Witch’s Night: Interlude Old Era, New Era
“Researcher Luo Yan, are you sure you want to submit your resignation?”
“Yes.”
“Request received, verifying identity… verification passed, request completed.”
“Level 2 Researcher Luo Yan has confirmed her resignation from Haxton Laboratory at 18:32:02 on April 15, 4021 AD.”
A cold, mechanical female voice sounded. The woman, known as “Researcher Luo Yan,” nodded and turned to walk towards the door.
“Luo Yan, Luo Yan… Hey, wait for me! Don’t go!”
Just then, a small, chubby old man with messy hair ran over breathlessly, a broken scooter clutched under his arm.
It seemed he was in such a hurry that the poor scooter couldn’t even support his weight.
“It seems you need to rehydrate, Dr. Haxton.” The mechanical female voice sounded, and a cup of warm water was timely extended by a mechanical arm towards the little old man. “Please drink.”
“Thank you, Ms. Lana.”
“You’re welcome, Dr. Haxton.”
Dr. Haxton picked up the cup and drank it all in one gulp, then looked at the woman half a head taller than him with a worried expression,
“Researcher Luo Yan…”
“Apologies, Doctor, I’ve already resigned.” “Luo Yan” nodded indifferently and bowed slightly.
“I know, I know… I came here precisely because of this.”
Dr. Haxton sighed. “Why didn’t you even leave a resignation letter, just directly applied to Ms. Lana?”
“The current resignation procedure doesn’t require submitting a resignation letter to one’s superior, Doctor.”
“…That’s true.”
Dr. Haxton’s eyelids twitched. Although he had always known that Researcher Luo Yan’s personality was unbelievably rigid, actually interacting with her was still a bit unbearable,
“At least this way we can talk face to face… I’m really unwilling to let you leave, Researcher Luo Yan. You also know the behavior of those little rascals under me, only you can keep them in check… Researcher Luo Yan?”
Seeing that “Luo Yan” seemed a bit distracted, Dr. Haxton waved his hand in front of her.
“You were saying, Doctor.” “Luo Yan” came back to her senses and nodded slightly. “If a resignation letter is absolutely necessary, I can come back and submit one.”
“You… this… Sigh, forget it.”
Dr. Haxton sighed heavily again. He only mentioned the resignation letter because he wanted to talk to “Luo Yan” face to face; whether she submitted one or not didn’t really matter.
He composed himself and asked patiently, “So, why are you resigning? Although Haxton Laboratory isn’t among the top tier in the World Federation, the resources we can provide are quite good.
“More importantly, we are truly making progress in our research, unlike those bastards who just slack off with their high salaries!”
Saying this, Dr. Haxton clenched his fists, his chubby face trembling,
“There aren’t many people your age willing to settle down and seriously conduct research. I don’t dare to hope to find another one… So if it’s a matter of compensation, I’ll do everything in my power to resolve it, even if I have to pay out of my own pocket!”
Dr. Haxton knew very well that “Luo Yan” was different from other researchers. She pursued science and ideals.
Coupled with her intelligence, “Luo Yan” had only been at Haxton Laboratory for less than three years, and she had already made breakthroughs in projects that had been stalled for nearly thirty years.
Dr. Haxton recently even planned to make the project “Luo Yan” was in charge of the main research project of Haxton Laboratory. How could “Luo Yan” resign at this juncture?
This wouldn’t do!
Even Dr. Haxton, who usually didn’t care about his image, rushed over in a rare display of urgency to stop the departing “Luo Yan.”
Although “Luo Yan” was only a Level 2 researcher, it didn’t mean that she would always be a Level 2 researcher.
Once this project was completed, forget about Level 1, she might even be nominated for the highest level of researcher, “Doctor,” with the qualification to establish her own independent laboratory, just like Dr. Haxton.
Of course, she still couldn’t compare to Dr. Haxton.
Despite his appearance, Dr. Haxton was a renowned, veteran Doctor, possessing over twenty laboratories, three of which were large-scale.
But even so, if “Luo Yan” could become a Doctor at only twenty-something years old, her future achievements might surpass even Dr. Haxton.
It was precisely because of this that Dr. Haxton was unwilling to let “Luo Yan” leave easily.
“It’s enough for food and living expenses, compensation isn’t the problem.” “Luo Yan” said politely, “It’s for personal reasons, I apologize.”
“What personal reasons? Tell me, maybe I can help you resolve them.”
Dr. Haxton patted his chest and said, “This old man still has some influence in the industry. No matter what the difficulty, I have the ability to help you resolve it.”
“I want to save the world.”
“Luo Yan” said seriously.
“Ah?”
Dr. Haxton was stunned.
“I want to save the world, so I don’t have time to work.”
“Luo Yan” continued, her sincere eyes showing no sign of joking,
“The end of the world is coming, and at that time, all of human civilization will face the risk of destruction. Before that, I must find nine ability users with the power of the Gods to save the world from this crisis.”
“…Researcher Luo Yan, I know your research topic is ‘human enhancement through esper abilities,’ but can you please separate work and life a little?”
Hearing this, Dr. Haxton felt that “Luo Yan” had become obsessed with her research, even saying things like “the power of the Gods.”
There were no Gods in this world! Human technology had reached its limits, and Gods simply didn’t exist. This was all superstition.
And what end of the world? That was even more ridiculous. Human civilization was flourishing, what kind of disaster could destroy the current, powerful human civilization?
Moreover, the World Federation was already preparing to explore outer space. The first pioneer fleet was ready, and he believed that human civilization would soon enter the interstellar age.
Then, even if the end of the world really came, it wouldn’t matter, they could just move to another planet.
“I… I’m not joking.” “Luo Yan” frowned slightly. “Dr. Haxton, the appearance of human esper abilities isn’t something our technology can achieve, it’s a legacy of the Gods…”
“Alright, alright, Researcher Luo Yan, it seems I’ve pushed you too hard.”
Dr. Haxton waved his hand, looking at “Luo Yan” with a slightly concerned gaze,
“If that’s the case, it’s good for you to rest for a while. Whenever you feel like coming back, Haxton Laboratory will always welcome you.”
“Luo Yan” was silent for a moment, then nodded,
“Mm, I understand. I’ll come back and submit my resignation letter later.”
“Sigh, you child…”
Dr. Haxton narrowed his eyes, looked at “Luo Yan’s” retreating figure, and sighed again.
She was a good kid, but being too immersed in research wasn’t good…
But just then, Dr. Haxton, in a trance, saw a small, dark figure following “Luo Yan.”
The dark figure even glanced back at him, her beautiful face and terrifying dark eyes alarming.
“What?”
Dr. Haxton was startled, but when he looked again, there was nothing there.
“Perhaps… it was just an illusion.”
……
In the time-frozen library.
Following the memories within her body, a tall figure moved through the cluttered areas, one after another.
All doors opened for her, without any authorization restrictions.
Because in the final moments of the World Federation, the highest council passed a resolution, granting the highest level of authorization to this Torchbearer who bore the burden of saving humanity.
All systems of the World Federation were completely open to her, in a desperate attempt to struggle.
Unfortunately, this helpless struggle still ended in failure.
This was the consequence.
All achievements of civilization were destroyed, not a single word or phrase remained in this world, even all information was erased, unable to be preserved by any means.
However, although the Gods annihilated all possibilities of civilization, they overlooked her existence.
The embers of civilization… continued to burn.
She walked familiarly to her former office and sat down gently.
Remarkably, the office looked exactly the same as when she left.
She picked up a pen and paper and began to write carefully and meticulously, completing this resignation letter that was hundreds of years late.
“Dear Dr. Haxton, I sincerely apologize for submitting this resignation request for personal reasons.
“The research work at Haxton Laboratory is progressing very smoothly, my colleagues are friendly, and you are also very kind. These are not the reasons for my resignation.
“The reason I am resigning is because the end of the world is coming. A voice told me to go and save the world. Saving the world is quite a busy job, and I might not have time to work then.”
“Signature.”
“World Federation, Luohui Division, Haxton Laboratory, Level 2 Researcher… Luo Yan.”
“Project in charge: ‘Human Enhancement Project No. 371 – Esper Abilities’.”
A long sigh echoed.
She looked up into the distance, as if seeing the scenery outside the window, and recalled the recent conversation.
“Saint, this Calamity has destroyed Noah, we did our best, but one-tenth of the citizens still perished…”
“Just build another Noah, some sacrifices are unavoidable.”
“But…”
“No buts, this is my decision… from now on, seal off the entire Old Noah, prevent the spread of the contamination.”
The Twelve Saints were puzzled by this decision. They didn’t understand the severity of the Absolute Death contamination, but she did.
“And,” she paused, “from now on, Noah and humanity… are in your hands.”
The Twelve Saints were at a loss,
“But… what about you?”
A long silence.
But she didn’t answer, just left quietly.
The Artificial Witch Project was a complete failure, but this was foreseeable.
No one had ever attempted to control the Gods like this before, let alone use a mortal body to contain the true power of the Gods.
Even though the previous Witch of Absolute Death forcibly used the power of “Absolute Death” to create a body that could contain the Gods’ will, a mortal body would eventually collapse, unable to hold the true will of the Gods for long.
Although the Witch of End’s secret assistance did solve many practical problems, allowing the nascent “Absolute Death” will to be born within the remaining body, to prevent contamination, the artificial Witch of Absolute Death was confined in the white temple, isolated from all possible sources of corruption, until her will stabilized.
But no one knew why, the artificial Witch of Absolute Death was still corrupted by “malice” in the end.
Although this corruption allowed her to successfully merge with the mortal body, becoming the first Primordial Demon who could completely descend upon the present world, the uncontrolled Absolute Death contamination instantly spread throughout Noah.
Countless residents transformed into ferocious monsters overnight, decay and ruin spreading through the fertile land.
Finally, she and Absolute Death realized the problem.
—The white light that appeared in the deception of the plan before.
The seemingly pure and flawless white light was actually the most “maliciously” contaminated existence in the world.
The artificial Witch of Absolute Death was completely corrupted after just a few encounters.
They had originally thought that the newborn Witch of Absolute Death could escape the cage of “malice,” but unexpectedly, she inadvertently re-entered this cage.
In the end, she and Absolute Death called the white light the “Fallen God,” It was the Gods’ plan that brought “It” to the world, and all destruction and Calamities originated from “It”…
Although these were all brought into the world by her and Absolute Death.
The Gods had already noticed their existence, and in Their anger, They were about to struggle awake from their endless slumber, stopping their mad plan.
It was… too late.
“Absolute Death, are you ready?” she said.
“…I’m ready.” Absolute Death replied in a low voice. “I’ve exiled the Artificial Witch beyond this world, the only one left… is the ‘Fallen God’.”
“The rule you bound with a conceptual entity actually also possesses such terrifying contamination.” She closed her eyes, looking at the white light sealed within her. “However, it will be over soon.”
“Can we really succeed? We’ve failed countless times, we couldn’t even exile the ‘Fallen God’,” Absolute Death couldn’t hide her pessimism. “The Gods are about to awaken, and regardless of the world’s survival, They will destroy us, continuing this tragic cycle.”
“Therefore, we must take madness to its extreme.”
She stood up, the uncontrollable contamination raging within her body, the violent conflict caused by the Gods’ power causing her body to show signs of collapse.
But even so, her expression remained indifferent,
“Come… Gods, this is our final battle. I will die in the place where you eternally watch.”
“—And then, with our lives, let the ‘Fallen God’ rest eternally.”
“Human civilization, will live on forever.”
