A piercing light stabbed into Lyxander's eyes.
He had awakened from his unconsciousness. Reaching out and looking around, Lyxander found himself lying on a white bed.
Beside him hung white curtains, reminding him unmistakably of a hospital room.
Looking further, Lyxander noticed a beautiful woman with white hair that matched her white lab coat, holding a cup of coffee in her hand.
"You're awake?" she asked.
Lyxander gave his trademark sarcastic smile.
"Take a guess. Here's a hint—use your eyes."
The woman replied with a look of disgust.
"I'm curious why you seem so unfriendly."
"Come on. Do you really expect me to be friendly toward people who tried to kill me?" Lyxander shot back.
The woman let out a sigh and cast a sharp glance to the side.
"So you're repeating that terrible joke again this year."
She pulled the curtain aside, revealing a group of people in military uniforms lounging around. Some were playing cards—and among them, Lyxander recognized Simon Chrys.
Simon turned and smiled warmly.
"Oh, you're awake?"
Lyxander chuckled.
"Take a guess. Hint—use your eyes."
Laughter immediately erupted throughout the room.
"Hahaha!"
"Haha, Captain, that's pathetic!"
"This is even funnier than before!"
An irritated Simon promptly dragged Lyxander away without offering any explanation.
—
In a long corridor with a futuristic design, Lyxander and Simon walked side by side. Compared to a straight hallway, this corridor felt gently curved—it seemed the Entity Corporation's headquarters was circular in structure.
They weren't alone. Several people in white lab coats and military uniforms passed by. Some greeted Simon, while others glanced at Lyxander with curious eyes.
"So," Lyxander asked, "what are you actually going to do with me?"
At first, he had thought he would be killed, but now he realized it had merely been a bad joke—leaving him curious about his fate.
"I wasn't completely lying when I said we'd kill you," Simon replied.
Lyxander frowned.
"So you are going to kill me?"
"Depends," Simon answered.
Lyxander frowned even deeper.
"Ugh. At least give me a clear answer."
"Hahaha." Simon only chuckled.
"Damn it, don't get mad just because I made you the butt of the joke," he provoked.
Simon didn't take the bait. Instead, he asked,
"What do you think we're going to do with you?"
Lyxander thought for a moment before replying.
"If you possess supernatural power, it wouldn't be strange for you to also have the ability to erase memories. You might want to erase mine—but that would carry a high risk of death."
"But the most logical conclusion is that you want to recruit me."
"Oh?" Simon raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"If you're truly part of the Empire's military, wouldn't it make more sense to protect me rather than kill me? And the best way to protect me would be to make me one of you," Lyxander explained.
"But in that case, there wouldn't be any threat of death," Simon countered.
"No. Like I said earlier, if you have supernatural powers, recruitment would obviously come with conditions. And I believe that condition is possessing supernatural power."
"As you explained, your abilities come from a virus called Entity. That means implanting it into a body clearly carries a risk of death."
"Hm. That sounds very reasonable—but you're wrong about one thing, Lyxander," Simon said.
Lyxander frowned.
"And what's that?"
Simon smiled.
"There's already an Entity virus inside your body."
*There's already an Entity virus inside me?! Then why haven't I gained any supernatural powers?*
Confusion flooded Lyxander's mind.
Before he could ask—
Simon suddenly stopped in front of an enormous steel door, startling Lyxander.
Simon aligned his eyes with a retinal scanner.
Retinal scan initiated.
After completing two-step verification—
Tiiiiiing!
The steel door slowly slid open, releasing a shrill metallic sound. After a moment, it fully opened.
"Go on," Simon said.
Inside was a massive room filled with countless screens displaying various data and images. At the center stood a hologram—its face resembling a carved statue. One side wore a mask, while from the other eye grew a small tree. Though entirely blue, its color felt almost tangible.
The hologram was separated from them by an iron fence and a surrounding chasm, placing distance between it, Lyxander, and Simon.
An electronic voice emerged from the hologram's mouth.
"Welcome, Simon Chrys. How may I assist you?"
Simon glanced at Lyxander beside him and began explaining.
"Let me introduce it to you. This is an artificial intelligence created by Einstein three hundred years ago. Its name is Enigma."
"Enigma?!" Lyxander exclaimed in shock.
Simon looked at him curiously.
"Oh? It seems you know its history."
Lyxander returned a small smile and began explaining.
"Enigma was the project name used to crack the Golden Prison belonging to the Prison Emperor Diyu during the War of the Nine Immortal Emperors. Back then, the Golden Prison was a combat robot with devastating destructive power. Its control code was considered impossible to decipher—it changed every twelve hours, with trillions of possible combinations."
"But in the end, Einstein succeeded in breaking that impossible control code by creating an artificial intelligence called Enigma."
What Lyxander explained was one of the many 'useless' memories learned by the original Lyxander.
But what truly shocked him wasn't the AI before him—it was its name.
*Enigma was the most difficult cipher machine used by the German army during World War II.*
*Was Einstein a transmigrator like me? Or is this just a coincidence? Even if he was a transmigrator, I have no idea where he is now.*
Simon nodded, acknowledging Lyxander's explanation, then pointed at the hologram.
"Enigma, I want to access Entity 00-011."
Multiple holograms appeared, displaying detailed information.
—
Serial Code: 00-011
Threat Level: White
Potential Threat: Black
Sealing Method: None (Entity surrendered voluntarily)
Access Authorization: Captain rank and above
Description:
The Entity refers to itself as an "angel" originating from Earth. First sighted in Swein City two hundred years ago.
Capable of manipulating matter and answering any question.
Grants three questions.
Only answers after being fed.
Refuses to answer more than three questions.
Will kill anyone who shares its answers with others.
Experiments conducted on 300 death-row inmates:
79 were killed.
36 went insane.
185 survived with no side effects.
This Entity despises other Entities and exterminates them without exception.
Appearance: A handsome man with nine wings, pure white hair, and glowing yellow eyes.
Entity Name—
Ting… ting… ting…
Angel of Wisdom.
OROCHI.