Chapter 223 - Start Key

"Hey! Bologue, you should have gone to see the teacher today, right?"

The familiar voice sounded, but if possible, Bologue really didn’t want to feel this voice was familiar.

"Yeah, I went."

Bologue wasn’t surprised that Belli got his phone number; he thought Belli might even know where he lived, but was too busy with work to visit him in person.

"How do you feel? You know what I mean, as someone who considers himself an expert, it shouldn’t be hard for you to notice these things." Belli put away the smile and asked seriously.

"Are you referring to Aimou and Teda? I can only say that the situation feels a bit off."

Bologue held the phone with his head down and sat on the sofa, recalling the day’s events.

"Teda believes he is still rational, restraining himself from investing too much emotion in Aimou, viewing her as his creation, yet he is teaching Aimou alchemy. While teaching, he should have great difficulty controlling this; he is deeply entrenched in it, unable to realize."

Some things can only be seen clearly from an outside perspective, while those caught in the vortex always lose their direction, unclear on where to head.

"I guess you’re using me again; Teda’s alchemy workshop is indeed suitable as a base, but more so, it’s your personal interest. You want me to monitor Teda, don’t you?" Bologue asked.

"It’s a win-win, okay," Belli said righteously, "He’s my teacher, there’s nothing wrong with a student being concerned about a teacher’s mental state, right?"

"Moreover, even if I don’t recommend you go, Teda will eventually call you.

Remember Teda’s current relationship with the Order Bureau? He has indeed left the Order Bureau, but not completely; explaining this is a bit difficult. In short, under the constraints of the agreement, the Order Bureau somewhat permits his research, and if necessary, Teda will also assist us as technical support."

"Just like when he implanted the Alchemy Matrix for me, right?" Bologue said.

"Correct."

"He violated ethical codes and can no longer stay within the Order Bureau, yet after expelling him, he continues research under your monitoring and tacit approval," Bologue remarked, "It sounds like a word game, I thought we would strictly adhere to the codes."

"Strictly adhering to the codes is one aspect, special circumstances are another," Belli repeated that phrase again, "Sometimes, codes must make way for geniuses."

"Because Teda did indeed produce results, correct?" Bologue asked.

"Not just that; other than the nature of his research, he has not violated any ethical codes, and this has made us much more lenient toward him."

Belli explained these principles in a way Bologue could understand.

"Many alchemists yearn to create new life; they opt to create based on human-like flesh because it’s the form we are most familiar with, and such research inevitably involves many human experiments and the plunder of Philosopher’s Stones..."

"Teda created something with machinery as the basis, a... robot?" Bologue heard Teda’s difference.

"You know, Bologue, modern alchemy already enables this; fully creating a human-like shell is possible, though it requires enormous expense, but it is not impossible," Belli suddenly said.

"Yet the problem is, what we create is merely a flesh shell, you see? Like a machine, a machine is created, needing fuel as power, and more so needing a button, a button that activates it.

We can create a new life shell, extremely perfect, but we don’t know what fuel to use, or even find the activation button.

The created flesh shell is incredibly perfect, its heart beats, organs run stably, the brain is complete, yet it cannot move nor respond to any external stimuli; it’s... actually just a perfect corpse."

"A soul, you can create the shell, but can’t create the soul beneath it."

Bologue interrupted Belli, hitting the nail on the head.

"Yes, few study life because most research has reached its end; we can create perfect shells but cannot create new souls, yet Teda achieved it, Aimou developed self-awareness and moved.

Can you understand my thinking?"

Bologue was silent for a while before his voice slowly emerged.

"Teda violated ethical codes, yet if merely violating codes could push technology forward, the Order Bureau would gladly bear such a price."

This result didn’t surprise Bologue; just as he considered himself an antagonist, the Order Bureau wasn’t entirely upright. From the moment Nesanel chose him, a debtor, to join the Special Operations Group and deal with the Devil, Bologue clearly realized all this.

Everyone exists in a dim grayness, constantly battling between light and darkness.

"Yes, and this is why we don’t completely oppose the Order of Truth; these fanatical believers, though unpleasant, sometimes are exactly those crazies propelling the world forward." Belli’s voice was cold.

"The teacher and I, we’re alike in our dedication to you, but unlike me, the teacher is even more fervent, spending nearly all his time researching the Power of Dominator before leaving the Order Bureau. Even if you don’t go to him, he will come to you.

I guess when you went today, he must have asked you something, like letting him study the power within you."

Belli guessed correctly, this madwoman seemed to have foreseen everything that would happen, which is why she lured herself over, and now she is alerting herself again. Indeed, there is not a single simple person among those who become ministers.

"Why, Belli?"

Bologue suddenly asked, and as Belli narrated, the doubts in his heart grew stronger and almost burst forth.

"Previously, Teda was obsessed with researching the Power of Dominator, but what drove him to abandon these studies and turn to researching life?

Or were the two studies actually conducted simultaneously, but the research on life was exposed, forcing him to leave the Order Bureau and give up studying Xilin’s Alchemy Matrix... but what is the connection between these two things?"

Bologue keenly grasped the doubts and struck at Belli.

There was no response on the other end of the phone, while Bologue continued his meditation. He was a person with a very good memory, having clearly recounted almost every day of his life during his time in the Black Prison, even without writing a diary, these events were still engraved in his mind.

"Did it happen during the secret war, right?"

Bologue recalled Belli’s words, trying hard to piece together the full picture from snippets.

"For that student who died due to Overlord Xilin, your junior sister, his... daughter?"

Facing Bologue’s skeptical questioning, Belli didn’t deny his words. She knew early on that as Bologue delved deeper, these things couldn’t be hidden from him, but she never imagined this expert would figure out everything so quickly.

"Alice Yazhede."

Belli mentioned the name that had been forgotten.

"She was my junior sister, the teacher’s daughter. That day was supposed to be her implantation ceremony, the day she became a Condenser. But it was also the day Overlord Xilin invaded the ’Cultivation Room’. We were Condensers, capable of some resistance, but she was just an ordinary person, defenselessly dying under the summons of power."

Belli’s voice lost all vitality, seemingly mentioning these memories drained all her energy.

"After that, the teacher grew much older, and became silent. As for Alice, there was no funeral, no mourning, she seemed to have been deliberately forgotten.

For the sake of the teacher’s feelings, we pretended as if nothing happened, and never mentioned these again, until the teacher’s research was exposed. He didn’t bury Alice but instead condensed her soul into a Philosopher’s Stone, avoiding the soul’s Fade Away, and the body was sealed..."

"He wasn’t trying to create new life; he was trying to resurrect his daughter." Bologue whispered, realizing this was Teda’s true aim.

"Yes, fortunately, the Devil can’t change the past and couldn’t resurrect Alice, otherwise I think the teacher would have already made a deal with the Devil."

Belli understood the laws of the Devils, even such powerful entities still couldn’t alter the events that had occurred.

But this statement touched Bologue, and he questioned Belli.

"Have you been to the Wandering Crossroad?"

"I’ve been a few times, but it’s almost as if I haven’t."

Every time Belli went out, multiple Condensers would escort her, some knowing they were protecting the minister’s personal safety, others thinking they were pursuing her.

"For us researchers, we basically stay cowering within the Sublimation Furnace Core, the outside world is still too dangerous for us," Belli said.

Every Alchemist within the Sublimation Furnace Core is an important asset of the Order Bureau.

"Alright, I understand." Bologue replied.

The existence of the Tyrant seemed to be a secret to many, even Belli did not know all of this, which increased Nesanel’s mysteriousness even further, as this deputy director seemed to understand everything, making one imagine what kind of demeanor the director must have.

"That’s roughly the case. We’re mutually beneficial here, please keep an eye on the teacher, don’t let him do anything crazy." Belli said.

"I thought you wanted me to eliminate Teda if necessary."

"How could that be, I still care about the teacher very much, after all, he led me on this path."

Belli’s tone was sincere, differing from her outward expression. Perhaps she truly is someone who respects her teacher, but in the next moment, her tone shifted.

"Mainly because you wouldn’t be able to kill the teacher either. Although he’s an Alchemist not skilled in combat, he’s still a Third Stage Negative Power User. You’ve never seen pure Illusion Creation; this power can create unreal that doesn’t belong to reality and also create madness beyond rationality." Belli warned.

"Alright, I got it."

Bologue hung up the phone, sat on the sofa and thought for a while, then returned to his room, staring at the information web on the wall.

Soon, Bologue lifted the thread, connecting the Tyrant with Teda, and in an instant, a crimson net enveloped everyone.