The Times Have Changed

Jie La Er pushed open the door to the archives, and dust fell from the door, as if to say that no one had set foot here for a long time.

Behind the door was a hanging crystal. Jie La Er looked up at the crystal, then walked under it. The crystal only flashed slightly and did not make any further noise.

Jie La Er wandered among the rows of bookshelves; the archives were so quiet that only the sound of his own footsteps could be heard.

"Seeing how hesitant you were just now, I thought this place would be incredibly difficult to enter," Bai Wei's voice echoed in Jie La Er's mind. "Turns out, there isn't even a single supervisor here?"

"The crystal we just saw was already under surveillance," Jie La Er said in a deep voice. "Only followers of my My Lord are allowed to enter here. The crystal will sound an alarm immediately if anyone has turned their back on my My Lord Lyra."

"There's such a thing?" Bai Wei asked with interest. "But doesn't it sound a bit too far-fetched? How did you verify that the crystal actually possesses the ability to verify faith?"

"No verification is needed. From the time it was manufactured until now, it has never..." Jie La Er subconsciously wanted to say "it has never made a mistake," but he stopped himself and hesitated for a moment before changing it to, "It has rarely made a mistake."

But Bai Wei caught the pause and said with a smile, "It's not that we've never made a mistake, but that we've made very few. Let me think... the one who made the mistake was you, right? Ten years ago, you caused such a terrible 'Night Star' incident, but Lyra didn't execute you directly. I think... it must be because in their certification, you haven't betrayed Lyra, right?"

Jie La Er didn't speak, but Bai Wei understood from his expression that he was right.

Bai Wei didn't know as much about Jie La Er as Ulu did. After all, Ulu was a character who had interacted with the player, while Jie La Er had already died before any interaction. He died in front of Ke Li before the player even fought Ke Li in the game. The player's subsequent understanding of him was limited to the fragmentary analyses of the "Night Star" event in the Lyra map.

However, Bai Wei still chose him as the next host because he was the only broken "gear" in the current Lyra.

Unlike the Lyra, Rhine is a very special sect. Just like the feeling one gets from the city of Lyra, it's like a large, sophisticated machine.

Every person in this city is like a cog in this working machine, each cog implicitly performing its own task. As long as the machine doesn't malfunction, each cog is assumed to be operating normally in its position.

Until the Xiaoxing incident ten years ago.

This was undoubtedly a huge problem for a machine, so they took the problematic part out and examined it carefully, only to find that... the gears were fine.

So, what exactly is causing the problem?

Jie La Er stopped in front of a small room.

He had already looked through the files outside the archives room, but he didn't find what he was looking for. That made sense, since the external archives room was semi-public and anyone with the necessary permissions could access them.

And what's in this small room is undoubtedly a file that is not publicly available and cannot be accessed.

Jie La Er reached out and turned the doorknob.

With a "click," the door opened.

It doesn't even have a basic lock, giving the impression that it's only good for keeping honest people out, not scoundrels.

Jie La Er walked in like that.

The small room was only one-tenth the size of the outside room and didn't contain much information, so Jie La Er didn't spend much time finding what he wanted.

"Maintainer information (confidential) for years 230-240".

Jie La Er stared at the file for a long time before reaching out his hand, but stopped at the top of the file.

If you stop now, there's still a chance to turn things around.

But if you open it, then it would be a complete violation.

For the Lyra People, breaking the rules is tantamount to betrayal. Even ten years ago, Jie La Er didn't believe he had betrayed the Lyra, so now, to prove he hadn't, must he first commit actual betrayal?

Then Bai Wei's voice rang in his mind. "It's okay, you're still young, you can wait another ten years."

Jie La Er narrowed his eyes slightly; he didn't think that Bai Wei's sarcasm could affect him.

Even so, he took a deep breath and reached for the file.

He originally thought that this process would not be simple; his mind would resist, and his metal body would obstruct him. At that time, he would have to take some more forceful measures, after all, he was already standing here.

But in the end, his hand easily touched the file.

Jie La Er was slightly taken aback.

Why... did it go so smoothly?

Neither the mind nor the body issued any warnings?

Could this be Lyra's tacit approval?

Or is it...?

A terrifying thought involuntarily surfaced in Jie La Er's mind, and he dared not dwell on it any longer, immediately opening the file.

The Maintainer data from those ten years is still available.

After suppressing his shock, Jie La Er began to review the Maintainer's information, eventually choosing a target.

"Carol left the company in 237 and is now working in XX Metals in Third District."

Ten years is not a very long time, so the vast majority of Maintainer are still on duty, and these people are obviously not good targets.

But it's different for those who have already left the company.

Take, for example, Carol, who works at a prosthetics shop.

After noting down the name and address, Jie La Er put away the file and decided to go find the Maintainer immediately.

Jie La Er's unease intensified from the ease with which he had accessed the documents, as if something major was about to happen, but he was the only one who knew about it.

He strode out of the small room and quickly left the archives. His footsteps, louder and more hurried than before, soon disappeared at the end of the corridor.

At this moment, a dark shadow slowly emerged from the corner of the room.

He slowly walked to where Jie La Er had been standing and took out the file that had been opened.

"Ten years have passed, and you've actually taken the first step." He muttered to himself as he flipped through the documents. "Lord Yongxin was right after all; you really are not one to stay put."

He paused, then chuckled softly.

"But it doesn't matter anymore, it's too late. The final celebration is about to end, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, his body suddenly stiffened.

"Um?"

He looked around with some confusion.

Just now, he felt like someone had looked at him, but he was clearly all alone here.

"Strange." He shook his head and put the file back on the bookshelf. "That old hero really doesn't want me to get a good night's sleep... Looks like I'll have to go on a rare field mission."

He also walked out of the archives and closed the door behind him.

The image then rapidly shrank, eventually reflecting in a star-like pupil.

Just as Jie La Er stepped out of the Tower of Babel, he heard Bai Wei's leisurely voice ringing in his mind. "Here's a free piece of advice for you: whatever you want to do, you'd better hurry up."

Jie La Er paused for a moment. "What do you mean?"

Bai Wei said with a smile, "The advice is free, but the specific content of the advice isn't. Do you want to trade?"

Jie La Er remained silent for a moment, saying nothing, but quickened his pace toward the Gear Car.

The Lyra City has five districts, each governed by one of the Five Archbishops.

The area where the Tower of Babel is located is Zone 1, the most central area. The other four zones are arranged around Zone 1, giving the entire Lyra a honeycomb-like structure.

Apart from Zone 1 in the core area and Fifth District, which borders the Contaminated Land and is responsible for combating pollution, the remaining three zones are not significantly different in function, but there are still slight differences. For example, Third District, which Jie La Er is going to now, is a commercial zone that is more focused on the manufacturing and trading of various metal parts.

Overall, the area is quite prosperous, and the station is crowded with people.

But when Jie La Er stepped off the Gear Car, his distinctive "personal style" quickly cleared a path for him.

"I know you're excited, after all, there's finally been progress on the puzzle that's been troubling you for ten years." As Jie La Er ran around quickly, Bai Wei's voice slowly echoed in his mind, "But I think you should still consider your personal image... you're still bleeding."

Only after Bai Wei pointed it out did Jie La Er realize that his abdomen was indeed still bleeding. The blood was leaking out along with the excess engine oil he had applied that morning, which looked quite horrifying.

No wonder the way passersby looked at him was different than before, full of disgust and fear... You know, he wasn't afraid before.

Jie La Er frowned slightly. He knew it was best to treat the wound now, but Bai Wei's words had bothered him, so he didn't dare to stop. He simply tightened the bandage he had used to stop the bleeding to slow the flow, and that was it.

But as mentioned before, the smell of engine oil mixed with blood also brought him a great positive effect. The station that would normally take more than ten minutes to walk out of was completed in less than five minutes, and he had a smooth journey.

Then he rushed to the prosthetic limb shop recorded in the file in the shortest possible time.

The prosthetics shop was packed with young people who had come to get new prosthetics.

But Jie La Er spotted the person he was looking for right away – Carol.

Only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Regardless of what Bai Wei's previous "advice" was for, at least he has now met Carol.

He originally wanted to go directly to Carol and ask her, but that would be too conspicuous, so after observing for a while, Jie La Er decided to follow the rules and started queuing.

Prosthetics is the hottest industry in Lyra.

Therefore, Mechanic who can replace people's prosthetic limbs are naturally the most sought-after profession. Each prosthetic limb shop has three to four Mechanic, and the better the Mechanic limbs they make and the better their replacement technique, the more popular they are. Carol, who used to be Maintainer at the Tower of Babel, is obviously more skilled than ordinary Mechanic in all aspects, so he has the most customers, resulting in the longest queues— Jie La Er's queue stretched all the way outside the shop.

He glanced at the sky. Although it was only just past noon, at this rate, he might not even get to leave work before it was his turn.

So he could only pat the young man in front of him and say, "Young man, I'm in a hurry. Could you please switch seats with me? I'm willing to pay you."

The young man who had been patted on the shoulder turned around impatiently, cursing, "What's the rush? Do you think I'm not in a hurry? The Mechanic I hired didn't fix my prosthetic leg properly, and I'm injured now... Damn it, you're bleeding!!!"

Jie La Er glanced down at his abdomen again, then said casually, "It's nothing, just a minor injury. Since you don't want to..."

"Yes, yes, I'd love to! But you should come up in front of me, or you might die behind me, that's kind of scary."

The young man quickly made way for Jie La Er, standing behind Jie La Er.

Jie La Er thanked him, then heard the young man mutter behind him, "Wait a minute, what if he dies in front of me later?"

But the young man soon had nothing to worry about, because Jie La Er patted the person in front of him on the shoulder again.

Hello, young lady.

"What's so good about it? I'm not... Holy crap, grandpa, why are you bleeding?!"

With each shot, Jie La Er quickly moved to the middle of the pack.

This naturally caused some commotion.

Carol looked up and glanced at Gerald. His pupils narrowed slightly when he saw Jie La Er, but he didn't say anything and continued with his work.

Jie La Er didn't try to switch positions again; this position was enough, and he was certain that Carol had already seen him.

And so, the conversation has already begun.

Carol looked at the young man in front of her and asked, "Are you sure you want to get our newly launched V4 prosthetic limb installed?"

"Yes, yes." The young man nodded repeatedly, describing excitedly, "It's the style that reaches the shoulders."

Are you sure it's that one?

"Yes, yes, I've been looking at it for a long time, it's about being able to add some small gadgets inside the shoulders," the young man said with a smile. "I'm thinking of adding two hooks inside, you know, that way..."

"That would mean you'd have to have your entire arm amputated." Carol calmly interrupted the young man, looking at his remaining half-arm. "You should know that this process is irreversible. Once you choose a V4-style shoulder design, you'll have to choose that model or a larger one from now on, because an amputated arm cannot regenerate... Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I understand, you just want to say that this model is very valuable," the young man said. "Don't worry, I have enough money with me, you can start now."

Seeing the young man's determination, Carol remained silent for a moment, then nodded. "Alright then."

Then he had the young man sit on a machine.

This machine was similar to the one Jie La Er had tried to use to harm himself last night. After Carol operated it, the machine started up, and several syringes filled with drugs were injected into the young man's right shoulder.

As a result, half of the young man's body began to weaken at a visible rate.

It looks like an anesthetic.

This was the first time Bai Wei had ever seen a person with a metal prosthetic limb, and he watched with great interest.

The machine continued to operate, and soon a rapidly spinning blade appeared, hovering over the young man's right shoulder, emitting a piercing and sharp screech that made the young man sitting there feel tense.

Carol pressed the button on the machine and said to the young man, "You have one last chance. Once this knife is used, you will lose your original arm forever. From now on, whether you like it or not, you will only be able to use a prosthetic arm, so..."

"Got it, got it, let's get started." The young man urged impatiently, then winked at his companion, excited about the robotic arm that was about to be replaced.

Carol finally stopped talking and pressed the lever.

The blade slashed down swiftly.

Flesh and blood are so fragile in the face of metal; in the blink of an eye, the young man's entire arm was severed.

The young man immediately showed a pained expression.

But perhaps due to the effects of the medicine, the injury didn't bleed much, so much so that the young man didn't faint immediately.

Moreover, the machine didn't keep the young man in a one-armed state for too long. Soon, it began to install the robotic arm he had bought.

Honestly, just looking at this picture, it's really hard to believe that the Lyra and the Rhine were from the same era.

After a series of operations, the young man successfully installed the mechanical arm. He instinctively wanted to stand up and show it off to his companion, but Carol pressed him down. "Wait, the 'lock' isn't installed yet."

The young man was stunned, not understanding for a moment. "Lock? What lock?"

"What lock did you say?" Carol glanced at the young man. "This prosthetic limb is of military grade, so naturally it would be equipped with a 'lock' to prevent you from using it to harm Lyra ... Don't you know that?"

"Oh, of course I know, isn't that common sense? I just didn't think of it for a moment." The young man waved his hand and urged again, "Then hurry up."

"It's all done." Carol patted the young man on the shoulder and said impatiently, "Let's go."

The young man left happily, and even after they left the shop, his flattering words could still be heard.

Throughout the entire ordeal, he never once glanced at his severed arm.

It was thrown there like trash, and then Carol tossed it into a metal bucket.

The blood from his arm dripped onto the rim of the metal bucket, as if it had been eaten.

"Next," Carol said to the person behind him.

Then the process was repeated: one young man after another cut off his own limbs, fitted them with new prosthetics, and then left happily without looking back.

Arm after arm was thrown into that bucket, like feeding a fat man who was never full.

Finally, it was Jie La Er's turn.

Without looking up, Carol said, "Unlike in your time, you used prosthetics to protect other parts of your body, but they didn't... Times have changed."

Jie La Er asked, "You know me?"

Carol then looked up at Jie La Er: "No one from that era would be unaware of the Knight of the Evening Star."

Jie La Er was silent for a moment, and just as he was about to speak, Carol spoke again.

"You're here for Clerk 44, right?"