Misfortune

Even with Ms. Shell's computing power, it's hard to imagine what happened next.

The senior engineer has taken action against the Minister of Human Resources!

And they always strike hard!

With a flick of his wrist, he connected his nerves to the blade—the Crimson Blade—and entered a virtual state.

At the same time, rings of black light emanated from Gao Gong's body, and everyone present felt terror, darkness, and a sense of impending doom, as well as the deepest destruction of life!

Field of Destruction: In the process of growth, life always accumulates a negative energy that outsiders cannot perceive. This energy is the "Field of Destruction," which is completely opposite to the life magnetic field. Anyone who passes the judgment of the "Field of Destruction" will have their attributes weakened by 10%/20%/50%/100%.

But even a moment of distraction is enough.

The next moment, the blade tip, like a red-hot branding iron, pierced the man's abdomen. In the man's astonished gaze, a fierce glint flashed in the engineer's eyes, and he entered fusion mode with the sword as his main body.

An indescribable burst of power filled the 'Golden Collapse'.

"What are you doing?!"

"Minister Gao!"

"You--"

The six ministers, who were all stunned by the arrival of three holographic projections, were all dumbfounded.

This was the first time in the history of the Six Ministries that ministers had engaged in infighting.

The powerful 'fusion force' caused the minister's belly to swell three times its normal size. A flash of black light appeared on the senior engineer's left hand, and with a quick insertion and withdrawal, the 'information killer' vanished in a flash.

In an instant, a mass of flesh was shaved off and held in his palm. Inside the mass of flesh, a ball of golden light was trembling wildly, as if trying to break free.

"Punk Group!"

"Punk Killer!"

"That's it!"

The ministers present became even more exaggerated in their expressions.

As a high-ranking official, he was deeply involved in the evolution of the planet.

Even though they had never interacted with the "Punk Killer," this "civilizational poison core," they knew of its existence from various encrypted documents.

But who could have imagined that such a monster was hiding among their ministers? Just thinking about it sends chills down your spine.

"Minister Gao, how did you figure it out?" Misty looked at Engineer Gao seriously, finally treating him as someone on the same level.

"Actually, it was in Aramaki's suicide note that he told me this secret."

The senior engineer didn't hesitate to pin the blame on the old man, Arajuan.

"Ara-maki, huh? No wonder," Misty said without a doubt.

"Is there any hope for the Minister of Human Resources?" the Minister of the Prosthetics Registration Department asked, frowning.

The senior engineer glanced at the opponent's health: 1031/150,000.

"He's not dead, but whether it's him or not is hard to say."

As expected, the minister, whose abdomen had been ripped open, slowly raised his head, staring at the senior engineer with a ferocious expression, his eyes flashing with golden light.

"It's you again!"

"This must be our second, no, our third meeting."

The first time was during the battle for the Collapse Entity, the second time was during the suppression of the "Weaving Machine of Destiny", and now, this is the third time.

The two sides have clashed several times, and the senior engineer currently holds the upper hand.

"Once I reclaim my body, I'll show you what true terror is!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Minister of Human Resources' body emitted golden light, and the fleshy ball in the Senior Engineer's hand, with the power of a golden avalanche, was also about to break through the blockade.

"You want to die with me?"

The senior engineer frowned, tapped his foot, and a purple prism appeared. However, this time, the image on the mirror was only a thick fog.

This shows that even the power of the "Collapse Entity" cannot break through the internal and external blockade of the "Overseer Island".

"It doesn't matter."

The avalanche ball and the corpse were simultaneously thrown into the mirror.

"Open the view outside the island!" Misty shouted.

The next moment, the five people seemed to appear on the outskirts of the island. In the mist on the sea, a golden light suddenly shone, like a sun about to rise. Wherever it passed, the mist collapsed and melted away.

After about a minute, the power of the 'Golden Avalanche' finally ran out, and the fog once again filled the sea.

"What terrifying power!"

The head of the Memory Supervision Department spoke, his voice no longer in a half-asleep, half-awake state, but with a hint of apprehension.

"The data fog created by the six core entities is second only to the 'Planetary Firewall,' yet it still managed to cause such massive damage."

"Instead of worrying about that, we should worry about why the 'Punk Killer' has resurfaced. Did Aragaki mention it in his suicide note?" Misty blurted out.

"Uh—" The senior engineer showed a hint of hesitation.

"The six ministries are closely connected, so you don't need to worry at all about us leaking this matter to others."

"Although no specific person is mentioned, there's no doubt that all the clues point to one entity," the senior engineer paused, "... the fortress!"

"A planetary host!?"

The head of the Memory Supervision Department was the first to react, and said in a deep voice:

"When it comes to the evolution of virtual personality, no one on this planet can compare to it. Perhaps it was with its help that the punk killer was able to parasitize the Minister of Humanity."

"Could Aragaki's death also be related to the 'fortress'?" Misty's face also turned grim.

"In the encrypted data, the one that suppressed the Punk Group back then was the fortress, right?" the head of the Prosthetics Registry muttered.

If the senior engineer was lying, then he certainly wouldn't be able to hide it from the eyes and ears of those present.

But the problem is, the senior engineer wasn't lying.

He was referring to a scenario that hadn't yet unfolded.

Ara-maru is indeed investigating the relationship between the fortress and the twelve noble families.

There is indeed a problem with the fortress.

As for whether the punk killer has anything to do with the fortress, at least in the opinion of the senior engineer, the possibility is quite high.

"If that's the case, we need to send a crisis signal to the 'Dominator'."

Misty's words gave Gao Gong a thought: So, the Six Departments have a way to communicate with advanced civilizations?

"Don't rush, Misty, we need to investigate first," the head of the Memory Supervision Department looked at the senior engineer, a glint of light flashing in his old eyes, and said, "So that's why Aramaki would recommend an outsider to be the head of the Ghost in the Shell Mobile Division. It turns out he's a Honkai Rider. It seems he had a premonition of something, didn't he?"

The senior engineer was about to say something when suddenly an idea struck him.

The heads of the Memory Supervision Department and the Humanity Experimentation Department are both favored members of the fortress, so—

"Hehe, the new minister underestimates me too much. Although I am a follower, I can still distinguish right from wrong when it comes to matters of principle. Most importantly, the new minister probably doesn't quite understand the operating model of the Six Ministries and the Mother City."

The holographic projection of this figure became increasingly realistic. A massive spiritual force descended upon the island, and then evolved into a transparent, aged figure. The old man was completely transparent, but his thick beard and the strands of hair on his head were actually tentacles.

A third-order virtual life form?

And they're extraterrestrial life!

The senior engineer did not sense any life force from the other party.

Moreover, the senior engineer felt an indescribable sense of oppression from the other party.

"I am indeed a loyalist of the fortress, but forgetting is actually a good thing."

A face without features appeared on his face, which he then slowly removed and handed to the senior engineer.

"By taking him with you, you will gain the power of the fortress's retinue. Of course, there is also the possibility of being possessed by the fortress."

The senior engineer was silent for a moment, then took it and asked another question:

"How did you get here?"

"This involves some of my special abilities. Forgetting is not disappearing, but another form of projection. I forgot it, and 'forgetting' itself became a coordinate, and then I came here."

A strange and unusual ability.

The Minister of Memory Supervision added, "My name from another realm is too long to tell you. On this planet, I have taken another name, called 'Gu Yitong'."

"Don't doubt it. Among the six departments, the previous Wilderness Scroll can only be ranked second. The first is our Minister Gu," Misty said.

"I know you've been hiding something, and Aramaki has been hiding something too, but setting aside what's hidden, I can sense that you haven't lied. So, it seems we'll have to form a joint investigation team with the highest level of secrecy among the six departments."

"You shouldn't have come over," the senior engineer said abruptly.

"Um?"

The senior engineer severed his connection with the Crimson Sword, and the next moment, the great sword, as if suffering from severe kidney deficiency, shrank directly into the senior engineer's waist.

The senior engineer turned his head and looked at a certain dark-skinned old lady who had been forgotten in the scene. At this moment, the head of the Machine Consciousness Department was trembling all over. He stood up for some reason, and the insect eggs on his body hatched one by one and fell to the ground. They seemed to be absorbing something and growing rapidly.

The senior engineer turned to look at Gu Yitong, and saw that the number of insect eggs on the alien minister's body was also increasing rapidly.

"Some things feed on memories."

"What do you mean?" Gu Yitong was still somewhat confused.

"Miss Shell, help me clear the fog of data!"

"Okay, opening the hunter channel... Opening the hunter channel... Due to previous damage, the data fog is temporarily unavailable and is being urgently repaired. Repair time: 300 seconds, 299 seconds, 298 seconds, 297 seconds..."

The senior engineer looked up and saw that the memory worms had crawled all over the ceiling, covering almost all four directions. As a result, the number of worm eggs in the two people's bodies was also increasing rapidly.

"Minister Gu, run while you can, or you'll miss your chance."

Although Gu Yitong didn't know why the senior engineer said that, he could sense something was off from the other person's expression.

When he tried to leave, he encountered a similar problem to that of the senior engineer.

He can't leave.

Each time the ability to 'forget' is activated, a large number of memory worms swarm in and devour it.

Meanwhile, around the senior engineer, the Purple String Space had fully opened, with prisms opening one after another. However, the bug-level ability of spatial teleportation was completely ineffective here.

A data fog at the sixth-level is equivalent to a low-end version of a planetary firewall.

It's impossible to break through with just the power of a single Collapse Entity.

"Is it really such a coincidence?"

The senior engineer muttered to himself.

From entering this island of the Watchers to discovering the problems with these two ministers, it just so happens that the monsters within these two individuals also influence each other.

As a result, he couldn't even run away.

Step by step, it all seems like I walked it all on my own, but upon closer reflection, it seems as if there was some malicious arrangement in the dark.

When fortune smiles, heaven and earth lend their strength; when fortune turns, even heroes are powerless.

The senior engineer suddenly thought of this sentence.