"The first snow…"
Looking at the canyon covered in white snow, Saria exhaled, watching the rising mist, lost in memories.
War, endless war, war without honor or humanity, had already lasted for half a year. From the initial shock, disbelief, to the current numbness and indifference, was this human growth? Saria didn't know. She felt it was more like human alienation, a numbness towards humanity.
Undead soldiers slaughtered each other in the canyon; company directors calculated their respective profits and harvests. Whether Raythean Industries or Umbrella Bio, their higher-ups had now gradually been replaced by Columbia's original politicians, and those leaders. Columbia hadn't been destroyed; they had undergone another round of rebirth in the image of two companies. These two giant companies continuously advanced in their respective industries, becoming increasingly terrifying.
They indeed, as agreed, confined the battlefield to one area, attacking and probing each other with the canyon as the boundary.
What was the result of the probing? The two big companies were still thriving, while other companies, countries, began various experiments one after another; original political assets were worthless in the face of replacing technology. Half a year passed, and facts proved Umbrella's decision was correct.
Or perhaps, they might have been wrong, but they survived. Victors have the right to determine everything in this world. Whether it was their human experimentation, their Originium evolution, or Raythean Industries' bionic humanization, wetware intelligence—all of this was covered by the pure white snowflakes in this winter's first snow. The ravaged scenes on the battlefield continuously dissipated, shrouded in a white, writhing world, returning to zero.
Everything, everything, no longer had any meaning to persist.
"Eden's things are really not bad, are they?"
The Raythean Industries director beside Saria couldn't help but sigh looking at the vast white land.
"Recycling the original waste, classifying, then reshaping, an infinitely cycling garden of life, just like our planet. Have to say, your Rhine Lab really gave up a lot of good things before. A pity Mayer has already taken root in Lungmen… But Director Saria, have you decided? To leave here, give up Rhine Lab, give up everything you cherish?"
"…Mm. I'm leaving here."
"Just because of one failure?"
"I already lost on the battlefield. Came back with my life spared. Although I have no way to stop their atrocities, I myself still have to abide by the rules."
Looking at the Raythean Industries director beside her who seemed to want to dissuade her, Saria said expressionlessly:
"The director of Umbrella Bio defeated me on the frontal battlefield, but he chose not to kill me. He wanted me to leave this hell. My struggle with him on the plains ultimately ended in my failure, so I will leave here. As for how Rhine Lab is doing, you should be clearer than me. Me, this head of security, during this period, have long become an empty shell. Haven't I? I don't want to engage in meaningless conversations, that's just a waste of time."
"Although I'm very sorry, we also have our stance. Personally, I still very much admire Director Saria's ideals. Hard, strong, unmoved by external things. Hope in the future, I can have some more cooperation with you. It's truly a pity for you to leave this world's most cutting-edge venue."
"Venue? You think this is just a venue? Clearly so many people are dying… Forget it, there's no point in saying this."
Farewell then.
Glancing at the Raythean Industries director, Saria sighed, placed the ID card in her pocket on the platform, turned, and walked down the stairs.
Her mood wasn't very complicated; rather, if it were to be complicated, it would have already been complicated long ago when facing all this. Silence had been back for over a week, and regarding her proposal, Saria had thought for a long time, finally deciding to give an answer now.
Silence had witnessed many things during that period. Rhine Lab wasn't everything; those scholars could also, through a call, an idea, abandon their preconceived notions and unite together, striving for a common goal. This world wasn't black and white; Umbrella's deputy director would also argue red-faced with people for safety, and Raythean Industries' people would also consider the cooperative relationship between machinery and biology.
No one is purely black, nor will anyone be purely white.
But Saria no longer wanted to care about so many things.
Just like the current world, she had already paid a lot for some goals. It was time for her to rest, to properly consider her own positioning and process. And resigning from this Rhine Lab, which existed in name only, was the first step in her thinking, but definitely not the last.
Opening the final main door, Saria looked at the two bored people on the car parked by the building; the lines on her face, which had always been expressionless, couldn't help but soften a lot. And the Sarkaz child sitting in the back of the car reading a novel suddenly seemed to sense something, abruptly raised her head to look in Saria's direction, then waved at her with a brilliant smile. That pure smile was like seeing her own parents.
"Hey~ Saria~ Over here, over here~ So slow."
"Ifrit, your tone."
"It's true, Saria has always been slow… But where are we going? Traveling? I haven't seen much of other places yet."
"There will be many opportunities to see in the future. Those things you haven't seen, those people you haven't met."
"…"
…Did I lose?
Perhaps I lost. On the battlefield, I was utterly defeated. But how should I put it, losing like this didn't seem to be an unacceptable thing.
Looking at her two cherished family members conversing, a barely perceptible smile touched Saria's lips, but it quickly turned back into that stern-faced appearance. She walked up to Silence and Ifrit, slowly nodding. Signifying her very last task was completed.
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
"Don't know… But there's always somewhere to go."
There's always somewhere.
Looking at Silence and Ifrit sitting behind, Saria nodded and looked towards the distance.
Pale white snowflakes drifted down from the sky, covering everything on the ground with a faint layer of white, washing away all sins on the earth. Whether regret or pain, all was enveloped in this whiteness, returning to the origin point.
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