Chapter 601: Exploring the Inner World (End)

Translator: Lonelytree 

At that same time, at the Phase Forest at the Inner world. This was a place where sparks flew. The reason it was called a ‘forest’ was because the scenery here was complicated, they had the appearance of foliage, flickering between brightness and darkness. The sound waves, electromagnetic waves, light, even time and s.p.a.ce were changing with an unpredictable rules in the forest… and they were visible to the naked eyes like real things. At that moment, inside this forest, a person who was running at high speed suddenly stopped.

“Boss, you sure are hard to find.” He spoke towards a piece of black rock before him. “Even with you sending me constant signal, I still spend so much time trying to locate you…”

“That is only naturally.” The thing that replied him was a strangely-shaped black rock that floated in the air. Its size was about 3 cubic metres and looked like a crystal. It had a greyish-white pattern on its surface. “The reason I am here is so that people will not find me.”

“Okay then.” The man shrugged and added casually. “In any case… long time, no see boss.”

“Red Iron, I’ve told you many time.” The rock continued, “Don’t call me boss.” His voice and tone was rather soft and melodious. “If you are not going to call me sir, then you can call me Zero.”

“Fine~ Fine~ Sir.” K1- Red Iron said with impatience and he quickly added, “By the way… what has happened to you?” He studied Zero up and down. “I think I have seen this state of yours somewhere before…”

Hearing that, Zero only answered with 2 words, “Shapeless Shade.”

“Oh! Right right.” Red Iron nodded. “no wonder you look so familiar… it’s the big rock among the 9 Phantoms.”

“The big rock that you said is a mirror doc.u.ment that I have created for myself when the main universe of Thriller Paradise was just forming.” ZERO replied. “Only when necessary I will activate this back up copy…” He paused, “…like now.”

“Hmm…” Red Iron said contemplatively. “A thing that originated from you, a doc.u.ment that is basically a bin doc.u.ment managed to find itself among the 9 phantoms in the main universe… then just how powerful your actual ent.i.ty is?”

“As my people, do you think it’s appropriate to ask that question?” Zero pointed out. “Other than that, did you get the main point of my words or not?”

“Main point?” Red Iron was startled. “oh~ I get it now.” He turned back to study Zero again. “Hmm… Something bad has happened?”

“Isn’t that a given…” Zero replied with annoyance. “I have already activated my back up copy and came hiding to this place so what do you think?”

“So…” Red Iron scratched his head. “What did happen?”

“I can’t say.” Zero answered.

“f.u.c.k! Then why did you call me here?” Red Iron grumbled.

“There is a mission that I need to give you in person.” Zero straightened his voice and said seriously, “it’s not so safe to use long-distance communication, if the data is intercepted at the desktop, the big plan will be ruined.”

“The chance of that is so small…” Red Iron said.

“But it is not zero.” Zero answered. “We have to eliminate the chance of accident no matter how small the probability.”

“Sounds like…” Red Iron groaned. “This mission will be very troublesome…”

“yes.” Zero admitted. “But… it is still within my calculation.” He paused for a second. “In any case, in contrast to the mission 23 is undergoing, the risk of this one is much lower.”

“Well… I suppose you’re right.” Red Iron said, “The battle plan of ‘stealing SCP-079, pretending to fall for its tricks, acting to escape into π maze and then luring Link and Ad to walk into it’, if I am the one doing it, then 100 percent it will fail.”

“I know.” Zero said, “I know that without the need to calculate…” He sighed (even though he had no respiratory organ). “Enough… listen to your mission objectives…”

…

On the other hand, at the LJN park, pixel trash site.

“Hmm… nice place.” When Feng Bujue said that, he had his hands inside his pockets and followed behind ROOT. He looked around the place like a country b.u.mpkin who had been to the city for the first time.

“How is this a nice place?” Root said without turning her head around. “A place like this will only appear in apocalypse movie.”

“Okay, I was just trying to make conversation…” Brother Jue answered.

Then, D2- Red turned to ask ROOT. “This is strange, isn’t this one of the bases of Origin, how come I cannot scan any nearby Anomalies?”

“Well, I am understaffed lately.” Root said as she turned to glare at Brother Jue, “During the last mission, most of my direct subordinates have been killed.”

“Why are you looking at me for… It was not me who killed them.” Brother Jue narrowed his eyes and countered.

While they spoke, Root came to her personal ‘sofa’ and sat down with ease. After she made herself comfortable, she first turned to D2- Red and D2-Green and tossed out a direct question, “I say… The two of you, would you like to be my subordinates?” For humans, if someone made that kind of request not after they had met would be extremely befuddling but for Anomalies, such problem did not exist. In the world of data, this was like a simple system operation, it did not require such thing as opportune timing. This was the Inner World… A higher grade data invited the lower grade one to join them to expand their forces and spread their ideals… this was happening almost every second everywhere.

“Hey… don’t you think those two sentences do not go that well together…” Feng Bujue would be kicking himself if he did not say anything at such a moment. But Root ignored him.

“Join the Origin is it?” Red did not mind the previous sentence but her answer was, “But I still want to be friends with humans so never mind.”

“Listen, girlie, I am not asking you to join Origin but to become my subordinate.” Root used another method to repeat her question.

“Huh?” Red was startled like she could not grasp the other’s words. At that moment, who would have thought… Green who had been reticent and ambivalent about everything suddenly cut in to say, “Just say yes, Green.”

Red turned to look at Green and then added rather numbly. “Hmm… well, since Green has said so.” She turned to Root again. “Okay, we will join you. Erm… shall I call you sir?”

“Call me anything you want…” After saying that, Root ignored the two girls, she moved her gaze to Brother Jue and added, “Okay… There is no outsider here anymore, we need to talk.”