"Of course, that's not even the most terrifying part," Joyce continued relentlessly. "Do you know how much one drop of [Blood Agate] costs on the underground market?"
Shu shook his head. He didn't want to say a single word.
"For just three thousand Am-shields, you can get a drop potent enough to kill a hundred adult men. And if you know a little bit about condensation distillation, you can extract nearly a liter of new [Blood Agate] from those hundred corpses."
"So, in 2001, the second month after this substance appeared in the world, the United Governments unanimously passed a resolution to establish the [Blood Inspection Committee], completely banning any appearance of [Blood Agate], including in those underground markets."
"But a ban doesn't mean production stops... especially when the technique only requires distillation..." And a poisoned corpse.
How could such a low-cost item be completely prohibited? Not every place could mobilize its entire population like Shenzhou, and even Shenzhou...
Taking one last look, Shu averted his gaze, turning to other areas.
Burns, disabilities... the children in each cubicle had different symptoms, and Shu could precisely feel the pain these children were enduring within his own body.
One, ten...
A hundred...
Two hundred...
Shu glanced at the [67] floor indicator in the elevator and fell silent.
He couldn't bring himself to press the button for the next floor immediately. Joyce stood on the other side, also making no move.
Shu dared not imagine how many such cubicles were on these 67 floors. How many children like these were there? What had they experienced before coming here? Or what had they experienced after arriving?
Shu dared not think... He had thought that after witnessing the grotesque hell created by Evolution, he had developed sufficient resilience. But now, he still felt his mind growing dull and heavy.
He couldn't accept it... He really couldn't.
"Why?" Shu couldn't help but ask softly. "Why are so many banned substances concentrated here?"
Shu knew the question held little practical value, but he had to ask, if for no other reason than an inexplicable feeling.
Joyce sighed, turning her head to look out through the elevator's glass at the vast, snowy plains beyond.
"Because this is Siberia. Because it's currently 2006..."
"Because... this place is in the midst of war. Warlords, nations, mercenaries, drug lords... countless factions have gathered on these snowy plains. They stop at nothing, tearing this land to shreds."
"Bans are a product of order; they require the support of order. And when war breaks out, order is often the first pitiful thing to be torn apart."
Shu's fists clenched.
He thought of Bronya... thought of that sentence.
[Before learning to hold a spoon, the child soldiers here had already learned to hold a gun.]
"Now I have another conjecture..." Joyce lowered her gaze, looking at the "infinity"-like symbol on the elevator panel.
It was Future City's logo. Most of the scientists here had been expelled by Future City, and Future City had issued no directives regarding the Tower of Babylon.
Logically, such a symbol shouldn't be, and wouldn't be allowed to be, displayed here.
Nor should Future City's flag be hung here.
Shu looked at Joyce, his eyes dim. "What?"
"A fox borrowing the tiger's might... No, that phrasing is a bit too derogatory," Joyce shook her head. "Did you notice that John, and that former Holy Hand, have very pale skin? That's a sign of not having seen the sun for a very long time."
"In other words, for the past few years, John and the former Holy Hand have basically not left this tower. They've essentially lived incognito, hidden from view."
"There's only one reason they'd need to live like that: to prevent others from knowing they are here... to prevent others from knowing... this place was established by people expelled from Future City..."
"Only by doing so can they fly Future City's flag, carve out a safe zone here, and have the privilege to gather these children traumatized by war, then change their identities to 'Belonging to Future City' under the guise of experimentation."
Shu didn't speak, instead staring blankly at the white horizon.
On the endless snowy plains, only a single railway track extended into the distance.
But its destination wasn't the future, but the death that everyone desperately avoided.
It was like a wall. Looking left, no end in sight. Looking right, no end in sight. Looking up or down, no possibility of crossing.
Because Shu saw small mushroom clouds blooming on the horizon. They rose one after another from the ground, forming a "mushroom forest."
But this mushroom forest held none of that serene beauty. It was filled with death, and weapons that could not be laid down.
...
It was snowing. It seemed it never rained here; all one could see was beautiful yet deadly white snow.
The two of them still didn't continue downwards. They left the elevator and returned to Sirin's room, sitting silently beside her.
Sirin looked at Shu, who seemed almost tinged with an aura of death. She curiously craned her neck, trying to peek at what Shu had become, but also not wanting to be seen by him, only managing tentative little peeks from the side.
Shu kept his head down, staring at his own hands.
He felt he could do something. If he disregarded the cost, [Hope] could still be used here... But this was 2006, a past that had already occurred. This was most likely just a memory, or an insignificant bubble universe.
He was about to leave, to execute the plan Joyce and the others had formulated, to shatter the dreamscape outside.
He couldn't waste his [Hope] on "making amends."
The flickering purple in the corner of his vision still caught Shu's attention. Shu looked up and saw Sirin quickly turn her head, pretending she hadn't been looking. After a moment of silence, Shu spoke.
"Sirin... when did you come here? And why did you come?"
Sirin paused, then turned her head as if just noticing Shu. "Me...? I came here with those uncles and aunties in white coats six years ago... As for why..."
Sirin hesitated, then said, "Because one day, there was a sudden 'bong!' explosion at home. Mommy got hurt. The uncles said their place could heal Mommy, so I came..."
"And your mother?" Shu asked softly. Joyce also turned her head, watching intently.
"Mommy..." Sirin fell silent. She looked down dejectedly, covering her arm. Shu remembered that was where the adhesive bandage was.
"Mommy... didn't wake up..."