Chapter 893

She had to bear these at the right time—and only she could bear them.

It had nothing to do with free will, nor did it have anything to do with human thinking about freedom.

All there was was survival, all there was was living on.

This responsibility was already heavy enough; any more, and Alice wouldn't be able to catch her breath.

She could only say sorry for Christina's matter, then while taking her forward, rush to the place that would end all apocalypses.

Once the apocalypse ended, the remaining time could be squandered at will.

If "The Wanderer" gave some efficient method to make Christina cheer up quickly, that would be best.

【That is for you to ask yourself, dear Alice.】

【After all, the one traveling with her is not me, but you.】

"I read her diary."

Alice had a headache: "She seems to think you are not trustworthy. You give too many instructions, causing her not to know what she is actually doing."

【Then, do you know?】

"What?"

【I am asking you—do you know what you are doing right now?】

"Following your guidance, going to the Antarctic site, opening the 'Black Hole Furnace', and completing the mission. Is there any problem?"

Alice felt this question was inexplicable.

Or, it didn't constitute a problem at all.

If she didn't follow "The Wanderer's" guidance and go to the Antarctic site, what else could she do?

Fall in love?

【The problem is huge.】

【You trust my guidance too much, to the point of discarding your own thinking.】

【On this point, perhaps the little girl traveling with you is better than you.】

"..." Alice was a bit helpless.

"What else do I have to think about? Huang Shi is already destroyed; besides following you, where else can I go?"

【I mean, you have to think about some more essential things.】

【For example—what exactly is the 'Black Hole Furnace'?】

"Black Hole Furnace"... Alice's brows were locked tight.

She wasn't without curiosity about what these things the Foundation made were.

But she hadn't really thought deeply about this question, hadn't connected the limited information, and hadn't reached her own answer.

Before, she was just running around in the wilderness, executing Foundation missions, not needing to think about these missions and the essence hidden behind them.

It was just that now, after becoming the chosen one, she seemed to have to start thinking about some more macroscopic things.

And this wasn't her strong suit.

"The Wanderer" seemed to understand that Alice needed some time to think through this question.

After this question, no new text came from the personal terminal.

Looking at the personal terminal in her hand that extinguished naturally.

Alice knew that "The Wanderer" had left the world to her.

……

The heavy snow continued; from the moment night fell and the two set up camp, until the sky turned bright again and the two embarked on the journey, there was no sign of it decreasing at all.

Under Alice's feet, a road extended straight toward the horizon—it was like a meridian line that fixed time, as if it were the last honest existence in this twisted and grotesque apocalypse.

Even though it was constantly covered by newly fallen snow, Alice could still distinguish the outline of the road, seeing the purest black under the white snow, walking along it toward the end of the world.

At this moment, the world was so lonely.

On the right side of the road, a gray-green coniferous forest stood quietly, the branches of the trees covered in snow, like a chocolate sandwich cake covered with a layer of cream.

And on the left side of the road was a frozen ice lake, the surface smooth as a mirror, reflecting the blue of the sky and the outline of the distant mountains.

Occasionally, tiny light spots flickered on the ice surface, like scenes from a dream, beautiful and psychedelic.

Alice walked in front, lost in thought, watching the snowflakes falling before her eyes, watching the deep pits she stepped into in the snow.

Christina followed behind her, her expression gloomy, her gaze dull, saying nothing.

Suddenly, Alice took out her personal terminal:

"I basically have an answer to this question."

Sure enough, a line of text appeared on the screen.

【Tell me.】

"The 'Black Hole Furnace' project itself is a front."

"The Foundation doesn't need this black hole, but needs the singularity born within it."

"But 'a singularity cannot be created directly'."

"So the project itself is to create a black hole, and then let the singularity be exposed, breaking the space-time structure."

"I think the purpose is probably to achieve the so-called 'Ultimate Containment', but this is also a problem."

"'Ultimate Containment', what exactly is it?"

【What do you think it is?】

……

Meanwhile.

Christina behind Alice only felt a hole opened in her chest, aching faintly.

She hadn't asked the name of the next stop, nor had she asked about the next goal, and she had no concern for this in the depths of her heart.

Probably, as long as there was a location, it would be enough... anywhere, it didn't matter.

【Long time no see, I felt emptiness and nothingness again.】

【Everything we do seems to be completely meaningless.】

【Miss Alice and I...】

【The Huang Shi she had been pursuing for who knows how long had already exploded who knows how long ago.】

【And the Tommy I had been pursuing had also left this world who knows how long ago.】

【Leaving me only those tapes that could only be played once, and a pair of tattered gloves.】

【Now we are like two headless flies, following the command of an consciousness from who knows where in Miss Alice's communication terminal, running from Huang Shi to the Antarctic.】

【Why? I don't know.】

【What exactly are we doing? What exactly can we accomplish? What is meaningful?】

【Maybe we can't accomplish anything. Maybe we can't get anything. Maybe the only thing we can leave to the world in the end is memories. Maybe there won't even be memories.】

Christina slowly stopped her steps, looked at the coniferous forest for a while, turned her head, looked at Alice talking to the terminal in front, and finally, looked at the lake surface.

Quite beautiful, she thought, but what did this have to do with her?

The next moment, Christina's gaze suddenly froze.

On the ice of the lake, there seemed to be a familiar figure.

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief and stared again.

She didn't see it wrong!

That was

—Tommy!

……

"I don't know, I can't piece together the full picture from the current information."

Alice frowned:

"I probably understand it has to do with singularities, breaking reality frameworks, and paradoxes, but some key clues are missing. I don't know what that is."

【I will send you a record. After you finish reading it, you will understand.】

"Wait a moment."

Suddenly, Alice felt she seemed to have missed something.

She stopped her steps, her brows locked, and paused for a moment.

Then, she suddenly realized—the faint but continuous rustling footsteps that had been following behind her from the beginning had disappeared.

Alice turned around in a panic, but Christina was not there. ===== CHAPTER 895 =====