S void gate tore open amidst the burning ruins.
The edges of the rift shimmered with an eerie blue-white light, as if an invisible blade had sliced a hole in reality. From within the light, a figure stepped out. Adam landed on the scorched earth. The moment his boots made contact with the ground, a faint "hiss" sounded; the land had not yet fully cooled.
He looked up at the figure nearby, who was sealed within a stasis field.
"Well, this is quite a surprise." Adam tilted his head, his tone carrying a hint of genuine admiration.
Even he hadn't expected that this "hero," chosen by the unknown entity to "save the world," would possess the willpower to realize something was wrong in that split second and actively deactivate the protection of the Absolute Exclusion Harness. It was incredible.
Adam stepped closer and circled Pietro, his gaze lingering on the harness on the man's chest. The metallic edges gleamed with a cold white luster under the light of the stasis field, and the release button remained in its pressed state.
To be honest, Adam's original plan hadn't been this complex. After confirming that the anomaly stored in Site-19, Designation 055 [Unknown], had not been stolen, he immediately deployed some relic weapons from the Adeptus Mechanicus stored in his spatial storage device.
Nano-swarms.
These tiny objects permeated the air, working in tandem with the Foundation's surveillance network to cover the surrounding several kilometers. They could rapidly monitor for potential invisible units and detect anomalous disturbances in the air. After all, Adam remembered clearly that in the original records, the Absolute Exclusion Harness only protected the user themselves via cognitive filtering.
As the owner of the harness, Pietro had never considered using a vehicle to reach his destination because the harness could only protect him; it wouldn't grant a vehicle the ability of cognitive filtering. In that sense, it was quite simple. As long as the nano-swarms detected an abnormal disturbance in the air—such as the sound of a human walking—it would immediately trigger Adam's attention.
This was the confidence of someone who had read the script beforehand.
However, Adam really hadn't expected this guy to possess such powerful willpower, enough to forcibly overcome the influence brought by that entity. It was truly admirable. Although the unknown entity's control over the human consciousness it inhabited was not as absurd as a certain anomaly known as the "Dragon Vein," it was still an extremely rare achievement. Even Adam had to admit that.
"Thank you for your service and sacrifice," Adam said softly, his tone carrying a sliver of sincere respect.
Behind him, the void gate fluctuated again. A strangely shaped holographic projection device floated out. Sigils representing different O5 members appeared; most were dim, while only a few were still glowing.
A deep male voice came from the device. "His actions are worthy of a Foundation Star medal."
Adam raised an eyebrow and replied casually, "I thought you only awarded that medal to D-class personnel."
"That is merely your stereotype," the voice replied.
Adam shrugged and didn't continue the topic. However, the voice of another O5 member rang out. "What is this thing? It seems to be some kind of time-related weapon?"
"Exactly. This thing is called a Stasis Bomb," Adam explained offhandedly. "And it's been upgraded and modified by me using anomalies. I believe it can keep the situation under control." He paused and continued, "I assume you've also conducted research into temporal weapons?"
Adam remembered clearly that in the final stages of this world, the Foundation had done something on a massive scale. They used a temporal weapon to disrupt the planet's time flow, freezing global time on Christmas Day and allowing a Christmas-related anomaly to roam the globe and slaughter humanity.
"Of course," a high-pitched child's voice sounded, the tone devoid of emotion.
Adam nodded and looked back at Pietro. The man sealed in the stasis field looked like a silent statue. But Adam could feel it now—something was projecting an immense amount of attention onto this man. A certain entity had invested too much of its focus into this human.
In terms closer to religion or theology, this man was the "Son of God" for that entity. By using him as a springboard, the Foundation could easily find another path to slaying a god, in addition to slaughtering all of humanity.
"Now that we've come this far, everything is ready, right?" Adam asked.
The holographic device was silent for a moment. Then, a steady, elderly voice spoke up. "There is one final question."
Adam frowned slightly.
"Our Noosphere research institute has received your plan and the technology you provided," the elderly voice continued. "After a brief period of study, they raised a very critical factor."
"That entity has inhabited the Noosphere for tens of thousands of years. Not a single person who has been infected by it has the qualification to be its enemy. If one were to enter the Noosphere purely by will—even for us, who possess the 'Hard-Heart' memetic cure—we would be unable to face its onslaught. The cure would collapse in an instant."
"This point is a problem we are completely unable to solve."
The air fell into a brief silence. On the burning ruins, only the sound of crackling flames echoed in the distance. Then, Adam smiled.
"Isn't that simple?" He turned around and looked at the holographic device, his tone as relaxed as if they were discussing what to have for dinner. "Just let me go in alone."
"Why?"
Everyone was well aware of the price one might pay for facing that entity. Eternal torture after death was an extremely likely outcome. Even the most fearless personnel would tremble before such a terrifying end.
Of course, for Adam, he was currently only a clone anyway. At the same time, he possessed absolute self-awareness and believed wholeheartedly that he would lead to the ultimate victory. Even if "I" failed, "I" would still be "my" own final insurance; after completing the final ascension, Adam would inevitably reverse all of this and redeem "my" failure.
Naturally, such private matters didn't need to be said aloud.
After a long while, Adam said half-jokingly, "To save the world?"
No one laughed. The people before him clearly didn't believe that answer. Adam looked at their expressions and suddenly burst out laughing.
"Just kidding." He stopped laughing, and the expression on his face became calm—so calm it was like he was stating a perfectly ordinary fact. "It's simply because I want to. That's all."