Pops smacked his lips as he spoke, looking as if he hadn't quite said enough.
But just as he was about to open his mouth, he was cut off by a voice from the sofa, one that exploded with suppressed rage:
“Enough! This so-called ‘reproduction’... what kind of resurrection is that?”
Evans’ fists were clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into the flesh of his palms.
“Do they have their previous memories? Do they have their previous emotions?”
“If they don't, then they’re just imitations molded out of that S-001. That doesn't count as resurrection at all!”
Faced with Evans’ hysteria, Pops didn't show any sign of displeasure.
He simply sat in his place, his eyes calm to the point of being cold, quietly waiting for Evans to vent the last of his anger.
Finally, Evans fell silent, his lips pressed into a thin line.
The strength seemed to drain out of him all at once, and he slumped back heavily against the sofa cushions, looking defeated.
Only then did Pops finally speak in a low, haunting tone:
“I don't mean to poke at your wounds, child, but according to your theory... isn't everyone in this world right now also a so-called ‘imitation’?”
He reached out, his fingertip slowly tracing something in the air.
“I heard recently that over in the City of the Sky Lake, someone proposed a very novel scientific hypothesis.”
“They said that all matter in the world—all the steel and flesh—is actually composed of something very, very small.”
“Just as countless rocks converge to form the Yulong Mountains, a massive amount of ‘Meat-food’ forms the Red Tide you see.”
“The difference between things is actually just the stuff they’re made of, and the way those things are arranged.”
“So, if I use a pile of those small things, arranged in the exact same way, to reassemble a person who just died right there on the spot—down to the very last pore.”
“On what grounds can you say I haven't perfectly resurrected them?”
Evans was somewhat stunned by Pops’ brand of twisted logic.
The poor youth’s mouth hung open in shock, his chest heaving, but he couldn't find a single word to rebut him.
“By the same token.”
Pops clearly had no intention of giving him any room to breathe or react, pressing his advantage relentlessly.
“Since everyone in this world—past, present, and future—was made by S-001, and what made them was some kind of energy from S-001...”
“Then you use that exact same S-001 energy to mold an identical person in the same spot, one who even inherits your memories.”
“On what grounds can you say that this person, who has just opened their eyes anew, isn't the same person from before?”
Evans froze for a long time before he finally thought of a counter-argument, saying weakly:
“Exactly the same... how can you guarantee they’re exactly the same?”
“Whether it's memories or anything else, it's impossible to completely record every single detail of an individual, right?”
Faced with the youth’s final struggle, Pops didn't hesitate for a second, coldly spitting out a single sentence.
“But isn't the one you truly long to resurrect... merely ‘the version of them that lives in your own memory’?”
These words struck Evans’ soul like a bolt of thunder.
Evans was momentarily dazed.
Pops tilted his head slightly, his sharp gaze staring straight into Evans’ eyes.
“Whether it's approval or empathy, you want to resurrect them because of what they showed you, right?”
“To put it bluntly, what you want is just the ‘emotional value’ they once provided you...”
“In that case, what’s wrong with using S-001 to re-mold a vessel that can provide that same emotion?”
Evans remained frozen for a very, very long time.
Sword-man, in the corner, finally couldn't take it anymore and muttered with some dissatisfaction.
“Hey, hey, hey, old man... Pops, aren't those words a bit too much...”
However, he was only halfway through his sentence when Pops silenced him with a single glare.
Meanwhile, Ren Yi, who had been hiding in the shadows all this time, also frowned slightly in his mind.
This won't do. Young Evans is still too inexperienced after all.
In front of a super old fox like Pops, who had lived through several eras, he was being overwhelmed by this twisted logic in just a few moves.
For the sake of the youth’s mental health, Ren Yi felt he had to intervene.
Several lines of text suddenly appeared in Evans’ dazed eyes.
【He’s using sophistry.】
【He’s spouting all this talk about materialism for one reason: he’s intentionally pushing you toward the idea of ‘using S-001 to open the New Era.’】
【Because that is his ultimate goal for seeking this negotiation with you today.】
The shimmering lines of text flashed quickly across Evans’ retina.
Although this explanation caused Evans’ cold body to tremble slightly, it clearly wasn't enough to soothe him.
Ren Yi thought for a moment and continued.
【Regarding your goal, there might be another way.】
Ren Yi felt that Evans would probably need to withdraw into himself for a while.
He had even thought of a backup plan for the next step.
If Evans’ mental defenses collapsed and he couldn't recover, Ren Yi would use the text on his retina as a “real-time teleprompter.”
He would let Evans act as his “mouthpiece” and representative to carry out the next round of power plays with Pops.
Evans would just have to bear the burden.
However, things didn't go quite as Ren Yi expected.
Evans, who had been slumped on the sofa with a deathly pale face, only paused for a brief moment after seeing the newly formed text on his retina.
Then, he suddenly began to laugh, somewhat inexplicably.
It wasn't a mocking laugh, but a laugh that came from the heart.
He looked up at Pops, the flush in his face returning quickly as his gaze locked back onto the old man.
After a long silence, he asked a question in a very soft voice.
“And then what?”
Evans leaned back slightly.
“What?”
The smile on Pops’ face, which had been full of confidence just a moment ago, finally cracked. He wore an extremely rare expression of confusion.
“Then, if in this so-called New Era, they die all over again... what happens then?”
Rate on N.U.
