Ding Lang spoke, "Even though I had diverted most of our resources and hadn't provided any new plans, through the tireless efforts of nearly two generations, they actually managed to complete the Matrix Module Defense Plan I originally conceived. And just today, all the Matrix Modules were successfully activated."
This meant that the Barrier Ding Lang had initially envisioned was now fully constructed. With this Barrier in place, the world could isolate itself from the influence of the Outer Gods, gaining precious time to recuperate, rebuild, or devise alternative methods of resistance.
In theory, this was how it was supposed to work. All the cheering crowds outside firmly believed it too—their sacrifices had finally borne fruit. Yet Ding Lang sighed, "During this time, we faced countless hardships. There were moments when we nearly gave up. They asked me, 'Is all this effort truly meaningful? Can we really succeed?'"
"By then, my research was already halfway complete, so I had no choice but to deceive them. Initially, I only wanted to buy us some more time—at least long enough to develop something to hand over to you. But I never imagined they would actually succeed..."
At that moment, footsteps approached rapidly, and a young girl with black hair burst through the door. When she saw Evernight and Heinrich, she paused, her eyes widening in surprise as if wondering why anyone else was here.
But her joy at the success quickly dispelled her confusion. She turned to Ding Lang, her voice brimming with excitement, "Doctor! All Matrix Modules have been successfully activated! The Barrier is up! Your plan worked! Does this mean the world can finally return to the peaceful state it once was?!"
Ding Lang nodded without hesitation, repeating the lie he had told countless times—a lie that had deceived the entire world. "Of course. We succeeded. The world is saved..."
(Spy-should have brought Cipher)
The girl continued, "Doctor, won't you come down and celebrate with us? Everyone's waiting to hear your speech!"
Ding Lang replied, "I'll join you in a bit. I still have some urgent matters to attend to here."
Only then did the girl belatedly glance at Evernight again. "Oh, is that so? Well, Doctor, please focus on your work!"
Afterward, she obediently left the room, closing the door behind her. Once she was gone, Ding Lang couldn't help but sigh. Even knowing it was all a charade, deceiving everyone for so long still weighed heavily on his conscience.
But Ding Lang quickly shook off this guilt and turned to Evernight and Heinrich. "Come with me," he said. "I'll show you the results of my recent research. It might be helpful to you."
Creak... Creak...
As they walked, Evernight could clearly feel the wooden floorboards were unstable beneath her feet. It was obvious that Ding Lang's current residence was no longer No. 3 Factory, but rather a new location—perhaps one of several he had moved to over time. This room appeared to be a newly constructed space.
Following Ding Lang, Evernight reached a corner of the room. He first picked up a dusty wooden box, tapped it a few times to clear away the grime, and then handed it to her.
Evernight took the wooden box and opened it to reveal a pile of fist-sized spikes. Ding Lang explained, "These are the tools you originally asked me to create—devices to restrict the Children of Flesh. Just drive these spikes into the ground at 200-meter intervals to form a circle, and the enclosed area will become a special Domain that drastically suppresses the Children of Flesh's power."
"I'm not sure if you can directly take these spikes out of here. But even if you can't, I have the blueprints here. You can memorize them and fabricate the spikes yourselves—the materials are all common."
As he spoke, Ding Lang handed over a stack of thin notebooks. Evernight flipped through them casually, confirming that she couldn't take her memories out of this realm. But as Ding Lang had said, with the blueprints, replicating the spikes in the Main World would be straightforward.
After introducing the spikes, Ding Lang moved on to the main attraction. He walked over to another table where a square object about a meter in diameter rested. The device resembled a living mechanical heart, its surface covered in intricate blue patterns.
With each breath, the machine would subtly expand and contract. Within the blue patterns, the flow of magic power could be clearly traced, giving the device an unmistakably high-tech aura.
Ding Lang explained, "Actually, after studying this for so long, it's still only a semi-finished product. In theory, it should function like a compass, guiding you to the nearest world destroyed by the Mother of Flesh."
"However, there's a catch: you must obtain a piece of flesh from the Mother of Flesh's True Body and insert it into the machine. Only then will this 'compass' activate. I definitely can't get my hands on that here, so I can't verify whether it will function as intended."
"I'm sorry. This is the best I could achieve."
Evernight extended her right hand and gently traced the square's surface with her fingers. "There's no need to apologize, Doctor. You've already done more than enough."
After a pause, Evernight continued, "Actually, I have a way to transform you into a special Memosprite state, allowing you to survive outside this world."
What Evernight was referring to was the Memosprite technique—extracting Ding Lang from the memories of this world. While this would mean Ding Lang could only exist by attaching himself to Evernight, it would at least mean he would "survive," wouldn't it?
However, Ding Lang showed no sign of being tempted. The words "survive" held no allure for him. He shook his head and said, "I'm already a dead man from a destroyed world. Let me fade away quietly. I have no desire to witness the ruins of my world."
It was the answer Evernight had expected. She silently accepted the cube's design blueprints from Ding Lang, glanced over them to memorize the details, and said, "Your contributions will not be forgotten. In our world, everyone will know this machine came from your hand. Everyone will know who devised the method to combat the Mother of Flesh."
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Spy-Author still sick so chaps still short
Spy from the future- HEY NEW FIC OUT! AAAAAAHHHH