Scarlet Eye Academy, seventh underground floor.
This is one of the strictest areas in the entire Scarlet Eye Tower, and the air is filled with the unique smell of disinfectant and cold metal.
Chiyo Saori stood alone in front of the huge holographic light screen, frowning, reviewing a top-secret report that had just been generated.
The main body of the report is the latest neural activity scanning map of the S-class experimental subject code-named "Ling".
On the light screen, Ling's young head of only five years old was digitally deconstructed, showing astonishing changes.
The frontal cortex of her brain has unnaturally complex folds that far exceed the scope of normal development, like a carefully carved work of art.
The peak activity of the visual cortex is stable at more than eight times that of ordinary adults.
This is not just an anomaly in the data.
The observation log in the appendix to the report records even more disturbing phenomena.
Ling can "see" things that ordinary people can never perceive - "Emotional Afterimages".
When a person experiences severe emotional fluctuations, his or her dissipated chakra will leave extremely short traces in space, like water waves.
These traces are clearly visible in Ling's eyes and can be interpreted by her brain.
What gave Chiyo Saori the most chilling feeling was last night's dream monitoring record.
In her deep sleep, Ling accurately recited the last words of the mother of senior cadre Baba Tesshin, Scarlet Eye Tower, in her indistinct murmurs.
That memory, Baba Tesshin has never revealed to anyone, it is the deepest secret buried in his heart.
Bell, as if in a dream, eavesdropped on another person's soul.
"Intervention is necessary." This thought flashed through Chiyo Saori's mind.
She closed the light curtain and presented the report directly to Uchiha Xuan on the throne through the spiritual link without hesitation.
"Master Xuan, the S-class experimental subject 'Ling' has an uncontrollable evolutionary trend." Her voice rang out in the empty hall, with her usual calmness, but could not hide a hint of urgency. "I suggest that she be implanted with 'Cognitive Suppression Ring' immediately and her excess sensory abilities be physically shielded to prevent her abilities from being completely out of control and triggering an unpredictable chain reaction."
On the throne, Uchiha Xuan looked away from the report. The silver Rinnegan was neither sad nor happy, as if he was examining an interesting dust.
He shook his head and rejected Chiyo Saori's proposal.
"Saori, you made a mistake." His voice was plain, but it contained undeniable majesty. "She is not losing control, she is evolving. An evolution that I did not expect, but is reasonable."
He slowly stood up and looked down at the void beneath his feet.
"In the past, Uchiha Clan needed to use the death of his loved ones and overwhelming anger to stimulate his pupils. What an inefficient and crude way. But she..." Xuan's mouth curved with a playful twist, "She is different. The key to unlocking her ability is not to 'see' death, but to 'hear' the heartbeats of others."
Chiyo Saori felt a shiver in his heart, and instantly understood Xuan's intention.
What he wants is not a controllable tool, but a brand new species.
"Pass my order." Xuan's voice rang again, "From now on, all movement restrictions on 'Ling' will be lifted. All areas of the Scarlet Eye Academy, including the prisoner interrogation rooms and soul stripping rooms that are listed as forbidden areas, are open to her unconditionally."
"At the same time, give her a task."
Chiyo Saori holds his breath and concentrates, waiting for God's will.
"Ask her to listen and record every day. Report to me three...'sounds that make her want to cry.'"
The order was issued, and a strange scenery appeared in the Scarlet Eye Academy.
A petite little girl wearing a white hospital gown shuttles through the darkest and most desperate corners like a ghost.
She would appear outside the interrogation room of prisoners who were being tortured, sit in front of family members who had just learned that their loved ones had been deported and cried bitterly, and would even go alone to the mass grave where the war dead were buried and sit among the cold tombstones for an entire afternoon.
She never spoke or came close, she just listened quietly and attentively with her big, unusually bright eyes.
It was as if those invisible sorrows, pains and despairs were the most beautiful music in the world to her.
One evening, Ling stopped for a long time outside a burned-down abandoned ancestral hall.
This was one of the villages that had the strongest resonance with "Bell Resonance" in the past, but now it has long been deserted.
The puppet guard who has been following her, responsible for protecting and recording, faithfully records her every move.
Suddenly, Ling turned around, faced the lifeless puppet, and said in a sweet voice, "Tell sister Saori, the woman in gray robe who lives in Building 3 of the East District, dreamed of her last name last night. Therefore, she will die today."
This sentence was relayed to Chiyo Saori's ears in real time through the puppet's central system.
Chiyo Saori's heart suddenly shrank and he immediately called up the real-time monitoring of the central city.
Less than two minutes after the words were spoken, a patrol team of "Executors" rushed into Building 3 of the East District and forcibly took away the woman in gray robe on the charge of "potential ideological pollution."
The ending of the woman is self-evident.
"She is using her emotions to predict the future..." Chiyo Saori looked at the picture frozen on the light screen, and a chill went straight from his back to Tianling Gai.
Dreaming about one's own surname represents the recollection of the past, which is a sign of cracks in "loyalty" and belongs to the category of being purged.
But how did Ling know it in advance?
Not only did she hear the current sadness, but she also captured the woman's "emotional trajectory" caused by a dream that was so subtle that even she might not be aware of it, and thus accurately predicted her ending.
This matter was quickly reported to Uchiha Xuan.
That night, Xuan personally summoned Ling.
At the top of the empty and majestic Scarlet Eye Tower, the little girl raised her head and looked directly at the pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan on the throne that could make gods and demons tremble.
There was no fear in her eyes, but instead they were full of childlike curiosity.
She tilted her head and asked softly, "Why do you never cry?"
This question made the air freeze instantly.
Chiyo Saori even felt suffocating pressure on the side.
Xuan Que did not get angry, but calmly stretched out his hand, holding a crystal ball with flowing light in his palm.
He gently placed the crystal ball in Ling's palm.
Inside the ball, an ancient and tragic scene emerged: On a messy battlefield, an old man with white hair and beard was holding an infant baby, kneeling before the bloody starry sky and reciting an ancient oath in a hoarse voice - "Xuan's Blood pulse, forever!"
That was engraved deep in the soul of Uchiha Xuan's body, the ancient memory of a certain night when the entire race was exterminated.
The moment the picture appeared, Ling took a step back suddenly, covered her ears with her little hands, and let out a shrill scream.
"Ah--! It hurts so much! It hurts so much!" Her little face wrinkled up, tears welling up in her eyes, "That's... that's the sound of many, many... many people dying together!"
On the throne, a trace of real satisfaction finally flashed through Uchiha Xuan's eyes.
"Very good." His deep voice contained a hint of approval, "You can not only hear the cries of the present, but also the lamentations of the past."
He stood up slowly, walked to the girl, leaned down, and looked into her tear-filled eyes with his silver Rinnegan.
"Then next step, try it... to hear 'things that haven't happened yet'."
That night, Ling was sent to a special room - "Silence Room".
This is an absolutely sealed space made of special materials that completely isolates any chakra flow from the outside world.
There are no objects in the room that can interact with the outside world, only an obsidian wall as smooth as a mirror and an ever-burning oil lamp.
Xuan's request is simple: without any external stimulation, tell him the first decision he will make at 12 o'clock at noon tomorrow.
Time passes minute by minute.
Seven hours later, the puppet in charge of monitoring took out a small note from the delivery port of Silence Room.
There is a line of crooked words written in pencil on it, and the strokes seem to have exhausted all the strength of the writer.
"You're going to burn the first edition of <Scarlet Eye Canon>."
Chiyo Saori presented the note to Xuan.
Xuan looked at the words on the note and remained silent for a long time.
For the first time, the Rinnegan, which has insight into all things, has a depth that no one can see through.
After a long time, he issued an order that everyone found puzzling.
"Execute."
At noon the next day, the sun was shining brightly.
Uchiha Xuan personally came to the cellar where the first edition of Scarlet Eye Tower's fundamental code--<Scarlet Eye Canon> was stored.
Under the watchful eyes of all senior cadres, he personally lit the fire fold and threw the pile of precious classics that symbolized the cornerstone of his rule into the blazing fire.
The flames rose, reflecting his cold and ruthless profile.
He raised his head and looked across the far distance to a window on the top floor of the Scarlet Eye Academy.
There, Ling's small figure was standing quietly, with a faint smile on her lips.
Chiyo Saori walked up to him and asked in a low voice, "Master Xuan, did she... really foresee it?"
Uchiha Xuan put away the fire folder, looked away from the flames, and his voice was so indifferent that no trace of emotion could be heard.
"I don't know."
He paused and continued, "But I have to make her believe that she can do it."
Chiyo Saori understood instantly and was shocked all over.
This is not the fulfillment of prophecy, but the god personally completing a bloody coronation for his prophet!
Xuan looked up at the sky. At some point, a few dark clouds quietly gathered, covering up the scorching sun. It was as if a new bell was brewing and was about to ring.
And at this moment, he was keenly aware that... his heartbeat seemed to be half a beat slower than usual.
He immediately turned around and issued a second order to Chiyo Saori, his voice as cold as ice. "Send the order to fully recover and destroy all first editions of <Scarlet Eye Canon> that have been circulated on the market. Implement immediately."
The reason why he wanted to burn the old one was not just to complete a "coronation ceremony" for the bell.
The real reason is simpler and more cruel: in this supposedly perfect code written by himself, through Ling's ability, he discovered a fatal error hidden under logic and rules - an error that only souls untainted by earthly logic can "hear".