“It's really unexpected that one day, I would have the chance to return to this place...”
“My golden house, my little treasure trove.”
Pushing aside the overgrown thorns and bushes, Merka arrived at the long-forgotten desolate path that no one had tread on for a long time.
Walking to the end of the path, a small cottage tightly wrapped in vines slowly emerged amidst the deep green surge.
Merka took three or four steps forward, arrived at the dusty big door, took down the dim and lifeless plaque, gently tapped it twice, and affectionately kissed it.
This action seemed to awaken the surrounding vines, as they sensed the owner's arrival and started to rustle and cheer like children.
"I never expected to encounter such an active Codechecker... It seems the Tidal Enchantress in your memory is no ordinary person."
The dark figure, with a complex expression on his face, gently caressed the delightful vine crown in front of him, feeling a sigh in his heart.
"It's probably another high-ranking official from some laboratory project who can't escape again."
"Another laboratory project... How many more things have they done?"
Merka, feeling nostalgic, pushed open the door of the small cottage, reached out to brush away the dust that greeted him. Squinting his eyes, he walked towards the inside of the house while asking the dark figure.
"They have done a lot of things... but if you sum it up, it's four things."
"Trying to turn angels into humans."
"Trying to turn humans into angels."
"Trying to turn humans and angels into half-angels."
"And also doing research on aside, backdrop, and curses and such."
"These four projects correspond to four plans... something grand, something cuckoo, I can't quite remember."
The dark figure did not enter the cottage with Merka, still "stroking the vines" outside.
Seeing it through Merka's memories, it privately concluded that there was nothing worth entering—no information to turn the tide, no weapons to conquer enemies, nothing here.
"Oh... I see."
After lightly dusting inside the cottage with a feather duster, Merka came to the desk and flipped through the clues of the Red Port case he had organized there years ago.
"By the way, can you use the small gear at the entrance?"
"I found it too heavy at the time, so I didn’t take it all."
"If you can use it, can it enhance some combat power?"
Merka raised his voice a bit and asked the dark figure outside the door.
"No, I can't use it."
"I'm limited by insufficient permissions, my upper limit of usage has been rigidly defined."
"And even if I could use it, it would be useless."
"A small Codechecker like me can't have any impact on the situation."
The dark figure shook its head, stroked a small vine, and finally pushed the door to enter the cottage with Merka.
"Stop thinking so much."
"It's time for us to return."
"Since all the missions have failed... we can only hope for Turing to succeed."
"What are you... doing?"
Seeing that Merka showed no intention of leaving, the dark figure approached the cottage even closer.
He saw Merka, with a serious expression, pulling open the bookshelf and spreading out a jumble of scrolls on the desk.
Various pins representing the connections between events on the mind maps were inserted into the cardboard, connected by thin strings, giving off an air of profound mystery.
Photos of the Red Port shooting, photos of the train derailment, and photos of the murder case at the Ciximani Hotel, as well as various clues related to the Red Port incident, were all integrated on the cardboard.
"Tide Witch, do you remember?"
"If you have read my memories, then you should know what kind of terrifying career Tide Witch embarked upon in Red Port."
"Her methods were extremely powerful, not only manipulating all the angels in Red Port, but also ordering them to attack Turing."
"I am here to uncover her secrets, understand the specifics of the Red Port incident, and figure out how she managed to do it.
"If I can grasp the mechanism of her actions, perhaps...I can also deal with Oedipus using the same means."
