The Silent City

In Paradise Lost.

It was as silent as Ghost City.

Bishamonten followed behind Qin Yiguan, looking at Qin Yiguan's cold expression from a slightly rearward angle. For a moment, he didn't dare to speak, and a feeling of guilt arose in his heart, as if he had failed Qin Yiguan and had not protected the Last Paradise.

At this moment, the sky was overcast, with a large patch of dark clouds gathering directly above the Last Paradise.

Qin Yiguan walked down the street.

Many empty aircraft were parked on the roadside, while others had already crashed.

He looked up at the tall buildings around him.

Inside the many windows, no one could be seen, only the slightly swaying curtains.

"Virtual Machine is like a pair of eyes that can see through the truth."

"Can clearly distinguish between humans and Digital Human."

"Although within the Metaverse, both the human body and the Digital Human body are essentially code."

"But the human body is as if surrounded by a solid firewall; human consciousness data is the most complex encryption program in the world, and it is very difficult to shake it."

"And Digital Human... they're like warriors stripped of their armor, or sea clams stripped of their shells. With a single, simple command executed through Virtual Machine, their code can be destroyed."

Bishamonten said softly, "Although they have disappeared, everything they built will remain in this world."

Qin Yiguan arrived at the tavern door and pushed it open.

I could almost still hear the noise of the bar.

Everything was the same as what I had seen before, but there was no longer any human presence.

The tables and chairs on the floor were crooked and overturned, and wine glasses were scattered everywhere. Behind the counter, the enthusiastic, chubby owner had disappeared, but the white towel he always used to wipe the tables remained on the counter.

Qin Yiguan stepped on a shard of glass, which scraped against the ground with a crunching sound.

He lowered his head slightly and looked ahead along the scattered shards on the ground. He saw a glass jar lying quietly on the ground not far away. The top and sides of the jar were made of metal, but the glass in the center was broken.

It was empty inside, and even though it wasn't broken, it seemed to have never contained any matter.

Qin Yiguan remembered that the excited Digital Human had rushed into the bar with this jar in his hand, pointing at the code flying around like fireflies inside and shouting that he was going to be a father.

If it weren't for that sentence...

At the time, Qin Yiguan thought the guy was a robber.

Qin Yiguan gave an embarrassed smile at this moment.

Immediately, the quiet bar was filled with the harsh grinding sound of Qin Yiguan's teeth clenched.

His eyes twitched violently, and he suddenly said in a low voice, "Although I have killed countless people, and I don't even know the names of many of my men, and although I often lack human emotions, I always have a scale in my heart. I know very well who should be killed and who shouldn't be killed, and I make my judgment before I take action."

Qin Yiguan approached the bar, a glass still brimming with blue, coded liquor. "Digital Human are a peculiar life form in this era. The Gemini Superbrain created them, and they've found their own way of life, hiding away in this Last Paradise, living peacefully and contentedly."

"However, I think it's wrong that the Lu Zhoulang killed them all for some completely unrelated purpose."

I'm a little angry.

Qin Yiguan gripped his wine glass tightly, making a clattering sound. "Perhaps it's because I was dissected and studied by the Ring Research Institute since I was a child, and I'm powerless to resist."

"Perhaps it's because I lost both my parents when I was young and ended up in an orphanage, which made me a vulnerable person."

"Perhaps it's because I later lived in Rust City, surrounded by inhabitants abandoned by the world."

"So, I suddenly felt a deep connection with Digital Human."

Qin Yiguan looked up at Bishamonten, "I used to fantasize countless times about a powerful being descending from the sky to protect the weak, turn the tide, and change everything. I never got to see such a person, but I grew up in this environment. I may no longer have the chance to protect these Digital Human, but I feel that I can at least seek justice for them."

Bishamonten's eyes flickered, but he simply watched Qin Yiguan silently without saying a word.

Suddenly.

A mournful cry echoed from the sky, like the sobbing of the wind blowing through an ancient tree hollow.

Moreover, the sound grew louder and louder, forming a vast sound wave that echoed in the sky.

Qin Yiguan and Bishamonten walked out of the tavern and looked up to see dark clouds hanging low in the sky, and the sobbing came from above the clouds.

Suddenly, Bishamonten said, "Be prepared."

Qin Yiguan looked at the gray-haired woman with some confusion.

But then Bishamonten's Virtual Machine started up, creating a powerful storm that blew a huge hole in the dark clouds in the sky.

Qin Yiguan then noticed.

Inside these dark clouds were countless fragments of blue code, drifting and swirling, emitting mournful cries.

Bishamonten, "Dong Xi disrupted the code of the Digital Human. What you see now is that corrupted code, which can also be understood as the souls of the Digital Human."

Qin Yiguan looked at the endless expanse of blue characters and slowly narrowed his eyes.

Bishamonten then said, "Every life has its own unique arrangement, which falls under God's domain; we cannot restore them."

"The Digital Human of Last Paradise have chosen a leader, and this leader is also a digital resident of Last Paradise."

"This leader is also the core program of all Digital Human."

"It possesses a Passphrase, a deletion code. Once executed, this Passphrase can cause the fragmented pieces of code to vanish into nothingness, equivalent to the Digital Human being laid to rest and given a permanent rest."

Bishamonten gazed at the sky, "We should let them find their final resting place, instead of letting them wander like lost souls. However, I don't know who the leader of this Last Paradise is, nor do I know what the Passphrase is."

Qin Yiguan's body stood silently.

He couldn't possibly know the ' Passphrase '. Staring at the code, the image of Ying Hao's passionate face flashed through his mind, and a dull ache rose in his heart.

"Amitabha."

But then, in the distance, a young monk, hands clasped in prayer, slowly emerged from the smoke. He proclaimed in a loud voice, "Master 563 has always sat on that hill, overlooking the entire Last Paradise. He told me many things. He said that people must always be prepared to accept everything, whether it be birth, old age, sickness, death, or natural disasters and man-made calamities."

The young monk stood beside Qin Yiguan, his gaze desolate, his clasped hands adorned with the string of Buddhist prayer beads left behind by Master 563.

then.

The young monk said slowly, "Only in this way can one achieve—peace."