76: Evelyn's Choice and the Truth of "Pandora"

The Prophet Foundation headquarters building, top-floor private suite.

Evelyn Li sat alone in her luxurious yet cold bedroom, which felt like the interior of a precision instrument. Around her, intelligent ambient light flowed silently, and an automated service system was meticulous yet lifeless. The air was filled with a highly filtered silence accompanied by a faint white noise, creating a suffocating pressure. Before her floated a high-resolution flexible holographic screen, its eerie blue light reflecting off her pale, bloodless face. The screen clearly displayed the latest encrypted instructions from her father, Morpheus Li, pushed directly through the highest-priority channel.

The wording of the instructions was as calm, precise, and unquestionable as ever, cold like a scalpel. The core requirement was clear: take advantage of the next "rehabilitation training" session to cleverly and inconspicuously attach a miniature biosensor—codenamed "nymph" and disguised as the latest generation of non-invasive neuromodulation and cognitive enhancement patch—to a specific area on the back of Excellence's neck (the C1-C3 vertebral space). The claimed function was to promote the plastic reorganization and functional repair of his neural networks through gentle micro-current stimulation and biofeedback, thereby accelerating the cognitive recovery process.

However, the attachment to the instructions included a supplementary document marked "Top Secret - For Your Eyes Only - Destroy After Reading," encrypted with The Foundation's top-tier Quantum Chaos Encryption Algorithm. Evelyn's heart pounded uncontrollably, and an ominous premonition coiled up her spine like a cold venomous snake. Taking a deep breath, she used the highest-level authorization key her father had previously granted her—second only to his own. After triple biometric verification and dynamic password confirmation, she managed to decrypt the file with great difficulty.

When those cold words and structural diagrams appeared clearly before her eyes, Evelyn felt the blood in her body freeze instantly, as if she had fallen into an absolute zero abyss!

The supplementary explanation bluntly revealed the true dual design of the "nymph" patch: its surface function was indeed monitoring, even including a certain degree of allegedly beneficial neuromodulation to lull the target and their guardians into a false sense of security. But at its core lay an extremely tiny, biomimetic-material-wrapped, nanometer-scale neural induction unit that conventional scans could not detect! This unit was pre-filled with a nanometer-scale biochemical agent codenamed "Waters of Lethe," created using the latest synthetic biology techniques. Upon receiving a specific sequence of encrypted ultrasonic instructions from a remote control terminal, the agent would be quietly released, cross the blood-brain barrier, and target specific neuronal clusters in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and limbic system.

Its true effect was by no means "repair," but rather an extremely insidious, progressive dismantling of an individual's autonomous consciousness, weakening their willpower, and significantly increasing their receptivity and dependence on specific external suggestions and commands. This was not a medical device at all, but a controller used for the "gentle domestication" of high-value targets, ultimately turning them into mindless, obedient, and manipulatable "Living Inspiration Extractors"! The end of the document even coldly attached preliminary data from live (animal) experiments, showing a "domestication" success rate that was hair-raisingly high!

Father... Morpheus Li... He hadn't restrained himself at all; instead, he had become even more extreme! He had completely torn off all hypocritical, academic masks, revealing the coldest, cruelest, and most disgusting essence of control hidden beneath the gorgeous cloak of civilized evolution! This had long since crossed the boundaries of scientific research and even the bottom line of human morality; it was an outright dehumanizing crime that treated people as programmable tools!

"No... absolutely not... I can't let this go on anymore..." Evelyn's fingertips trembled violently from extreme anger, fear, and a bone-deep chill, making it nearly impossible for her to touch the screen. Her face was as pale as a marble statue, her stomach churned, and a strong sense of nausea rose in her throat. Her father's actions had completely shattered the last trace of blood-related hope and illusion remaining in the depths of her heart! This was no longer the pursuit of knowledge or evolution; it was a blatant, appalling, and total desecration of the dignity of life and intelligence!

Her mind uncontrollably flashed to Excellence's eyes—sometimes vacant and hollow, sometimes accidentally flickering with a pure light of seeking knowledge and childlike curiosity; to Su Mu's eyes—wary and scrutinizing, yet still maintaining a gaze of sincere care and academic inquiry; and even more to her own inner yearning and conscience for the true spirit of science (exploration, truth-seeking, and benefiting rather than controlling and destroying), which had not yet been completely obliterated by The Foundation.

A clear and resolute thought, like a bolt of lightning through endless darkness, violently exploded and took shape in her heart: she had to stop her father! No matter the cost! She had to tell Wang Jianguo the terrible truth! Even if it meant completely betraying her family, losing everything, and potentially facing The Foundation's most cold-blooded and ruthless liquidation, falling into a bottomless abyss!

But how to transmit the information? Her father's informants were like an invisible spider web spread all around her. Any conventional or unusual communication attempt, even if it lasted only milliseconds, would immediately trigger layers of intrusion detection systems and manual monitoring alarms. She needed an absolutely unconventional way that would exceed everyone's expectations.

Her gaze suddenly shifted to an attached report on the holographic screen regarding Excellence's recent "rehabilitation progress." It highlighted the Emotion-Visualization Device 2.0 that had been "hand-crafted" and modified by him and Su Mu, which had become extremely strange in function and exhibited a "cross-consciousness weak correlation" phenomenon difficult to explain with existing science. The prototype of an extremely risky, almost fantastical plan rapidly formed in her racing brain. Perhaps... she could use the unpredictable, bizarre data stream generated by that device as cover? Or... something more direct?

The time for the next routine "rehabilitation training" soon arrived. Evelyn suppressed the tempest in her heart, struggling to maintain her usual professional, calm, and slightly detached mask. She carefully placed the "nymph" patch—thin as a cicada's wing, cold to the touch, yet heavy as a mountain—into a specialized portable medical box with bio-preservation and electromagnetic shielding functions. She practiced her smile and breathing several times in the mirror to ensure her expression and heart rate wouldn't give her away, then walked with steady steps toward the Rehabilitation Isolation Zone.

Inside the rehabilitation room, Su Mu and Excellence were huddled together at the workbench as usual, focused on tinkering with a new project—this time a quirky device attempting to use a truly random signal generated by an Optical Quantum Random Number Generator (a crude device "magic-modified" by Excellence based on single-photon emission and interference principles) to generate "truly random ambient music" in real-time. Optical fibers, polarizers, photodiodes, and an audio synthesizer making strange hissing and buzzing sounds were scattered across the table. Excellence's eyes held a rare, ignorant focus, while Su Mu patiently explained and guided from the side.

Evelyn took a deep breath, put on an impeccable professional smile, and walked in. "Good afternoon, Su Mu, Excellence. How are you feeling today? I'm here to perform a routine cognitive neural response assessment and biofeedback adjustment for Excellence." Her voice was steady, showing no signs of abnormality.

She walked over to Excellence, opened the medical box, took out the "nymph" patch, and gently prepared to clean his skin before application. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest, so loud she almost feared those around her would hear it. Just as her fingertips were about to touch the skin on the back of Excellence's neck, her body seemed to be "accidentally" tripped by a corner of the workbench, causing an extremely slight stumble—

In that interval of less than half a second while her line of sight was briefly blocked, her other hand, with speed difficult for the naked eye to catch, flicked an encrypted data chip—smaller than a grain of rice and using non-standard packaging and special alloy materials—from a hidden pocket in her sleeve. The chip traced a tiny arc and shot with unerring precision into a very well-hidden, fine mesh grid hole used for auxiliary heat dissipation on the side of the Emotion-Visualization Device 2.0! This vulnerability was the only physical entry point she had found that might go undetected by routine scans after spending a lot of time secretly studying all the structural diagrams of the device (through The Foundation's technical database)!

Simultaneous with the completion of the action, her fingertips seemingly unintentionally brushed against an elegantly styled titanium alloy bracelet on her wrist—which was actually a cleverly disguised Miniature High-intensity Electromagnetic Pulse Generator! She activated it without hesitation, setting it to an extremely small-range, instantaneous high-intensity directional burst mode!

"Sizzle—crack!"

A sharp and short blast suddenly rang out, accompanied by a momentary flash of dazzling, distorted electric arcs! The Emotion-Visualization Device on Excellence's head flickered violently. The complex halo projected onto the wall twisted, rotated, and tore apart like the surface of water after a stone is thrown in, with colors splashing in Chaos. This lasted for about two or three seconds, then, with an unstable shudder, it slowly returned to a relatively normal operating state, though the stability of the halo seemed slightly worse, with occasional fine noise flickering at the edges.

"Oh! What happened?!" Su Mu was startled by the sudden turn of events. She stood up abruptly and looked warily at Evelyn and the smoking device (which was actually the effect of briefly ionized air).

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Evelyn immediately took a step back, her face instantly filled with a perfect mix of shock, embarrassment, and apology. She quickly raised her wrist, showing the slightly heating bracelet with an almost invisible scorch mark on its surface. "It's my Bio-electric Balance Adjustment Bracelet! I don't know why, but the micro-current output module seems to have suddenly short-circuited, creating a strong electromagnetic pulse interference! I'm so sorry! Did it damage the equipment? Excellence, did I startle you?" Her explanation was smooth and natural, her tone of self-reproach appearing incredibly genuine.

Excellence also seemed startled and shrank his neck, but he was quickly attracted by the briefly chaotic halo, finding it "quite fun" instead, even vaguely asking to "do it again." Su Mu frowned and stepped forward quickly, carefully checking the exterior and cables of the Emotion-Visualization Device, then looked at Evelyn's indeed unusual bracelet (the pulse generator's core components had self-destructed, leaving only short-circuit marks). Although her doubts remained, it appeared to be an accident on the surface, so she couldn't criticize too much. She only said in a slightly stiff tone, "Fortunately, it wasn't completely fried... Consultant Evelyn, please check and shield your equipment in advance next time."

"Of course, of course! I'm truly very sorry! I'll notify the technical department to repair my bracelet immediately!" Evelyn apologized repeatedly with a sincere attitude. She then "truthfully" reported to her father, Morpheus Li, with feigned frustration: an accident occurred during the mission; a personal equipment failure triggered a strong electromagnetic pulse, unfortunately completely destroying the precision "nymph" sensor, and the implantation plan failed.

On the other end of the encrypted communication, Morpheus Li remained silent for a full ten seconds or so, as if the air had frozen. Evelyn could even feel the cold rage and deep suspicion, which almost condensed into substance, through the invisible radio waves. Finally, only three emotionless yet chilling words came from the communicator: "I see." Then the communication was cut off curtly.

Evelyn held the communicator, her palms covered in cold sweat. She knew her father didn't believe the story at all, or at least not entirely. With his extremely paranoid nature, he would never accept any "accident" as an explanation.

Sure enough, her premonition was soon confirmed. That evening, when she finished her day's work, left the base's core area, and took the dedicated maglev passage back to her personal residence on the upper floors of the headquarters building, her instincts, honed by rigorous counter-surveillance training, immediately sensed something wrong.

About fifty meters behind her were two men in black trench coats, their steps perfectly synchronized and their eyes never leaving her back—members of the "Shadow" guard directly under her father. Their tracking skills were artistic, but Evelyn was too familiar with their aura and patterns.

However, what made her spine go even colder was that in another direction, across a transparent landscaped bridge, she caught a glimpse of another group of trackers through the glass's reflection! About two to three people, disguised as ordinary clerical staff and technicians. Their movement patterns were more loose and natural, but their technical style was completely different. The equipment they used and the sense of distance they maintained bore the clear marks of professional state-level training, vastly different from The Foundation's internal style! Were they Wang Jianguo's people? Had they already discovered the chip? Or were they performing routine anti-infiltration surveillance? Or... were they the feelers of some third-party force interested in the "Prophet Foundation" or the "Candle Dragon" project?

Evelyn felt like a fallen leaf at the very center of a storm. From all directions, in the light and in the dark, she didn't know how many pairs of eyes were staring fixedly at her, analyzing her every subtle movement and expression. Every step was like treading on the sharp edge of a blade, and every breath required calculation. She forced herself to maintain a surface of calm, her pace unchanged, even managing to nod to a certain Foundation executive walking toward her. But her heart was already filled with immense pressure, loneliness, and a near-desperate alertness.

She knew that the tiny chip she had cast, carrying truth and hope, was like a stone thrown into the deep sea—perhaps it had quietly sunk to the bottom, or perhaps it was triggering invisible ripples. Meanwhile, she herself was completely exposed under the searchlights of various forces, isolated and without help, where every step could trip a fatal trap.