This was clearly Dr. Silver Mask’s diary and reflections—how unexpected for him that I would pry into his encrypted data hidden within the computer this way.
However, it seems my previous suspicion was wrong: there is no resurrection mechanism of the Great Demon Silver Moon in Changan.
Then why did Ying Lingyun have Chen Long kidnap Changan?
I continued to investigate the data, and then I found Dr. Silver Mask’s diary entries left elsewhere.
"—I cannot understand why the original is mass-producing modified humans in the outside world, what connection it has with his desire to resurrect the Great Demon Silver Moon, nor can I grasp how he could go to such lengths for his own selfish desires.
"I cannot understand his love for Silver Moon.
"Is it because I am him, who became a scientist, and also him who never met Silver Moon? No, I at least understand what love is. Yet his love is too frenzied and distorted.
"If I ever met Silver Moon, would I become like him?"
Mixed within these documents was a photo, a picture of a young girl.
The background of the photo was a night-time roadside, with the girl in a white dress, walking ahead with hands clasped behind her, turning her head to look back at the camera. She had long silver-white hair, golden eyes, and a beauty that seemed dreamlike and ethereal.
Was this girl in the photo the Great Demon Silver Moon who had utterly bewitched Ying Lingyun?
For a moment, I even struggled to discern the authenticity of the photo. The girl in the picture appeared too beautiful, almost inhuman, which was unsettlingly eerie.
The concept of "beauty that terrifies" might not be easily understood just by saying it. For instance, some AI-generated images of beauties that circulated on the internet indeed looked stunning, but many could recognize them as AI-generated at a glance, unable to immediately articulate what made them seem artificial.
And if such beauties from these images walked in the real world and faced people, they might provoke a contradictory psychology of "looking every bit human yet not at all," causing the uncanny valley effect. That was precisely what I was feeling at the moment.
This was "a beauty that humans in the real world should not possess."
I silently noted down this face, then researched other data.
The unexpected gain of confirming the appearance of the Great Demon Silver Moon was not my main aim in investigating the data, which was not to trace the emotional journey of Dr. Silver Mask, nor to memorize the complex experimental data. Most importantly, I was looking for clues related to the freaks—or, more accurately, related to Doomsday.
Actually, I did not hold out much hope anymore. This was clearly Dr. Silver Mask’s own database, and Ying Lingyun had neither placed his important data here nor shared his secrets with Dr. Silver Mask. To find clues related to Doomsday, I feared I would have to get much closer to Ying Lingyun’s location.
However, perhaps it was Mazao’s Broom Star Physique showing its prowess here, or perhaps there truly exists some law in this world—that the more one hopes for something, the harder it is to obtain, whereas fortune comes more easily when one has no expectations.
I actually did find a clue related to Doomsday.
Still within Dr. Silver Mask’s diary and reflections, he wrote in one place:
"I, the original, and the other ’possibility avatars’ are all quite different. Perhaps because I come from a possibility route that significantly diverges from theirs, my connection with the other individuals isn’t very strong. We were not even supposed to have a distinction between the original and avatars; the true original should be a consciousness network connecting all of us.
"Therefore, I possess a very clear self, which the other ’possibility avatars’ lack. And the original doesn’t trust me completely; he has not shared all his secrets with me through the consciousness network.
"The reason he fused me with a Divine Seal Fragment was most likely to observe the compatibility between himself and the Divine Seal in detail. Should there be any experimental accident, perhaps my incomplete connection with the consciousness network could prevent the misfortune from spilling over to others.
"It is thanks to this ’flaw’ that I can hide my actions from the original and do things covertly. Such as hacking into the consciousness network like a hacker, investigating the original’s memories."
"I want to know where his Transformation Skill technology came from, and where the Seed of the Heart originated from.
"This can be said to be the cornerstone of the Human Bureau’s existence nowadays, as well as the original capital for the ordinary populace’s future resistance against Luo Mountain rule—indispensable.
"I am fully aware that the backers of the Human Bureau are all about strengthening their own power, and they are not the best choice for the common people... but even so, the current research of the Human Bureau contains hope for the future, even if this hope was built upon the blood and tears of countless innocents.
"...My invasion was only half successful in the end.
"Fortunately, I did not let my body discover my tampering, and I also obtained some important intelligence.
"First of all, as the core material of the Transformation Skill technology, the Seed of the Heart was indeed provided by a certain Impermanence. Exactly who is unknown, but according to existing clues, the supplier is very likely an Impermanence outside of Luo Mountain.
"Secondly, although it’s hard to believe... it seems my body has a way to communicate with a being from the future.
"I’ve repeatedly confirmed the information gained from my invasion. No mistake, he really did communicate with a being from the future, and it was a face-to-face interaction. In his memory, the being from the future actually appeared before him and handed something over to him.
"That is the rudimentary form of Transformation Skill technology—calling it rudimentary might even be an overstatement, it was at best some jumbled data and information.
"But no matter what, that was information from the future world, and it seemed to be related to some peculiar entity that does not exist in this era. At that time, my body already had exceptional research and development capabilities, and soon after, he completed the Transformation Skill technology using these future materials and data, as well as the Seed of the Heart provided by the unknown Impermanence.
"I hope to learn more about this being from the future... but unfortunately, the content of the interaction with the being from the future is a ’secret within secrets’ in my body’s mind. Knowing of its existence has already exhausted all my efforts, and grasping its true identity is beyond my capabilities.
"The only thing I know is that this being from the future, who appeared before my body, called himself the ’Blessed Monk’."
The content of the diary notes ended here.
Initially, I had doubts about the "being from the future" mentioned in this passage, but upon seeing the title "Blessed Monk", my doubts were completely dispelled.
Blessed Monk—Mazao also refers to himself as such.
Is this "being from the future" a kin of Mazao’s?
And this person actually appeared before Ying Lingyun, passing on information not of this era...
I once suspected Ying Lingyun of having a means to communicate with the future, but now it seems my suspicion was the reverse. It’s not Ying Lingyun who reached out to the future, but someone from the future who has reached the present.
Is this "being from the future", like Mazao, an accidental arrival in this era? Or does he have a stable way of traveling back and forth between the present and the future?
Where is he now? Why did he let Ying Lingyun develop monstrous technology?
Since the Human Bureau and Ying Lingyun’s possession of monstrous technology origins mfrom this, can they be removed from the "suspect list of causing Doomsday"?
No, perhaps it’s too early to draw a conclusion. In any case, they are connected to Doomsday in some form. A thorough investigation is imperative...
Suddenly, I sensed a Great Success Rank mana fluctuation rapidly approaching the Luoshan Office in the real world.
——The Divine Spear has appeared.
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