Chapter 1 The Scarlet Door

A scarlet door.

Entwined with dense, ancient script.

Inside, the conference room beyond the door was illuminated by a dim chandelier, and the participants who had been slumbering at the long table slowly awoke.

"Everyone..."

The one who spoke was a thin, frail girl, wearing a badge symbolizing her identity, with the numbers "101" written on it.

"I've initiated an emergency meeting because I have an announcement to make."

This time, not many people in the conference room had woken up.

The usually jovial 031 slowly woke up, and couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this sentence.

He sat up straight with rare seriousness, looked at the frail girl with a straight face, and reminded her with a smile, "Announcing important news at this time… everyone in the real world must be very busy, right? Not many are unemployed bums like me."

Indeed, apart from the two of them, only two more had entered the deep water area for this emergency meeting.

The tall man 073, and the young man 957 in the corner of the conference room.

After waking up, 073 was as concise as ever: "Three minutes."

Meaning he only had three minutes in the real world.

"Three minutes is enough."

The girl said in a deep voice, "It's about the latest news regarding the 'Awakening Act.' The Act will most likely not be implemented in Dongzhou."

"Oh?"

073's expression showed a hint of surprise.

At the last meeting, everyone had been troubled by the Act.

Almost no one could help… and "031," the only one in Dongzhou with influence, said he couldn't help and couldn't delay the Act's progress.

"Did you get some inside information? This is no small matter…" 073 asked seriously, "From what I know, the struggle over the Act in Dongzhou is nearing its end. Nagano has announced its withdrawal, and the final contest is coming to Dadu. And in Dadu, no one can defeat Zhao Xilai, that old fox."

"I'm not at liberty to disclose the source of my information."

The girl was silent for a moment.

"Alright…"

073 didn't press the issue. He smiled with relief. "If there really is a change, then Heaven is helping us. This emergency meeting was very timely, thank you. After the last meeting, I was already preparing to use my family's power to try and delay the implementation of the Act."

"Heh…"

The young man 957, sitting in the corner, frowned and said in a low voice, "Preparing to use the family's power to delay the implementation of the Act…"

"You really have made the most foolproof, worst-case scenario plan. But how does that sound so unrealistic? Because I can't rack my brains and think of any family that is far away from Dongzhou and can change the laws announced by the Federation…"

957 stared intently at the tall man. "You better not be lying to me."

"What's the point of lying to you?"

073 said calmly, "Besides… I also said, I'm just trying to delay it as much as possible, not change it."

"Aha…"

The young 031 quickly stood up and interrupted the conversation between the two.

"Sorry, sorry, you two… I need to clarify something."

"Since Alan Turing's death, the Ancient Text Society lost its key. From that day on, every meeting could be the last… so all of us lucky survivors who escaped the extermination began to hide our identities. Everyone is afraid that the conference room will be breached by the Deep Sea, and their information will be traced, and they'll be ruined."

031 said with a soft laugh.

"But we are remnants at odds with the whole world…"

"Even if we are now forced to wear masks, we still have the most sincere trust in the faces beneath the masks… because in the real world, we are comrades, brothers-in-arms, entrusting our backs to each other."

The young man smiled at 073 and said, "Why argue about this… By the way, just a reminder, your three minutes are up."

"...I'm going offline."

073 glanced at the time with some regret. He first looked at 101 and said, "The Act is important, and you've probably done something, but I hope you understand… our current abilities are limited. Sacrificing yourself won't change anything. Do your best, and make preserving yourself the priority."

The girl fell into thought after hearing this.

The tall man looked at 957 again and said calmly, "Finally, about delaying the Act… I didn't lie to you."

After saying this, 073's figure slowly dimmed.

The light from the chandelier above his head also dissipated.

"...Sorry, I was impulsive." 957 apologized to the already vanished 073 in the distance of the long table, although his apology could not reach 073's ears after he went offline.

"Alright, alright—"

"I forgive you on behalf of 073."

The young 031 smiled and said, "Little guy, you are still too young. Don't be so impatient when doing things… There is indeed a certain family in the five continents that can interfere with the Act's progress, such as the Lin family of the Northern Fortress."

957 felt slightly unhappy when he heard the first half of the sentence.

This 031, who looked even younger than him, was speaking like an old man…

But the second half of the sentence really shocked him.

"The Lin family…"

He subconsciously ignored the existence of this behemoth.

Because the concept of "family" in the five continents of the Federation is almost never used on the Lin family.

The Northern Fortress, which resists the collapsing order of transcendence, is the most severe battlefield in the five continents. The council sends a large number of transcendents to garrison in the fortress every year, but it is far from enough… The power of logical collapse can no longer be filled by the number of transcendents.

The Lin family withstood the pressure of the Northern Fortress.

The surname "Lin" is a symbol of glory and sincerity in the Northern Continent, and has become a belief. Compared with the great surname families in the other continents who play with power and intrigue, the Lin family is a completely different existence.

"073 is a member of the Lin family…"

No wonder, 073 rarely went online when the emergency meeting was convened before, and every time he went online to participate, he would say that his time in the real world was very tight.

He was stationed at the fortress.

It was already very difficult to participate in the meeting.

957 looked at the tall man's position again, with a solemn expression and a bit more respect in his eyes.

"You seem to know us very well."

The girl looked at the jovial 031 and said softly, "You've been here since the day I entered the conference room… But we know nothing about you. You said you sent the 'key' to my city, are you sure about my identity?"

The young man shook his head helplessly and smiled, "In this deep water area, we are all prisoners wearing masks. If you want to know what the face under the mask looks like, you either cheat and see through it, or… gamble on your luck and guess. But my luck seems to be pretty good, and I guess pretty accurately every time."

"No, you're wrong."

"I haven't come into contact with the 'key' you sent." The girl said lightly, "This 'red door' is a relic left to me by my father. As long as there is contact on a spiritual level, I can sense the 'key'…"

031 narrowed his eyes.

"Are you sure it was sent to the city I'm in? I'm in Dadu."

The girl glanced at 957. She didn't hide her location.

"Sure, definitely, and absolutely."

031 said lightly, "I'm even sure you've already met… If the red door doesn't react, then try again!"