Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 477: Chapter 476: The Turbulent City of Hope

When Neo and the others returned to the Flying Ship, there was only silence.

Everyone was speechless, including the crew members of the Flying Ship who had naturally overheard the conversations between Mephist, Fang Zheng, and others. At this moment, their faces were equally blank in confusion.

If what that man had said was true, and their world still wasn’t the real one, then what was the meaning of their struggle up to now? Living day-to-day in a place like a filthy sewer. The only thing driving them was their hope, their resistance.

But now, was all of that a deception?

Then, for what exactly were they fighting?

Neo said nothing, merely sitting with his head down, lost in thought. Mephist clenched his fists even tighter, muttering to himself, his eyes bloodshot. Seeing the state of those two, Trinity didn’t know what would be right to say. Although she was indeed surprised and shocked, she wasn’t as shaken because she had found the man she loved. For Trinity, it didn’t matter whether he was the Savior or not; what mattered was that he was her man.

And that was enough.

”This is a lie, it has to be a lie!”

Just then, Mephist suddenly stood up, roaring loudly. He swung his fists vigorously, his expression terribly fierce.

”I don’t believe it! It shouldn’t be like this! The Prophet told me, as long as we find the Savior, we can end all of this!!”

”.........”

However, Mephist’s words received no response from anyone, all heads bowed in silence. They had all gathered there because of their belief in Mephist. Some of them had been personally rescued from the Motherbody by Mephist, just like Neo.

But now, they had no idea how to handle all of this.

If what that man had said was true, then... Mephist hadn’t saved them; he had only thrust them into Hell.

”Anyway, we need to return to Zion immediately.”

Trinity finally spoke.

”Nothing has been confirmed yet. We must relay this information to the council, let the council handle it......”

”...”

Still, no one spoke, but those who had been sitting like statues now began working like robots. No matter what, at least this kept them from thinking about these troubling issues. Indeed, they just needed to act as if they had heard nothing... just go back to Zion...

With this in mind, they drove the Flying Ship towards Zion, and for some reason, the Mechanical Squids that were patrolling nearby had all disappeared, allowing them to safely follow the route back to Zion. However, when everyone drove the Flying Ship into Zion, they were sharply aware that something was off about the entire city.

”What on earth happened?”

Trinity stood at the window, frowning as she stared outside. Beside the docking platform of the Flying Ship, the place was densely packed with people. Moreover, Zion, usually bustling, now resembled a morgue, immersed in deathly silence. What were they doing here? Logically, shouldn’t Zion be preparing to resist the invasion of the Motherbody now?

”We will dock at Platform Two.”

The pilot’s voice came over soon after, and the Flying Ship circled in the air before steady docking. Everyone listlessly picked up their gear, then moved to the front of the Flying Ship’s door. And with the opening of the cabin door, the sight before them left them all greatly astonished.

In front of the Flying Ship on the platform, thousands of people stood silently, watching them, no one speaking, but those gazes, mysteriously, made everyone start to feel a bit skittish and uneasy.

”What is... going on?”

At this moment, Neo also stepped down from the Flying Ship, and seeing this scene, he was also greatly taken aback, quickly turning to ask Trinity beside him. But Trinity just shook her head, not yet having time to respond when suddenly, a man emerged from the crowd not far in front of them.

”Neo... those things you mentioned earlier... were they real?”

”What are you referring to?”

Hearing the man’s abrupt inquiry, Neo was taken aback, and at the same time, a bad premonition also began to surface in his heart. And just then, other people stood out from the crowd.

”That was a lie, right? We are still living inside the Motherbody, it’s all fake, right! This is the real world, isn’t it!”

”What is really going on! So this isn’t the real world? What are we fighting for then!”

”This...”

Hearing the excited questions from the crowd, Mephist and the others immediately changed in expression. They had not expected that the people of Zion would know about what happened inside the Motherbody! How could this be? They had not mentioned it to Zion at all!!

”Captain Mephist.”

Just then, several fully armed soldiers parted the crowd and came forward. The man leading them looked complicatedly at Mephist, then spoke.

”The council wants to see you and your crew, now, immediately.”

”...”

Hearing the soldier’s command, everyone exchanged glances, and then, dragging their tired feet, they followed the soldiers towards the council.

When Mephist and his group arrived at the council hall, it was already filled with people, each person’s face bearing a different expression: some looked bewildered, some fearful, some desperate, and some even angry. As they watched Mephist and his group enter, they immediately lifted their heads, focusing their gazes on Mephist.

”Captain Mephist.”

Ultimately, an elderly council member spoke first.

”I’d like to ask, what exactly you encountered within the Motherbody.”

”........”

Hearing this question from the elderly council member, Mephist didn’t immediately respond. He glanced around and then refocused his gaze.

”Before that, I want to know what exactly has happened in Zion?”

”Hmph...”

Facing Mephist’s inquiry, another female council member scoffed and then began to speak.

”Not long ago, someone hacked into our mainframe in Zion and conducted a ’live broadcast’ for us... The content was the conversation between you, a man, and someone named the creator...”

”What?!”

Hearing this, not only Mephist but also Neo and Trinity were startled. Although they had similar conjectures before coming to the council, they were still incredibly shocked to hear it firsthand. Obviously, without asking, the three of them could guess who might be responsible. But why... Why would he do it?

No wonder Zion had become like this.

After getting the answer, Neo and Trinity exchanged a glance. They were also aware that everyone in Zion shared the same ideals; they believed they were fighting the Mechanical Legion that enslaved humanity and saw themselves as the side of righteousness. But if all of this was merely a ”game map” designed by the Motherbody, then what was the significance of their battle? Their resistance, their determination, their will, and even this entire legacy, could it all just be a joke?

”Now, we want to know one thing! Captain Mephist! What exactly did you learn? Is that content true?!”

At this moment another council member couldn’t help but slam the table and shout, clearly unable to contain himself any longer.

Mephist remained silent for a long time, and then shook his head.

”No, council member, I believe those were lies.”

”What?”

Hearing this, not only the council members, but also Neo and Trinity were astounded, staring at Mephist completely unable to understand why he would say such a thing.

”It’s simple, council members.”

At that moment, Mephist seemed to have thought of something; his expression wasn’t as somber as before.

”I suspect that all of this is nothing but a play directed by the Motherbody to destroy our will to resist, rather than the actual truth!”

”Then, do you have any evidence?”

”Of course I have evidence!”

Saying this, Mephist suddenly pointed at Neo.

”I think many of you here know Neo and have even witnessed his actions within the Motherbody. As a Transcendent being, he can easily move through the Motherbody, soaring above the sky. If this world was also a virtual one, then Neo should be able to demonstrate the same abilities! Not just him, all of us should be able to do things in the Motherbody that we cannot do in reality. This, isn’t this the most compelling evidence? If all of this was just a virtual world, then we should also be able to break the constraints of this physical body!”

”This...”

Hearing Mephist’s response, the people exchanged glances. Indeed, as he had said, if this were a virtual world, they should also possess extraordinary powers like those they had within the Motherbody. But in reality, they had no such powers here.

”So, you believe the other party is lying?”

”Exactly!”

Saying this, Neo grew increasingly confident in his guess.

”The Motherbody must be scared! It sensed the presence of the Savior and wanted to use this method to completely destroy our will to resist! Even those two individuals, I suspect they might be new types of computer-generated beings and not humans! After all, if they were just ordinary humans, they wouldn’t possibly possess such power!”

”........”

Hearing this, the somewhat restless crowd finally calmed down, many of them sighing in relief, clearly believing that what Mephist said was correct.

Or rather, they hoped what Mephist was saying was correct.

Only Neo remained with furrowed brows, feeling that although Mephist’s words made some sense, they still seemed insufficient, and furthermore...

”Thump, thump, thump!!”

Suddenly, just at that moment, accompanied by hurried footsteps, a person rushed into the council breathless. He forcefully pushed open the door, looked towards the people before him, and then cried out.

”We’ve detected that the Mechanical Legion is approaching Zion!!”

”What?!”

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