Embers of Embers

Chapter 593 Prologue Outsider
932 in the Inlveg calendar.
Cape of Wrath military port.
"Winter is coming...another year has passed."
Eve leaned against the car window, looking at the gloomy leaden clouds in the distance, feeling the coolness of late autumn.
She sighed at the flight of time, but unfortunately, no matter how much she sighed, she could not change it, so she turned her attention back to the newspaper and read it carefully.
About three months ago, the fleet of Gaul Naluo attacked Lingbing Bay. Although Gaul Naluo denied the ownership of these ships, judging from the wreckage of the hull, it was indeed from Gaul Naluo. vessel.
The battle situation that night was extremely complicated. Gallonaro's fleet not only exchanged fire with Lengbing Bay, but also seemed to be fighting another enemy, but the newspaper did not specify who the other enemy was.
Because of these unknown reasons, everything has different possibilities.
The world situation became intensified. Whether it was the Viking countries or the Rhine League, calls for war broke out. In the following time, many conflicts broke out in the White Tide Strait. Ships on both sides sank, but what started a full-scale war was The flames of war have not yet been ignited.
Inerweg needs time, and the Rhine League also needs time. According to the fishermen, the White Tide Strait has been completely blocked, and it is filled with huge iron-clad ships that almost fill the strait.
Then, just when the two sides could no longer restrain themselves and a full-scale war was about to break out, everything came to a stalemate again, causing the angry people to stop and think.
only because……
Eve thought and looked at the front page of the newspaper. There were only a few paragraphs of text on the entire page and a blurry black and white photo.
There is a hideous and weird humanoid machine printed on the newspaper. It is full of steam, and it holds a giant gun barrel in its hand. This is a weapon that needs a carriage to drag, but it is so easily held in the hand, the most important thing. What's more, there are more similar weapons on the weapon rack behind it, and this weird machine is walking on the streets of Old Dunling.
Eve knew exactly what this was, a war machine from the Perpetual Pump, the third generation Original Sin Armor.
It reduces the proportion of demon flesh and blood to a minimum, greatly reducing the overall strength and mobility. However, it is also the only armor that can be mass-produced without causing serious erosion to the driver and those around him.
Also because of the sudden appearance of the third-generation armor, the upcoming war was stalled for a while. The fleets of the Rhine Alliance were ready to go, but they fell silent again because of this machine whose strength was not yet known.
Everyone needs to rethink whether they want to continue fighting in the face of Inverg like this.
Ying Erweg's military also held a military parade during this period, in which the third-generation armor was the protagonist. These new war machines can carry many heavy weapons and have a certain degree of mobility. No one can Knowing how brutally they would kill on the battlefield.
The third-generation armors not only frightened the enemy, but also frightened many of their own people. This was the first time for most of the nobles to know that such a thing existed in Yin Erweg. Because of these factors, the Platinum Palace was much more lively than before.
Of course, Eve knew very well that the third-generation armor was more than just a reason to delay the war. It was indeed strange and powerful, but there would always be young deer who were not afraid of the tigers.
What really slowed down the war temporarily were the country builders scattered among the countries. After Lorenzo returned from the Silent Sea, an encrypted telegram was sent to them. After a brief agreement, this time the "restart" "It will be postponed, but they don't have much time for Lorenzo.
"Actually, the situation is worse than this. According to Lorenzo, all mankind may be finished this time."
Arthur rubbed his eyes. After just a few months, he looked much older than before.
"I thought... I shouldn't know this information."
Eve's mood was as heavy as his, and at the same time she was also confused.
"Actually, you should know. I have always wanted to protect you in an exquisite birdcage, but it has become more and more outrageous... Why not let you go free? Since I can't teach you to dance, I might as well teach you to hold a gun. ." Arthur said.
Eve put down the newspaper, "Do you want to regard me as your successor?"
"That's not okay," Arthur shook his head. "Although you are my daughter, if you want to sit in my position, you still need to be promoted normally. I have already decided who will succeed me."
As Arthur said, he looked to the other side of the carriage. They were not the only passengers on this train.
The carriage shook slightly, and the armed train drove straight forward on the desolate land.
This is a no-man's land. Looking around, it is difficult to detect any traces of human activities, and the armed train is advancing alone.
But it was not lonely in the carriage. Opposite Eve sat Arthur. The old guy had heavy eyes and picked up the cup from time to time and took a sip of coffee. On the other side of the aisle sat Merlin and Abigail. An important scientific researcher was also on the train.
According to the regulations of the purification agency, in order to avoid being beheaded, they should not appear together at the same time, let alone in the same vehicle, but today is an important day, and they have to go together.
The other seats on the train were also filled with security soldiers, but they were different from ordinary purge agency soldiers. Each of them wore a heavy coat with a bulletproof steel plate underneath, and held a weapon in their hands. With a sharp knife, his face was hidden under a thick gas mask.
Along with breathing, the sound of a heavy filter sounded in the car.
Not only that, deeper breathing sounded outside the car window, and a heavy amount of water vapor surged past, leaving fine water droplets on the glass, but they were quickly dragged away by the strong wind.
The original sin armors remained in standby mode, half-kneeling quietly in the carriage in front. They carried various weapons, like a silent army.
Eve could feel this clearly, and felt a little overwhelmed inside. Her eyes couldn't help but scan the car, watching the scavengers from the corner of her eye.
It's not that she hasn't seen these guys before, but after careful recollection, it seems that this is the first time Eve has seen these scavengers so closely and during the day.
They hardly spoke, communicated solely by gestures, and never took off their masks. It seemed that all scavengers looked like this, maintaining absolute secrecy and sealing off all information related to themselves.
Then his eyes fell further back, where there were some more special passengers.
Arthur looked at these special passengers and continued.
"No one is immortal, there will always be a need for a successor."
Out of the corner of his eyes, he glanced at the seat in the last row of the carriage. Arthur seemed to see someone and smiled helplessly, "Of course, there may be exceptions. I think a bad guy like him can live at least a few hundred years." .”
Eve also tried to look at the guy sitting at the back, but he was in the blind spot of Eve's perspective. From her position, she could only vaguely see the sword bags and firearms leaning on the side.
This guy was fully armed, as if he was going to participate in a decisive battle that was about to break out. He didn't know when all this would start, so he could only keep himself armed at all times.
It is said that he became like this after returning from the Sea of ​​Silence. He would either sit motionless in his office, or walk into the night with all his weapons.
The snoring gradually started, and Eve looked away, followed Arthur's line of sight, and found the person he was referring to.
"Are you saying that she is his successor?"
"In Oscar's words, it's like this," Arthur glanced helplessly at the guy sleeping soundly against the car window, "He said that he devoted his energy to writing all his life, and ended up needing help from gangsters. He publishes books, wakes up from the world of stories, only to find himself aged like this."
"I have no relatives, no children, and not even many friends."
Arthur sighed, as if he could see through the sadness under his smiling face.
"He is a bad writer and an incompetent builder of the country. All he can do for the rest of his life is to pass on the mission instead of cutting it off in his own hands. If he cannot do this, his life has simply failed. downright."
Under Arthur's gaze, Oscar leaned against the car window and snored. He didn't know whether to admire his mentality, or whether he was really such a big-hearted person. Under this situation of increased pressure, he actually fell asleep. Sleeping soundly.Next to Oscar sat another familiar person.
Seleu leaned against Oscar and looked down at the book in his hand.
Unlike Eve, who is curious and active, Seliu behaves very quietly, as if everything around her cannot affect her.
Eve withdrew her gaze and couldn't help but say.
"Rather than a successor, I think he is looking for a nursing home for himself. The Stuart family has enough financial resources to allow Oscar to die in peace."
"Not only that, but the Stuart family will also help Oscar promote his works. Maybe after a while, the streets of old Dunling will be covered with posters of his new works." Arthur said.
At this point, he looked a little disappointed, and then became serious.
"...Only if we can snatch the future from the hands of death."
"So you don't have to worry too much about rules and so on?"
Eve thought about it.
The carriage was full of familiar people. They held different positions and represented different forces. They were summoned together on this day and boarded the train leaving Old Dunling.
Eve only felt that heavy rain clouds were approaching, and her breathing became a little uncomfortable. She tried to remember, but was horrified to realize that she had no previous memories.
She couldn't recall the memory before the ride.
Eve's eyes looked straight at Arthur, and then slowly moved to the others. She began to notice something strange here.
These people would hardly appear together at the same time, but now they are on the same train, not to mention that Eve can't remember the previous memory, she doesn't know how she got on the train at all.
"Don't get excited, you were not attacked by a demon."
Arthur noticed the change in Eve's demeanor, and it seemed that this change was expected by him.
"I thought you'd notice this when you got out of the car."
"what happened?"
"A meeting, involving many people," Arthur smiled and gently touched Eve's forehead, "Don't worry, you will get used to the scavengers' methods in the future, but they usually only do it in emergencies. Do this.”
Hearing Arthur's inexplicable words, Eve looked at the silent soldiers aside, and she understood the reason.
"Antimemetics..."
Eve whispered, they were gathered by the scavengers, so what kind of meeting required them to do this.
Suddenly the train stopped and it reached its destination. The doors opened and cold wind blew in.
Everyone remained silent, without any communication with each other. They got up one by one, and then left the carriage. When Eve walked out, several buildings rose from the ground in the desolation, and on the farther sea, docked A huge ship with a red flag flying.
Eve had never seen such a giant ship, nor had she seen such a flag.
Just as he was stunned, a burst of words with a strange accent rang out.
"Oh, you guys are finally here. I thought I had to wait a little longer."
Eve looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old stranger, with more strangers following behind him.
They wore clothes that were as red as the flag and were inlaid with shiny fish scale armor. This was armor that Eve had never seen before, if it could be considered armor.
The old man still had a simple long sword hanging on his waist and an exquisite firearm on his back. The equipment of other strangers was similar to his, but the decorations were different.
Eve's sluggishness became more serious. Whether it was the armor design or the weapons, they were all something she had never seen before, and they were rarely mentioned even in books. When she saw the old man's black pupils, she seemed to remember What, the memory buried in dust showed a glimmer of light.
"Nine...Nine Xia people?"
"Yes, yes."
The old man was very easy-going and answered with a smile, but his Western language had a somewhat amusing accent.
"Then let's start the meeting. According to the information given by Mr. Holmes, we don't have much time left." The old man's smile faded and became as hard as iron. "What do you have here?" Any ideas?”
"Yes, Mr. Holmes and I have worked out a plan together. This may be able to kill Roger Cruz and Edron Levien and destroy these two unstable factors in one fell swoop." Merlin walked out of the carriage. , said directly.
"What kind of plan?"
"We have to start with the nature of our enemy, which is why we let Scavenger and Jiu Xia participate." Oscar spoke, with the indifferent Seliu standing beside him.
Many people participated in this plan, not only the various departments of the purification agency, but also Ying Erwei Ge and Jiu Xia.
Most of the people in the carriage got off and crowded into a pile on the platform, forming a group with the Jiuxia people temporarily stationed here.
"They are all sublimated. They can travel [gap] at will and read everyone's memory. Coupled with their own powerful power, they are simply gods walking in the world."
Oscar continued.
"If that's the right metaphor... they're like a group of readers."
"reader?"
The old man was very interested when he heard what Oscar said.
"That's right, don't you think? We are all characters in the story. What we are doing is the advancement of the plot. We need to make the plot point reach 'we kill them', but unfortunately, Our enemy is the 'reader', which means that they can flip through the story, see what is happening in our books, accurately read our mental activities, and know everything we want to do.
So no matter what plan we have, it is meaningless in front of the power of the reader. He can listen to any of us's conversations, our mental activities, and even replace us, check our past, and drive our bodies to carry out future. "
The old man fell silent. He rarely heard such interesting metaphors, and because of this novel angle, he once again felt the terror of the enemy.
"So what should we do?"
“Become someone outside the story.”
A hoarse voice sounded, like a hungover drunkard, with heavy steps, and the last passenger staggered off the train.
"It's very simple. If you jump out of this story and don't exist in this story, then readers will not be able to read this story and have no way of knowing our intentions."
His eyes were red, and it looked like he hadn't slept much for days trying to come up with this plan.
"outsider."
"An 'outsider' who is neither known by the enemy nor us only appears at the most critical moment and changes the direction of the entire operation."
He raised his hand as he spoke, as if pinching a tiny speck of dust.
"As long as you change a little bit, and make changes in key parts, an ordinary plan will become a hunting action."
"So is this why we must forget this meeting? Even we ourselves should not remember who the 'outsiders' are." asked the old man.
"Yes, there is an assassin who is beyond the story and beyond everyone's knowledge."
The old man looked at the scavengers behind the man, and then squinted at the soldiers behind him. The technology of the Jiuxia people was completely different from that of Yin Erweg. Compared with these industries, they were better at deceitful antimemes. , and this is why they are here at this moment.
"No one can remember what they have forgotten... This plan is very risky. Once outsiders have problems, we will head towards the end, and there is no possibility of recovery."
It was precisely because of his understanding of antimemes that the old man understood the dangers involved. If the plan was not corrected by outsiders, it would be doomed to fail.
"I believe in outsiders."
The man looked at the old man with a firm expression, his gray-blue eyes empty.
After a stalemate for a while, the old man laughed.
"To be able to return from the Silent Sea, to obtain such important information, to fill in the history of mankind... This is simply a great achievement, but it is a pity that it cannot be written into the book."
The old man didn't think for long, stretched out his hand and shook it with the man.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Holmes."
"Me too, General Zuozhen."
Lorenzo stared at the stranger with black eyes, raised his head, and scanned more strangers with black eyes, and finally stopped at the red flag.
"We should forget each other soon." Lorenzo said regretfully.
"It doesn't matter," Zuo Zhen said, "We will meet for the first time in a few days."
Lorenzo was startled, then smiled and nodded.
"Yes, the first time we met."
(End of this chapter)