Jie La Er took a deep breath, then got up, stepped out of the Gear Car, and walked towards the giant tower.

The Tower of Babel is the core of the entire Lyra.

The Lyra God gathers his power here, and through it, transmits it to the entire Lyra, in order to maintain Lyra's unique metallic life.

Moreover, it is also the "brain" of Lyra, from which all of Lyra's decisions and tasks are transmitted to Lyra various units.

Jie La Er entered the Tower of Babel, immediately attracting the attention of many. Clearly, he still had a high level of fame here, but it wasn't for the good. Everyone who saw him was either surprised or frowned, and then quickly dispersed, keeping their distance from him, as if he had some kind of smell... Of course, he did indeed have a smell.

In order to keep the metal parts of his body that had long exceeded their service life usable, Jie La Er had to apply a huge amount of lubricant to them.

Obviously, this doesn't smell good.

But Bai Wei didn't care; he couldn't smell it anyway.

Jie La Er was already used to everyone's attention. He silently walked towards the gear staircase and headed to a higher floor.

The higher the floor, the fewer people there are.

When they reached the fifth floor, there weren't many people left, and Jie La Er stopped there as well.

Bai Wei was also carefully observing this floor. This floor was quite different from the previous floors. It looked a lot like... a bank counter.

The reason it's described as resembling a bank counter is because the women sitting behind each cubicle are all wearing the same uniforms, have the same hairstyles, and even their faces are seven or eight parts similar. But unlike a bank, they are very quiet. When there are no "customers," they don't make any movements. They neither talk nor do anything else; they just sit there quietly, looking like they aren't alive.

Behind them was a long pipe leading to a huge pillar with a display screen resembling a cell phone battery indicator, which was currently full.

Bai Wei quietly observed the women, then asked, "These are the 'clerks' you were talking about?"

"Yes." Jie La Er didn't remain silent at this moment. Since the deal had been decided, there was no need to be stingy and say nothing. As he walked towards the counter, he explained to Bai Wei in his mind, "The clerk is a very special profession for Lyra. They were all normal women in life, but died due to various accidents. Lyra would recruit them as clerks after obtaining the consent of their families, and then perform brain transplants on them."

"Brain transplant?"

"Yes, we replace body parts, while they replace brains," Jie La Er said. "This makes them look more like real machines, but they retain their appearance from when they were alive, as well as... a little bit of their personality and memories."

"I see," Bai Wei said. "This way, they can be protected from contamination, right?"

Jie La Er was somewhat surprised, but still nodded. "Yes, the metal brains cannot be contaminated, so they can accurately receive every task and every instruction, and send them precisely to every unit without worrying about errors caused by contamination, which could ultimately lead to irreversible consequences. So, strictly speaking, they are the least error-prone beings in the entire Lyra."

"Interesting," Bai Wei asked. "So, you came here because one of the clerks was the one who issued you that task?"

"Yes, I've been looking for her."

Which one is it?

Jie La Er recalled the girl with a mole on her lip who always smiled involuntarily when she spoke, and replied, "Number 44."

"Number 44?" Bai Wei looked at the serial numbers on each clerk's uniform and said, "I've only seen number 43 at most."

"Yes."

Jie La Er walked over to the clerk closest to him and said softly.

"So I've been looking for number 44, and I've been looking for it."

Jie La Er sat down at the counter of clerk number 13.

As soon as he sat down, Number 13, who had been in a daze, suddenly snapped out of it and looked at Jie La Er with a formulaic smile, "Good morning."

"Good morning," Jie La Er said. "I am Jie La Er from the 7th Squad of the 'Skeleton Corps,' here to report for duty."

"Jie La Er, Seventh Squad of the 'Skeleton Corps,' identity verification successful," Clerk 13 replied in a formulaic manner. "Your work has been completed by Squad Leader Ku De. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Jie La Er stared intently at Clerk 13's face. Although he had asked this question countless times, he still subconsciously tensed up every time he asked it.

"I want to know..." Jie La Er said slowly, "Information about Clerk 44."

"Received, keyword: Clerk 44, begin search." After a moment of silence, Clerk 13 spoke in a emotionless voice, "Search results: zero. Clerk 44 does not exist."

Although he had heard this answer countless times, Jie La Er still instinctively clenched his fists when he heard it again.

Still... nothing.

Bai Wei's voice rang out again at this moment. "I think, since you're so persistent, there's definitely no such thing as a clerk leaving the company, right?"

Jie La Er paused for a moment, then answered in his mind, "Of course, the number of clerks is fixed."

"Oh?"

"See that energy plate up there?" Jie La Er also looked at the energy plate on the black pillar. "That represents the total energy Lyra distributes to the staff, and it also represents the total computing power of all the staff. All the staff must be present and working normally for it to be lit up; one more or one less will not work."

"I see." Bai Wei understood. "So, as long as that energy board is lit up, it means the clerks are at full capacity. Right now, there are 43 clerks at full capacity, but in your memory, there should be 44. Therefore, assuming the clerks can't possibly make a mistake, this situation either means you made a mistake, or..."

Bai Wei paused.

"She's still here."

That's interesting, really interesting.

Bai Wei looked at the clerk in front of him, and then slowly "opened" his eyes.

Bai Wei in his mind suddenly fell silent. Jie La Er didn't know what had happened, so he could only continue talking to the Clerk 13, in front of him.

Over the past ten years, he has come here countless times and asked every clerk.

But the results were all the same.

No one knows who Clerk 44 really is, just like the mission that destroyed Xiaoxing ten years ago. The woman with a mole on the corner of her mouth and a smile that was always a little sweeter than the other agents... seems to not exist.

"Clerk 44, you should know each other." The same answer day after day had exhausted Jie La Er, to the point that his words to Clerk 13 carried a hint of pleading, "Could you bring her to see me? I really need to find her. She looks a lot like you, she likes to laugh, but..."

"You have a mole on the corner of your mouth, right?" Bai Wei's voice suddenly rang in Jie La Er's mind.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Jie La Er sat up abruptly.

He remembered clearly that he had never described Clerk 44's appearance to Bai Wei: "You..."

"I didn't read your memories," Bai Wei said calmly. "She's right in front of you."

Jie La Er was stunned.

"Hehe, are you ready to open your eyes?" Bai Wei said softly. "Open my eyes."

At this moment, the pupil, hidden within the protective membrane of the eye, begins to function.

The sky and the firmament, whose pupils could take in everything, opened a crack at this moment.

But that's enough to see the world clearly.

In that instant, the whole world became clear, including the Clerk 13. Jie La Er saw through her face, through her body, and into the depths of her mechanical brain.

There is a light-colored piece of meat.

He paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked at clerk number 12 standing to the side.

The same chunk of meat lurks deep within the brain.

Clerk No. 11, Clerk No. 10... all of them are the same.

"Can't see through it? Then let me help you." Bai Wei chuckled and used the power of his eyes.

In Jie La Er's sight, all the chunks of flesh were "taken out" by an invisible force, and then merged and reformed in front of Jie La Er.

Then, he saw the face with a mole on the corner of its mouth.

Number 44 is smiling.

Last night, a reader suggested that it would be enough to post an update only once a day, instead of splitting it into two. I think that makes a lot of sense. Starting tomorrow, I'll just post it all at once at 11 p. m., and I won't post it in the afternoon, so that everyone doesn't have to read it twice.

By the way, I'd like to recommend this author's book!

Wang Zhong arrives in another world and gets caught up in its world war.

The cheat he received was a real-time strategy-like overhead view, and he could also see the vision of his troops!

So he decisively began micro-management. "Move the machine gun position five centimeters to the left! Place the anti-tank gun in the woods on the right!"

Three years passed just like that. Wang Zhong looked at the marshal's scepter in his hand, and then at the double-headed eagle flag behind the emperor's envoy.