Chapter 993

"And if we were to return to each other, then—" She had just begun to speak again when her chest felt as if it had been struck by a heavy blow, leaving her unable to make a sound.

Her subconscious told her that what was about to happen was absolutely not something she wished to see!

Almost simultaneously, Ma Liang felt as if she heard a figure shouting at her:

"Do not look! Do not come! Do not need to know! Do not approach!"

"Do not listen! Do not stop! Do not need to understand! Do not explore!"

You must absolutely not be allowed to proceed any further in this direction! Do not wait until you have lost everything before you repent!

Absolutely do not continue to think about this! And even more so, do not speak the remaining parts!

Shrouded by the heavy veil of night, you must never peer into the side of the "Anomaly."

Please stay safely in the world of "Normality," and only observe these scenes of daily life.

Afterward, please quietly, unknowingly, and simply fear the night.

The world seemed to fall into a deathly silence; the surrounding light retreated entirely, and the veil obscuring the "Truth" quietly tore open, revealing the terrifying existence beyond her comprehension within.

It possessed thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of millions of eyes, looking down at her, casting its gaze upon Ma Liang, who had recalled the hazy fragments.

As long as Ma Liang's gaze met it for even a moment, as long as she remembered that forgotten part, a certain horrific truth would descend.

Next, not only would she vanish, but Adam would also be caught in the fallout.

Ma Liang felt "Containment-4987" beside her, wanting to say something to her; a small spot in her eyes was flickering constantly.

"Something is wrong," she said.

Adam wiped his eyes, "What is that?"

"How can you see it?"

"I have a slight immunity to the anti-memetic effect," Adam said.

He knew his uniqueness was recorded in the files, and Ma Liang was aware of this, yet at this moment, he felt it necessary to emphasize it again.

"I am able to realize the flaws in my own memory and possess a certain degree of resistance."

"Therefore, Ma Liang, I had originally envisioned that we could gradually introduce this topic during a relaxed coffee break, but now it seems I must go straight to the point:"

"'Containment-4987' is trying to kill me."

"…No," Ma Liang responded, "That is not its standard behavioral pattern."

"Its way of sustaining survival is not by devouring humans, but by consuming memories. It has never acted this way, whether toward me, toward you, or toward anyone else."

"From beginning to end, it has been properly controlled and has been obedient to my every command."

"Even if I choose to wait, even if I feel weary, it will quietly stand guard and will only act once it receives my permission."

"Then what is it doing to us now?" Adam was somewhat nervous; he stood up and retreated backward.

"I hope we can figure this out quickly. We have no way of handling 'Containment-4987'."

At this moment, a sound echoed in Ma Liang's heart, though it was not a whisper in her ear, but rather like the collective barking of dogs in the distance.

She stood up as well, following Adam closely toward the center of the containment chamber.

"It is trying to protect you," Ma Liang said.

"How can erasing my memory be protecting me?" Adam was puzzled.

"I cannot provide an explanation," Ma Liang replied.

"I also cannot explain why I cannot explain all of this. There are even some things that I myself do not fully understand. There is a… ██████████████████."

"There is a what?" Adam pressed.

"You cannot stay here," she said, looking at him. "You cannot be in my life. You must leave, or you will die."

"I will not leave you," Adam said firmly.

"That is the reason we have reached this point, I am talking about the matter of our marriage."

"For us, this promise was as clear as daylight, decided long ago, that we would be together forever."

"I once made a vow before everyone I respect that I would protect you for a lifetime. Forever!"

"Containment-4987" became restless.

Ma Liang sensed it expressing its urgency in the room in a fragmented, flickering manner.

Something was coming.

She suddenly spoke, her eyes clear and bright, "I think I once made the same vow."

Adam bent over abruptly, his eyes suddenly blinded.

Whether his eyes were open or closed, he could not resist that piercing golden-white light, and the light grew increasingly blinding.

He panicked.

"Save, save me… I can't see." He reached out tremblingly, wanting to grab Ma Liang's hand.

Ma Liang did not resist, letting him grasp her hand and pull her closer.

However, the dazzling light did not diminish because of this.

He was holding Ma Liang, but she stood stiffly against him.

After a few seconds, Adam realized that "Containment-4987" was entirely under her control, and all of this was intentional.

"Are you going to do this?" he asked.

"Is this the Foundation's instruction? Is this your definition of 'protection'!"

"You don't know what you are doing to yourself! You don't even remember me!"

"I think I will," she replied.

"For the rest of my life, I will continue to feel that emptiness and cold, as if a vital fragment of life has been stripped away. Every morning when I wake up, I will have questions deep within my heart."

"But I must win this war."

Ma Liang declared to him: "I will conquer this universe, and then I will find the answer."

Adam held her hand tightly; time seemed to freeze at this moment.

At this moment, he could faintly hear that distant barking, and even began to speculate what exactly it was behind that hill that was driving "Containment-4987" to madness.

And so, he caught a glimpse of something.

It was only a faint, fleeting image, distant and blurry.

Yet it was more terrifying than the deepest, lightless night, and more unsettling than the most horrific thriller.

He knew Ma Liang could piece together clues in an extremely short time, fight against a universe that held no logic for her, and peel back the layers in the chaos to discern the truth.

He knew she had the power to conquer the universe.

He believed in this deeply.

However, at this moment, he could not help but worry: "What if you lose?"

Ma Liang pulled Adam over, cupped his face, and pressed a kiss to his lips.

But this kiss made Adam feel like a stranger.

He broke free, agitated, and asked again in a low voice: "What if you lose?"

…

Ma Liang left the containment room resolutely, and after the gate fell, she slammed the metal blast door shut.

The entire building shook.

Outside the door, Gauss, Julie Steele, and other agents were waiting, comparing details in the report.

Ma Liang and the commotion startled them.

"Incorporate the following details into his background file," she ordered.

"He was never married. Transfer him to a place where I will never find him, destroy all relevant evidence, and then report to me that the memory deletion surgery has been completed."

"As for the surgery itself, I will perform it personally at the end."

Gauss seemed to want to raise an objection, but was suppressed by a single look from her.

"My husband is dead," she said.