Shrouded Seascape

Charles' ears twitched slightly, his lone eye darting toward the mirror embedded in the fleshy wall beside him. The commotion on the other side seemed to be huge.

"When will the examination be over?" Charles tentatively asked the mirror, but there was no response.

Despite sensing that something might have happened to the Foundation staff on the other side, Charles didn't dare to make any reckless move. In such uncertain circumstances, escaping without a plan would only make matters worse.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Paiper's twisted worm body once again emerged from within the structure. A few long needles connected to optical fibers were forcefully inserted into Paiper's deformed worm head by some people wearing white lab coats.

Paiper's figure twitched, and all of Charles' memories flashed across its mind. It browsed the memories for a while before exclaiming in disbelief, "My goodness, what's going on with this guy's memories? Why are there traces of alteration in every single memory of his?

"Hmm? Why is there a hidden memory here? Who did this?" Paiper discovered a hidden memory in the deepest recesses of Charles' sea of consciousness. The sight piqued Paiper's curiosity, and it couldn't help but open the isolated memory.

Clang!

The long needles connected to Paiper fell helplessly to the ground with a loud clang.

The colossal twisted worm had vanished from the monitoring room.

Time ticked by slowly. Not long after, Paiper's twisted worm body emerged from within the wall. A few long needles connected to optical fibers were forcefully inserted into Paiper's deformed worm head by some people wearing white lab coats.

The same sequence of events repeated again and again. It was as though the occupants in the room were trapped in an endless time loop, repeating the same actions over and over again.

At the fifth repetition, just when Paiper instructed the researchers to insert the long needles into his brain, a tall, skinny figure with two raven heads appeared and broke the loop.

Both his dark beaks parted, and a deep voice sounded in the room. "E4, what's going on? Why is the central computer sounding an alarm? What are you doing?"

"Alarm? I wasn't doing anything. I was just checking Target 3's memories," Paiper answered. It was at that moment that realization dawned upon it.

"This is bad! That guy's memories contain a memetic infection! We've been tricked!"

With a swift motion of its black-glass twisted worm tail, Paiper swiped across the floating screen and activated the safe mode.

The room Charles was in rapidly descended to eventually stop in a multifunctional prison equipped with various defenses.

Despite all the precautions, Paiper didn't dare to let its guard down. It quickly embedded a crystal clear necklace into its worm body.

Only when Paiper could finally feel the crystal's protective properties taking effect, did it finally let out a sigh of relief.

Though the crystal necklace couldn't stop a memetic infection, it could provide early warnings; at least, they wouldn't be caught off guard.

Turning to its colleague beside it, the figure with two raven heads, Paiper remarked, "I've told you that absorbing people like him poses a significant threat to the Foundation. Luckily, we discovered this memetic infection early this time. If this infection were to spread out, it could have caused immense damage to the entire Foundation.

"If we can't even observe his memories, who knows if he's a good or bad addition to the Foundation!" Paiper concluded.

The two-headed raven figure calmly observed Charles through the screen and watched the latter glancing around warily. He contemplated for a moment before saying, "He's a very unique variable. O5 believes that he is of significant research value. Don't think so poorly of him; that might just be one of his own defensive methods.

"Let's go talk to him. Perhaps we might be able to get an answer out of him directly. To be honest, his approach to dealing with things is rather similar to ours, and I really like that about him."

Meanwhile, Charles was growing restless from the prolonged waiting in the room. Earlier, he had attempted to teleport himself out of the room with the embedded relic in him, but the strange fleshy walls around him seemed to block any methods of teleportation.

Just as Charles was pondering over the purpose of his containment, Charles saw Paiper's worm body penetrating through the metal wall and into the room. Behind it was a humanoid creature with two raven heads.

"Is it over now? Seriously, you guys are surely slow," Charles commented, pressing his hands on the armrests of the flesh-formed sofa and pushing himself to stand.

His attention was first drawn to the tall figure who towered over four meters. His slender form was clad in a black trench coat. Clearly, he appeared to also be a member of the Foundation.

"Charles, can you explain the origin of the memetic infection in your memories?" Paiper broke the silence.

"Memetic infection? What is that?" A look of genuine surprise crossed Charles' face; he had no idea what was this thing they had just accused him of.

"Stop playing dumb! Because of your infection, I've died at least five times already!" Paiper's voice was laced with evident anger.

Charles was taken aback. He couldn't focus on how he had managed to harm them. He was more shocked by the fact that Paiper had died so many times but was somehow still hovering before him. The Foundation clearly had some serious tricks up its sleeves.

What is there in my memories? Why can it kill Paiper? Could it be a trap set by Anna? A series of speculations entered Charles' mind.

Charles contemplated rapidly before he decided to feign surprise. "You actually managed to discover it? Alright, let's exchange information then. Tell me how you are still alive after dying so many times, and I'll tell you what's hidden in my memories."

Naturally, Charles had no idea what was actually in his mind, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying to gather as much intel as possible.

"Alright, we accept the terms. Actually, most members of the GK Council have comprehensive backups stored in the central computer. The backup encompasses everything from consciousness to abilities to their physical form.

"When something happens to that person, it will trigger the activation of the cellular printing technology to print them out again. Each member is a valuable asset, and losing any of them would be a significant blow to the Foundation," the raven-headed figure answered.

The revelation had Charles stunned with mouth agape. The answer was actually cloning. He had thought that they had used it solely on soldiers like Feuerbach to bolster the ranks.

He had clearly underestimated its usage. Cloning was actually a fundamental part of the Foundation's operations and was utilized from the highest chain of command down to the bottom!

"Wait, doesn't that mean that the resurrected individual isn't the same as the one who died? So, didn't you still die?" Charles asked.

The two raven heads nodded in unison. "You're absolutely right. That's indeed the case."

He then continued, "I know what you're thinking. But it doesn't concern us if we are clones or not. All of us—our memories, experiences, and bodies—exist for the Foundation. Saving humanity requires sacrifices, and that includes sacrificing ourselves."

Charles went silent for a long moment as he processed the logic behind those words. Even though they were his enemies, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of respect for them.

They were a bunch of pure individuals willing to give everything for their ideals, dedicated to sacrificing everything for a greater cause.