A foolish thought

"You... uh, you're out too, Arthur."

After leaving the library, Lin Yu walked to the stairwell and saw Nightless Sky Fire Apricot sitting on the stairs.

She pulled out a piece of jerky about half a meter long from somewhere, and was holding the tail end with both hands, shaking it and tearing at it.

Although Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's teeth hadn't undergone Alchemy Surgery, they were still neat and sharp. The fact that she could repeatedly tear and bite the jerky with her teeth was enough to demonstrate its hardness.

"How's it going, Arthur? Is everything alright?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot finally tore off a piece of the jerky and stuffed it into her mouth, beginning to chew it diligently with a satisfied expression on her face.

Lin Yu walked to the steps where Nightless Sky Fire Apricot was sitting, sat down on the Tier 1 below Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, and leaned against the railing, casually saying something.

"What could possibly go wrong? It's just letting the 'Sherlock' Information Lifeform that I created using my Authority chat with your mother," Lin Yu said casually. "A Luo is quite authoritative when it comes to pleasing your mother... or rather, he's very good at building relationships."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot sighed, "He's such a good person, it's a pity I didn't have much of a chance to talk to him before..."

As she spoke, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot handed the dried meat to Lin Yu.

"Since we're just killing time anyway, would you like something to eat?"

Lin Yu looked at the dark red jerky with remaining teeth marks and bite marks, the upper part of which was still damp, and after thinking for a moment, he politely declined the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot.

"No need, I'm not hungry—this looks quite filling."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot took back the jerky, chewing on the pieces in her mouth as she continued, "That's a shame, this is really high-quality jerky... It's nutritious and tastes great—the only downside is the texture isn't quite right."

Listening to the sawing sound of the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot being chewed, Lin Yu remarked, "This texture doesn't seem to be in the 'slightly inferior' category..."

Hearing Lin Yu's teasing, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot from Nevernight City tilted her head back, stretched her neck, and swallowed the jerky she had stuffed in her mouth like a cormorant swallowing a whole fish. She said, "Hey, Arthur, this jerky is something that no one else in City That Never Sleeps can buy even if they want to—even Royal Nobles might not be able to eat a single piece in their lifetime. Do you know who developed it and who produced it?"

Lin Yu said, "If you put it that way, it must be your own self-control."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot proudly took another bite of the jerky, which wobbled up and down with a crunching sound, before swallowing it and saying smugly, "That's right, it's the one I developed... The raw materials alone are extremely precious. Do you know what kind of meat it's made of?"

Lin Yu shook his head. "I really don't know."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot spoke up, "It's Raccoon!"

Lin Yu was utterly shocked. "What? I thought you were joking when you said they were reserve food... You really eat Raccoon?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot nodded. "We can't waste the dead bodies. They eat very well with me, so their meat is naturally good too."

Seeing Lin Yu looking at her with increasing doubt and awe, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot slapped her thigh and laughed.

"Haha, Arthur —I fooled you!"

"How could I possibly eat my friends? Even if I had any dead Raccoon friends, I would give them a proper burial... These aren't made from Raccoon meat. Seventy percent of them are refined and compressed rat and insect meat that I then dried, with about thirty percent of alchemical life and alchemical mineral powder added."

"So, this is truly a genuine gem—honestly, if you stuff this into the engine of some kind of 'Alchemy War Chariot,' it could power a heavy chariot for an hour or two!"

Seeing Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's smug expression, Lin Yu sighed again.

"I honestly can't say which version is worse, 'Raccoon meat' or 'insects' or 'rat meat'... Insects and rat meat just sound even less appetizing."

Lin Yu said in a low voice.

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot shrugged. "I respect you, Arthur... After all, you and I come from different worlds, so it's normal to have different food cultures and preferences."

Lin Yu retorted, "I'm pretty sure that the mainstream diet in the City That Never Sleeps is definitely not eating rats and insects... Even the Great Wilderness People, given a choice, wouldn't prioritize eating those two things."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, wasn't annoyed. "One day everyone will understand 'Huo Xing Brand Jerky'... just like Paris was able to promote orange juice and make his favorite orange soda a hit in City That Never Sleeps."

"Hmm... But Paris can do that because he's the 'President.' It seems that once I become the 'Chosen of God,' I'll have a chance to promote this delicious jerky!"

"Nightless Sky Fire Apricot said confidently."

Lin Yu sighed, "Is it possible that oranges weren't originally a food that was difficult for the general public to accept?"

Of course, Lin Yu also knew that Nightless Sky Fire Apricot had been mentally unstable and had an unusual way of thinking for quite some time, so he did not delve further into the matter.

"However... it sounds like you've suddenly accepted that you're going to become the 'Chosen of God'."

Lin Yu said softly.

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot swallowed the dried meat in her mouth again and mumbled, "Otherwise what? You and Mother have gone to such lengths, said such things..."

"Even if I don't become the 'Chosen of Wisdom,' I still have to find a way to achieve a similar Divine Rank and then support the Nightless Sky Family."

"Although I have no feelings for this family, I don't dislike Nightless Sky Huo Le —besides, this is probably what you, Arthur, would have wanted."

"And Arthur... you are my 'friend'."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot said softly.

"But you don't need to go to this lengths for a friend," Lin Yu said, looking at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot. "The Family Head wasn't just saying that in the end—she genuinely gave you the right to refuse the position of 'Chosen of God'."

"You can even... not have to do anything for the 'Nightless Sky Family'."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot said in a low voice, "I know Mother wasn't just saying that out of politeness..."

"Just like I've always known... becoming a 'Chosen of Wisdom' comes with a 'corresponding price'."

"Previous Family Head of the Everlasting Nightless Sky Family were all 'Chosen of Wisdom,' just as Mother said... In fact, the 'God of Wisdom' is a rather special being."

"This also means that the Chosen of God of the 'God of Wisdom' is more special than that of other 'Chosen of God' —becoming the 'Chosen of Wisdom' is a path destined to end badly."

Others may not know, but the Direct Lineage Bloodline of the Nightless Sky Family can vaguely understand that the end of this path leads to the demise of 'self-awareness'.

"Through my study of Supreme Alchemy, I can see this path more clearly than others—the 'Chosen of Wisdom' will one day face the situation where they have no choice but to completely dedicate their consciousness to the 'God of Wisdom.'"

"'Self,' 'thought,' 'knowledge,' 'Memory,' 'reason'... these are all things that the Authority of Wisdom and the God of Wisdom need—but rather than being devoured, this process is more like 'assimilation.'"

"It's like pouring clear water into an inkwell... Eventually, the water will be completely dyed black."

At this Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, then said, "So... I'm very grateful to you, Arthur. The 'other Authority's and the 'Supreme Evolution' technology that you and Mother just proposed have truly given me a brand new and wonderful option."

"Before, the only choices before me were to become a 'Chosen of God' and embark on that path of certain demise; or... abandon my responsibilities, either flee the Nightless Sky Family or become a 'puppet of a family marriage'."

"And now, perhaps I really can... stay with the family without having to choose that terrible path."

"It's rare for Nightless Sky Fire Apricot to speak so sincerely," she said.

Looking at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's appearance, Lin Yu pursed his lips and said, "Thank me too soon. I might not even be able to help... I don't even know what the technology of 'Supreme Evolution' is like, and this path might not even be viable."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot laughed, "That's alright... If I can't go any further, I'll just keep running away—besides, even becoming the 'Chosen of Wisdom' isn't so bad."

"Although the 'ending' is predetermined... even if one doesn't become Chosen of God, humans are still mortal!"

"Besides... several decades have passed since Mother became the 'Chosen of Wisdom'... she didn't actually lose much 'lifespan'."

At this point, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot paused for a moment. "In fact, I feel that Mother's 'death' is approaching much sooner than I expected... Arthur, based on my calculations of the 'Wisdom' Authority through Supreme Alchemy, it shouldn't be this soon."

Lin Yu looked at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot: "Is that so? I don't actually know much about 'Wisdom'..."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot nodded. "It would be strange if you could understand this; it's the 'Authority' of our Nightless Sky Family!"

At this point, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot paused again and said, "When you told me this just now, I was so shocked that I didn't think much about it... But during the time I sat outside the door, and while talking to my mother in the library just now, I've been thinking about why... Now I have a strange idea in mind."

What are your thoughts?

Lin Yu glanced at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot and asked.

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot looked up at the ceiling and spoke softly.

"Could it be... that Mother is actually trying to extend the path of the next generation of 'Chosen of Wisdom' by bringing forward her own 'death'..."

"After all, in her view, the next Chosen of God can only be me or Nightless Sky Huo Le," Nightless Sky Fire Apricot said, laughing at herself and tapping her head. "So I guess my brain is really broken... to actually have such a thought."

"After all, neither Huo Le nor I are as good as Mother... From the perspective of overall interests and long-term benefits, shortening the time she takes charge of the family to pave the way for the two of us is definitely not worthwhile."

"It's all your fault, Arthur —it's all because of your 'deal' with Mother just now, which led me to have such a foolish idea."