According to them, when a new person officially joins the City of Sages, it is a tradition here to hold a carnival day throughout the city.
"This is a ceremonial process that can help all citizens build consensus with each other and help newcomers get used to it as soon as possible."
The man leading the way said so.
As Jiang Zhou followed that person, he always felt that the tone of the other person's words was somewhat familiar.
"Have we met before?"
He couldn't help but ask.
"So, are you going to break the most important rule on the first day you officially join this city?"
To this, the man replied.
Not knowing the true identity of other people is the most important rule of the City of Sages.
Jiang Zhou was silent.
"Soon you'll know... Things like this don't really matter. Compared to what you can get in the future, your trivial curiosity about the strangers around you is really nothing."
The man continued.
Isn't this just a trivial curiosity about strangers around me...
Regarding these remarks, Jiang Zhou thought to himself.
Having completely lost the ability to connect with others, how can humans overcome their instinct as social animals?
This is something Jiang Zhou has been confused about since he came to this city.
People are the sum total of social relationships - whether it is the greatest sacrifice of character or the most despicable betrayal, they all need to be acted on between people.
Human beings are not computer programs or replaceable parts - running on different computers will have the same effect - how can it be possible to remove personal identity so easily?
Silently, the two of them walked for a long time in the bohemian-style corridor. They stopped at the same time when they came to a complicated ornate door.
"This is it. Inside is the elevator that leads to the outside of the venue."
The man stopped at the door, pointed at the door handle covered with hollow patterns, and indicated that he needed to walk the rest of the way by himself.
At this moment, they were underground in the giant Colosseum. According to what Jiang Zhou had heard before, whenever there was a large-scale event in the City of Sages, the entire city's citizens would come here to celebrate.
However, when Jiang Zhou thought about the disgusting things that he had seen in the "Slaughter Museum" and the disgusting things that had happened in this Colosseum, he couldn't help but feel weird.
Is it really okay to have carnival days here?
Despite thinking this, Jiang Zhou opened the door and walked into the elevator.
"Then, please enjoy the carnival day...
"Wish you a happy new life."
Pull the lever, the guide said before the gate closed.
What new student?
Before Jiang Zhou had time to ask questions, the elevator he was riding rose at an incredible speed. In an instant, he had arrived at the open-air tower standing in the center of the Colosseum.
The surrounding auditorium was filled with huge crowds, and as Jiang Zhou appeared, the crowd immediately erupted in cheers like a landslide and tsunami.
"New guy! New guy! New guy!"
Everyone waved their fists and punched the sky. They kept shouting this word in their mouths, and some couldn't stop screaming and roaring at themselves.
At this moment, Jiang Zhou felt like a rare animal being exhibited in a circus. He was surrounded by the bloodthirsty audience in the audience, looking forward to some strange performance he could perform.
He has never felt such a fanatical atmosphere in this peaceful and utopian city.
Have you been deceived all along?
This thought immediately made Jiang Zhou's nerves tense.
"He's going to be one of us soon!"
"New mind! New thinking pattern!"
"I heard that he is also a depth 2 adjuster? I don't know how many variables he can bring to us?"
"Do you think he will voluntarily hand over his mind?"
…
In addition to the screams and roars that contained no information, occasionally one or two incomplete words were carried by the wind into Jiang Zhou's ears, which greatly aggravated his sense of uneasiness.
There is no doubt that this is indeed a carnival atmosphere - just like the worship ceremony of Dionysus, the believers who are crazy because of drinking strong wine are waiting to rush up and eat their own bodies at any time.
Gradually, the screams and shouts subsided, and more words like whispers reached Jiang Zhou's ears.
"The newcomer this time seems interesting?"
"What do you think I should do with him?"
"I heard that he has a multi-purpose magnetic wax control system installed in his body and has magnetic field perception."
"That's great. I just need such a person for my room-temperature superconducting project."
"He looks quite handsome, but I don't know if he has a good personality. If he has a good personality, it would be great to have him be my lover."
"I don't know if he is suitable to be a son..."
…
What on earth are they talking about...
Hearing countless strange conversations echoing in his ears, Jiang Zhou looked around in a panic.
At this moment, he was hesitating whether he should reveal the weapon in his hand and try to fight his way out of this place of right and wrong.
Although there is little hope of doing so...
"Please don't be nervous, newbie friend No. 1033."
At this time, a familiar voice from Jiang Zhou echoed behind him.
"Madeline!"
He turned around suddenly, and sure enough, the substitute Huanxiang who had been following him before - the girl who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a lively and cheerful appearance, appeared behind him at some point.
"Madeline?"
When Jiang Zhou called her that, the girl frowned and repeated it, then smiled and said:
"Didn't I say before that in this city, citizens are not allowed to name others at will?"
"So, have you been pretending to be a so-called 'wandering ghost' to spy on me?"
Ignoring the other party's nonsense, Jiang Zhou asked directly.
Right now, he had mistakenly entered the scene of a cult ritual, and the people around him were planning to tie him up and sacrifice him to heaven. If he still believed what they said before, about the beautiful words about the City of Sages, then his brain was simply kicked by a donkey.
Jiang Zhou's words obviously made the other party stunned for a moment. Then she realized that there was a misunderstanding, so she immediately shook her head and said:
"Surveillance? No, no, no, of course not..."
She said, taking a small step forward.
"Why do we bother to do this kind of thing? It was indeed my 'Wandering Soul' that was entangled with you before... It is precisely because you brought my 'Wandering Soul' to this city that the Dionysus Bureau You will decide to let me come over and explain all this to you. After all, you are more familiar with my image, right?"
"Madeline" said.
"Then since the one who has been following me before is your 'replacement', why are you still alive here?"
Jiang Zhou asked with his back tensed.
As he spoke, Jiang Zhou was fully prepared for the battle - the distance between the two of them was only five meters, which for Liao Qi's stand-in program was equivalent to putting a dagger at the opponent's throat.
At this moment, his eyes were fixed on the opponent's movements. If the opponent made any rash move, the mantis knife hidden in his arm would pierce the opponent's throat immediately.
Then, he continued to ask:
"Also...what do you want to do to me? Until now, I have heard people in the audience chattering about how to deal with me...as if I am now The meat on their chopping boards is the same.
"Besides, what else were you hiding from me about this city? Just to trick me into coming here?"
Jiang Zhou was very puzzled by this.
Do you need to go to great lengths to concoct such a big 'utopian' lie just to deceive yourself here?
"Madeline" seemed like she wanted to take a few more steps forward, to get closer to each other before speaking. However, when she saw Jiang Zhou's guarded look and felt that if she took another step forward, she would be attacked instantly, she finally had to give up.
She stood there with her arms folded, smiled helplessly at first, and then said:
"No... we didn't lie to you, and everything you saw in this 'Utopia' before was not a lie. It's just that before the carnival day, there is the core part of the operating mechanism of the City of Sages, we I didn’t tell you about it. But now, when you are about to join us... you have the right to know the final truth."
As she spoke, Madeline took a deep breath, then looked around at the crowd of guests and said:
“Everyone you see now has uploaded themselves.
"They are no longer Abyss Wanderers, and they are not even Wanderers... They are essentially digital personalities uploaded to Narcissus Plains."
(End of chapter)
