The Collection of The End

——AD.——

Familiar ceiling...

Anderson opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling lamp with a small crack for a while.

He felt as if he had had some strange dream. Although he felt that the content was important, he couldn't remember anything if he thought about it carefully.

This is not the first time this has happened. It has happened more than once since he started undergoing "psychological evaluation".

And its consequences...

Anderson shook his head, got out of bed and opened the curtains, letting in a faint light.

It was already dawn, but the clouds covering the sky could only transmit a faint light like charcoal that was about to burn out, making the spire buildings outside the window look like high prison walls that trapped him.

This is the surface of Zion, a "retro city" called "Gotham".

Since there were "serious problems" with his "psychological evaluation", that "Commander Locke" ignored Morpheus's protests and directly moved the evaluation location from the Citadel to the surface of Zion, as if he thought Anderson could dismantle it with his bare hands. Like a castle.

In a sense, this is also a sign that he is valued.

Anderson took another look at the almost unchanged scenery outside the window, and began to wash up and tidy up.

According to Morpheus, Zion is a place where people who have just escaped from the matrix and cannot adapt yet live, so everything here is imitating the Earth in 1999.

Since it was impossible to determine the true time of the universe and deduce the future when Grox did not appear, the Citadel fixed the time of Zion in this year, that is, after December 31, 1999, it was January 1, 1999.

There will be no development in technology, and those who descend from the Citadel are not allowed to use advanced technology in public.

Those who are content with the status quo and unwilling to make progress are naturally very satisfied, while those who are interested in understanding the universe and overthrowing Grox can also choose to go to the "Citadel" and face the truth head-on.

Since Anderson himself was undergoing a "psychological evaluation" and was banned from the Internet, including the antique network in 1999, these things did not matter to him.

The only doubt is that Anderson is sure that he has never heard of such a "Gotham City" in New Jersey. However, since all his knowledge is obtained from the Matrix, it is the Matrix that for some reason does not exist. Restore some real cities, or did the Citadel add some cities that did not exist in history without authorization?

After roughly understanding the relationship between Zion and the Citadel, as well as the authority of the Parliament, Anderson speculated that it should be the former, because there is no point in creating a non-existent city out of thin air, and it needs to be voted by the Parliament.

On the contrary, it is much more likely that "Gotham" originally existed in the Matrix, but for some reason, the city was deleted in a subsequent "version update".

It is further deduced that when he showed "psychological problems" and was transferred to this city for further evaluation, it was probably for a similar reason - what kind of chemical reaction would happen if a non-existent person met a non-existent city?

I don’t know what the reaction will be, but if during today’s psychological evaluation, I say something like “I had a dream, but I can’t remember the content,” the period of “psychological evaluation” will probably be extended by another half year.

Half a year later, another half year later, it has been a year and a half, and he is left in Zion as a "savior" with nothing to do. It is obviously the fault of those guys who do not believe in the existence of the savior. Morpheus has probably already Crazy.

However, thinking about it carefully, he was fished out of the Matrix, fought several battles, "resurrected from the dead", and eliminated the agents of the Matrix. This kind of behavior perfectly fits the prophecy of the "Savior", but Grox strangely did not do anything Does his reaction prove that he is not a "savior" at all?

No, no, no, Anderson shook his head repeatedly to stop himself from continuing to belittle himself.

It should be said that only when he is connected to the Internet is he "Neo the Savior". If he stays in the real world, he is just a powerless programmer "Thomas A. Anderson".

Then, the tone of today's conversation with the psychological evaluator has been determined. He will never reveal his "abnormality". Only by ending the evaluation as soon as possible and returning to the Normandy can he truly show his strength.

Neatly dressed and carrying a briefcase, Anderson opened the door to his apartment and started a new day like countless office workers in Gotham.

————

Gotham General Hospital.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Anderson, although your 'mental state' has improved significantly, the evaluation result still fails," the psychological evaluator dressed like a doctor said while typing something on the computer in front of him: "Need to increase Three months of observation period.”

"Oh." Anderson responded with little surprise.

"Do you have any questions? Mr. Anderson?" The appraiser glanced at him.

"The increased observation period and shortened period mean that I can pass next time?" Anderson pretended to be stupid.

At this time, it is foolish to ask "Where is the problem" or confess "I obviously have no problem". The former means that the evaluee is trying to guess the evaluation items, while the latter means that the evaluator already fully knows what the evaluation items are. All will increase the "sentence period".

Ha... If I had figured out at the beginning that this was not an evaluation at all, but a group of people who did not believe in the existence of the "savior", I would not have said anything so honestly.

"Hmm... maybe." The appraiser entered something else.

There is no doubt that this answer is correct. What I am being evaluated for is not the possibility of betrayal or espionage at all, but "ability to integrate into human society" or "social acceptance."

If you show a tendency to accept your current life situation, those guys who don't believe in the existence of a "savior" may not "hide" themselves. After all, there is always a shortage of people on the frontal battlefield.

This faction that does not believe in the existence of a "savior" may also be fighting for a way out for mankind, but it does not want to use the method of "the savior fights the core program in the virtual space and completes the victory in one battle". Instead, it accumulates strength and slowly plots Of.

Faced with an unknown number of times the gap in hard power, it is not clear how they will "map" it. Perhaps they themselves do not know it.

"Then, I'll take my leave now. There is still work in the company in the afternoon." Anderson stood up and left.

"Hmm." The appraiser glanced at him and added a few more words.

This is still a plus, Anderson thought silently when he left the evaluation room. Even if he may leave at any time, he must complete his part of the work first.

If nothing else happens, these three months will be the last period for him to stay in Zion.

————

Gotham Daily Press.

"Hey Thomas, how were the test results?"

As soon as Anderson stepped through the door of the company, he met a dark-haired woman in a white shirt, brown suit jacket and trousers. She seemed to be rushing out. When she saw him, her eyes lit up and she took the initiative to talk to him.

"Everything is normal. Restrictions will be lifted in about three months." Anderson nodded.

"That's just right," she grabbed Anderson's arm: "I have a clue for big news here, but I still lack a partner. Come with me!"

"Wait a minute, Martha," Anderson was dragged out by her, and couldn't find the strength to break free. "The editor-in-chief asked me to see him when I come back."

"Ha, don't worry about that old fool James, he will only let you report on college football games." The woman directly dragged Anderson out of the newspaper office just now.

Other newspaper colleagues passing by showed understanding and sympathy.

"Okay, Martha, I'll go by myself. You tell me where we're going first." After asking her to pass by and give a message to the editor, Anderson gently used force to break away from her.

Starting from the second half of the "psychological evaluation", Anderson was assigned to work at the "Gotham Daily". However, because he was not allowed to have access to the Internet and could not serve as an editor, he was assigned the position of frontline reporter.

Editor-in-Chief Jonah James is a person who pursues stability and peace, and does not like to report on major or controversial events, but Martha Kane (Martha Kane) is different. She believes that a newspaper without content worth reading is worse than waste paper, and takes the initiative to break in from time to time. Go to the scene of major events or even crimes to report.

Of course, illegal crimes, when Zion recreates the earth in 1999 in pursuit of retro, with a huge population of 7 billion, will inevitably reproduce the various abuses of the time, and criminals who fit the time background will appear. .

However, the Citadel, which monitors Zion at all times and can completely stop it, has no intention of stopping it. Obviously, crime is also part of the "game play" of this "retro world", but the cost is relatively high.

If you think about it carefully, in the "Matrix World" where every detail is really controlled by Grox, there are similar behaviors. The super AI that controls humans also has no intention of caring about humans killing each other.

Obviously, no matter which party it is, its technology is enough to ensure that humans injured by the methods in 1999 will not die, and human behavior and psychology in similar incidents are worthy of study.

For the same reason, there is no death penalty in Zion. As far as Anderson knows, all criminals in Gotham will be sent to "Arkham Asylum" for treatment.

However, even if he would not die, there was no need to risk being harmed by criminals to report. Anderson had tried to persuade Martha several times, but she was stubborn every time.

"Let's go here." After Martha saw that Anderson had indeed followed, she took out a photo of the factory: "A group of criminals are going to rob the ACE chemical plant. Let's grab a good position in advance and take pictures of the whole process. Tomorrow’s newspaper will be a big seller!”

"..." Anderson sighed silently.

Not to mention that machines have enslaved most of humanity, and at this time, humanity's technology is sufficient for interstellar flight. Why would those criminals rob a mere chemical plant?

Sure enough, they should be thrown into a mental hospital.

————

ACE chemical plant.

"Coming, coming, Thomas, pay attention to capture!"

"I know, please keep your voice down."

At this time, Anderson and Martha were hiding on the roof of the main building of the chemical plant, watching three men with red hoods pry open the back door of the factory and head straight to the chemical plant warehouse with clear goals.

When "stepping on the spot" in advance, Anderson had already obtained the ins and outs of the robbery from Martha.

This is not a robbery for cash or supplies, but an act of sabotage. ACE Chemical Factory seems to have developed a more advanced solvent. According to expert assessment, it can basically squeeze out all competitors without this formula from the market. Therefore, After the news leaked, its competitors sent people to sabotage the formula and finished product.

What Martha expected to report was not just a robbery. While reporting on the incident, she would also introduce and attack several of ACE's competitors.

As expected, her article was edited by the editor to make it less offensive before being published, but it was enough to cause a heated discussion.

Participating in this kind of reporting might be a bonus for “integrating into society,” probably.

Anderson raised the camera with the flash and shutter turned off, and captured a few photos of the gangsters entering the warehouse: "Let's leave now, there are only three of them, and the sabotage should take a long time."

"No, there might be wind outside," Martha clicked and shot continuously as if the film was free of charge: "Wait until they leave before we leave - aren't you afraid?"

Anderson silently shut up. Everyone in Gotham Daily knows that if Martha decides on something, it is best not to confront her, because she will never be able to pull you back, and she will drag you with her.

"Who could have done it?" the reporter whispered to himself: "Even though he is wearing the Red Hood, I think Black Jack is very likely to, well, just write about them."

When the blame came, Anderson observed two seconds of silence for Black Jack.

At this moment, there was a messy fight and the sound of things collapsing in the warehouse. Then, three red hoods came out escorting a thin man wearing an engineer's uniform. One of them was carrying a cylindrical container.

"No - help -!" The thin man desperately shouted for help, but it was already off work at this time, and no one would be passing by near the chemical plant.

"It seems that this engineer didn't come home after get off work, which is really unlucky, but what are they going to do?" Martha took pictures with excitement and whispered to herself.

"..." Anderson narrowed his eyes and stared at the cylindrical container. The biochemical warning sign on it was extremely conspicuous.

As the group approached the main factory building, their voices gradually became clearer.

"...Rather than simply destroying it, it is better to directly create a leak," a certain red hood said: "If ACE's new product contaminates half of Gotham, no one will investigate who did it. "

"How could it not be pursued? But isn't the culprit of this leak here?" Another red hood holding the thin man gave him a shove: "The engineer who was drunk and operated randomly, and finally fell into the chemical raw material barrel, causing it to leak. gentlemen?"

"No, you can't..." The thin engineer protested tremblingly.

"No, we can." The red hood holding him slammed into his head, knocking the engineer dizzy.

"Don't do unnecessary things," said the red hood holding the cylindrical container: "After setting up the scene, leave quickly."

The other two people responded and began to set up the "biochemical leak" scene.

"This... biochemical leak..." Martha's expression became nervous: "How about we call the police?"

It would definitely be too late to call the police, and there would be no point in catching the culprit for a biochemical leak.

"Hold it for me." Anderson handed the camera and briefcase to Martha, took off his coat, and untied his tie.

"Ah? What are you going to do?" Martha subconsciously turned the camera towards her.

"Become-" Anderson took out a black owl-like mask and put it on his face: "Partner of Justice (Batman)."