Do You Still Remember What Our God Looked Like?

The last Gear Train slowly pulled away from the terminal, signaling the end of the day's work.

It will not return until dawn tomorrow, and in the meantime, this ancient and dilapidated terminal will remain untouched.

"Crack".

The match head struck the edge of the cardboard box, first igniting a few sparks, then quickly turning into a small flame that illuminated half of the stubble-covered chin. A cigarette was dangling from the mouth of the man, and the flame licked at the cigarette, soon producing smoke.

Ku De took a deep drag on his cigarette, and his extremely unnatural emotions gradually relaxed. Then, as if he had remembered something, he turned to Jie La Er beside him and asked, "Want one?"

Jie La Er shook his head.

"Oh, I forgot, smoking is prohibited in the Pioneer Force," Ku De said with a laugh. "I have a friend in the 'Devil's' unit, and he never touches this stuff either."

Jie La Er watched Ku De's practiced smoking motions, clearly indicating he was a seasoned pro, and asked with some doubt, "I've never seen you smoke before."

"Although the Skeleton Corps doesn't have the same strict no-smoking rules as the Night Stars of the past or the current Devil, there are still regulations that captains must not touch cigarettes when carrying out dangerous missions," Ku De said. "And when you met me, I was always on such a mission."

Jie La Er understood and nodded. "Yes, you need to be wary of me."

"Yes," Ku De did not deny it, and smiled again. "That's a dangerous and long mission."

After this conversation, the atmosphere between the two became more relaxed. Even Jie La Er managed to force a smile, which was hard to define. To be honest, it was a bit awkward for him, since he hadn't smiled like that in twenty years.

Jie La Er looked at Ku De, this familiar yet unfamiliar junior.

They were familiar with each other because they had known each other for several years, but they were also strangers because they had never had such a conversation in all those years.

As Ku De himself said, he was always wary of Jie La Er so much that he never touched his favorite cigarettes, making Jie La Er think he didn't smoke.

"Why?" Jie La Er suddenly asked.

"You mean, why did I decide to talk to you?"

"No," Jie La Er said. "I mean, why did you throw the weapons out of the carriage?"

Upon hearing Jie La Er's question, Ku De's expression showed a moment of obvious surprise. "You asked that?"

"Because I'm genuinely curious," Jie La Er said casually. "If you want to talk to me, why not just leave the weapon at your feet? Why throw it out of the carriage? Does that make you seem more determined?"

Seeing that Jie La Er was asking very seriously, Ku De couldn't just brush it off. He answered earnestly, "Determination is one aspect, but another is that I've heard about the rules of your Pioneer Force. When a member who has left the team returns, you always make him throw his weapons as far away as possible to prevent him from using them to hurt people after he's been contaminated. Only after all his weapons have been disarmed will you conduct contamination tests on him... Is that a rule?"

Jie La Er seemed to have guessed that Ku De's actions were related to the rules of Night Star, so he nodded and said, "Indeed, because the 'Body Lock' can only lock metal parts and prosthetics on the body, and cannot lock individual weapons. That's why we need this rule to eliminate potential risks."

"I know that every rule on Xiaoxing was bought with blood," Ku De shrugged and said. "So, it seems I've done a pretty good job?"

"If this is Land of Corruption, then you've done a good job."

Ku De smiled and said, "There was no other way. My decision was quite sudden. I could tell you were always on guard against my attack, and so was I. After all, in the public eye, you are the one who has been corrupted, so I didn't know if it was right to approach you rashly."

"Then why did you throw away your weapon?"

"Because as long as that thing is still around, we'll never be able to take that step." Ku De gestured with his switch axe. "No matter what I say to you, you'll always be on guard against me hitting you with my axe the next second. And if that Chainsaw Sword is with you, no matter what you say, I'll have to worry about whether you actually intend to cut me in two. This isn't the first time we've met, but most of the time, we've been wary and cautious of each other. Of course, maybe you aren't, but I am. But this can't go on. We're facing a huge problem right now, and we shouldn't be focusing our energy on guarding against each other."

Hearing what Ku De said, Jie La Er understood that Ku De was not as calm as he appeared on the Gear Train.

He was also gambling, betting that Jie La Er wasn't crazy.

To convince himself of his choice, he resorted to the most radical method, throwing his weapon out of the train car to leave himself no room for regret.

But this seemingly exaggerated move achieved the best results. If it weren't for his desperate gamble, it's hard to say whether the two could have tried to have a heart-to-heart talk like this.

After all, it is absolutely impossible to dispel the stereotypes and prejudices that have been there for ten years in a short period of time without sufficient courage.

"I'm grateful that you believe me," Jie La Er said slowly. "But I still want to know what prompted you to make this choice. The reason you gave in the car was that they wanted to kill me... but they've always wanted to kill me, and you've been doing it for a long time."

"Yes." Ku De did not deny this. "But I meant... a direct order. In the past, he wouldn't have given such an order. Most of the time, it was just hints, like telling me to leave you at the edge of the Contaminated Land, or to reduce support for you. Even in the city of Rhine- Somu City, it was the same deal. But tonight, my superior gave me a direct order. He told me to take care of you, with that switchblade I threw outside. But before this, such a thing would have been absolutely impossible. Because, on the surface, you are innocent."

Upon hearing what Ku De said, Jie La Er fell into a brief silence.

Just as Visas had said, his enemies were already using methods outside the rules to deal with him.

They could even issue the most direct order to eliminate him, a person who appears innocent on the surface.

"But you refused to do so," Jie La Er asked. "Do you really see a big difference between killing me indirectly and killing me directly?"

Hearing Jie La Er's question, Ku De turned to look at him and then smiled, "If there wasn't much difference, I wouldn't be here talking to you so much... I've already lost my weapon, can't we be more honest with each other?"

"I'm not questioning you, I'm just stating the facts," Jie La Er said. "For most people, there's no difference between the two, it's just a matter of killing me."

"That's the crux of the matter; the difference is huge," Ku De said softly. "In other places, rules might just be empty words, but in Lyra, they are the most fundamental operating logic, our most prized asset. Of course, because we are human, not simply machines, not rigidly following the rules, we often exploit loopholes in the rules to do... things that aren't entirely compliant, like eliminating you who might have been contaminated. Before this, many people, including myself, believed that you had been contaminated ten years ago, but had somehow managed to bypass detection and the rules' judgment, so we used loopholes in the rules to kill you... Although I also felt this wasn't appropriate, I was willing to do it, because ultimately, we are all playing a game around the rules."

At this point, Ku De paused.

"But now, when that order came down, I realized that everything was different."

While Ku De and Jie La Er were talking, Bai Wei was also quietly observing the squad leader of the Skeleton Corps.

In the game, Ku De also makes an appearance, first in Somu City, where he completes the deal with Ke Li, causing Jie La Er's death there. However, this was not his intention, and he mentioned more than once in conversations with players that it was the thing he regretted most, especially when the final catastrophe occurred, Ku De truly realized what he had done.

By then, it will be too late.

The game doesn't reveal his final fate; he simply disappears after the disaster ends, leaving it unclear whether he died or escaped.

But judging from his behavior tonight, he probably won't run away.

Because of Bai Wei's appearance, Jie La Er did not die in Somu City, and even ended up with Ku De by a twist of fate.

So how will things develop next?

Even Bai Wei was starting to look forward to it, so while Jie La Er and Ku De were talking, Bai Wei didn't say anything and just watched.

Ku De was unaware that Jie La Er wasn't the only one looking at him. He continued, "And it's not just that. There are far too many things that defy common sense. For example, that guy you met yesterday named Ocott, you said he had eight illegally modified mechanical arms inside his body. I thought that was just your delusional fantasy, but today we found someone with two mechanical arms, and he's even a colleague of the Skeleton Corps... I don't know how he passed the physical exam, that surprises me, but what surprises me even more is that, apart from me, no one else seems to think this is strange, they just think it's a minor matter. But in my memory, adding mechanical arms to the Skeleton Corps is definitely not a minor matter, so..."

"Don't you know if you're the one who's gone mad, or if they are?" Jie La Er gently interrupted Ku De.

Hearing Jie La Er's sentiments, Ku De stopped and threw the burnt-out cigarette butt into the nearby trash can.

With a "thud," the spark quickly disappeared into the darkness.

"You can accurately describe how I feel," Ku De said. "It seems you've been living like this for the past ten years."

"Of course," Jie La Er said calmly. "Over the past ten years, I have pondered this question more than once: am I the one who is abnormal, or Lyra is abnormal? The clerks I know do not exist, the missions I received are fictitious, the whole world says I am crazy, and everyone wants me dead."

Ku De was silent for a long time, then nodded slightly. "This situation is very difficult, really very difficult. I can't even imagine how you got through it. But now you seem to be sure... that it's not you who's gone crazy, right? Actually, I'm very curious, how did you confirm this?"

Jie La Er fell silent, and then Ku De noticed that Jie La Er's left eyebrow twitched abruptly, which startled Ku De. But when he looked closely, the eyebrow returned to normal, as if it had just twitched casually.

"I cannot answer this question." Jie La Er slowly shook his head.

"Okay," Ku De nodded. "I understand."

Jie La Er looked at Ku De again. "But I don't understand why you're so sure the problem isn't with yourself, but with Lyra? It took me ten years to confirm this, but you seem to have only taken a day or two. Do you have some special talent? Of course, it's okay if you don't want to answer, since I didn't answer your question just now either."

"No, this isn't an unanswerable question for me." Ku De shook his head and said, "I'm certain the problem isn't with me or because of any special talent, it's just because I'm luckier than you, I haven't been abandoned by this world yet... Do you know that there's a department in Lyra that's stationed outside Lyra City?"

"You mean..." Jie La Er paused for a moment, then said, "The Diplomatic Affairs Department?"

Ku De nodded. "Yes."

The Diplomatic Affairs Department is a very special department in Lyra. As the name suggests, it is the department that Lyra uses to conduct diplomacy with the territories of other churches.

But what's special is the Lyra itself.

Lyra is extremely unique to this world. Everything in the city—metal prosthetics, Gear Train, and all sorts of tools—is one of a kind and simply cannot exist anywhere else. These things also cannot function outside of Lyra, which is why the Lyra People themselves dislike interacting with the outside world. If they were to leave the city for an extended period, eighty percent of their possessions would become scrap metal.

That's why we need a special Ministry of Foreign Affairs to communicate with the outside world using external resources.

For example, the carriages they used to travel to and from the Rhine were kept outside the city by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, many other items from outside that were not allowed to be brought into Lyra were also kept there.

However, very few people in Lyra City know about this department.

"My father was a member of the Diplomatic Affairs Department," Ku De said. "So I know this department better than most people. Actually, it's not that special. The work is quite easy because Lyra doesn't have much diplomatic work. The reason my father joined this department was simply because he was allergic to engine oil and couldn't accept too much mechanical modification. Most of the people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are old men like my father. They don't have much interest in machinery and yearn for a simple life outside. They usually raise horses and grow vegetables."

This is indeed something that clashes with Lyra's style, yet it is also a part of Lyra.

This is the special point.

"You went to see your father?" Jie La Er asked.

"Yes." Ku De nodded and said softly, "To be honest, I haven't had a proper conversation with my father in a long time. Our relationship is like that between Lyra City and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I only go to him when I need something for a mission, like a carriage, and he only sees me when he has orders from above... Otherwise, we have no interaction. So when I was confused by yesterday's case and subconsciously went to talk to him like I did when I was a child, I discovered something... terrifying."

Jie La Er instinctively asked, "What?"

"... Lyra has changed, without any of us realizing it," Ku De said. "My father went to work at the Ministry of Ministry of Foreign Affairs twelve years ago, and he never returned to Lyra City during that time. So the Lyra in his memory is the Lyra from twelve years ago, but it is completely different from the Lyra now."

At this point, Jie La Er could clearly see that Ku De's expression changed, becoming so... terrified.

Even when facing me, this skeletal squad leader had never shown such an expression. His forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, and his breathing became heavier as he spoke.

He seemed excessively nervous, so much so that when he tried to light another cigarette to calm himself down, he couldn't light the match because his hands were trembling.

In the end, Jie La Er held his hand down.

"Don't be nervous," Jie La Er said in a deep voice.

With Jie La Er's reassurance, Ku De gradually calmed down, and his hands stopped shaking.

He glanced at Jie La Er, chuckled, and said, "As expected of Xiaoxing," before deftly lighting the match.

The cigarette was relit, and the rising white smoke seemed to carry Ku De's tension, allowing him to regain his composure.

"You've been looking for Clerk 44 all these years," Ku De said. "In your opinion, this person who should have existed suddenly disappeared, right?"

Jie La Er nodded.

"So do you know?" Ku De said softly, "Besides Clerk 44, is there nothing else left?"

Jie La Er's brow furrowed slightly.

Ku De didn't give him much time to think and went straight to the point, "Article 7 of the Mechanical Code, Article 2 of Chapter 3 of the Standardized Management of Civilian Metal Prosthetic Limbs, Article 32 of the Crude Oil Salvage Order..."

He rattled off a long list of terms in one go.

Jie La Er said, "I do know the second one."

"Because that used to be Xiaoxing's job, but the points I mentioned earlier are also very important, such as the 'Standardized Management of Civilian Metal Prosthetic Limbs'... It stipulates that civilian metal prosthetics are not allowed to replace the entire arm."

Jie La Er's eyes widened little by little.

"Hehe, you should understand what I'm talking about, right? Things that were once explicitly prohibited are now everywhere on the streets, but I can't remember when that law was abolished. I can only find it in the books that my father always carries with him. Of course, my father knows about it too, because twelve years ago, it was a well-known clause."

Jie La Er understood what Ku De meant, and he asked in a deep voice, "How many laws have suddenly disappeared like this?"

"I can only say that there are many, many things that I can't even remember when they were changed. For example, that skeletal member you found today who underwent illegal modifications would have been dismissed and exiled twelve years ago, but just now, he only received a minor punishment... because we can't find that clause anymore," Ku De said. "All of Lyra's rules have been quietly rewritten without anyone noticing. Regulations that were once explicitly prohibited have been erased without anyone noticing. It's not just Clerk 44; many things are disappearing, suddenly disappearing without our notice, without even the people in the entire city feeling it... except for the Ministry of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is not in this city."

Upon hearing this, Jie La Er's heart sank.

If it weren't for Ku De's reminder, he wouldn't have noticed these things. He felt that Lyra's development had been accelerating in recent years. Various prosthetics that could only be used for military purposes in his time were now being used for civilian purposes. Cutting off entire arms and replacing them with mechanical arms, which was impossible ten years ago, was now commonplace.

But he always thought it was just a change of times, never expecting... something deeper.

Something... disappeared along with Clerk 44.

Jie La Er kept replaying those words in his mind.

Just then, Ku De suddenly stopped midway through his speech.

Jie La Er noticed that his hands had started trembling again, uncontrollably.

"I originally wanted to do a count to see how many things had disappeared, but I suddenly discovered that the biggest and most important thing was something we had missed and forgotten, but it should have been the least likely to be forgotten."

Ku De's tone made Jie La Er's breathing slow down involuntarily. "What is it?"

He looked at Jie La Er, seemingly smiling, but the smile looked more like a cry.

Bai Wei narrowed Jie La Er's eyes.

This Ku De really surprised him; he had even discovered the most crucial thing.

"Jie La Er, think carefully, try to recall." After a long silence, until the cigarette had burned down to his fingers, Ku De seemed oblivious, and simply said softly, "Do you still remember..."

"Our God".

"What does it look like?"