49: Evelyn's Choice and the Temptation of "Pandora"

While Excellence was deep underground, hundreds of meters below, in that golden cage forged with cutting-edge technology and absolute control, accompanied by boundless solitude and cold instruments as he conducted efficient yet suffocating exploration, on the other side of the city, at the top of the skyscraper that pierced the clouds like a black crystal obelisk—the headquarters of the Prophet Foundation—Evelyn Li stood alone in her father's study, a room with a view overlooking the entire city's network, facing the most difficult and cruel choice of her young life.

The air in the study was stagnant, like a dead sea before a storm, so heavy it could almost break one's spine.

Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, capable of withstanding heavy sniper fire, lay the dazzling, iridescent city nightscape, with thousands of lights like a galaxy spread across the earth, outlining the magnificent contours of power and capital.

However, this sea of prosperity could not penetrate the invisible, icy barrier within the study, nor could it dispel the chill that permeated the room, cold enough to freeze one's breath.

The lighting was dim, with only an antique Tiffany desk lamp emitting a cold, bluish glow, hiding half of Morpheus Li's face in deep shadow while illuminating the other half with startling clarity, making every wrinkle etched by time and calculation appear exceptionally cold, hard, and callous.

"The Firefly team's mission has failed completely; all members are lost, and none of the preset emergency communication beacons have responded." Morpheus Li's voice was steady and emotionless, as if he were stating an unrelated financial report, but his well-maintained, knuckled hand was tapping the smooth, mirror-like mahogany desk with extremely precise force.

The stable, yet oppressive "tap, tap" sound was infinitely amplified in the extreme silence, revealing a deep displeasure far from the calm he projected, along with a barely perceptible anxiety that things were exceeding his control.

"The official response speed and countermeasures, their level of professionalism, ruthlessness, and efficiency, far exceed the model predictions we established based on past experience.

There is only one explanation: the potential value of that young man, Excellence, or rather the importance of the field he has touched upon, has far exceeded our initial assessment, and may even..." He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping sharply over Evelyn, as if assessing her reaction, "...be more important and... urgent than certain key Nodes in the ascension path project we have spent huge sums of money to advance."

He stood up slowly, walked around the massive desk that symbolized power and control, and walked silently to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

With his back to Evelyn, he gazed at the sea of city lights he tried to manipulate in the palm of his hand.

His figure, set against the grand night scene, appeared both small and extremely oppressive.

"Our previous strategies—soft persuasion, academic enticement, and even precise physical elimination—have all failed.

It has been proven that for an 'asset' of this level, conventional temptations and coercion are ineffective.

His mind seems to be occupied by something... purer." Morpheus Li's voice reflected back through the cold glass, carrying a cold echo.

"We need to change our strategy and start with his most essential, most irresistible desire—the irrepressible, almost instinctive pursuit of the deepest, ultimate mysteries of unknown fields that a true explorer possesses.

This is a more advanced and more dangerous temptation, striking directly at the weaknesses of the soul."

Evelyn stood with her head bowed, her heart tightening slightly in her chest, as if gently gripped by a cold hand.

She knew her father too well, knew his cold mindset that viewed everything, even human emotions, as quantifiable and exploitable chips.

His so-called "essential desire" meant twisting the purest, most fervent spark of curiosity in Excellence into fuel to ignite his own destruction, ultimately dragging him into an irredeemable abyss.

"Within The Foundation, there is a top-secret project branch codenamed 'pandora'," Morpheus Li turned around, his gaze falling on Evelyn like a physical probe.

Every word was like a carefully polished, cold diamond, carrying heavy weight and sharp edges.

"It was pioneered by your late mother, Dr. Emily, and touched upon the edge fields of consciousness field theory, information essence theory, and even... cross-dimensional information interaction.

Its theoretical foundation was so radical, and its experimental data so... anomalous, that it far exceeded the cognitive framework of current mainstream science, even touching upon certain... forbidden boundaries." When he mentioned Evelyn's mother, his tone had an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible fluctuation, but he quickly returned to coldness.

"According to the sporadic information we have intercepted and deciphered," he continued, his voice lowered with the seductive power of sharing a deadly secret, "the 'composite field' theory that Excellence is currently exploring has core mathematical dilemmas and physical bottlenecks that bear a startling... structural similarity to some of the almost insurmountable chasms encountered in the early stages of the 'pandora' project.

One could even say that the unverified yet highly subversive 'information entropy reduction and consciousness anchoring' hypothesis derived in the middle and later stages of the 'pandora' project is very likely the... 'key' that can provide the final answer to his current theoretical dilemma and lead to a new world."

Evelyn jerked her head up, a flash of shock and horror uncontrollably crossing her light gray eyes!

The 'pandora' project! That was one of the blackest research initiatives within The Foundation, regarded as the highest taboo!

Rumor had it that it attempted to pry open the most fundamental rules of the universe, exploring the possibility of consciousness breaking free from material constraints, and even involved some form of... cross-dimensional experimentation.

But the price was extremely tragic; among the early volunteers, there were many cases of complete mental collapse, and even unexplained physiological deformities or disappearances!

Her mother, the brilliant Dr. Emily who ultimately died in sorrow, was said to have had her mental collapse directly related to certain "ineffable cognitive barriers" encountered during the advanced stages of the project.

Her father was actually going to use this level of ominous and dangerous top-secret information as bait?!

"However," Morpheus Li changed the subject, like the most seasoned hunter tightening a lasso, "'pandora' data is too sensitive, and its potential danger and uncontrollability are extremely high; once leaked or abused, the consequences would be unimaginable.

We cannot, and absolutely will not, give it to him directly.

We need a... 'guide', someone he can trust, or perhaps even someone he holds some... special affection or curiosity for." His gaze locked firmly onto Evelyn, carrying an unquestionable oppression and a hint of cold, almost cruel expectation.

"By this person, in an 'accidental', seemingly selfless, and even slightly pleading manner, these 'fragments' of information—for example, a seemingly trivial mathematical problem, a piece of encrypted abnormal experimental data, or an observational phenomenon that contradicts existing theories—should be revealed to him, bit by bit, without leaving a trace.

You must make him feel that this is a treasure he 'accidentally' discovered and solved through his own brilliance, letting him piece it together himself, deduce it, and be attracted by the mystery beyond his time, until finally... he cannot extricate himself, voluntarily walks in the direction we have pointed out for him, and even begs us for more."

He leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping even lower, almost a whisper, yet carrying stronger penetration and control: "Evelyn, looking at the big picture, you are the most suitable and only candidate.

You have had several contacts with him; whether it was the 'accidental meeting' at the academic seminar or that 'anonymous' gift of an ancient book, traces have been left.

He... does not seem to reject you, and may even have a hint of curiosity based on intellectual appreciation and... a hazy affection.

This subtle emotional connection is the ideal catalyst for executing the 'Shadow of pandora' project.

It would be most appropriate for you to play the role of an 'explorer' who is lost in the profound labyrinth left by predecessors, occasionally discovering shocking secrets and seeking like-minded people to discuss them."

Evelyn felt her blood freeze completely in an instant, her fingertips cold and piercing.

Her father was not only going to use the deepest, most dangerous forbidden knowledge of The Foundation as bait, but also use her... use the only weak, perhaps non-existent emotional ripples between her and Excellence, using the little bit of pure affection that might exist in Excellence's heart out of politeness and academic respect, to complete this extremely despicable and cruel deception?!

This was far more vicious than directly destroying his laboratory or taking his life!

This was using his most precious, purest passion and talent for knowledge to lead him toward an unknown abyss, dimly lit, that might devour his soul and cause him to repeat her mother's tragedy!

"Father..." Evelyn's voice uncontrollably carried a hint of irrepressible trembling, and she could almost hear her heart pounding crazily in her chest.

"The risks of the 'pandora' project... its history... we can't even fully understand the mechanisms within it, let alone control it... letting Excellence come into contact with this, this... this is tantamount to pushing him into..." She tried to find the right words, "...a potential black hole at the cognitive level! This is too dangerous! This..."

"Risk and reward always coexist, Evelyn." Morpheus Li interrupted her unceremoniously, his tone becoming as cold and hard as iron, allowing no room for doubt.

"The value Excellence has shown, the strategic significance of the field he has touched upon, is worth us taking this risk.

And don't forget, this will be his own choice, the inevitable result of his inability to resist the temptation of truth.

We are just... opening another door for him, a door to infinite possibilities.

As for whether it is heaven or hell behind the door, that depends on his own wisdom, willpower, and... a little bit of luck." He curled the corners of his mouth into a cold and twisted arc, as if enjoying a carefully designed cruel experiment.

"Moreover, this can also thoroughly test whether he is a puppet or mouthpiece for that mysterious 'existence' behind him, or... an heir who truly possesses subversive creativity, worthy of me pouring resources into personally cultivating and... shaping."

An heir?! Father had actually thought that far ahead?

He was actually considering incorporating Excellence into the core of his "empire," and even as... a successor?

A bone-chilling cold instantly swept through Evelyn's entire body, making her almost unable to stand steady.

This meant that if the plan succeeded, Excellence would no longer be a threat to be eliminated, but would be assimilated, absorbed, and incorporated into her father's cold and vast power machine, becoming a part of it, and perhaps eventually becoming just like her father... losing temperature, with only greed for power and control remaining.

This was even more despairing than destroying him.

"This matter concerns the future of The Foundation and the final realization of the 'ascension path'." Morpheus Li approached her and took out an encrypted USB drive from a hidden, fingerprint-locked drawer in his desk—it was extremely simple in design, pitch black, with only a tiny blue indicator light at the tail slowly breathing.

The USB drive felt ice-cold to the touch, as if it contained the chill of the polar regions.

He shoved it into Evelyn's slightly trembling, cold hand without explanation, almost forcibly.

"Inside this are the most basic, yet most tempting and most confusing data fragments of the 'pandora' project—a spectrum of energy fluctuations that cannot be explained by existing physical models, and a set of residual data from consciousness interference experiments that seem random but contain strange mathematical laws.

They are like poison, and also like honey.

How to 'naturally' let Excellence 'discover' them and guide him in the direction we have set is up to you."

He gripped his daughter's hand tightly, forcing her to clench the USB drive that felt as scalding as a branding iron yet as cold as a viper.

His gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, allowing no room for retreat: "Do not disappoint me, Evelyn.

Remember, you have the blood of the Li family flowing in your veins, and your destiny is already closely linked to the future of The Foundation.

Individual, insignificant emotions and hesitations are as small as dust in the face of the progress of civilization and the grand blueprint; when necessary, they must be sacrificed without hesitation."

Evelyn stood stiffly in place, the small USB drive in her palm weighing a thousand pounds, as if it were not a storage medium, but a bomb about to detonate, capable of destroying souls.

She looked at her father's bottomless eyes, filled with endless desire for power and cold desire for control, a gaze that seemed to devour all light; yet in her mind, uncontrollably flashed the fleeting, slightly nervous, and purely focused gaze of Excellence at the seminar, flashed the brilliant, stunning, and vibrant sparks of thought in his technical report, and even flashed the simple joy and curiosity he might have shown when he received that ancient book...

On one side was her father's mountain-like, heavy, and unbreakable will, the cold and grand "ascension path" project that had devoured countless people (including her mother), and the family mission and survival rules she had been instilled with since childhood and relied upon to survive; on the other side was a vivid, talented young life full of the purest desire to explore the world, yet one that might be completely exploited, twisted, and even destroyed, as well as that faint but inextinguishable spark deep within her own heart, inherited from her mother... a reverence for knowledge and a... reluctance to harm life.

Violent struggle raged like a storm in her eyes, her fingertips cold, her face as pale as paper.

The study was dead silent, with only the "ticking" of the antique clock's second hand, like a life-threatening drumbeat, pounding on her heart.

Finally, after that suffocatingly long silence, she heard herself answer with a voice that was almost mechanical, drained of all emotion and warmth, and so cold that it even felt strange to herself, with difficulty:

"Yes, Father. I will... do my best."

She turned around, like a puppet whose strings had been pulled away, and left the study with somewhat unsteady steps, leaving behind that suffocating coldness and the dazzling yet indifferent nightscape outside the window.

The small, pitch-black USB drive was tightly clenched in her sweat-dampened palm, like a pandora's box that had already started its countdown, destined to detonate an unknown storm...