Falling into the Abyss

"Hey, what are you doing secretly here." Suddenly he slapped a hand on his back. Ethan almost jumped up, turning around to see Kim Ki-jun, who was working with him in the pipeline maintenance department. The old face looked uncertain in the light of the spotlight, and suddenly looked like a ghost.

Ethan's thoughts shifted in his mind, and he pointed his finger at the people on the embankment who had already begun to sing hymns in unison, "I heard that there are sermons here, and I want to listen."

Kim Ki-joon looked unpredictable and didn't know whether he believed what he said, "Then why not go there?"

"...I want to listen first."

Kim Ki-jun suddenly grinned, grabbed his shoulders, and pushed him out easily, "Blame me, I forgot to tell you about this party. I originally thought, you should look down upon you. Us."

Ethan was speechless, and being called "the superior" is not a good thing in the forbidden city.

"Tutor, we are going to have a new member!" Kim Ki-jun shouted loudly.

Chen Zeng's sight immediately fell on Ethan, with a sincere and delighted smile on his face, "It's you, long time no see!"

Probably it is rare to see the instructor greet people so familiarly, some non-human expressions showed nahan, and their gazes gathered around Ethan. Ethan felt some kind of distrust suppressed, so he had to smile cautiously, "Yes, long time no see."

Chen Zeng jumped off the big rock for the sermon, walked up to Ethan in a stride, and patted Ethan on the shoulder as an elder, "Thanks to you last time we were able to escape from the red earth smoothly. I have time to thank you. How is Samus?"

Ethan remembers that there were not many intersections with this cult leader last time on Red Earth, and now he was suddenly so kind that he was a little confused. He had to answer politely, "He is fine, thank you for your concern."

Chen Zeng suddenly patted him on the back and turned to all the inhumans in front of him, "This Ethan Eldridge is one of the seven people who saw the evil **** with me. He once voluntarily sacrificed himself when imagining the powerful evil, but his kindness and strong beliefs another miracle happened to him, successfully repelling the great evil **** temporarily, giving us a chance to escape. Such courage and belief , Is what each of us should learn!"

Ethan listened dumbfoundedly as the non-people cheered and even began to applaud. He now has the feeling that one foot has accidentally stepped into the quagmire, trying to pull it out but unable to pull it out, but at this time he has to bite the bullet and endure it, praying for the party to end soon.

"And I heard Jarvan say that the five-point mission you recently participated in is related to the parallel universe? Why not tell us about the experimental process."

Whenever mentioning the Second Universe, Ethan would have a shudder in his heart. At this moment, facing a pair of suppressed fanatical sights, he suddenly returned to the moment when he stood in the sky that was gradually falling apart and was inexplicably hated by all non-humans. Cold sweat oozes from his palms, he hesitated for a moment, and finally explained how the space station was slightly infected by the Second Law of the Universe in a very concise description, skipping his being thrown out by other inhumans and Tanithel That section. Those inhumans showed shocked expressions in his narration, and sighs kept coming and going.

After finally getting through this so-called "Benefactor's Meeting" rally, Ethan left early on the excuse of being unwell. He walked alone along the dark and tortuous waterway, feeling more and more dry and itchy from the back of the neck to the shoulder-neck junction. He reached out to touch it, but he felt a few bumps, like a moss. He sighed irritably, thinking that he had never grown this kind of thing before. Could it be that he was infected with some bacteria in this dirty sewer?

After climbing out of the sewer, I went to the building to return the tools. I originally planned to line up at the clinic after the incident to see what happened to the skin on his back neck. But the registered guard told him to report to the Eastern Guard Hall. It is said that someone from the Forbidden City Committee came to see him. Although the name of this committee contains the word "Forbidden City", its members are like gods to non-people-only by hearing its name, not seeing its people. The schedule of work and rest in the forbidden city and related regulations are all set by them, and the points of each atonement mission can even be added to the non-human number of the mission.

Such a person suddenly named him by name, which is naturally suspicious.

Ethan anxiously came to the guard hall in front of the tallest and solemn rectangular building in the entire forbidden city. After a series of careful investigations, he was even taken to a small room and asked to take off his clothes for scanning before being allowed to enter. Ethan is probably used to it. Now even if he strips off his clothes and stands in the joking eyes of the guards, he blushes at best, and he doesn't feel ashamed. He was taken to two very vintage oak doors, and the guard leading the way knocked on the door and said in a very respectful voice, "Eldridge has been brought."

A very majestic voice came from behind the door, "Come in."

Although the hall behind the door is beautifully decorated, the furnishings are simple and it seems that it is not often used by people. On the wall in the middle, as always, there is a portrait of President Ebia, but this one is a genuine oil painting instead of a digital oil painting projected on the wall. Under the huge oil painting is a long black wooden desk with several armchairs on both sides, and people are sitting on each chair.

Ethan saw Tanisel sitting on the right side of the office at a glance, and he felt his heartbeat missed a beat.

Although there is not much expression on his face, his mind seems to be suddenly piled up with countless bubbles, which looks blurred and distorted. All his attention was instantly attracted to the priest, and he didn't notice that the chief of guard Schneider and Hui Mao were also sitting on one or two chairs at the end.

At this time, Alpha, who was about 70 or 80 years old, was sitting behind the office desk and knocked on the table with his knuckles. He has sparse white hair, and the beard on his cheeks is shaved cleanly. Although his face is full of wrinkles, the deterrence and awe-inspiring in his blue eyes are quite a bit, and he can see that he is not easy to mess with Character.

He stared at Ethan with a cold and alienated look, and slowly said, "I am Charlie Hopkin, the chairman of the Forbidden City Committee."

Ethan nodded, lowering his gaze in order to show humility and submission, "Mr. Hopkin."

His attitude seems to be very useful to Hopkin. Although his thin lips are still tightly pressed, his body is already leaning back on the soft and wide chair back, playing with a pen in his hand, "I am calling you today, yes. There is a long-term task to be handed over to you. I think the Priest Tanithel has already mentioned some to you, and judging from your previous identity and the charges on your back, you probably know more than me. "He paused slightly and saw that Ethan's face was somewhat clear before continuing, "Project Zero has now been lowered its confidentiality level, and is jointly responsible by the Energy Administration and the Priest of Eve Ambassador Tanisel. The priest declares that he needs your assistance. From now on, you will go to Mars for a few days every month to assist him in the necessary research work. Do you have any objections to this?"

Ethan's heart was beating on his chest, shaking his head a little too quickly, "No."

"Very good." Hopkin unscrewed the cap of the pen, and wrote something on a rare piece of white paper without looking up. "But before that, we want to ask you in detail about the situation before you enter the forbidden city. Especially. It’s the relationship between you and Roland Goring."

Suddenly hearing the name that would only appear in the nightmare, Ethan stiffened and raised his confused eyes, "Why are you asking this?"

"Because according to your information and the record of the increase and decrease of moral value, before you meet that person, you have always been an excellent assistant secretary who is safe and thoughtful. Your colleagues and your boss have evaluated you very well. But. After this person appeared, you seemed to abandon all your previous values ​​and morals, and began to appear impulsive behaviors such as driving a spaceship under the influence, running a red light, quarreling with people or even fighting in public, which were very inconsistent with your earlier behavior characteristics. Until the last betrayal Country. We don’t believe in traitors, but the priest of Tanithel must want you, so what we can do is to make sure that you don’t have a chance to make the same mistake."

"The same mistake...ha..." Ethan's trembling and cautious expression gradually faded and disintegrated, "I'm not even a person now, so how can I have a chance to treason again?"

"That's not what I care about. I just need a complete information about the interaction between you and the Roland agent." Hopkin took out an information capsule, opened the recording device, and tapped the table again with his fingers. "Then, hurry up and start talking."

Ethan hesitated.

Those memories, he didn't want to say. He just wanted to bury the past year in his subconscious mind and never remember it again. He shook his head, "If I don't say anything, I must quit this mission, right?"

Then Hopkin smiled ironically, and said slowly, "Eldridge, this is not your choice. All we need is the lineage of the Celestial Star. If you don’t cooperate, you are struggling with life and death. His mother is also a good choice."

Ethan's eyes widened suddenly, and he couldn't believe that the other party threatened him with his parents, "What do you mean? She is not inhuman!"

"It's not, but if she heard that a little blood can get you ten points, guess she would do it?"

Ethan's lips trembled and his eyes glanced at Tanithel. The green eyes made Tanisir a little confused, and it was unclear whether he was begging him for help.

But Tanithel still kept a smile, and said nothing.

The expected reaction, but there was still an inexplicable grievance in his heart. Ethan bit his inner lip hard, and he tasted a hint of blood on the tip of his tongue. He clenched his fists and turned his mind.

Think of it as telling a story, telling a story that has nothing to do with yourself.

"The first time I met with him was to take the place of the director who was unable to attend because he was summoned by the Council of State to receive several energy co-researchers from the Third Reich. Roland Goering was one of them. I have been so far. I don’t know his real name..." Ethan said, laughing bitterly, as if mocking himself, "I took them to the Energy Bureau building, and then accompanied them to the apartment prepared for them. When I After finishing the day’s mission to say goodbye to them, Roland asked if I wanted to go out with him for a drink."

Only Ethan himself knew how simple and pale the language he used to speak.

He still clearly remembers the surprise he couldn't hide when he first saw Roland. He was stunned for a full five seconds, and the other researchers felt a little embarrassed.

It was not once or twice that Ethan received foreign guests on behalf of the director. This was the first time that he was so gaffe. That man perfectly fits all the characteristics of a man in Ethan’s imagination. A tall Alpha with an elegant and steady gait, thick and smooth black hair, a handsome face with a trace of unruly face, and a pair of Violet eyes that emit electric current.

The man's voice is perfect, like a subwoofer that can hit people's hearts directly. In many Omega's words, it is the sound of a pregnant ear after hearing it for a long time.

At the end of that day, Ethan's explanation seemed a little nervous, and occasionally stuttered, which made him laugh embarrassedly. However, Roland never showed any ridicule. He just followed him all the time, listening attentively to his speech, staring at him with blue eyes that hit people's hearts. Ethan is not a young man without love experience. Although he has never dated Alpha, he has never been so bewildered in his two relationships with Omega and Beta. It is like a teenager who suddenly met the lover of his dreams.

So it is conceivable that when he was about to leave, Roland stretched out his hand to stop him and invited him to go out at night, how excited his heart was, like thousands of colorful fountains bursting into the sky at the same time with the melodious music . He maintained his calmness and self-sufficiency, and agreed.

Looking back now, Roland probably planned it when he saw the ridiculously straightforward surprise and infatuation in his eyes when they first met. He will weave a beautiful net for Ethan that he can't refuse, and make him willingly abandon everything he has insisted on.