The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

"Click——"

"Hey! I really didn't expect that at this time, you should be worried about the destiny and the pursuers of the World Snake, right? Hahaha, in this case, you can still trouble the former true leader of the civilization, Dr. Mei, to interrogate me in person. What should I say... …Is it an honor?”

Seeing Cocolia's undisguised sarcastic smile, Mei tilted her head and looked at her silently.

Ten seconds, half a minute... one minute... two minutes...

Cocolia's laughter quickly stopped. The longer the silence lasted, the weaker her momentum became in the "I am a fish" state. Not to mention, what she had to face in these few minutes of silence was Mei's eyes without any emotion.

Yes, there are no emotional fluctuations. Disgust, ridicule, pity, nervousness, good and bad, should and should not have, ultimately lead to nothingness, nothing.

It wasn't until the last smile on her lips disappeared that Mei walked slowly to the table, gently opened the seat with one hand and straightened it, then sat down with the gentlest movement, and carefully tucked in the quilt. The white coat pressed by two strands.

"coming soon!"

Cocolia's nerves tensed up instantly, and different gestures had different meanings on different occasions.

Perhaps to a third party who doesn't know anything about the situation, Mei's movements are quite casual and relaxed. But for Cocolia, this small table, which is no longer than two arms stacked on top of each other and no wider than three or four cups of coffee, is her final battlefield. However, Mei's random movements at this moment did not give her a sense of peace of mind. Instead, she had the illusion that she was watching the enemy troops complete their pre-war deployment in leisurely time.

She had to admit that Mei caught her off guard.

She originally thought that according to the plan of the World Serpent, with the cooperation of the Gray Snake, Bronya would be sent to the Eye of the Abyss. Then she would just wait quietly for the reverse entropy to imprison her, and wait for the World Serpent to imprison her again. Rescue her by herself, wait for Bronya to return to the real world with Seele, wait for mankind to defeat Honkai, and then she will get the promised life in the new world.

But she didn't expect that Mei would come to her at this time. Calculating the time, it will take at least two hours before the pursuers of Destiny and World Snake arrive in Haiyuan City. At this critical moment, as a person who may have the most comprehensive anti-entropy thinking at the moment, Mei did not participate in the formulation of the defense plan. He didn't think of a way to save Bronya who fell into the quantum sea, but came to find her, a person who seemed to be completely useless.

Yes, fear comes from the unknown. She is not afraid of Mei, even if the other person was once a civilized leader, but so what? Her era has finally come to an end.

She just couldn't figure out what Mei wanted to say to her, and why Mei could still be so leisurely when the situation was so bad. Is it a disguise? Is it to force yourself to calm down? No, Cocolia is very confident in her observation, aside from other things. The confidence exuded by the woman in front of her is so deep into her bones that as long as she looks at her for a second, she will feel that she is Full of flaws...

"clatter--"

The sudden sound finally broke the tranquility. Mei gently threw the big glasses with metal frames on the table, then crossed her hands and held them in front of her lips. Although her eyes were narrowed, the pressure that Cocolia felt was Instead it got bigger.

"Please don't get me wrong, I'm not here to interrogate you. I just saw something interesting from you."

The corners of Cocolia's mouth twitched downwards.

Haha, how should I put it, this kind of scene is really embarrassing, at least that's how Cocolia feels.

The chef raised the knife in his hand and said to the fish on the chopping board: "Please don't get me wrong, I'm not here to kill you, I just want to make you into a pot of food."

I don't know what you mean by disgusting.

Well, at least he wasn't lying. After all, as we all know, as long as you cook and eat someone with love, it doesn't count as killing her.

"You don't have to be so nervous, Cocolia. I believe we still have a lot in common."

Cocolia's eye sockets suddenly twitched, and she leaned her body backwards, putting all her weight on the back of the chair, looking relaxed and stern.

"Oh? Then you should say so."

"Looking at you... I always think of some stories that happened a long time ago, so long ago that the stories eventually became myths, and even the ending was completely different."

"oh?"

"God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham. And he said, Here am I."

"Old Testament Genesis Chapter 22?"

"Can't you tell, are you also a devout believer?"

Ignoring the teasing in Mei's words, Cocolia replied somewhat seriously:

"I don't believe in that kind of thing. It's just that in my hometown, most people believe in that. The orphanage where I stayed when I was a child also had priests and nuns. In order not to look so out of touch, I had to pretend to be religious. ”

"oh--"

Mei Zhang opened her mouth and nodded slightly.

However, she didn't seem to capture the subtext of Cocolia, but instead recited the chapters that Cocolia also knew by heart, sentence after sentence, clearly:

“God says, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will show you.”

"Abraham rose up early in the morning, took his son Isaac, and chopped the wood for the burnt offering. Then he arose and went to the land of Moriah."

"Puchchi——"

Mei laughed out loud and spread her hands helplessly:

"Ms. Cocolia, isn't the version you are talking about too simple?"

"I've said it a long time ago. I only memorized these things in order to appear less unsociable and avoid being punished by priests and nuns. When I grew up, it didn't matter anymore. Being able to remember this allusion is worthy of the old man and me. You’re such an old woman, you still expect me to recite it verbatim after twenty years?”

"Um."

Mei nodded heavily.

"At this point, Ms. Cocolia, you are indeed very honest. I hope that in the following conversation, you can observe this honesty to the end. Oh, I'm sorry, I accidentally used the tone of interrogation, I’m used to it, it’s my fault, please don’t mind.”

This guy……

Looking at Mei's harmless smile, which seemed to be really apologizing to her, a drop of cold sweat slipped from Cocolia's forehead. Fortunately, it was covered by her long golden hair. At least Cocolia felt that Mei should not notice this. a little.

However, the rhythm of the conversation was completely controlled, but she still didn't understand what Mei wanted to express.

Are you comparing her to Abraham and Bronya to Isaac?

But what is the purpose of this metaphor? Could it be that Mei wanted to instigate her rebellion? No, this answer is too ridiculous.

This is not to say that there is no possibility of her being incited to rebel. The World Serpent did not give instructions on the next step. The moment she pushed Bronya into the Eye of the Abyss, she was no longer valuable to the World Serpent. In other words, she has done everything World Snake needs her to do, and it is time for World Snake to pay her.

If the conditions are right, she is not unwilling to suffer a little less, but at this time, what is the point of instigating her to rebel? Cocolia didn't understand what could be called "benefits" that Mei would bring by doing this. But other than that, she couldn't think of any other possibilities.

"When they came to the place God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there, laid out the wood, and bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on the wood. Then Abraham stretched out his hand and took his sword to kill his son. The angel of the Lord came from heaven. He called to him and said: Abraham! Abraham! He said: Here am I. The angel said: Do not lay a hand on this child! Do not harm him at all! Now I know that you are a God-fearing man, because you did not take away your son. Your only son, you have withheld from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a ram was caught by its horns in a bush. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.”

After Mei finished speaking, she changed her position and supported her head, signaling Cocolia with her eyes.

Cocolia sighed softly, feeling that her life had suddenly returned to more than twenty years ago, and she had to listen to these annoying stories.

However, at that time, she had neither the strength nor the desire to resist. It was different now. Even if she was behind bars, she at least didn't want to hear someone chanting sutras in front of her. Besides, she can still trust the personalities of Dr. Einstein, Dr. Tesla and Theresa. It is precisely because they are too "serious" that they have been at a disadvantage in the confrontation with her for a long time. They have something they firmly believe in. Cocolia does not believe that they will hand over the fate of mankind to the remnants of the previous era. As long as they are the ones who make the decision, Cocolia does not have to worry about the consequences of angering the woman in front of her. What impact will come.

This is much safer than offending that old and ugly nun.

"Actually, you already understand what I want to say."

Seeing that Cocolia didn't answer for a long time, Mei put down her arms and slowly spread her hands flat on the table.

"Pfft... Hahahaha! You don't really want to instigate me, do you? Instigate someone who is of no value to Anti-Entropy and to the World Snake?"

Cocolia hugged her belly and laughed without any image.

But the first scene happened again.

Mei picked up her glasses from the table and put them on her face calmly.

His fingers brushed against the small accessories hanging on his glasses, and the clear ringing of the bell echoed in the small prison cell. Soon, this sound became the only sound in this space.

Mei crossed her arms on her chest, leaned back on the chair, and folded her legs under the table.

"[The Burnt Offering of Isaac] This story ends with a perfect ending. Abraham did not lose his son and received blessings from the gods. But... Cocolia, when you read this story as a child, you didn't Have doubts?"

Cocolia's head tilted back. She originally didn't want to pay attention to Mei anymore, but she had already made up her mind to ignore whatever Mei said. But Mei's words seemed to hit a sensitive area in her heart.

After pondering for a moment, she slowly replied:

"What kind of questioning method? I just think Abraham is a fool. What if God didn't prepare a sheep to replace Isaac? Then wouldn't Abraham have to kill his son with his own hands? Moreover, in the process of preparing the sacrifice, Abraham really Does he believe in God? Wouldn’t he be resentful of the God who ordered him to sacrifice his son? Even if everything ends happily, wouldn’t there be any grudge in his heart? How would Isaac feel about asking himself? Sacrifice to the gods?"

"Is this what you are thinking of? It's very your style..."

Mei propped up her head again, and her words were a little uninterested.

"Even if you want to instigate me, you shouldn't use this allusion as an example. Although it looks somewhat similar, the relationship between World Snake and I is more similar to each other getting what he needs."

"Oh, really."

Mei closed her eyes and let out a short sigh.

"Kokolia, do you know what I thought when I saw this story when I was a child?"

"Of course I don't know. But did you have such a thing in your time?"

Mei's eyes flashed behind the lenses, and she recalled softly:

"Yes, the relationship between the two eras is not that simple. However, I have also seen the real Abraham."

"oh?"

Just when Cocolia thought Mei was about to tell the truth about the incident, she withdrew the topic back to herself.

"When I read this story as a kid I thought - this is ridiculous."

"absurd?"

"You should know that there are two obligations that establish a dialectical relationship for the ethics of believers in God. First, universal ethics, which requires any individual to obey universal morality. Second, faith, which requires individuals to transcend universal morality. God's will must It is the ultimate goal of anyone.

“And in Genesis Chapter 22, God’s command puts Abraham into an absurd situation. If Abraham sacrifices his son, and finally when Isaac dies, he will regret it and return to the world; if Abraham did not sacrifice his son in the beginning, he simply obeyed universal morality. Whether it was sacrifice or not, it seemed impossible for Abraham to go beyond his limits. However, faith must transcend the limitations of universal morality. What is an absurd dilemma is that God sent an angel to stop Abraham’s sacrifice and confess his faith. Isn’t this absurd enough?

"ah?"

"Uh... I'm sorry, I seem to be... too immersed in my own world..."

"..."

Cocolia rubbed her temples vigorously. The woman in front of her was truly terrifying. She only needed to be immersed in her own world and say such a long sentence in the most bland tone to make the listener almost commit suicide. .

"So, what exactly are you here for?"

"It's very simple. I said, I just came to have a chat with you. To be precise, after contacting Theresa, Einstein and Tesla, I wanted to see what pushed them into that situation. What kind of person is a woman?”

Mei said, standing up again.

Obviously, she has got the answer in Cocolia, but is this answer satisfactory or disappointing?

"Is that what it's for?"

"Well, that's what it's for."

Cocolia obviously didn't understand her thinking very well.

The two people's views on things from the bottom are too different. If it weren't for objective factors that brought them together, they might not even be able to say the same thing.

"Then what?"

"It's just a pity that you... how should I put it? Your acting style is a bit like Otto's unscrupulousness, but you lack his calmness and overall perspective. And... your weaknesses are too obvious compared to his. ”

"...So, you are investigating this?"

"Well...after all, what my friend wants to see is human resistance. Not just of our generation, but also of your generation. Then, the leader of this resistance must also be of your era. Talent can do it.”

"?"

Mei laughed again, with something in her smile that Cocolia might never understand:

"You know, if God really existed in this world, what kind of response would he have expected from Abraham?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know."

"It's simple - I******. That's the response he wanted from Abraham."

Dropping a curse word that was totally inconsistent with Mei's own temperament, she waved her hand at Cocolia and turned around to leave.

Cocolia was left alone looking at the fluorescent lamp in trance——

"No...what does she mean...?" (End of Chapter)