The person who had died appeared in Old Director's home, looking at him with a gentle smile.
An indescribable strange feeling came to my heart.
If such a weird scene happened in an ordinary person's home, Lu Xin and others who are used to seeing weird events would not feel moved. There are endless weird incidents caused by Mental Pollution, and this one can even be said to be a bit ordinary.
However, this is the home of Old Director, the home of a researcher who stands at the highest point in the spiritual field.
How could such a person have a dead person in his family?
In particular, everyone present had their own ways of distinguishing between falsehood and reality, but looking at the living person in front of them, they all felt extremely surprised in their hearts, as if their brains were slightly numb, confusing reality, and it felt extremely real...
Every frown and every detail is alive.
Everyone stayed at the door for a while, and no one spoke for a long time.
Especially Lu Xin. At this moment, he suddenly pursed the corners of his mouth tightly, turned around sharply, and looked to the left and right.
He is looking for his sister...
Because he suddenly discovered that the state of these three people seemed to be very similar to his sister...
"What are you doing standing at the door?"
Just when everyone was in an extreme trance, they suddenly heard someone speaking with a smile in the room.
In an instant, countless eyes focused on it.
A sense of reality that had been far away also returned to everyone.
The man was wearing dark clothes. Even though he was at home, he still looked a bit serious and upright. What was not consistent with his clothes and temperament was that he was wearing an apron and was holding two plates of dishes in his hand. His smile was gentle and approachable.
Old Director.
The moment they realized it was him, at least two or three people subconsciously took a step back.
"Come in quickly..."
Old Director held a steaming plate in one hand and looked out the door with a smile, seemingly blaming.
This seems to be a normal scene.
But a certain kind of impact with strong contrast gave rise to an invisible fear in people's hearts.
"Huh..."
At this moment, Lu Xin was the first to react.
He saw his sister, who was lying on the dirty wall in the corridor behind him, her little head stretched out, and she looked warily at the teacher's wife and two children in the room. She seemed a little surprised, even scared, and more importantly, equally confused.
Lu Xin also couldn't find the answer in such a short time.
So he just remained silent for a moment, then took his sister over, held him in his arms, and then nodded toward the room:
"Okay."
"..."
Lu Xin was the first to walk into Old Director's house, put the fruit on the kitchen cabinet next to it, and then looked at the mistress politely:
"Do you need to change your shoes?"
"..."
"No, no, no..."
The wife hurriedly waved her hands, like a hostess who couldn't bear to scold her guests.
But it was Old Director who spoke. He put the dishes on the long table with a smile and said with a smile, "Just come in."
"In the world after Crimson Moon, I really can't be too cautious. I cured my mysophobia."
"..."
Listening to Old Director's kind words with a touch of normal humor, everyone felt extremely complicated.
Under the hospitality of the hostess, or mistress, and Old Director, I slowly walked into the room and came to the living room. I saw this small and warm home, and also saw the long table that seemed to be specially bought for this party to accommodate everyone. I saw the table full of dishes, and then I felt a little stiff and slowly sat down.
"Don't be anxious yet. Go wash your hands. There are still a few dishes. They will be ready soon."
Old Director ordered with a smile, and then returned to the kitchen. Everyone subconsciously got up and went to the bathroom to wash their hands.
"The next dish should be roasted fish..."
Lu Xin slowly swept across the long table under the anxious gazes of everyone.
He saw that it was filled with braised chicken legs, scrambled eggs with shrimp paste, cabbage sum in oil, boiled mutton, stinky tofu in garlic sauce and other dishes.
Scenes of familiar scenes echoed before his eyes, and he suddenly understood why Old Director prepared in such a way, and even guessed the dishes behind it. Sure enough, while he was thinking about it, Old Director brought out the last dish and placed it gently on the table.
Everyone looked at the dishes with complicated expressions and said nothing.
These were everyone's favorite dishes when we were in the orphanage.
The world at that time was too chaotic and food sources were scarce.
It's so depleted that even in a place like Crimson Moon Orphanage, Old Director still needs to beg those chickens to lay eggs quickly.
But even in such an environment, Old Director insists on giving them adequate nutrition, and even cooks something delicious for them every week, and before each meal, he tells them stories about how delicious these things are...
Before eating, let everyone have something to look forward to, and after eating, even discuss how delicious it is.
Whoever is more obedient may make his favorite food again next time.
That was a very ritualistic thing.
Old Director now puts everyone's favorite food on the table, including No. 8's favorite stinky tofu.
But there was no Lu Xin, because Lu Xin didn't like anything at that time.
Braised chicken legs are actually Teacher Lu's favorite food.
"Okay, it's better to be more hasty and just make do with it!"
Old Director brought the last dish to the table, without even taking off his apron, and sat down at the table with a smile.
There is a long table separated from Lu Xin, facing each other from a distance.
Everyone was looking at him, observing very carefully, and saw that his face actually had a lot of wrinkles, and the hair on both sides was gray. The smile on his face seemed to be sincere, with a kind of heartfelt, sincere and satisfying meaning.
"You guys eat. We haven't seen each other for many years. You must have a lot to talk about, so we won't interrupt you for now."
After everyone sat down, the mistress helped get the bowls, chopsticks, and soup, and then took the two children with her, smiling and nodding.
She returned to the next room and gently closed the door.
Number Fourteen, who was sitting on the left side of Lu Xin, suddenly turned his head nervously and looked at Lu Xin.
Lu Xin nodded slightly, understanding what he wanted to say.
The teacher's wife and two children disappeared after entering the room, as if they had never appeared.
"Is everyone here?"
Old Director's words brought Lu Xin's attention back to reality.
He picked up the towel with a smile, wiped his hands, and glanced at the faces of the people present kindly. Then he called out their names according to their seats on the long table, "No. 5, No. 8, No. 14, No. 9, Little Nineteen, No. 2, No. 3..."
"Well, there's also No. 7..."
"..."
Then he nodded with satisfaction. "Eight people, that's great."
No one at the table agreed, just slightly surprised.
Old Director did not mention No. 17.
"However, there are still three people missing."
Old Director didn't wait for Lu Xin to ask questions, then smiled and nodded, saying, "I remember there was a girl named Zeng Xiaolu in the orphanage. Is she now a teacher in Qinggang? Yes, she is somewhat different from us, but it is good to come here."
"There are two more people, one is Number 1. It's not convenient for him to come here right now."
"There is another one, Number Twelve, haha, this child is really good at hiding. Over the years, he is the only one who has escaped my sight. I even spent some time looking for him before, but I never found him."
"But that's not important anymore. In every class reunion, there will always be someone absent, right?"
"..."
Listening to Old Director's words, everyone could not help but feel more and more shocked in their hearts.
It's an extremely torn feeling.
On the one hand, everyone felt the kindness from his words.
It's really like the feeling of meeting an elder who relied on respect when you were a child and becomes more friendly as you grow older.
On the other hand, I couldn't help but feel panicked.
Every word he spoke was like an invisible blade gently scraping his skin, Sisi the coolness seeping into the bone marrow.
Especially when he said that only Number Twelve escaped his sight...
It was like an invisible cold, making everyone's cheeks feel slightly cold and stiff.
Lu Xin raised his head in this coldness. He hugged his sister tightly and looked at Old Director with cold eyes:
"Do you really think this is a party?"
"..."
This was the first time he talked to Old Director after entering the door.
And when he couldn't help but say these words, the cold spiritual power emitted invisibly.
This made the people at the table finally feel a little more comfortable.
Although the cold and depressing power is nothing more relaxing than a spring-breathing smile.
But sitting next to Old Director, the feeling of panic and discomfort has enveloped their whole bodies, making them unbearable.
On the contrary, it was Lu Xin's cold attitude that made people feel a little better.
"This..."
Lu Xin's unkind question seemed to make Old Director a little embarrassed.
He raised his head, wiped his glasses with the tablecloth, and said hesitantly, "At least now, it is indeed a long time no see party, isn't it?"
He actually seemed to have a vague sense of pleading. "Can't you give me some time to talk to everyone?"
Lu Xin fell silent.
He didn't know how to refuse Old Director who spoke like this.
In the original Crimson Moon Orphanage, I had no emotions at first.
It doesn't matter whether Old Director is good or bad to me.
At a certain moment, he suddenly opened the floodgates of emotion. As a result, everything in the past, the gray memories, all took on color. The emotions that he had once been unable to perceive also gained warmth along with the memories and poured into his heart.
Therefore, I really have no memory of having a cordial conversation with Old Director.
Because of this, there are some expectations?
"Come on, come on, I've prepared two bottles of wine. These are good things until Crimson Moon incident."
Lu Xin's silence made Old Director breathe a long sigh of relief. As if he was rushing for time, he hurriedly smiled to adjust the atmosphere on the table. He smiled and took out two bottles of good wine he had prepared in advance, and then tightened the lids hard. "Everyone, let's drink a little..."
"When you were little, I never taught you how to drink. I even scolded you when you secretly drank..."
"But now, after all, we have grown up..."
"..."
He poured the wine into the cup, and then looked at each one with his eyes, and No. 7 sent the wine to everyone.
His face was full of relief and happiness. After placing cups in front of everyone, he picked them up with a smile.
"You have done very well since you left the orphanage. Especially recently, the threat posed by Third Descent is even greater than that of Crimson Moon incident, but the real harm caused is not as good as 30% of that caused by Crimson Moon incident..."
"I know that you have tried very hard in this matter."
"I'm proud of you."
"Haha, to be honest, my teachers are the first generation of people who started researching spiritual power. Their starting point is good. However, in the end, they still fall into the cliché. They use the sign of restarting the world, but what they really want to do is to learn from Noah's Ark. But we don't believe this. Creating mountains when encountering mountains and harnessing rivers are the concepts we pursue..."
"I'd like to toast you amazing children..."
"..."
He said, sighing slightly, then picked up the wine glass, frowned, and drank it.
The students from the orphanage, who were all sitting upright at the table and no one even touched their cups, felt a little uncomfortable.
Should you drink this glass of wine or not?
Lu Xin was also a little unsure. He watched silently as Old Director drank the glass and tapped his fingers unconsciously.
After two or three seconds, he slowly picked up the cup and took a sip.
There is no taste other than spicy.
Seeing this, everyone else also picked up their cups, either finishing them off in one gulp, taking a sip, or just holding one end.
The atmosphere seemed to have really softened.
"I didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, I would all grow up..."
Old Director seemed to have started chatting, and while raising his chopsticks to signal everyone to take the food, he smiled and said, "Think about when we were in the courtyard, we were all a bunch of children. Although they were a little different from others, I understood that they were all kind-hearted children. Now that I see you, it confirms my idea. When kind-hearted children grow up, they are also kind-hearted people, and they all do well..."
Everyone's expressions were slightly strange.
Old Director Are you really talking to everyone about home affairs?
His smile, his words, his behavior are all so normal...
However, who of us is really normal?
"Come, try these dishes, I hope the taste hasn't changed..."
Old Director was kind and enthusiastic. "Dry-roasted fish is your favorite, Fourteen. I still remember when I was a kid, just to have this bite, you and Number Twelve secretly ran out to dig for loaches. As a result, the security in the entire courtyard was alerted, and two armed vehicles were dispatched..."
"Well, but looking at your current figure, it would be better to eat more vegetarian food in the future..."
"The cabbage heart drenched in oil is also very good. You can eat it after you rinse it with oil..."
"..."
Number Fourteen had a grimace on his face, not daring to eat, but also daring not to stop eating. He stretched out his arm to pick up some green vegetables with chopsticks, rinsed them in a tea bowl before eating.
No one else moved their chopsticks, they all sat upright, leaning back.
"You all eat too..."
Old Director persuaded and seemed to want to continue talking.
But at this moment, No. 5 suddenly interrupted Old Director, her thin face turned to Old Director, and she smiled faintly:
"Dean, from what you just said, it seems that you don't agree with Gaoshan Laboratory's plan?"
"..."
"...Yes."
Old Director was interrupted by her. He was slightly startled and slowly put down his chopsticks.
The expression on his face adjusted, and then he smiled, adjusted from chatting about daily life, and nodded gently:
"Their plan is actually another form of compromise."
"And while it's theoretically possible, I don't think they can actually pull it off."
"The Beginning is a sea that can dilute all impurities. Even Sole Consciousness is a type of impurity."
"Eventually, it will definitely be diluted..."
"They hope they can wait until civilization restarts. Maybe they can only wait for a dream that they can't wake up from?"
"The Beginning cannot be controlled by a certain consciousness, or spiritual characteristics, or even authority."
"Just like there can't be only one emotion in a person's life, or there can't be only one thought in this world."
"Sole Consciousness is indeed a miracle created by a generation of researchers."
"But this will definitely not be the key that can help humans escape the Beginning or open a new world."
"..."
Listening to Old Director's words, everyone's hesitation reached the extreme.
"So..."
Lu Xin couldn't help but speak after hearing this, and looked at Old Director seriously. "What do you think this key is?"
Old Director Facing these questions, he smiled bitterly and said, "This is what we are going to talk about now?"
The others didn't seem to expect Old Director to ask this, and their expressions were a little surprised.
Lu Xin nodded slightly and said, "Yes, Dean, this is what we are concerned about now."
Perhaps these words were too ruthless, or perhaps everyone never let go of their restraint and vigilance after sitting down.
Old Director finally shook his head slightly and put down his chopsticks.
He poured a glass of wine by himself, picked it up slowly, drank half of it, and then whispered:
"In my opinion, consciousness and characteristics, or authority, are not controllable, or even weapons against the Beginning..."
"However, the Beginning is indeed not completely helpless against it."
"Logic..."
He spoke with a slightly heavy voice, and then said, "Logic is the key to solving all this."
"It is impossible for humans to fight against gods or control gods. They cannot even predict and understand the concept of 'gods'."
"But logic does."
"..."
"Logic..."
Old Director's words made everyone present slightly surprised.
They remembered that they had heard No. 5 say before that what Old Director has been studying in recent years is logic.
Mobius logic.
"The Beginning will definitely come, just like the tide, coming based on deeper instincts."
Old Director spoke in a low voice, as if talking about everyday things, and told some shocking truths:
"A generation of researchers regards the inheritance of civilization as the most important thing. This is a behavior that seems sensible but is actually unnecessary."
"First of all, they may not be able to stay sane until the world restarts."
"Secondly, when the world restarts, a new civilization will inevitably be born, so why should we guide it?"
"For them, our civilization may not be an impurity."
"And if you really want to fight against the Beginning, you need logic."
"Just like if you want to clean up a certain kind of pollution, the easiest way is to find its logical chain, cut off its logic, or lead its logic into chaos. The same is true for the Beginning. It requires logic and even more imagination that breaks the rules."
"..."
As he spoke, he picked up the towel at hand and said with a smile, "Can a piece of paper only have one side?"
As he spoke, he turned left and right and folded it to form a Mobius ring.
"You see, it sounds impossible, but it only takes a small change and it can be accomplished."
"The Beginning, it's actually the same."
"It is powerful, chaotic, irresistible, and unavoidable..."
"However, if you think about it from a rational thinking perspective, you will find that it may not be the enemy."
"It's just another side of us, a projection of our subconscious and that of countless generations of civilization."
"Theoretically, the Beginning exists deep in the consciousness of each of us, and we are all in the embrace of the Beginning."
"These are two sides of the same paper, but also one."
"It's like straw. When spring passes and autumn comes, it becomes yellow and withered, but the grains are full and sprout when it falls to the ground."
"Is this a death or a new life?"
"Thinking about it from this perspective, is the arrival of the Beginning a nightmare or a gift of life?"
"..."
"This..."
Everyone present was slightly nervous, as if there was an invisible big hand squeezing their hearts.
Old Director's tone was too relaxed and he spoke very calmly, but it made people feel a huge panic surging.
"You..."
No. 8 suddenly couldn't help but speak and paused, "Dean, what exactly do you want to do?"
"What do you want to do..."
Old Director hesitated slightly, as if this was a very difficult question.
He subconsciously raised his head and looked at a room next to him. This was the room where his wife and two children disappeared.
"Have I told you before?"
Old Director was silent for a while and then answered softly, "I hate Crimson Moon incident."
No one answered, everyone waited quietly for him to continue.
Old Director drank the remaining half of the wine in the glass, and then said softly, "Crimson Moon incident Before I came, I was actually an ordinary person. However, such an ordinary me met my wife. She is a very kind and beautiful person. She married me, who had no achievements, and was willing to spend her whole life with me, an ordinary person, in the world."
"She gave birth to two children for me. They are very smart and very cute."
"I often wonder, how could an ordinary person like me have such a good wife and such good children?"
"I'm really, really lucky."
"..."
Thinking of the family portrait they had seen on Old Director's desk, and thinking of the gentle and amiable woman they saw when they first entered the door, as well as the two smart and cute children, everyone felt a slight sense of depression in their hearts.
Old Director The better he said it, the more people had an ominous premonition.
"When Crimson Moon incident happened, my wife killed two children and jumped off the building holding their bodies."
Old Director suddenly said it, causing the pores of the people at the table to suddenly open slightly, and the coldness seeped in.
His face, at some point, became a little pale.
Even the eyes that were gentle but still firm enough before seemed to be slightly weak and out of focus.
"It's like a nightmare..."
He sighed lowly, his voice seemed to be a little unreal. "They died like that, without any mercy."
"In fact, even their deaths were buried in the chaos caused by Crimson Moon incident, and they seemed not worth mentioning."
"But, to me, this is by no means unworthy of mentioning."
"I saw countless times in my dreams that they were still alive and still with me, and then I woke up and accepted this fact."
"So, I often think about it..."
Old Director seemed to have a slight bitter smile on his lips, "It would be great if the dream was real and the reality was a dream..."
Everyone present seemed to tense up subconsciously.
They can feel Old Director's deep sadness and regret that they can't forget even after so many years.
However, this does not seem to be a new topic.
Just as Old Director said, their deaths have been concealed in the chaos brought about by Crimson Moon incident...
In that catastrophe that turned 70% of the world's people into madmen, how many people died? How many people have lost loved ones? How many people go to bed with sadness like Old Director every night, and then wake up crying?
Let this disaster pass like a dream. Many people have similar thoughts...
Then Old Director...
"So, I've been thinking about it since then..."
Old Director While everyone was thinking repressedly and carefully, a smile slowly appeared on their faces:
"How can we turn this idea into reality?"
"..."
"Uh-huh!"
At this moment, everyone felt a little creepy. Even No. 7, who was closest to Old Director, shrank subconsciously.
Old Director's smile is very calm, but it gives people a great sense of oppression.
At this moment, No. 5 was the first to straighten up. She looked directly at Old Director and said, "This is impossible."
Old Director faced her aggressive eyes without deliberately avoiding them or looking directly at them.
Instead, he shook his head slightly and said:
"In the world after Crimson Moon incident appears, nothing is impossible..."
"..."
The smile on his face seemed to be getting thicker and thicker, and he said, "After Crimson Moon incident happened, I saw countless craziness and weirdness. I experienced scenes where lunatics were running everywhere in the world, and I also experienced being abandoned by a generation of researchers and faced despair. I have seen a series of weird events that are beyond common sense, and I have also seen heinous blood and cruelty..."
"So, I miss the civilized world before Crimson Moon incident more and more."
"Not only for me, but also for the people struggling in this desperate world, for the miserable people..."
"People are the luckiest thing to live in a civilized world."
"Living in a chaotic world is the most tragic thing."
"What's even more despairing is that we can't choose which world we live in..."
"..."
He spoke in a calm yet weird tone, making everyone's heart beat fast.
After a long time, he paused slightly and said with a smile:
"So, I began to search hard, organize my thoughts, and find a way out for this desperate world."
"I read through many sacrifices of mysterious organizations before Crimson Moon incident and the endless cases of Mental Pollution that followed. Under the endless weirdness and absurdity, I found a fact, that is, whether it is some mysterious organizations or some special ability users, they seem to be able to create life, or to bring dead life back to this world..."
"Such beings may be bizarre, but they can also communicate and even think..."
"I quickly thought of one thing. It was a cult organization that I destroyed with Research Institute before Crimson Moon incident."
"Do you think this kind of life is real?"
"..."
"You..."
After hearing this, No. 5 finally couldn't help it anymore and felt the madness and obsession in Old Director's words.
Her voice became sharper subconsciously. "So, you are doing this just to resurrect your dead wife and children?"
"No..."
Old Director shook his head slightly, looked at her with a smile, and corrected:
"Child, I want to resurrect the world that was killed by Crimson Moon, a prosperous and orderly world where everyone can live happily..."
"I want to make the decades since Crimson Moon appear a nightmare in people's memory."
I'll wait for a while, I'll continue to revise after eating, there are still two big chapters.
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