I want to just drift through life in Type-Moon.

Page 157

When it was Olga's turn to draw cards, she had the most cards left among the three. Little Ilya cleverly turned around and rearranged the order of her cards several times. Now she kept a tight face and closed her eyes, not looking at Olga. Several times before, she had given herself away because of her expression, and the Joker had lingered in her hand for a long time.

As a result, after feeling the cards in her hand being taken away, Little Ilya slightly opened her eyes, then quickly closed them again. She repeated this several times before finally daring to open her eyes. When she found that the Joker was gone, she laughed. Then she reached into the deck of cards she was listening to and took one of them. Although she couldn't form a pair, she still laughed.

Olga, on the other hand, stared intently at the Joker she had drawn, remaining silent for a long time. When she noticed Ling watching her, Olga pursed her lips, stuffed the Joker into the deck, and then turned away to block Ling's view as she began shuffling the cards.

Ling raised an eyebrow in surprise. Only now did he realize that Olga was quite competitive. However, he had a feeling that no matter what Olga did, she would lose this game.

Sure enough, as Olga sat up straight, Ling casually drew one of her cards, which happened to be the one he needed. After throwing the last pair of cards onto the table, he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, watching Ilya and Olga's battle unfold.

As he predicted, Olga lost unsurprisingly.

"One more round?" After quickly folding the cards on the table and cutting the deck, Ling held the cards in her hand and asked the two of them.

"I want to play more! I want to play more!" Ilya shouted excitedly, while Olga nodded reluctantly.

The three played five more rounds. Ling won four, Ilya won one, and Olga was always at the bottom. Seeing Olga's increasingly gloomy face, Ling said to his wife, "Mrs. Alice, why don't you play too?"

Actually, Irisviel had been sitting on the sidelines watching for so long and had a bit of an urge to join in. After hearing Ling's invitation, she hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

This four-player card game was still about drawing jokers. After ten rounds, Ling kept winning by a large margin, Olga was always at the bottom, while Ilya and Irisviel occasionally won a round. In the end, Olga angrily threw down her cards, said "I'm going to the bathroom," and disappeared without a trace.

“Miss Olga, you don’t seem very happy.” After Olga left her seat, Irisviel looked at Ling and said.

In the card game just now, she could clearly see that no one cheated. However, Ling was always very lucky. Apart from one time when her daughter cheated and won, she also won her game by secretly seeing Ilya's cards. If she was not mistaken, among the four, Ling's luck was overwhelmingly stronger.

“Olga has always had bad luck, she should be used to it by now.” Ling shrugged, smiling with her eyes narrowed in a carefree manner.

"Hum, having a Servant like you makes me suddenly feel a little sorry for that girl from the Animusfia family." Suddenly, the bracelet on Ling's wrist lit up automatically, and Shion appeared in the projection.

Today, she didn't wear pigtails; instead, she braided her long hair into pigtails. She also didn't wear the vest she usually wore in her Atlas academy uniform, transforming into the look that Ling remembered most.

"Oh, really? Then why don't you switch Servants with Olga?" Ling rolled her eyes curiously. She was having a great time, but then Shion appeared at this moment, which meant that she had something to ask her.

In fact, apart from the first long-term contact, this communication bracelet was in a turned-off state. Ling knew very well that even if this thing was not activated, Ziyuan could still see them, and if this thing was activated, it meant that something important had happened.

"Is there anything wrong today? Also, we're on a plane right now, is it okay to start this thing?" Looking at the wristband that had been forcibly activated, Ling asked based on his past common sense.

“Hum, everything is within my calculations. This communicator from Chaldea isn’t an ordinary technological product. The principle it uses is more like magic than technology, so you don’t need to worry about any radio interference or anything like that,” Shion said, pushing up her glasses and shaking her head.

Upon seeing Shion's appearance, Kiritsugu Emiya put down the documents in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then sat down near his wife, straining his ears to listen to their conversation.

"The reason I'm here to see you today is simple. The Atlas Institute is very interested in the information you've shared, especially your mention of the [Sands of Osiris]. I want to ask, how can I become like that?" Ziyuan looked at Ling with a very serious expression. This wasn't a casual question; it was the result of intense discussion among her Atlas Institute colleagues, who believed that this world might need this kind of future.

"I don't know." Ling turned her head away nonchalantly, uttering a reply that even Ilya knew was a lie.

"Hum, is that so?" Shion smiled self-deprecatingly. "Well, that makes sense. According to my calculations, you've already seen the devastation the world would be like after I turned into that. Since that's the case, it's only natural that you wouldn't tell me."

Her expression was somewhat forlorn as she said softly, "I've always thought I was very capable, not because of my family background or my strength, but because I can unleash a computational ability that surpasses everyone else in the Atlas Institute. Whether it's manufacturing weapons or calculating the future, I can do it better than anyone else."

“My father said that people choose their own path, so after I calculated the crisis the world was going to face, I started to prepare everything. However, even now, I am not confident that I can successfully overcome the difficulties I calculated. Only then did I realize that even if I am better than many people, when faced with unimaginable disasters, I am no different from others.”

At this point, Ziyuan paused, reached up and touched the long braid behind her head, "The me you know should be dressed like this now, right?"

Ling glanced at Ziyuan in surprise, wondering why she was dressed like this today. It turned out she was doing it on purpose to show him off.

“I don’t know why I became the ‘Sand of Osiris’ in that world, but I suppose she had no other choice but to do it. I feel sorry for me in that world. If she had encountered something beyond calculation earlier, she might not have met this end. So I’m glad I knew you, because your existence has created new options. I’ve been able to calculate many futures that I couldn’t calculate in the past.”

Chapter 364 Revisiting Guanbuzi (Part 5)

"Wait, Miss Ziyuan, what does all this have to do with what you want to know about the birth of the Sands of Osiris?" Ling raised her hand to stop her. "It's similar to what you're saying. The birth of the Sands of Osiris was a choice made out of necessity. Now that you've already seen a new future, what's the point of this choice?"

Ziyuan laughed heartily, casting aside her earlier sentimentality. "Just like the game you were playing, you were actually trying to determine your luck stat, right? You wanted to know your own and others' limits through this kind of game. I see the way the [Sand of Osiris] exists as my limit. Once I understand how it was born, I can find a way to surpass that limit!"

"The upper limit? By drawing the Joker?" Olga appeared behind Ling at some point, and her words immediately startled Ling.

Clutching her chest, Ling turned to Olga, whose complexion had returned to normal, and complained, "Olga, don't you make any noise when you walk?!"

Olga snorted and sat back down next to Ling, saying without thinking, "You were so engrossed in looking at this woman that you didn't notice me!"

Seeing Olga's unreasonable behavior, Ling was also a little unhappy, because in his dictionary, the word "compromise" was completely unnecessary. So he turned his head away, ignoring Olga's words, and continued to say to Shion: "I will tell you about the [Sand of Osiris] in detail when I get back. After all, you don't have a True Ancestor over there, and Tsbia hasn't become a Tatari. You shouldn't be able to become the [Sand of Osiris] if the conditions aren't met."

Seeing that Ling ignored her, Olga gritted her teeth and trembled with anger.

Seeing that things were not going well, Shion stopped asking questions. "Hum, since that's the case, I'll have the Atlas Institute recalculate the feasibility of other options. I'll ask my father for his suggestions later."

"—Oh, right, speaking of Tsbia, never mention anything about me to him." Only then did Ling remember that Tsbia had appeared when he died. He couldn't be sure if it was a coincidence, so to avoid trouble, it was better not to let Tsbia in the Chaldea world know about his existence. After all, Tsbia in any timeline would have a way to contact the Jewel King.

“Hum, everything is within my calculations. I’ve already blocked all information about you, even from the Atlas Institute. I replied using the concept of ‘information obtained from a parallel world.’” Shion knew very well what Ling was worried about. The fewer people who knew about his existence, the better. Chaldea’s information blockade was done well. So far, apart from reporting that Olga Marie Asmiret Animusfia had been found, the title ‘Guardian of Olga’s’ had been used instead of his existence.

"That's good. Before I get back there, please keep some of my information confidential." Ling knew that Ziyuan would definitely understand him. Compared to Da Vinci, Ziyuan was now more credible and had more power at her disposal.

Knowing his own strengths and weaknesses, he believes that the Chaldea world should not undergo too much change before the arrangements in this world are completed. It must remain stable before the destruction of humanity. Only when he has gained enough power can he take advantage of the Chaldea world line to change everything.

His imagined enemies are the old man with the gem, the twenty-seven dead apostles, and even the [Suppressive Force]. His opponents are incredibly powerful. If he doesn't work hard, he won't even have the chance to learn the truth, let alone control his own destiny!

In the past, he wanted to live a carefree life, and he believed in the wisdom of ignorance. But now he no longer had that luxury. Whether it was the constant whispers in his ear or the voice that was clearly his own, yet telling him to kill it, everything pointed to the "non-self" that he had once abandoned.

If I don't work harder, I'm sure I'll suffer a terrible fate when I face this "non-self" in the future.

Ziyuan looked at Ling, who remained silent, and quietly made a gesture to Olga. Olga looked at her with a puzzled expression, completely unaware of what she meant.

Ziyuan shook her head in disappointment, then opened a new window. She saw Leonardo da Vinci busy in his workshop. When Leonardo da Vinci noticed the sudden projection, she quickly threw down her multi-tool and ran to the projection to examine Olga closely.

"What's wrong? What do you mean by looking at me like that?" Olga frowned in displeasure. Ever since Leonardo da Vinci discovered her, he had been looking at her with the eyes of someone looking at a patient, a gaze that made her very uncomfortable.

"Well, it seems you're alright, Director. In that case, Rafe and Roman should be relieved." Da Vinci took two steps back and, before Olga could ask any further questions, explained directly, "According to the information provided by Special Advisor Shion, all the homunculi who came into contact with the Listener in that abandoned pool in Einzbern have turned into Dead Apostles. We're worried that you might be the same way. After all, as the head of the Animusfia family, it would be a huge scandal if you became a vampire."

Olga reached out unhappily, touched Ling's waist and pinched it. Ling gasped instantly. If the two had started to have a disagreement before, this pinch made the misunderstanding between them disappear.

"By the way, Da Vinci, how's it going with Hinako Akuta?" Upon noticing Da Vinci's presence, Ling asked without even saying hello. After all, winning Hinako Akuta over was a crucial part of his plan. After all, a True Ancestor in her prime is not necessarily a match for even Heroic Spirits. With her as an ally, at least things wouldn't go wrong so easily.

"—Rin, I think you're playing with fire." Da Vinci smiled awkwardly. Two days ago, after he secretly met with Akuta Hinako and relayed Rin's words to her, Akuta Hinako finally dropped her disguise and revealed her formidable strength, trying to subdue him and interrogate him about Rin. Fortunately, he remembered Rin's words and took precautions before meeting Akuta Hinako.

As a result, Leonardo da Vinci easily defeated Hinako Akuta, but undeniably, this victory was achieved under her thorough preparation. Afterwards, da Vinci analyzed his encounter with Hinako Akuta, and the result was somewhat disappointing.

In particular, Da Vinci knew that Hinako Akuta was currently in a state of extremely low ability. If she recovered half of her ability, even if he was prepared, he would be instantly defeated by her.

Chapter 365 Revisiting Guanbuzi (Part 6)

"It's not playing with fire. Although I understand you're worried that if she recovers, she'll become a ticking time bomb for Chaldea, you should know that the detonator is in my hands now." Ling nodded. Akuta Hinako's true identity is a secret unknown to anyone in Chaldea, and only Ling knows the means to control her. It's the right thing to do to bring her to my side in advance.

His purpose in doing this was simple: to restrain him. Leaving aside Rafe, as Chaldea's greatest fighting force, once Ling returned to the Chaldea world line after achieving his goal, he would push for the incineration of humanity to occur. The past had told Da Vinci everything about the incineration of humanity, and Da Vinci should have done his best to stop it, which was completely contrary to his expectations.

Therefore, in order to stop Leonardo da Vinci when necessary, Hinako Akuta, as the true progenitor, serves as a check.

"Will Hinako really not have any impact on Chaldea?" Ever since learning Hinako's true identity, Leonardo da Vinci had been on tenterhooks. Although he didn't know what special abilities the True Ancestor had, having personally experienced her physical strength, Leonardo da Vinci had no confidence in winning.

This is a terrifying situation. In theory, it is impossible for a modern magician to defeat a Servant who has descended with a complete Spirit Origin, especially since Leonardo da Vinci has strengthened his Spirit Origin several times. Although his strength is still some distance from his original form on the Throne of Heroes, he has at least recovered nearly half of his original strength.

If the upper limit of her Spirit Origin Enhancement after her arrival is set at 100, then she is already at 70. Even though she is not a Heroic Spirit known for her combat prowess, in terms of ability, she is already at the level of a Grand Magician of the Clock Tower. It is truly lamentable that she cannot defeat an extremely weak vampire.

"No, Hinako Akuta just wants to find a place where she can live peacefully. Olga's father only sought her out so that if humans cannot perform spirit transfer, she, as the True Ancestor, can do it. She is harmless in essence."

Ling comforted Da Vinci, but of course, she couldn't tell her the truth.

Da Vinci chose to believe Ling's words. She picked up the work she had just discarded and continued assembling it, thinking, "I hope it really is—"

"If there's nothing else, I'll turn it off."

Ling raised her hand, intending to press the power button on her wrist, but before she could, Da Vinci spoke first, "Don't turn it off yet. The investigation list from the Clock Tower has been released. Olga, do you have any plans?"

Upon hearing Leonardo da Vinci's words, Olga looked up at him and asked, "Who's on the list?"

"Led by Lord El-Melloi II, the team includes the renowned alchemical magic family Mujik, the Grand Magician Aozaki Touko, the Forensic Science Representative Adano Hishiri, the bodyguard team is the mercenary organization NFF.Service hired by the Mujik family, and finally there is one whose identity is unknown, but I deduce that he belongs to the Holy Church."

“Since Lord El-Melloi II is leading the team, there’s no need to worry. Reif and Kirstalia can handle the reception; they know what to do.” Olga waved her hand, not taking the people on the list to heart.

Instead, Ling's expression became quite amusing after hearing the list. "Leaving aside the earlier ones, what about all those other strange and monstrous people at the end? How did this group of people end up together?"

"Is there a problem with this list?" Olga turned to look at Ling after hearing his complaint. Seeing his complicated expression, she suddenly felt uneasy.

“This is very problematic. Olga, you should inform Chaldea to enter martial law, otherwise I'm afraid Chaldea will be blown up.”

Olga couldn't tell whether Ling was serious or joking, but just in case, she took it as truth.

“Da Vinci, inform Romani to raise the alert level of Chaldea by two levels. After the investigation team enters Chaldea, closely monitor their every move. If there are any abnormalities, allow Chaldea to be sealed off. The specific handling method will depend on your judgment.” Olga knew that Ling was not a person who spoke without reason. Since she had chosen to take it seriously, she would prepare for the worst.

“Alright, Ms. Shion, please forward this recording to the acting director. After all, my recording device isn’t finished yet.” Da Vinci sighed. For a genius like her, it was truly disheartening that she hadn’t been able to breach Shion’s firewall yet.

“Hum, no problem, I’ll pass on the message right away.” Ziyuan didn’t hesitate and quickly connected the line to the control room, where Romani was.

In fact, all the staff at Chaldea were trying their best to contact Olga with their own power, but after three days of hard work, they still had no luck. They still needed to rely on Shion's power to contact Olga, so when Olga's image popped up on the control room's big screen and they heard the order, everyone felt a little confused.

After all, Shion only relayed the part of Olga's orders; the previous conversation was a secret and couldn't be known by others.

"That message was relayed by your director and me. Whether you listen to her opinion or not is up to you." After the video finished playing, Ziyuan's image appeared on the screen in the control room, and projections of Leonardo da Vinci, Olga, and Ling appeared in front of her.

Rafe watched this scene with a tense expression; he had always been worried that this kind of thing would happen.

Listening to what others said without his knowledge was something even he, as a demon god, couldn't know. This person from the Atlas Academy used the Emerald Record, a treasure equivalent to the Ten Commandments of Solomon, not to mention that it was now cross-timeline communication, which was completely beyond their capabilities.

Roman watched this scene with concern, sharing similar worries with Rafe. In fact, the best solution was for Shion to keep everything about Ling under everyone's surveillance 24/7. This suggestion was actually reasonable, since their director was currently on another timeline. To avoid losing track of her again, temporarily monitoring her movements was the best solution.

"Professor Rafe, are you confident that you can create a cross-world communication device?" Roman looked up at Rafe standing beside him and suddenly asked.

“It’s very difficult. Although there is some overlap between cross-world communication and the near-future observation mirror I made, it’s impossible to make any further technological breakthroughs in the short term. You have to understand that this involves the scope of the Second Law, while my expertise is only in dealing with timelines within a single world.” Rafe sighed, revealing an expression of extreme resentment. This expression was not feigned, but rather a genuine expression of regret.

Chapter 366 Revisiting Guanbuzi (Part 7)

“That’s true. Magic is a legendary thing that’s out of reach for modern magicians—” Dr. Roman smiled wryly. As King Solomon, he laid the foundation for modern magic, so he can be said to be the most authoritative person in the world to speak on magic and sorcery.

Compared to the magic of the Age of Gods that directly uses the Great Source (Mana), the magic of the Modern Era that uses the Small Source (Od) is undoubtedly much weaker. Not to mention that with the birth and development of modern science, many of the so-called "magic" that humanity used in its infancy has become "magic." But as time goes by, the five existing great magics are still beyond human control, even if human technology continues to develop for another ten centuries.

The power of Gaia during the Age of Gods did not diminish; the Great Source overflowed, and the magic (true ether) was abundant, giving it a mysterious aura.

However, after the Common Era, human history banished all mystery. Inversely to the expansion of the light of science, the darkness of mystery gradually receded. Magic, too, gradually degenerated. It wasn't that magic itself degenerated, but rather that humanity's continuous exploration caused the mystery of magic to fade.

While exploring and creating paths to reach the source, humanity inadvertently blocks the way to the source. The more it unravels the unknown, the more the pathways are closed.

The more mysterious a magic trick is, the more powerful it becomes. In the age of gods, before human civilization had fully developed, magic held a very high and powerful position. Modern magicians are no less powerful than magicians of the past, by more than a factor of two.

Planets change the laws of physics according to the life that lives on their surface. The era that was once full of mystery and magic came to an end as humans became the greatest power and gradually declined. Nature that once had personality became a simple natural phenomenon, and the ether in the atmosphere also dissipated.

This is the consequence of the mystery being revealed and technology replacing magic.

It is precisely because magicians discovered this fact that they made "not allowing the mystery to be known" a commandment, in order to prevent magic from disappearing further.

Even after obtaining the Holy Grail and wishing upon the gods for "divine knowledge," he could not stop this process. That is why he established the foundation of modern magic, allowing magicians to still communicate with the greater source through their own small source and gain the right to use magic.

But magic is something beyond his capabilities; no, it should be said that it surpasses the capabilities of gods.

Thinking of this, Dr. Roman's face became even more gloomy. It could be said that there was now absolutely no hope of bringing Olga back ahead of schedule.

Moreover, Ling's plan made him feel somewhat uneasy, because he had only witnessed the destruction of humanity, but according to Ling's words, the burning of humanity seemed to be just the beginning. So, if he and Da Vinci worked together to prevent the burning of humanity from happening, would things continue after the burning of humanity?

"Ugh, this feeling of helplessness is so disheartening." He slumped onto the table, his face filled with exhaustion.

Leif looked at Roman with some surprise. It was the first time he could remember seeing Dr. Roman with such a helpless expression. But after thinking about it, he realized that he wasn't much better off than Roman. Chaldea was in the eye of a storm and could be disbanded if things went wrong. He absolutely could not allow that to happen.

Therefore, in any case, Chaldea must be preserved intact before the Human Order Burning Plan begins, and Olga must return to this timeline because he cannot tolerate the Animusphia bloodline escaping!

Therefore, until Olga Marie returns, he must protect Chaldea, and even for Mash's future, he will not allow Chaldea to fall into the hands of others.

"I need to take care of some other things first, Acting Director. I'll leave things here in your care." Rafe felt it was necessary to contact the mole planted at the Clock Tower to gauge the investigation team's attitude and prepare a corresponding strategy. Therefore, he found an excuse to leave the control room.

"Yes, oh, no problem. I'll keep a close eye on things here, so you can go and handle your business, Professor Rafe." Roman replied, regaining his composure. Then, he watched Rafe's departing figure with a complicated expression, and sighed again.

Even now, he doesn't have the courage to reveal his identity to Rafe, because he's unsure how the seventy-two demon gods will react to him after learning his identity. Moreover, the existence of Goetia is also a problem. According to Ling, if Goetia doesn't understand the beauty of finite life, it's impossible for Him to stop the plan to burn humanity. This great undertaking, which has been planned for three thousand years, is something he has no right to interfere with.

Only the seventy-two demon gods can veto this plan. If even one demon god vetoes it, the plan will be abandoned. The only demon god he can find right now is Lev. However, Mashu's existence is a thorn in everyone's side, including himself.

"So, I really am utterly useless." Feeling somewhat resigned, he picked up the scroll beside him, refreshed the blog of a certain online idol, and left a message: "My former subordinate has become my subordinate again, but I don't dare to talk to him about our past. What should I do?"

"Why not just die again?" Magical Mary's reply was incredibly fast. Upon seeing this reply, Roman felt as if he had been shot, and his face showed an expression that said, "You make a lot of sense, I have no words to say."

Indeed, if he had committed suicide before the Burning of Humanity occurred, he might have returned to Valhalla, and the seventy-two demons would have had a great chance of returning to his jurisdiction. But this is just speculation. What if his suicide did not bring King Solomon back to Valhalla? Wouldn't Leonardo da Vinci be the only one left to face the Burning of Humanity?

The doctor unconsciously touched the ring under his glove. This last ring was a distant gift he left to the future according to God's instructions when he passed away. It was also a relic that Marisbury Animusfiah unearthed when he summoned Solomon in the Holy Grail War.

If his death could solve everything, he would gladly die immediately. Before becoming human again, he was filled with anxiety because he didn't know what would happen. He devoted himself to Chaldea and did his best to prepare for the end of humanity he saw. But Ling's appearance has revealed everything. He now knows exactly who he is facing and what the mastermind is up to.

Chapter 367 Revisiting Guanbuzi (Part 8)

Logically speaking, since the burning of humanity has not yet occurred, and Roman knows who caused this tragedy, then as long as he can return to the Throne of Heroes, all of Goetia's preparations will be in vain.

However, he still doesn't understand the true meaning of the divine revelation from back then regarding the "distant gift of the future." Does it simply refer to dealing with Goetia, or does it refer to preparations for an even more distant future? It is because of this question that Roman has been hesitant.

After all, if the matter were not serious, God would certainly not have given such a revelation. Therefore, it can be inferred that this ring must be used, and only oneself can use it, and its effect has already been determined.

This is precisely why Roman is so conflicted. He can't use the ring too early, nor can he miss the opportunity to use it. Therefore, although he wants to die, he doesn't dare to die at all.