Abyssal Wanderer

Chapter 126 NO.007d: Paradox Investigation

"You understand how the organization works. Things like introducing new members are not something you and I can decide."

Regarding Booker's proposal, the man waved his hand directly.

But then, before Booker opened his mouth to continue persuading, the man said again:

"Of course, I will help you convey this matter to the higher-ups... If the other party is really as talented as you said, I think 'Prometheus' should be interested."

After finishing speaking, the man didn't wait for the expression on Booker's face to relax, and said again:

"But the premise of all this is that you need to complete your task within the specified time, otherwise everything will be lost."

As he said that, the series of pale countdowns appeared again in front of Booker's eyes.

【55:07:14:52】

This is not the remaining time for Booker to complete the task, but a special time node deduced by members of the "Fire Thief" organization, code-named "Cassandra".

The origin of the name Cassandra comes from the priestess who predicted that the Trojan horse left by the Greeks would bring destruction to Troy during the Trojan War.

And inside the "Fire Stealer", the member code-named by this is walking on the path of upgrading with the same name. The direction of its adjustment and transformation is the specialization of intelligence collection and simulation deduction.

And according to her deduction, when this countdown reaches zero, there will be a network fluctuation that will sweep the entire abyss and dark web. And at that time, it will be the time node when they have the best chance to regain the α-level deep diving interface.

However, now they don't even know the coordinates of Tartarus, the headquarters of Pluto Deep Dive Company.

Therefore, when this "oracle" was announced, many members of the organization, including Booker, were scattered and sent to various resettlement areas or ecological reserves where Pluto Deep Dive Company was stationed.

They use their own methods to try to obtain the top-secret coordinates of Hades.

This is a layout that was several years in advance.

In fact, because different groups never synchronize their intelligence, Booker sometimes even suspects that perhaps the top management of the "Fire Thief" has already obtained that coordinate. And the reason why I still need to continue the task is that the organization wants to carry out cross-validation.

Of course, this is just his guess.

"As for the authorization of force you applied for... Demonstrating the strength of depth 4 at the bottom of the Nord resettlement area will definitely attract the attention of the company, and it is likely to cause your identity to be exposed in advance..."

Having said that, the man's tone became hesitant.

"However, considering what you plan to do in the future, there is no doubt that there is a need to upgrade your force. So, whether it is your own force authorization, or the purchase of a complete set of adjustment authority for Icarus Depth 3, I will respond. Hmm... . . . it's almost time."

As the man said, the instrument placed on the table that looked like a class radio made a sharp electrical whistling sound again.

it's almost time...

"How long will it take until the next boson oscillator is fully charged?"

Booker seized the last time and asked about the mass projection in front of him.

"It depends on the strength of the solar wind on the surface of the moon. You can pay attention to the weather forecast on the moon. But I don't think you will want to see me again in a short time."

After saying this, the man disappeared in front of Booker as abruptly as when he appeared—the sofa made of memory foam almost recovered from its dented state in an instant, as if the man had never existed before. generally.

Even though this is not the first time that Booker has seen mass projection, he still couldn't help but marvel at this miraculous technology when the other party disappeared.

As long as the "Boson Oscillator" that looks like a class radio is deployed in advance, and there is enough energy to maintain it, it will be convenient for the pair to project themselves within the range of one light second.

If someone insists on saying that there is any difference between this and teleportation magic, Booker can only say that there is not much difference.

"Depth 7..."

Booker murmured.

The person who talked to him earlier was his immediate superior, the adjuster whose organization code is "Perseus No. 1".

Ascension path: Perseus depth 7, who has reached the limit of human intelligence...maybe it should not be called "human", but "existence".

Booker can't imagine what kind of thinking mode a person who can rely on coordinates and appear at a position within one light second at any time will have.

And... If he wants to step into this realm in the future, can he still maintain human cognition?

…………

Moon, Golden Branch City.

As the largest lunar colony of mankind, this ill-fated city was destroyed twice and rebuilt twice during the three cyber wars. And in the "lunar eclipse event" ten years ago, the warship that crashed into the city due to the self-destruct procedure once again turned the city into ruins.

However, today's Jinzhi City is still prosperous - the dome that shields the solar wind is like a transparent bubble that wraps the entire vibrant city. If you look down from the near-month orbit, the towering floors and lush vegetation make this place look nothing like a city that was destroyed three times and reborn three times.

The cycle of destruction and rebirth has shaped the national consciousness of the moon people-an outdated ideology that should have been abandoned long ago in this era.

The genetic modification carried out by the lunar people to adapt to the low-gravity environment of the moon gave them slender and soft limbs, paper-pale skin, unique white hair and blood-red eyes. And these physiological differences from the earthlings have strengthened their national consciousness, thus producing a rare collective cohesion in this era.

Although the Olympus Order regards itself as a super enterprise alliance, among the gods, there have always been two that are difficult to consider as enterprises in the traditional sense.

Like the Pluto Deep Diving Company, the Bacchus Cult, which is a new god after the new calendar, has always claimed to be a new age religion. They have never been enthusiastic about commercial activities, and most of their main income comes from donations from believers, as well as an outrageous amount of patent fees-no company can match them in reverse cracking the technology of the abyss and dark web.

In fact, if it weren't for the mandatory requirements of the Olympus Order, the Bacchus Order would not even plan to replace the name of a god as their own glory, but would continue to call themselves the original name "Elysium Order".

Finally allowing them to call themselves "Orders" is already a major compromise of the Olympian order.

It is different from this maverick and strange religious group. Although the Diana Moon Surface Development Company will spare no effort to say that they are a super company in almost all public occasions, everyone knows that they are actually a country that calls itself a company.

A country with the entire moon as its territory and moon people as the main ethnic group.

Golden Branch City is their capital, and Diana Moon Surface Development Company is their government.

Perseus No. 1 took shape again in a secret building in the center of Golden Branch City, and a sad female voice echoed in his ears:

"You've used up about 30% of your energy reserves...just to check on number three's situation, why bother to run there yourself?"

At this moment, beside Perseus No. 1 is a metal jar the size of a person, filled with a light green liquid. Inside the jar was a black-haired girl with her eyes closed and a tube inserted into her mouth and nose. She looked about fifteen or sixteen years old.

The previous sentence came from a speaker on the metal can.

"There will be a sunspot eruption in the next week, and it is calculated that it will cause an X-level 2.0 solar storm. This is enough for me to make up for the energy I used and have a surplus."

In this regard, Perseus No. 1 (hereinafter referred to as No. 1 for convenience) said so, and then he paused and continued:

"About this, you should have deduced it long ago, Cassandra."

Hearing these words, the girl called "Cassandra" in the metal jar burst out a series of bubbles from her mouth and nose. Immediately, the loudspeaker crackled and issued a series of sounds:

"Actually the strength is X-level 2.2... But, of course, of course I know. But I just don't understand why you would do it, after what happened before, the pressure on number three is now enough, I I can't figure out why you want to beat him again at this time? To doubt his loyalty?"

Asking for a face-to-face meeting, if not in an emergency, often means serious criticism.

In response, Number One turned his gaze out of the window. He looked at the dome covering the entire sky, and then said slowly:

"You can even deduce the changes in the stars, can't you guess why I have to go there in person?"

"Deducing the behavior of a star is much easier than predicting the operation of a human heart."

Cassandra replied.

Number one sighed, and then slowly spread out his palm.

Fine mechanical parts drilled out from under his sleeve like worms. They are entangled with each other, bite each other, and finally form a silver-white... memory.

"I synchronized the information just now to you, and you will understand... I am worried that there may be a big problem with him."

While talking, No. 1 packed and sent all the conversations between himself and No. 3 to Cassandra. After the latter finished reading, his little face soaked in the light green liquid wrinkled slightly.

"There are indeed some problems, but it doesn't seem to be as much as you said..."

she hesitated.

But No. 1 interrupted her and continued:

"The signal loss before No. 3 is indeed related to his unauthorized dive into the abyss and dark net. And he mentioned an existence called 'paradox', saying that it was the existence that led to Pluto's deep dive before. The company was attacked... In your intelligence database, is there any information about the 'paradox'?"

Regarding this question, Cassandra said "uh" first, and then said after a moment of silence:

"There is quite a lot of information related to the word 'paradox', but if 'paradox' is regarded as an independent existence, there are very few entries with a granularity of more than three levels... The information entropy is too low gone."

No. 1 nodded, then said:

"It's almost as I guessed... In the dark net of the abyss, there is no possibility that there is an existence that can have a strong impact on a behemoth like Pluto Deep Dive. It is an unknown existence. The strength of malicious programs is positively correlated with the amount of information they have. , as long as the ascent has had an impact on the base reality, it is impossible that there are no clues. But the existence called 'paradox', even you can't find any valuable clues related to it."

"what do you want to say in the end?"

Cassandra asked directly:

"Relying on your own understanding of Perseus' path, you directly scanned and copied No. 3's external memory. Without his permission, you took away his What exactly is the network coordinate record trying to do?"

In Cassandra's view, using this method to obtain information from a trusted companion is a very chilling thing.

"Don't get me wrong, I have never doubted No. 3's belief and loyalty. But I also often say that his character is too easy to trust others."

Regarding Cassandra's questioning, No. 1 said:

"It's too easy for him to think too well of others, and it's too easy for him to be superstitious about those authorities... And, as a 'fire stealer', his attitude towards the abyss and dark net is too awe-like a religious experience emotions, will make him fear, blind faith and obedience.

"And that's what we're trying to take out of human cognition."

No. 1's tone was like that of an elder brother criticizing his younger brother's shortcomings.

"So, I have to figure out for him what the so-called 'paradox' is all about. If it's a hoax, I'm obliged to help him expose it. If it's really a threat, I'm also obliged to advance Gather intelligence."

As he spoke, he inserted the memory into the port of the tin can.

"What are you doing? It's fine if you do it yourself, but you still drag me into the water?"

For this behavior, Cassandra reacted violently to protest.

Regarding this, No. 1 is very serious:

"Cassandra, listen to me... We paid a huge price to trade the right to use their company's α-level deep diving interface from Diana Moon Colony Company. Now, since we The arrangement on the Narcissus Plain has already been completed, so it is best not to waste the remaining time.

"Now, we only need your help to analyze the coordinates, and we will be able to locate the location of the abyss dark net that No. 3 visited before. Then follow the traces left by the other party to find out the true identity of the so-called 'paradox'."

Having said that, number one put his hand lightly on the memory.

Cassandra hesitated for a moment and said:

"Then just in case, the paradox comes from the abyssal layer or even the super abyssal layer as number three thinks..."

"Will not."

No. 1 spoke confidently, and stood up as he spoke. The sofa he was sitting on earlier and the table next to the sofa were scattered into countless parts. Then, like a hurricane, they transformed into a portable deep-diving sub-cabin.

He walked over, connected a cold pipeline at the end of the room, and then lay down by himself.

"In short, the choice is up to you. If you don't analyze the coordinates, then I'll just dive down and salvage something and come up."

He said so before the hatch closed.

Cassandra hesitated for a long time, and finally, as if she couldn't hold him back, she sighed and said:

"Okay, if there is a threat, I will guide you up at any time."

So the circuit is connected, and a large amount of data is transferred between the deep dive sub-cabin and the iron tank where Cassandra is located. Perseus No. 1 dived along the deep diving interface with ease, and followed the coordinates analyzed by Cassandra to dive...

dive?

No, No. 1 soon discovered that he was not diving, but moving along the firewall of the Styx.

Just when he was wondering if there was something wrong with the coordinates provided by Cassandra, he saw a flat boat in the fog while gliding over the River Styx.

Cassandra reminded him that the coordinates he was looking for were on that small boat, but...

"Hey boy, what are you looking at?"

The ugly old man holding the boat raised his head suddenly, his eyes shot out flames and looked at him like this.

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